The stars and writer-director of the Prime Video limited series Expats sat down Sunday at the Deadline Studio at Prime Experience. Based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s bestselling novel of the same name, Expats revolves around the lives of a group of expatriates in Hong Kong — more specifically, it’s story of three women from different backgrounds linked by a tragic event, grief, loss and complicated family issues.
Appearing on our panel Sunday were star/executive producer Nicole Kidman, actors Ji-Young Yoo, Sarayu Blue, Jack Huston and Brian Tee, and creator/writer/director/executive producer Lulu Wang.
Watch the conversation here, and scroll down for a photo gallery of the event.
Kidman, who has become as prolific a producer through her Blossom Films as she is an actor, also just received the prestigious AFI Lifetime Achievement Award over the weekend, something celebrated by all her Expats colleagues as we began...
Appearing on our panel Sunday were star/executive producer Nicole Kidman, actors Ji-Young Yoo, Sarayu Blue, Jack Huston and Brian Tee, and creator/writer/director/executive producer Lulu Wang.
Watch the conversation here, and scroll down for a photo gallery of the event.
Kidman, who has become as prolific a producer through her Blossom Films as she is an actor, also just received the prestigious AFI Lifetime Achievement Award over the weekend, something celebrated by all her Expats colleagues as we began...
- 4/29/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
What if Bruce, the mechanical shark in "Jaws," had actually worked? It's one of the biggest what-ifs in Hollywood history. While the movie's Great White Shark may have been "a perfect engine" (to quote Richard Dreyfuss' bespectacled scientist Matt Hooper), Bruce -- who got its moniker from Steven Spielberg's lawyer, Bruce Ramer -- was anything but. Because of this, Spielberg and editor Verna Fields were forced to reconfigure the film's raw footage to avoid showing "The Great White Turd" (as the movie's crew came to call it) as much as possible. What emerged was a triumph of minimalistic horror filmmaking where what you don't see is just as terrifying as what you do, if not more so.
But what if Spielberg had never gotten to direct one of his all-time best movies to begin with? It's easy to recognize in hindsight that ol' Stevie Boy was fated to adapt Peter Benchley's pulpy best-seller,...
But what if Spielberg had never gotten to direct one of his all-time best movies to begin with? It's easy to recognize in hindsight that ol' Stevie Boy was fated to adapt Peter Benchley's pulpy best-seller,...
- 4/7/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
The classic mystery Chinatown is heading to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in the UK this June: here’s more information on the release.
How about this for a flat-out classic? 1974’s Chinatown remains one of the very, very, very best films of Jack Nicholson’s career. A neo-noir detective mystery penned by Robert Towne. Nicholson plays Jake Gittes in the film, and in the 50 years since its release has garnered a reputation as being one of the best films of all time.
Directed by rapist Roman Polanski, it co-stars Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Diane Ladd and Perry Lopez. There’s an extensive cast to enjoy, and a tight mystery at the heart of it too. Genuinely, if you’ve never had the pleasure, it’s a film that deserves its reputation.
(Its belated sequel, The Two Jakes, was directed by Jack Nicholson and is worth a look too, although inevitably...
How about this for a flat-out classic? 1974’s Chinatown remains one of the very, very, very best films of Jack Nicholson’s career. A neo-noir detective mystery penned by Robert Towne. Nicholson plays Jake Gittes in the film, and in the 50 years since its release has garnered a reputation as being one of the best films of all time.
Directed by rapist Roman Polanski, it co-stars Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Diane Ladd and Perry Lopez. There’s an extensive cast to enjoy, and a tight mystery at the heart of it too. Genuinely, if you’ve never had the pleasure, it’s a film that deserves its reputation.
(Its belated sequel, The Two Jakes, was directed by Jack Nicholson and is worth a look too, although inevitably...
- 4/3/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Everyone remembers their first time. That is the first time they saw Marlon Brando.
For the late Mike Nichols, seeing Brando on Broadway in 1947 in his seminal turn as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams‘ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was the catalyst that lead to his career in the arts which saw him become a rare Egot winner. The teenage Nichols and his then girlfriend’s mother were given tickets for the second night of the Elia Kazan-directed production. “There had never been anything like it, I know that by now,” Nichols recalled in a 2010 L.A. Times interview. It was, to this day, the only thing onstage that I had ever seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic. Lucy and I weren’t exactly theater buffs, but we couldn’t get up at the intermission. We were just so stunned. Your heart was pounding. It was a major experience.”
Susan L.
For the late Mike Nichols, seeing Brando on Broadway in 1947 in his seminal turn as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams‘ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was the catalyst that lead to his career in the arts which saw him become a rare Egot winner. The teenage Nichols and his then girlfriend’s mother were given tickets for the second night of the Elia Kazan-directed production. “There had never been anything like it, I know that by now,” Nichols recalled in a 2010 L.A. Times interview. It was, to this day, the only thing onstage that I had ever seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic. Lucy and I weren’t exactly theater buffs, but we couldn’t get up at the intermission. We were just so stunned. Your heart was pounding. It was a major experience.”
Susan L.
- 4/2/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
One of 2024’s obsessions is “Feud: “Capote vs. the Swans.” The FX on Hulu limited series revolves around the best-selling novelist Truman Capote‘s friendship with several of the highest of New York’s society women include Babe Paley, Slim Keith and Lee Radziwill, the sister of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. The women treat him as a sort of father confessor, but when he publishes an excerpt from what he considers his will be his masterwork “Answered Prayers” in Esquire — a thinly veiled account of their lives and secrets –they feel betrayed and turn their back on their once trusted friend. He spends the rest of his life trying to get back into their good graces.
Everyone knows Capote wrote “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and his superb “In Cold Blood” and was a witty albeit inebriated guest on countless talk shows, but how much do you really know about him?
Capote was...
Everyone knows Capote wrote “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and his superb “In Cold Blood” and was a witty albeit inebriated guest on countless talk shows, but how much do you really know about him?
Capote was...
- 3/19/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Cinephiles will have plenty to celebrate this April with the next slate of additions to the Criterion Channel. The boutique distributor, which recently announced its June 2024 Blu-ray releases, has unveiled its new streaming lineup highlighted by an eclectic mix of classic films and modern arthouse hits.
Students of Hollywood history will be treated to the “Peak Noir: 1950” collection, which features 17 noir films from the landmark film year from directors including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston.
New Hollywood maverick William Friedkin will also be celebrated when five of his most beloved movies, including “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist,” come to the channel in April.
Criterion will offer the streaming premiere of Wim Wenders’ 3D art documentary “Anselm,” which will be accompanied by the “Wim Wenders’ Adventures in Moviegoing” collection, which sees the director curating a selection of films from around the world that have influenced his careers.
Contemporary cinema is also well represented,...
Students of Hollywood history will be treated to the “Peak Noir: 1950” collection, which features 17 noir films from the landmark film year from directors including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston.
New Hollywood maverick William Friedkin will also be celebrated when five of his most beloved movies, including “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist,” come to the channel in April.
Criterion will offer the streaming premiere of Wim Wenders’ 3D art documentary “Anselm,” which will be accompanied by the “Wim Wenders’ Adventures in Moviegoing” collection, which sees the director curating a selection of films from around the world that have influenced his careers.
