The sixth season of the Mubi Podcast, titled “Haunted Homes,” considers how movies about haunted houses let us explore—and often parallel—our relationships with our homes.This five-part series is guest-hosted and written by author, film programmer, podcaster, and horror expert Anna Bogutskaya. Below she introduces this special, haunted season.To listen to the show and subscribe on your preferred podcast app, click here.In 1950, science-fiction author Ray Bradbury wrote: “Nothing ever likes to die—even a room.” Seventy-four years later, I read those words and think of how a house can become haunted. In Bradbury’s story “The Veld,”two parents try to unplug a room that is capable of manifesting into reality whatever their two raucous (read: sociopathic) children imagine. It happens to be lions. The back-and-forth between them about what to do with the room—which is and isn’t a character, because it is implied...
- 10/18/2024
- MUBI
Stephen King knows horror. The bestselling author has been scaring people for more than 50 years now, with the vast majority of his books being turned into memorable horror movies. Because of this, King's thoughts on the genre often get lots of attention. He has an entire non-fiction book about the art of horror, and he often offers up his opinion on horror movies. In a new essay over at Variety, King tackles a loaded subject: the scariest movie ever made. King is smart enough to acknowledge that the concept of something being thought of as the "scariest" is relative. "My conclusion is that the 'scariest' varies according to the viewer's age," King writes. "As a kid of 16, the scariest movie was 'The Haunting' (directed by Robert Wise). As an adult, it was 'The Blair Witch Project,' with that building sense of doom and those truly horrible last 35 seconds.
- 10/9/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Captain James T. Kirk’s “phaser and communicator” prop used during the production of the original Star Trek TV series will be among the items from the show auctioned off at next month’s Infinity Festival.
The auction will precede a screening of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition at the Dolby Vine Screening Room. Producer David C. Fein spearheaded the 4K DolbyVision/Dolby Atmos version of director Robert Wise’s 1979 film and will deliver introductory remarks before the screening.
The event on November 9 will cap off the seventh edition of Infinity Festival, which opens November 6 and offers a blend of programming across technology, entertainment and design. An exhibition featuring 200 Star Trek items will also be open to attendees on November 7 and 8. Deadline is a presenting media sponsor of Infinity Festival.
William Shatner, who played Kirk, recorded a video for Julien’s Auctions, which is handling the...
The auction will precede a screening of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition at the Dolby Vine Screening Room. Producer David C. Fein spearheaded the 4K DolbyVision/Dolby Atmos version of director Robert Wise’s 1979 film and will deliver introductory remarks before the screening.
The event on November 9 will cap off the seventh edition of Infinity Festival, which opens November 6 and offers a blend of programming across technology, entertainment and design. An exhibition featuring 200 Star Trek items will also be open to attendees on November 7 and 8. Deadline is a presenting media sponsor of Infinity Festival.
William Shatner, who played Kirk, recorded a video for Julien’s Auctions, which is handling the...
- 10/9/2024
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
This essay by Stephen King on his favorite horror movie of all time is one of several contributed as part of Variety’s 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time package.
I thought deeply about this question, perhaps more deeply than the subject — my scariest horror movie — deserves… but then, I’ve seen a lot of horror movies, so maybe it’s a valid Q.
My conclusion is that the “scariest” varies according to the viewer’s age. As a kid of 16, the scariest movie was “The Haunting” (directed by Robert Wise). As an adult, it was “The Blair Witch Project,” with that building sense of doom and those truly horrible last 35 seconds. But overall, I’d have to say “Night of the Living Dead,” George A. Romero’s low-budget masterpiece.
I’ll never forget the smarmy older brother doing his bad Boris Karloff imitation — “They’re coming to get you,...
I thought deeply about this question, perhaps more deeply than the subject — my scariest horror movie — deserves… but then, I’ve seen a lot of horror movies, so maybe it’s a valid Q.
My conclusion is that the “scariest” varies according to the viewer’s age. As a kid of 16, the scariest movie was “The Haunting” (directed by Robert Wise). As an adult, it was “The Blair Witch Project,” with that building sense of doom and those truly horrible last 35 seconds. But overall, I’d have to say “Night of the Living Dead,” George A. Romero’s low-budget masterpiece.
I’ll never forget the smarmy older brother doing his bad Boris Karloff imitation — “They’re coming to get you,...