Contemporary cinema is also well represented,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Daniel Sackheim’s intriguing landscapes of Los Angeles evoke a time of classic film of the Film Noir period. His landscapes of Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Blvd, the distant pier of Santa Monica create a moody scene iridescent of classics like Double Indemnity; Mildred Pierce, The Third Man, and Shadow of a Doubt. The seductive tones of a bygone era are visually stimulating creating a mood of mystery that captured the eyes of audiences when The Maltese Falcon was first released.
Sackheim’s directing credits include Lovecraft Country, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Ozark to name a few. Having been a director for many years before delving into photography, he says his eye tends to land on a cinematic sensibility naturally. This perspective then informs his approach to photographic storytelling.
“There is not so much one specific film, though there are iconic images from...
Sackheim’s directing credits include Lovecraft Country, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Ozark to name a few. Having been a director for many years before delving into photography, he says his eye tends to land on a cinematic sensibility naturally. This perspective then informs his approach to photographic storytelling.
“There is not so much one specific film, though there are iconic images from...
- 3/18/2024
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
April’s an uncommonly strong auteurist month for the Criterion Channel, who will highlight a number of directors––many of whom aren’t often grouped together. Just after we screened House of Tolerance at the Roxy Cinema, Criterion are showing it and Nocturama for a two-film Bertrand Bonello retrospective, starting just four days before The Beast opens. Larger and rarer (but just as French) is the complete Jean Eustache series Janus toured last year. Meanwhile, five William Friedkin films and work from Makoto Shinkai, Lizzie Borden, and Rosine Mbakam are given a highlight.
One of my very favorite films, Comrades: Almost a Love Story plays in a series I’ve been trying to program for years: “Hong Kong in New York,” boasting the magnificent Full Moon in New York, Farewell China, and An Autumn’s Tale. Wim Wenders gets his “Adventures in Moviegoing”; After Hours, Personal Shopper, and Werckmeister Harmonies fill...
One of my very favorite films, Comrades: Almost a Love Story plays in a series I’ve been trying to program for years: “Hong Kong in New York,” boasting the magnificent Full Moon in New York, Farewell China, and An Autumn’s Tale. Wim Wenders gets his “Adventures in Moviegoing”; After Hours, Personal Shopper, and Werckmeister Harmonies fill...
- 3/18/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
The 2024 Oscar nominees for Best Director are Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”), Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”), Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), and Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”). Our odds currently show that Nolan (3/1) is most likely to win, followed in order by Lanthimos (4/1), Glazer (9/2), Triet (9/2), and Scorsese (9/2).
Three of these five filmmakers have been nominated at least once before, with Scorsese standing out as the only previous victor in the group. Now on his 10th bid (only two behind category record holder William Wyler), he initially triumphed on his sixth for “The Departed” (2007), which is also the only Best Picture winner in his filmography. He earned his remaining notices for “Raging Bull” (1981), “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1989), “Goodfellas” (1991), “Gangs of New York” (2003), “The Aviator” (2005), “Hugo” (2012), “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2014), and “The Irishman” (2020).
Having previously ranked as the third oldest directing nominee ever...
Three of these five filmmakers have been nominated at least once before, with Scorsese standing out as the only previous victor in the group. Now on his 10th bid (only two behind category record holder William Wyler), he initially triumphed on his sixth for “The Departed” (2007), which is also the only Best Picture winner in his filmography. He earned his remaining notices for “Raging Bull” (1981), “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1989), “Goodfellas” (1991), “Gangs of New York” (2003), “The Aviator” (2005), “Hugo” (2012), “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2014), and “The Irishman” (2020).
Having previously ranked as the third oldest directing nominee ever...
- 3/7/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Reader, you have been lied to! Film history is littered with unfairly maligned classics, whether critics were too eager to review the making of rather than the finished product, or they suffered from underwhelming ad campaigns or general disinterest. Let’s revise our takes on some of these films from the wrongheaded to the correct opinion.
The list of sequels to masterpieces that can be considered masterpieces themselves isn’t a very long one; “The Godfather Part II” is an obvious candidate, and arguments can be made for James Cameron‘s “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “The Color of Money” all have their partisans, and Ingmar Bergman scored a late-career triumph with his “Scenes From a Marriage” sequel “Saraband.” One movie that almost never gets mentioned in this company is “The Two Jakes,” the 1990 sequel to “Chinatown” directed by its star,...
The list of sequels to masterpieces that can be considered masterpieces themselves isn’t a very long one; “The Godfather Part II” is an obvious candidate, and arguments can be made for James Cameron‘s “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “The Color of Money” all have their partisans, and Ingmar Bergman scored a late-career triumph with his “Scenes From a Marriage” sequel “Saraband.” One movie that almost never gets mentioned in this company is “The Two Jakes,” the 1990 sequel to “Chinatown” directed by its star,...
- 3/6/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Finally, the end is in sight. The 96th Academy Awards are just around the corner on March 10 after six months of film festivals, critics’ honors and major awards. So, it’s the perfect time of offer up some fun Oscar facts and tidbits of awards long past as well as the present.
It’s hard to escape all the news reports and late-night pundits discussing the fact that the nominees for President this year are elderly. Joe Biden is 82; Donald Trump is 77 but will be 78 by the time of the election. Let’s face it, Washington, D.C. has become “No District for Old Men.”
But do you know which best director Oscar nominee is in his 80s? Martin Scorsese. He’s 81 and still on the top of his game earning his 10th nomination for best director for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” But instead of being a punchline on late night TV,...
It’s hard to escape all the news reports and late-night pundits discussing the fact that the nominees for President this year are elderly. Joe Biden is 82; Donald Trump is 77 but will be 78 by the time of the election. Let’s face it, Washington, D.C. has become “No District for Old Men.”
But do you know which best director Oscar nominee is in his 80s? Martin Scorsese. He’s 81 and still on the top of his game earning his 10th nomination for best director for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” But instead of being a punchline on late night TV,...
- 3/4/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
There will be spoilers ahead for "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" season 3, episode 2, "Paths Unknown."
"Star Wars: The Bad Batch," the animated series that followed the popular show "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," enters its third and final season today. Throughout the show, we've been treated to incredible cameos and recurring characters familiar to fans of movies and television. One of the biggest came in the form of Rhea Perlman of "Cheers" fame, who took on the role of the Trandoshan Cid during the first two seasons. Wanda Sykes has appeared repeatedly as a treasure hunting scoundrel named Phee Genoa. Héctor Elizondo voiced a one-off character in the first season named Romar Adell. Ernie Hudson made an appearance, as did Taran Killam and Ben Schwartz. There has been no shortage of star power coming to the world of "Star Wars," but in the three-episode premiere of the third season of "The Bad Batch,...