- 10/9/2024
- by Stephen King
- Variety Film + TV
Its place in the Emmy record books already secured after the Creative Arts, Disney/FX’s Shōgun went for a historic sweep, adding four more wins tonight for a staggering total of 18 Emmys in one season, a bench mark that may never be reached again.
That included the Outstanding Drama Series trophy, accepted onstage by series co-creator/executive producer/showrunner Justin Marks and star/producer Hiroyuki Sanada. They were joined by fellow cast members and producers, including executive producer Michaela Clavell whose father, the late James Clavell, wrote the Shōgun book and executive produced the 1980 NBC miniseries adaptation, winning the Outstanding Miniseries Emmy alongside the late Eric Bercovici.
Marks thanked Disney and FX executives for greenlighting “a very expensive subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition.”
“We share this award with our extraordinary cast and crew from Japan and North America,” he added. “Shōgun is a show about translation,...
That included the Outstanding Drama Series trophy, accepted onstage by series co-creator/executive producer/showrunner Justin Marks and star/producer Hiroyuki Sanada. They were joined by fellow cast members and producers, including executive producer Michaela Clavell whose father, the late James Clavell, wrote the Shōgun book and executive produced the 1980 NBC miniseries adaptation, winning the Outstanding Miniseries Emmy alongside the late Eric Bercovici.
Marks thanked Disney and FX executives for greenlighting “a very expensive subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition.”
“We share this award with our extraordinary cast and crew from Japan and North America,” he added. “Shōgun is a show about translation,...
- 9/16/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Although you won’t often hear his name mentioned among auteur theorists, four-time Oscar winner Robert Wise amassed an impressive filmography in his lifetime. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Wise cut his teeth as a film editor, most notably working on Orson Welles‘ landmark film “Citizen Kane” (1941), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He made his directorial debut with “The Curse of the Cat People” (1944), the first of many successful collaborations with low-budget horror producer Val Lewton.
Throughout his career, Wise excelled at a number of genres, including science fiction (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”), film noir (“Odds Against Tomorrow”), horror (“The Haunting”), war (“The Desert Rats”), comedy (“Two for the Seesaw”), and drama (“Executive Suite”). Rather than imposing his own directorial fingerprint on each film, Wise instead tried to adapt his style to best suit the material.
Wise cut his teeth as a film editor, most notably working on Orson Welles‘ landmark film “Citizen Kane” (1941), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He made his directorial debut with “The Curse of the Cat People” (1944), the first of many successful collaborations with low-budget horror producer Val Lewton.
Throughout his career, Wise excelled at a number of genres, including science fiction (“The Day the Earth Stood Still”), film noir (“Odds Against Tomorrow”), horror (“The Haunting”), war (“The Desert Rats”), comedy (“Two for the Seesaw”), and drama (“Executive Suite”). Rather than imposing his own directorial fingerprint on each film, Wise instead tried to adapt his style to best suit the material.
- 9/6/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
[This article was originally published in 2017. It has been updated in August 2024.]
70mm is back! Thanks to Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and Christopher Nolan, one of the oldest and grandest traditions in Hollywood is making a comeback after years of financial setbacks and near-extinction. As Nolan has said many times, shooting in 70mm proved an immersive and more textured experience than any other form of cinema.
Due to the costly nature of film and theaters’ lack of 70mm projectors, it’s been quite a challenge to get to a place where Tarantino and Nolan can make entire features using 65/70mm, but the preservation of film is turning in their favor.
Below, we’ve gathered 20 of the most essential 70mm film releases. From Stanley Kubrick to William Wyler and David Lean, it’s clear shooting in 70mm is mandatory for any epic filmmaker.
With additional editorial contributions from Zack Sharf.
“Oklahoma!” (1955)
Fred Zinnemann’s film adaptation of the 1943 stage musical was the...
70mm is back! Thanks to Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and Christopher Nolan, one of the oldest and grandest traditions in Hollywood is making a comeback after years of financial setbacks and near-extinction. As Nolan has said many times, shooting in 70mm proved an immersive and more textured experience than any other form of cinema.
Due to the costly nature of film and theaters’ lack of 70mm projectors, it’s been quite a challenge to get to a place where Tarantino and Nolan can make entire features using 65/70mm, but the preservation of film is turning in their favor.
Below, we’ve gathered 20 of the most essential 70mm film releases. From Stanley Kubrick to William Wyler and David Lean, it’s clear shooting in 70mm is mandatory for any epic filmmaker.