"Star Wars: The Bad Batch," the animated series that followed the popular show "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," enters its third and final season today. Throughout the show, we've been treated to incredible cameos and recurring characters familiar to fans of movies and television. One of the biggest came in the form of Rhea Perlman of "Cheers" fame, who took on the role of the Trandoshan Cid during the first two seasons. Wanda Sykes has appeared repeatedly as a treasure hunting scoundrel named Phee Genoa. Héctor Elizondo voiced a one-off character in the first season named Romar Adell. Ernie Hudson made an appearance, as did Taran Killam and Ben Schwartz. There has been no shortage of star power coming to the world of "Star Wars," but in the three-episode premiere of the third season of "The Bad Batch,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Bryan Young
- Slash Film
As attention turns to the Oscars around this time every year, it’s easy to get caught up remembering some of the big winners. One of the most notable champs was The Silence of the Lambs, which took home the “Big Five” awards in 1992: Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally), as well as Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing to round it out.
And despite owning the film rights to works of author Thomas Harris, super-producer Dino De Laurentiis saw none of that windfall, be it Oscar gold or box office riches. How could a savvy Hollywood player, responsible for making some of the most important movies of all time, make such a wild mistake?
It’s all Michael Mann’s fault.
Hannibal and the Italian
In 1981, author Thomas Harris published Red Dragon, a...
And despite owning the film rights to works of author Thomas Harris, super-producer Dino De Laurentiis saw none of that windfall, be it Oscar gold or box office riches. How could a savvy Hollywood player, responsible for making some of the most important movies of all time, make such a wild mistake?
It’s all Michael Mann’s fault.
Hannibal and the Italian
In 1981, author Thomas Harris published Red Dragon, a...
- 2/19/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Film and TV studio Fifth Season has secured international distribution rights to “Monsieur Spade,” the crime drama series starring and executive produced by Clive Owen.
Fifth Season will represent the title at the upcoming Berlin European Film Market.
The six-episode series is based on Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade, the protagonist of 1930 novel “The Maltese Falcon,” adapted several times for the screen, most notably in 1941 by John Huston with Humphrey Bogart as the sleuth.
In the series, the year is 1963, and legendary detective Spade (Owen) is enjoying retirement in the South of France. Spade’s life in Bozouls is peaceful and quiet, but the rumoured return of his old adversary will change everything. Six beloved nuns have been brutally murdered, and as the town grieves, secrets emerge and new leads are established. Spade learns the murders are connected to a mysterious child, who is believed to possess great powers.
Fifth Season will represent the title at the upcoming Berlin European Film Market.
The six-episode series is based on Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade, the protagonist of 1930 novel “The Maltese Falcon,” adapted several times for the screen, most notably in 1941 by John Huston with Humphrey Bogart as the sleuth.
In the series, the year is 1963, and legendary detective Spade (Owen) is enjoying retirement in the South of France. Spade’s life in Bozouls is peaceful and quiet, but the rumoured return of his old adversary will change everything. Six beloved nuns have been brutally murdered, and as the town grieves, secrets emerge and new leads are established. Spade learns the murders are connected to a mysterious child, who is believed to possess great powers.
- 2/12/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the 96th Oscars® nominations today (January 23), live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater via a global live stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org and the Academy’s digital platforms, an international satellite feed and broadcast media.
Beetz and Quaid announced the nominees in 8 categories at 5:30 a.m. Pt, followed by the remaining 15 categories at 5:41 a.m. Pt, at the live event attended by international media and industry guests. For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars website, www.oscar.com.
Academy members from each of the 18 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film, International Feature Film and Live Action Short Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.
Beetz and Quaid announced the nominees in 8 categories at 5:30 a.m. Pt, followed by the remaining 15 categories at 5:41 a.m. Pt, at the live event attended by international media and industry guests. For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars website, www.oscar.com.
Academy members from each of the 18 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film, International Feature Film and Live Action Short Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.
- 1/23/2024
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Michael I. Levy, a veteran talent representative involved in the careers of such major stars and players as Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Duval, Bruce Lee, Marlon Brando and William Peter Blattey, died January 11 of complications from Covid pneumonia. He was 84.
His death was announced today by his family.
At the start of his career, Levy represented blacklisted film and TV writers including Waldo Salt, Ring Lardner Jr., and Dalton Trumbo. He would later participate in the careers of Milos Foreman, Michael Mann, Ingmar Bergman, John Huston, John Landis, Mario Puzo and Stan Lee of Marvel Comics as well as Marvel Comics itself.
Through his Michael I. Levy Enterprises, Levy packaged more than 100 films, TV series, and TV movies for major producing clients. In 1981, he became President and CEO of CBS Theatrical Film Group, contributing to the Fox-cbs video deal and the formation of Tri-Star Motion Pictures.
Throughout his career,...
His death was announced today by his family.
At the start of his career, Levy represented blacklisted film and TV writers including Waldo Salt, Ring Lardner Jr., and Dalton Trumbo. He would later participate in the careers of Milos Foreman, Michael Mann, Ingmar Bergman, John Huston, John Landis, Mario Puzo and Stan Lee of Marvel Comics as well as Marvel Comics itself.
Through his Michael I. Levy Enterprises, Levy packaged more than 100 films, TV series, and TV movies for major producing clients. In 1981, he became President and CEO of CBS Theatrical Film Group, contributing to the Fox-cbs video deal and the formation of Tri-Star Motion Pictures.
Throughout his career,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar winners John Williams and Martin Scorsese continue to prove that age is just a number with their 2024 nominations.
Williams, 91, already the most nominated person alive and second most nominated ever behind Walt Disney, added an Original Score nomination for Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny, his 54th overall. Meanwhile, Scorsese surpassed Steven Spielberg to become the living director with most Oscar nominations, 10, with a directing nom for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Related: ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone Makes History As First Native Actress Of American Descent To Be Oscar Nominated
This is Williams’ second consecutive Oscar nomination; he was nominated in the same category last year for The Fabelmans when he became the oldest Oscar nominee at 90. Williams’ nominations, which include mentions for four movies in the Indiana Jones franchise, span seven decades, with the first one coming in 1968 for Valley of the Dolls.
Williams, 91, already the most nominated person alive and second most nominated ever behind Walt Disney, added an Original Score nomination for Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny, his 54th overall. Meanwhile, Scorsese surpassed Steven Spielberg to become the living director with most Oscar nominations, 10, with a directing nom for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Related: ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone Makes History As First Native Actress Of American Descent To Be Oscar Nominated
This is Williams’ second consecutive Oscar nomination; he was nominated in the same category last year for The Fabelmans when he became the oldest Oscar nominee at 90. Williams’ nominations, which include mentions for four movies in the Indiana Jones franchise, span seven decades, with the first one coming in 1968 for Valley of the Dolls.
- 1/23/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Benedict Fitzgerald, the co-writer of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, has died. He was 74.
Fitzgerald died Jan. 17 after a long illness at his home in Marsala, Sicily, his cousin Nancy Morgan Ritter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Best known for his work on Gibson’s 2004 Biblical epic, the highest-grossing Christian film, as well as the highest-grossing independent film of all time, Fitzgerald’s other credits include co-writing the screenplay for John Huston’s Wise Blood (1979), the adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel.
Born on March 9, 1949, in New York, Fitzgerald was born into a literary household. His deeply Catholic mother, Sally, was a writer and editor and his father, Robert, was a poet, United States Poet Laureate (1984-1985), critic, and famed translator of classic ancient Greek and Latin texts, who was responsible for perhaps the most well-known translation of Homer’s The Odyssey.
In the late 1950s, Fitzgerald’s family...
Fitzgerald died Jan. 17 after a long illness at his home in Marsala, Sicily, his cousin Nancy Morgan Ritter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Best known for his work on Gibson’s 2004 Biblical epic, the highest-grossing Christian film, as well as the highest-grossing independent film of all time, Fitzgerald’s other credits include co-writing the screenplay for John Huston’s Wise Blood (1979), the adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel.
Born on March 9, 1949, in New York, Fitzgerald was born into a literary household. His deeply Catholic mother, Sally, was a writer and editor and his father, Robert, was a poet, United States Poet Laureate (1984-1985), critic, and famed translator of classic ancient Greek and Latin texts, who was responsible for perhaps the most well-known translation of Homer’s The Odyssey.
In the late 1950s, Fitzgerald’s family...
- 1/22/2024
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Benedict Fitzgerald, best known as the screenwriter of The Passion of the Christ, died at home in Marsala, Sicily after a long illness on January 17, 2024. He was 74 and no cause of death was given by his family.
He first won acclaim for his screenplay adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel Wise Blood, cowritten with his brother, Michael. The film, produced in 1979 by Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald and directed by John Huston, starred Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ned Beatty.
Fitzgerald specialized in literary adaptions, among them Zelda, (starring Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton) in 1993; Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in 1993 (starring John Malkovich); a television mini-series of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood in 1996 and Moby Dick in 1998 (starring Patrick Stewart as Ahab and nominated for 5 primetime Emmy awards).
The Passion Of The Christ (2004), the...
He first won acclaim for his screenplay adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel Wise Blood, cowritten with his brother, Michael. The film, produced in 1979 by Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald and directed by John Huston, starred Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ned Beatty.
Fitzgerald specialized in literary adaptions, among them Zelda, (starring Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton) in 1993; Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in 1993 (starring John Malkovich); a television mini-series of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood in 1996 and Moby Dick in 1998 (starring Patrick Stewart as Ahab and nominated for 5 primetime Emmy awards).
The Passion Of The Christ (2004), the...
- 1/21/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Benedict Fitzgerald, co-screenwriter of “The Passion of the Christ,” died Jan. 17 in Marsala, Sicily, after a long illness, his cousin Nancy Ritter told Variety. He was 74.
Fitzgerald co-wrote 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ” with director and producer Mel Gibson. The biblical epic remains the highest-grossing independent film of all time.
Fitzgerald first received acclaim for his screenplay adaptation of the Flannery O’Connor novel “Wise Blood,” which he co-wrote with his brother Michael. Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald produced the John Huston-directed film, which starred Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty.
“Wise Blood” marked the beginning of Fitzgerald’s many literary adaptations, including 1993’s “Zelda” with Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton, and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” (1993), starring John Malkovich. He wrote the miniseries adaptations of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” (1996) and Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” (1998), starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab. Both series were nominated for several Emmy Awards.
Fitzgerald co-wrote 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ” with director and producer Mel Gibson. The biblical epic remains the highest-grossing independent film of all time.
Fitzgerald first received acclaim for his screenplay adaptation of the Flannery O’Connor novel “Wise Blood,” which he co-wrote with his brother Michael. Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald produced the John Huston-directed film, which starred Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty.
“Wise Blood” marked the beginning of Fitzgerald’s many literary adaptations, including 1993’s “Zelda” with Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton, and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” (1993), starring John Malkovich. He wrote the miniseries adaptations of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” (1996) and Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” (1998), starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab. Both series were nominated for several Emmy Awards.
- 1/21/2024
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix generates more contemporary content than anyone, but they’re dipping into the past to curate the great movies from the ’70s. These are the films that people like myself discovered as kids in the early days of when HBO premiered on cable. Bravo, I say. Here’s the preliminary list.
Alice Doesn’T Live Here Anymore
A widowed singer and single mother starts over as a diner waitress in Arizona, befriending her coworkers and romancing a ruggedly handsome rancher.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Robert Getchell
Producers: Audrey Maas, David Susskind
Key Cast (Alphabetical): Ellen Burstyn, Jodie Foster, Diane Ladd, Alfred Lutter, Harvey Keitel, Kris Kristofferson, Vic Tayback
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Discovery
Initial Release Date: December 9, 1974
At the 47th Academy Awards, Burstyn won Best Actress
Black Belt Jones
High-kicking Black Belt Jones is dispatched to take down a group of Mafia goons trying to muscle in on a downtown karate studio.
Alice Doesn’T Live Here Anymore
A widowed singer and single mother starts over as a diner waitress in Arizona, befriending her coworkers and romancing a ruggedly handsome rancher.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Robert Getchell
Producers: Audrey Maas, David Susskind
Key Cast (Alphabetical): Ellen Burstyn, Jodie Foster, Diane Ladd, Alfred Lutter, Harvey Keitel, Kris Kristofferson, Vic Tayback
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Discovery
Initial Release Date: December 9, 1974
At the 47th Academy Awards, Burstyn won Best Actress
Black Belt Jones
High-kicking Black Belt Jones is dispatched to take down a group of Mafia goons trying to muscle in on a downtown karate studio.
- 1/17/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
1974 was quite a year for cinema; 50 years later, Netflix (of all places) is celebrating the golden jubilee.
In recognition of the anniversary, the streamer on Wednesday launched a new, dedicated content row (and direct URL link) with the first films being honored under its new “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection” banner. Each of the 14 films came to Netflix this month by way of Warner Bros., Paramount, or Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
The 1974 collection includes “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Black Belt Jones,” “Blazing Saddles,” “California Split,” “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” “Death Wish,” “The Gambler,” “The Great Gatsby,” “It’s Alive,” “The Little Prince,” “The Lords of Flatbush,” “The Parallax View,” and “The Street Fighter” (“Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken”).
Netflix doesn’t plan to stop with disco’s heyday. In April, the streaming service will do the same for films from 1984 (turning 40); July will celebrate 1994 movies (turning 30); and in October...
In recognition of the anniversary, the streamer on Wednesday launched a new, dedicated content row (and direct URL link) with the first films being honored under its new “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection” banner. Each of the 14 films came to Netflix this month by way of Warner Bros., Paramount, or Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
The 1974 collection includes “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Black Belt Jones,” “Blazing Saddles,” “California Split,” “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” “Death Wish,” “The Gambler,” “The Great Gatsby,” “It’s Alive,” “The Little Prince,” “The Lords of Flatbush,” “The Parallax View,” and “The Street Fighter” (“Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken”).
Netflix doesn’t plan to stop with disco’s heyday. In April, the streaming service will do the same for films from 1984 (turning 40); July will celebrate 1994 movies (turning 30); and in October...
- 1/17/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: It is only after Eric Roth invites you to sit on his front porch and discuss screenwriting and the thorny process of making great movies that you find yourself saying, wait, you wrote that one too? He’ll tell you you’re sitting in a chair where Nobel Laureates and Pulitzer winners held court — as if sitting with arguably the greatest and most successful living screenwriter isn’t intimidating enough — and there will be the occasional interruption as neighbors or passersby stop by this covered birdhouse looking repository at the edge of his lawn where Roth places books he’s read and admired, to help others revel in his lifelong love of words. They all want to talk about what they read and Roth is in no hurry to send them on their way.
You wonder why a writer, so unparalleled at distilling a massively successful book like Killers of the Flower Moon...
You wonder why a writer, so unparalleled at distilling a massively successful book like Killers of the Flower Moon...
- 1/15/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
All works of IP exploitation are, on some level, legitimized fanfiction. Once divorced from the original author, the line that separates a franchise’s sequel, prequel or reboot from the average post on Wattpad is a great deal of money and the blessing of an estate and/or corporation. But even with this baseline, the AMC limited series “Monsieur Spade” is an especially unabashed act of wish fulfillment through and for a beloved protagonist. The namesake of “Monsieur Spade” is none other than Sam Spade (Clive Owen), the private investigator who headlined the Dashiell Hammett novel turned John Huston film noir “The Maltese Falcon,” plus a handful of Hammett short stories published in the 1930s. For their spin on Spade, series creators Tom Fontana (“Oz”) and Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”) send the sleuth to the south of France, where he spends a few weeks of his not-so-peaceful retirement looking...
- 1/14/2024
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
For a character who is at the center of one full-length story, The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade is as iconic as it gets in the world of detective fiction. Dashiell Hammett’s book, and John Huston’s 1941 movie adaptation with Humphrey Bogart, loom impossibly large over the gumshoe genre, to the point where Spade is just as famous as Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer, who have appeared in far more novels and films over the years.
But the Sam Spade who appears in the new miniseries Monsieur Spade is not...
But the Sam Spade who appears in the new miniseries Monsieur Spade is not...
- 1/13/2024
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
If you’re on any form of social media, you probably know that on January 1, an early incarnation of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain. This prompted the usual memes putting the beloved character in decidedly adult situations and, in just a few months, we’ll be treated to a Mickey Mouse slasher film.
For a different, more pastoral, approach to elevated fan fic — this one conducted with the approval of the Dashiell Hammett Estate, rather than public domain — look to six-episode limited series Monsieur Spade, which will roll out on AMC, AMC+ and Acorn TV.
Hailing from the powerhouse creative duo of Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (Oz) and boasting a likably droll central turn by Clive Owen, Monsieur Spade takes Hammett’s Sam Spade and drops him into a bucolic retirement in the South of France. There, rather than reconfiguring the protagonist for an ironic excursion to the dark side,...
For a different, more pastoral, approach to elevated fan fic — this one conducted with the approval of the Dashiell Hammett Estate, rather than public domain — look to six-episode limited series Monsieur Spade, which will roll out on AMC, AMC+ and Acorn TV.
Hailing from the powerhouse creative duo of Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (Oz) and boasting a likably droll central turn by Clive Owen, Monsieur Spade takes Hammett’s Sam Spade and drops him into a bucolic retirement in the South of France. There, rather than reconfiguring the protagonist for an ironic excursion to the dark side,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Starsky & Hutch" actor David Soul passed away this week at the age of 80, leaving behind a legacy of memorable film and TV roles as well as a successful career as a soft rock musician. Soul's run on the stylish '70s detective series ended in 1979, but the performer continued working well into his golden years, most recently appearing in the 2013 film "Filth."
The man behind Detective Sergeant Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchison isn't the first "Starsky & Hutch" castmate to leave us — Captain Dobey actor Bernie Hamilton passed away in 2008. Two of the main leads of the action-packed cop series are still alive, and have packed their careers with interesting, varied, and popular on-screen projects. Turn on Netflix, and you'll catch actor Paul Michael Glaser in "Grace and Frankie," while you can find Antonio Fargas popping up in the DC TV world on "Black Lightning." Here's everything else these two stars...
The man behind Detective Sergeant Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchison isn't the first "Starsky & Hutch" castmate to leave us — Captain Dobey actor Bernie Hamilton passed away in 2008. Two of the main leads of the action-packed cop series are still alive, and have packed their careers with interesting, varied, and popular on-screen projects. Turn on Netflix, and you'll catch actor Paul Michael Glaser in "Grace and Frankie," while you can find Antonio Fargas popping up in the DC TV world on "Black Lightning." Here's everything else these two stars...
- 1/5/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Alexander Payne (Adapted Screenplay Oscar wins for Sideways with Jim Taylor and The Descendants with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) at JFK airport with Anne-Katrin Titze on the Wc Fields poster in The Holdovers: “I remember that. I had that poster in my room growing up.”
In the second instalment with Alexander Payne, director of the Golden Globe-nominated The Holdovers (screenplay by David Hemingson), starring Dominic Sessa and Golden Globe nominees Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, we start out discussing the Oscar-shortlisted score by Mark Orton after my recommendation of Wurzel-Sepp, an apothecary shop in Munich from 1887. From there we move on to the Trapp Family recordings of The Little Drummer Boy and Silent Night, plus Cat Stevens in the soundtrack; the influence of Marcel Pagnol’s Merlusse, Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel, Robert Donat in Sam Wood’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and...
In the second instalment with Alexander Payne, director of the Golden Globe-nominated The Holdovers (screenplay by David Hemingson), starring Dominic Sessa and Golden Globe nominees Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, we start out discussing the Oscar-shortlisted score by Mark Orton after my recommendation of Wurzel-Sepp, an apothecary shop in Munich from 1887. From there we move on to the Trapp Family recordings of The Little Drummer Boy and Silent Night, plus Cat Stevens in the soundtrack; the influence of Marcel Pagnol’s Merlusse, Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel, Robert Donat in Sam Wood’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and...
- 1/1/2024
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
For the entirety of my twenties and a chunk of my thirties, I knew the inebriated pleasure of debating the most trivial subjects known to humankind via what we used to call the "bar argument." Oh sure, people still knock back beers and fiercely debate the Hegelian messaging of the "Airport" franchise, but there was a time, a glorious time, when an elbow-tipping blowhard could loudly assert as fact that "The White Shadow" was an "All in the Family" spinoff, and no one could pull a rectangular device out of their pocket to authoritatively prove they're utterly full of horse pucky. Short of pulling Norman Jewison out from behind the jukebox for a McLuhan-esque correction, this dolt could double and triple down, and all you could do was yell at them. We've lost so much.
The best bar arguments tended to revolve around song lyrics, but movie quotes ran a very close second.
The best bar arguments tended to revolve around song lyrics, but movie quotes ran a very close second.
- 12/24/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Like most movies, The Invisible Man travelled a long and winding road to the silver screen, and perhaps longer and more winding than most. As biographer James Curtis put it in his book James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters, “The gestation of The Invisible Man was the lengthiest and most convoluted of all of James Whale’s films. It involved four directors, nine writers, six treatments, and ten separate screenplays—all for a film that emerged very much in harmony with the book on which it was based.” It was first suggested as a possible follow-up to Dracula (1931), perhaps as a vehicle for new star Bela Lugosi, but was dropped in favor of Frankenstein (1931) due to the complicated special effects it would require. After Frankenstein was an even bigger success, both director James Whale and star Boris Karloff were immediately attached to The Invisible Man and several...
- 12/21/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Catering directly to my interests, the Criterion Channel’s January lineup boasts two of my favorite things: James Gray and cats. In the former case it’s his first five features (itself a terrible reminder he only released five movies in 20 years); the latter shows felines the respect they deserve, from Kuroneko to The Long Goodbye, Tourneur’s Cat People and Mick Garris’ Sleepwalkers. Meanwhile, Ava Gardner, Bertrand Tavernier, Isabel Sandoval, Ken Russell, Juleen Compton, George Harrison’s HandMade Films, and the Sundance Film Festival get retrospectives.
Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
Back By Popular Demand
The Graduate,...
Restorations of Soviet sci-fi trip Ikarie Xb 1, The Unknown, and The Music of Regret stream, as does the recent Plan 75. January’s Criterion Editions are Inside Llewyn Davis, Farewell Amor, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and (most intriguingly) the long-out-of-print The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blu-rays of which go for hundreds of dollars.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
Back By Popular Demand
The Graduate,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
As December begins, you might be looking forward to spending time with friends and family over the holidays—and in need of some gift-giving inspiration. Look no further than Notebook's Cinephile Gift Guide, the proverbial online Shop Around the Corner (1940).Below is our third annual, lovingly curated guide to the holiday season. It's sure to spread film-themed cheer, and we hope it's thorough enough to surprise all of the film fans in your life.Jump to a category:Books about cinemaBooks by filmmakers and artistsHome videoMusicHome goods, posters, and gamesApparel Books About CINEMAFirst up is UK culture and music critic Ian Penman’s kaleidoscopic, genre-bending offering to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors. The book has drawn comparisons to Charles Baudelaire and Roland Barthes, but is undoubtedly a sui generis response to a singular legacy.On offer this year from Another Gaze Editions is My Cinema by Marguerite Duras, a...
- 12/12/2023
- MUBI
Since 2012, revered filmmaker Martin Scorsese has belonged to a select group of three-time Best Director Golden Globe winners that grew to include six members when Steven Spielberg took last year’s prize for “The Fabelmans.” Over a decade later, the ever-active octogenarian has a strong chance at rising above his fellow triple champs by achieving another directing victory for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” thus following Elia Kazan as the second quadruple honoree in this category’s 81-year history. Since this would be his 10th time competing here, he would also join Spielberg in the rare distinction of having double-digit directing mentions.
Scorsese earned his first Golden Globe Award in 2003 for “Gangs of New York” (on his sixth bid) and was then further lauded for “The Departed” (2007) and “Hugo” (2012). His remaining half dozen directing notices came for his work on “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “The Age of Innocence” (1994), “Casino” (1996), “The Aviator...
Scorsese earned his first Golden Globe Award in 2003 for “Gangs of New York” (on his sixth bid) and was then further lauded for “The Departed” (2007) and “Hugo” (2012). His remaining half dozen directing notices came for his work on “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “The Age of Innocence” (1994), “Casino” (1996), “The Aviator...
- 12/7/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Tom Blyth is set to follow in the footsteps of Gary Cooper, Rock Hudson and George Hamilton to star in Michael Winterbottom’s new adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel A Farewell to Arms.
Fremantle, Winterbottom’s production company Revolution Films and Passenger are joining forces on the production.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Billy the Kid star Blyth will play volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, who is wounded and falls in love with his nurse in Italy during World War One.
Published in 1929, A Farewell To Arms is inspired by Hemingway’s own experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian Army on the Isonzo Front.
Considered one of the greatest war novels of the twentieth century, it established Hemingway as a household name.
The novel has previously been...
Fremantle, Winterbottom’s production company Revolution Films and Passenger are joining forces on the production.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Billy the Kid star Blyth will play volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, who is wounded and falls in love with his nurse in Italy during World War One.
Published in 1929, A Farewell To Arms is inspired by Hemingway’s own experiences as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian Army on the Isonzo Front.
Considered one of the greatest war novels of the twentieth century, it established Hemingway as a household name.
The novel has previously been...
- 12/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Clockwise from left: The Godfather Part II, Bonnie And Clyde, Goodfellas, The Departed (all images courtesy Warner Bros.)Graphic: The A.V. Club
Gangster movies are loaded with inherently alluring qualities: the vicarious thrill of watching an antihero buck the establishment and take what they want with impunity; the glamorous trappings...
Gangster movies are loaded with inherently alluring qualities: the vicarious thrill of watching an antihero buck the establishment and take what they want with impunity; the glamorous trappings...
- 12/6/2023
- by Scott Huver
- avclub.com
Martin Scorsese is famous for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the first feature-length film with all three, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” has become a critical and commercial success. It’s not unusual for a director to find a “favorite” actor and form a successful relationship. In fact, this practice goes back to the beginning of the industry.
In 1912, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith cast 18-year-old Lillian Gish in his short film “An Unseen Enemy,” and the two worked on more than 40 short and feature-length productions over the next decade. One of the most famous scenes from the silent era is in their film “Way Down East,” in which Gish floats unconscious on an ice floe; she had lifelong nerve damage in several fingers as a result of her performance in that scene.
SEEMartin Scorsese movies: All 26 films ranked worst to best
During the Golden Age of Hollywood,...
In 1912, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith cast 18-year-old Lillian Gish in his short film “An Unseen Enemy,” and the two worked on more than 40 short and feature-length productions over the next decade. One of the most famous scenes from the silent era is in their film “Way Down East,” in which Gish floats unconscious on an ice floe; she had lifelong nerve damage in several fingers as a result of her performance in that scene.
SEEMartin Scorsese movies: All 26 films ranked worst to best
During the Golden Age of Hollywood,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Martin Scorsese is famous for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the first feature-length film with all three, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” has become a critical and commercial success. It’s not unusual for a director to find a “favorite” actor and form a successful relationship. In fact, this practice goes back to the beginning of the industry.
In 1912, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith cast 18-year-old Lillian Gish in his short film “An Unseen Enemy,” and the two worked on more than 40 short and feature-length productions over the next decade. One of the most famous scenes from the silent era is in their film “Way Down East,” in which Gish floats unconscious on an ice floe; she had lifelong nerve damage in several fingers as a result of her performance in that scene.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, there were quite a few famous collaborations,...
In 1912, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith cast 18-year-old Lillian Gish in his short film “An Unseen Enemy,” and the two worked on more than 40 short and feature-length productions over the next decade. One of the most famous scenes from the silent era is in their film “Way Down East,” in which Gish floats unconscious on an ice floe; she had lifelong nerve damage in several fingers as a result of her performance in that scene.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, there were quite a few famous collaborations,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
Michel Ciment, the esteemed French film critic, historian, author, radio producer and editor of the influential film magazine Positif, has died. He was 85.
His death was reported Monday by the French radio channel France Inter, the home of his culture program Le Masque et la Plume since 1970.
Ciment was “perhaps the freest and most encyclopedic mind that film criticism has ever produced,” Le Masque et la Plume producer Jérome Garcin in a statement. He made what would be his last appearance on the show in September.
The Paris native also produced Projection privée on France Culture radio from 1990-2016. He was “an immense critic and historian who devoted his entire life to passing on, in words and in writing, his erudition and his passion for the seventh art,” a statement from the channel said.
Ciment joined Positif after sending in a story about the Orson Welles film The Trial in 1963 and would become its editor,...
His death was reported Monday by the French radio channel France Inter, the home of his culture program Le Masque et la Plume since 1970.
Ciment was “perhaps the freest and most encyclopedic mind that film criticism has ever produced,” Le Masque et la Plume producer Jérome Garcin in a statement. He made what would be his last appearance on the show in September.
The Paris native also produced Projection privée on France Culture radio from 1990-2016. He was “an immense critic and historian who devoted his entire life to passing on, in words and in writing, his erudition and his passion for the seventh art,” a statement from the channel said.
Ciment joined Positif after sending in a story about the Orson Welles film The Trial in 1963 and would become its editor,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French critic, historian and author was loyal contributor to Screen’s Cannes jury grid.
Iconic French film critic and historian Michel Ciment has died, his entourage confirmed on Monday evening to French radio station France Inter, home to his world-renowned radio show Le Masque et la Plume since 1970. He was 85.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Ciment devoted his life to cinema and became a pillar of French film criticism and history for more than half a century.
He served as a juror at major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno and received numerous French civic honours including the Legion of Honour,...
Iconic French film critic and historian Michel Ciment has died, his entourage confirmed on Monday evening to French radio station France Inter, home to his world-renowned radio show Le Masque et la Plume since 1970. He was 85.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Ciment devoted his life to cinema and became a pillar of French film criticism and history for more than half a century.
He served as a juror at major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno and received numerous French civic honours including the Legion of Honour,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
French film critic and historian Michel Ciment, the long-time publishing director of film magazine Positif, has died Monday, French media reported. He was 85.
Ciment first started writing for the Lyon-based magazine in 1963, when he contributed a piece about the cinema of Orson Welles.
The magazine was launched in 1952 shortly after Les Cahiers du Cinéma by Bernard Chardère, who also died this year.
In a talk at Paris’s Forum Des Images in 2022, marking Positif’s 70th anniversary, Ciment recounted how he started reading the magazine in the 1950s as a teenager, while hanging around the Le Minotaure bookshop in the Paris quarter of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
“It was an amazing place where you’d bump into other cinephiles like Jean-Claude Romer, who went on to create [the cinema magazine] Midi Minuit Fantastique,” recounted Ciment.
“There were a lot of people from Les Cahiers and Positif… You couldn’t find the cinema revues in kiosks then.
Ciment first started writing for the Lyon-based magazine in 1963, when he contributed a piece about the cinema of Orson Welles.
The magazine was launched in 1952 shortly after Les Cahiers du Cinéma by Bernard Chardère, who also died this year.
In a talk at Paris’s Forum Des Images in 2022, marking Positif’s 70th anniversary, Ciment recounted how he started reading the magazine in the 1950s as a teenager, while hanging around the Le Minotaure bookshop in the Paris quarter of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
“It was an amazing place where you’d bump into other cinephiles like Jean-Claude Romer, who went on to create [the cinema magazine] Midi Minuit Fantastique,” recounted Ciment.
“There were a lot of people from Les Cahiers and Positif… You couldn’t find the cinema revues in kiosks then.
- 11/13/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Besides having a famous last name in Hollywood, Danny Huston has spent decades making a name for himself. The son of actor and director John Huston and actress Zoe Sallis, movie and television is the only world Danny Huston has ever known. Not one to shy away from it, Huston admits making movies (behind or in front of the camera) is what he has considered his family business. His talents and connections have seen him star in some of Hollywood’s biggest-budget films and garnered several accolades. Although much of his acting credits have been in film, Huston has also raked...
- 11/13/2023
- by Onyinye Izundu
- TVovermind.com
American actor Danny Huston comes from a generation of filmmakers and actors. His grandfather, Walter Huston, was an Academy Award-winning Canadian actor and singer, while his father, John Huston, a two-time Academy Award winner, was a filmmaker and actor. Although born in Rome, Italy, on May 14, 1962, the acting world is all Huston has ever known. His mother, actress Zoe Sallis, gave birth to him in Rome because she was filming his father’s directed film, The Bible: In the Beginning… (1966). He’s also the half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston, actor Tony Huston, and uncle to actor Jack Huston. Danny...
- 11/12/2023
- by Onyinye Izundu
- TVovermind.com
James Hamilton has lived an envious life. As staff photographer at Crawdaddy, The New York Herald, Harper’s Bazaar, The Village Voice, and The New York Observer, Hamilton chronicled the faces of New York culture, from Meryl Streep and Liza Minnelli to Jean-Luc Godard and Wes Anderson. One balmy night in 1980, I witnessed Hamilton shooting the iconic photo of Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York,” standing under the Statue of Liberty.
During the pandemic Hamilton began posting his gorgeous black-and-white photographs on his Facebook page on the celebrity’s birthday. He’s now in the habit. “Every day, it seems there’s someone I’ve photographed,” he said. And he owns his own photos. After he saw the art department at Harper’s Bazaar throwing out negatives, he possessively held his work close. He would happily stay up late at night inhaling photo-chemicals...
During the pandemic Hamilton began posting his gorgeous black-and-white photographs on his Facebook page on the celebrity’s birthday. He’s now in the habit. “Every day, it seems there’s someone I’ve photographed,” he said. And he owns his own photos. After he saw the art department at Harper’s Bazaar throwing out negatives, he possessively held his work close. He would happily stay up late at night inhaling photo-chemicals...
- 11/11/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Plot: Young Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny) meets Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) while he’s stationed in Germany and quickly becomes part of his surreal world.
Review: Sofia Coppola‘s Priscilla is an interesting companion to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. While that latter film was a dazzling spectacle that took up head-on into Elvis’s legend, Priscilla takes a much more intimate look. While Elvis’s life was jet set and exciting, what was Priscilla’s life like as she waited at Graceland for him to return? As Coppola’s film expertly shows, her life was often far from exciting – it was downright dull.
While some have blasted the film for torpedoing Elvis’s legend, it takes a pretty balanced, nuanced approach, and the King of Rock n’ Roll emerges as a primarily sympathetic, tragic figure. While the film will be controversial due to how it shows his lightning-quick flashes of...
Review: Sofia Coppola‘s Priscilla is an interesting companion to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. While that latter film was a dazzling spectacle that took up head-on into Elvis’s legend, Priscilla takes a much more intimate look. While Elvis’s life was jet set and exciting, what was Priscilla’s life like as she waited at Graceland for him to return? As Coppola’s film expertly shows, her life was often far from exciting – it was downright dull.
While some have blasted the film for torpedoing Elvis’s legend, it takes a pretty balanced, nuanced approach, and the King of Rock n’ Roll emerges as a primarily sympathetic, tragic figure. While the film will be controversial due to how it shows his lightning-quick flashes of...
- 11/3/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
On the heels of the wonderful 2019 The Two Popes, in which Anthony Hopkins starred as Pope Benedict XVI in an imagined conversation with Jonathan Pryce’s future Pope Francis, Hopkins is once again involved in the same kind of cinematic historical fictional meeting as founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, who is engaged in a private debate with The Chronicles of Narnia author and theologian C.S. Lewis (played by Matthew Goode) on the existence of God. As with The Two Popes, there is no proof whatsoever that any meeting ever took place, but it clearly provides lots of material to wrap your head around. That is exactly what Mark St. Germain did in creating his 2009 play Freud’s Last Session, which was built on the 1967 Harvard lectures of Dr. Armond M. Nicholi Jr in his presentation “The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life.
- 10/28/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Production earmarked for Marbella, Spain, by mid-2024 pending SAG-AFTRA strike resolution.
Passage Pictures led by Uri Singer, has secured rights to bring Peter Viertel’s 1984 novel American Skin to the big screen.
Production has been earmarked for Marbella, Spain, by mid-2024 pending the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Singer has brought on rising Spanish filmmaker and shorts and commercials director Mariano Schoendorff Ares to adapt the screenplay and direct.
American Skin explores the expatriate lifestyle and cultural clashes along the Costa del Sol. The story centres on David Brandt, a handsome Californian who arrives in Marbella hoping to soothe...
Passage Pictures led by Uri Singer, has secured rights to bring Peter Viertel’s 1984 novel American Skin to the big screen.
Production has been earmarked for Marbella, Spain, by mid-2024 pending the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Singer has brought on rising Spanish filmmaker and shorts and commercials director Mariano Schoendorff Ares to adapt the screenplay and direct.
American Skin explores the expatriate lifestyle and cultural clashes along the Costa del Sol. The story centres on David Brandt, a handsome Californian who arrives in Marbella hoping to soothe...
- 10/16/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne shared his passion for film and his thoughts on contemporary American cinema with the audience at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon where he is premiering his eighth feature film, “The Holdovers,” under the French title “Winter Break,” on October 15th.
In a conversation skilfully led and translated by Los Angeles-based French film journalist Didier Allouch, Payne drew laughs from the Lumière crowd when he explained that the secret to making good films was “keeping your budgets low.”
“John Huston approached Luis Buñuel one day and asked him, ‘How is it that you make these wonderful films, like “Viridiana” and “The Exterminating Angel”?’ And Buñuel replied, ‘How much money do you make and how much money do you think I make?’” said Payne with a smile.
While he made no secret of his distaste for Hollywood blockbusters and said it was still possible to make movies like “Sideways,...
In a conversation skilfully led and translated by Los Angeles-based French film journalist Didier Allouch, Payne drew laughs from the Lumière crowd when he explained that the secret to making good films was “keeping your budgets low.”
“John Huston approached Luis Buñuel one day and asked him, ‘How is it that you make these wonderful films, like “Viridiana” and “The Exterminating Angel”?’ And Buñuel replied, ‘How much money do you make and how much money do you think I make?’” said Payne with a smile.
While he made no secret of his distaste for Hollywood blockbusters and said it was still possible to make movies like “Sideways,...
- 10/16/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
I remember hearing Judd Apatow say he cast his daughter, Maude Apatow, in The King of Staten Island because it gave him partial excuse to spend time with her in the middle of an active period of her life where she was often away. I’m going to assume this was basically the entire impetus behind Ethan Hawke and his daughter Maya’s film collaboration Wildcat, as there’s going to be a lot of ‘splainin’ to do––sinking to the level of Marvel’s Moon Knight is no longer Hawke’s greatest crime against the moving image.
Upon opening with a deeply unfunny fake trailer for a hothouse ’60s melodrama about the film’s subject, Flannery O’Connor, my heart sank. Wildcat is a film of one misguided choice after another, the difficulty in articulating the creative process through non-corny means leading Hawke down a path straying from conventional drama,...
Upon opening with a deeply unfunny fake trailer for a hothouse ’60s melodrama about the film’s subject, Flannery O’Connor, my heart sank. Wildcat is a film of one misguided choice after another, the difficulty in articulating the creative process through non-corny means leading Hawke down a path straying from conventional drama,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Ethan Vestby
- The Film Stage
Lights, camera, Oscars.
When you chat with someone about filmmakers and mention Steven Spielberg, even the most oblivious Hollywood consumer knows who you’re talking about. Yet the helmers of the year’s most critically acclaimed and top-grossing movies aren’t typically household names. Just ask your neighbor if they know who Michel Hazanavicius is. No, Spielberg doesn’t have a film in the awards race this year. However, with plenty of multi-hyphenate artists and cinema masters in the mix, more well-known directors are hunting for Oscar glory this season than in almost any in recent memory.
Actors-turned-directors who have been snubbed before will once again bring the A-list power. Those include Bradley Cooper, whose Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” follows 2018’s “A Star Is Born,” and Ben Affleck, whose Nike sports drama “Air” comes after 2012’s “Argo” nabbed best picture but not a nomination for its director.
Read: Variety’s...
When you chat with someone about filmmakers and mention Steven Spielberg, even the most oblivious Hollywood consumer knows who you’re talking about. Yet the helmers of the year’s most critically acclaimed and top-grossing movies aren’t typically household names. Just ask your neighbor if they know who Michel Hazanavicius is. No, Spielberg doesn’t have a film in the awards race this year. However, with plenty of multi-hyphenate artists and cinema masters in the mix, more well-known directors are hunting for Oscar glory this season than in almost any in recent memory.
Actors-turned-directors who have been snubbed before will once again bring the A-list power. Those include Bradley Cooper, whose Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” follows 2018’s “A Star Is Born,” and Ben Affleck, whose Nike sports drama “Air” comes after 2012’s “Argo” nabbed best picture but not a nomination for its director.
Read: Variety’s...
- 9/14/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
AMC Networks has unveiled the teaser trailer for Monsieur Spade, giving fans a first look at Oscar nominee Clive Owen (Closer) as the iconic fictional detective Sam Spade. The detective was introduced in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon released in 1930 and played by Humphrey Bogart in the classic 1941 film directed by John Huston.
AMC’s limited series also features Cara Bossom (Radioactive) as Teresa, Denis Ménochet (Inglorious Basterds) as Chief of Police Patrice Michaud, Louise Bourgoin (The Romanoffs) as Marguerite Devereaux, Chiara Mastroianni (On a Magical Night) as Gabrielle, and Stanley Weber (Outlander) as Jean-Pierre Devereaux. Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game) stars as George Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Zaccaï (Robin Hood) is Philippe Saint Andre, and Rebecca Root (The Queen’s Gambit) is Cynthia Fitzsimmons.
Emmy winners Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (City On A Hill) created the series and serve as writers and executive producers. Frank also directs the six-episode series.
AMC’s limited series also features Cara Bossom (Radioactive) as Teresa, Denis Ménochet (Inglorious Basterds) as Chief of Police Patrice Michaud, Louise Bourgoin (The Romanoffs) as Marguerite Devereaux, Chiara Mastroianni (On a Magical Night) as Gabrielle, and Stanley Weber (Outlander) as Jean-Pierre Devereaux. Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game) stars as George Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Zaccaï (Robin Hood) is Philippe Saint Andre, and Rebecca Root (The Queen’s Gambit) is Cynthia Fitzsimmons.
Emmy winners Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (City On A Hill) created the series and serve as writers and executive producers. Frank also directs the six-episode series.
- 9/8/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
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