With additional editorial contributions from Zack Sharf.
“Oklahoma!” (1955)
Fred Zinnemann’s film adaptation of the 1943 stage musical was the...
- 8/29/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has unveiled a killer lineup of programming for fall 2024, including in-person appearances from Rita Moreno, Sophia Loren, Werner Herzog and more, as well as exciting new screening events and a special free admission day on September 29 for the museum’s third anniversary.
Herzog will present a new 4K restoration of the documentary “Burden of Dreams,” about the making of his masterpiece “Fitzcarraldo,” on September 7. Moreno will appear in conversation October 17, followed by a screening of a 70mm print of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ “West Side Story.” Loren will appear November 7 and 8 as part of the screening series Sophia Loren: La Diva di Napoli (running November 7 to 30), which celebrates her 90th birthday.
Also, on September 14, the Museum will present “American Fiction”: A Conversation with Cord Jefferson and Dr. Patricia Hill Collins, followed by a screening of the Oscar-winning movie. For Halloween, there will be Monster Mash,...
Herzog will present a new 4K restoration of the documentary “Burden of Dreams,” about the making of his masterpiece “Fitzcarraldo,” on September 7. Moreno will appear in conversation October 17, followed by a screening of a 70mm print of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ “West Side Story.” Loren will appear November 7 and 8 as part of the screening series Sophia Loren: La Diva di Napoli (running November 7 to 30), which celebrates her 90th birthday.
Also, on September 14, the Museum will present “American Fiction”: A Conversation with Cord Jefferson and Dr. Patricia Hill Collins, followed by a screening of the Oscar-winning movie. For Halloween, there will be Monster Mash,...
- 8/13/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Bobby Banas, who played Jets member Joyboy in 1961’s West Side Story, appeared in other film musicals and had a long career as a choreographer, died Monday. He was 90.
His official Instagram account posted the news but did not provide other details. “Fly on, Joyboy,” it read in part. “I know the dance party up above is going to be amazing.”
Born on September 22, 1933, in New York City, Banas performed as Kangaroo in the original 1954 Broadway production of Peter Pan before landing dancer roles in such film musicals as The King and I and Carousel and the early rock ‘n’ roll pic Rock Around the Clock, all in 1956. He went on to work in The Girl Most Likely, Damn Yankees, Li’l Abner and a TV production of Annie Get Your Gun later that decade.
His most famous role would come in the Best Picture Oscar-winning musical West Side Story, playing the Jets’ Joyboy.
His official Instagram account posted the news but did not provide other details. “Fly on, Joyboy,” it read in part. “I know the dance party up above is going to be amazing.”
Born on September 22, 1933, in New York City, Banas performed as Kangaroo in the original 1954 Broadway production of Peter Pan before landing dancer roles in such film musicals as The King and I and Carousel and the early rock ‘n’ roll pic Rock Around the Clock, all in 1956. He went on to work in The Girl Most Likely, Damn Yankees, Li’l Abner and a TV production of Annie Get Your Gun later that decade.
His most famous role would come in the Best Picture Oscar-winning musical West Side Story, playing the Jets’ Joyboy.
- 7/30/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Bobby Banas, the actor, dancer and choreographer who played Joyboy in West Side Story and worked in such other famed movie musicals as Bye Bye Birdie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Mary Poppins, has died. He was 90.
Banas died Monday of pneumonia at an assisted living facility in Encino, his son, director and photographer Eden Tyler Banas, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Banas received newfound attention when a clip of him leading five others in a dance number to the song “The Nitty Gritty” on a 1964 episode of CBS’ The Judy Garland Show found its way on YouTube. It has since been viewed many millions of times.
Banas’ Joyboy was a member of the Jets in West Side Story (1959). Later, the performer was bowled over by a kiss from Marilyn Monroe in Let’s Make Love (1960), played a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins (1964) and danced in a nightclub with Ann-Margret in Made in Paris...
Banas died Monday of pneumonia at an assisted living facility in Encino, his son, director and photographer Eden Tyler Banas, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Banas received newfound attention when a clip of him leading five others in a dance number to the song “The Nitty Gritty” on a 1964 episode of CBS’ The Judy Garland Show found its way on YouTube. It has since been viewed many millions of times.
Banas’ Joyboy was a member of the Jets in West Side Story (1959). Later, the performer was bowled over by a kiss from Marilyn Monroe in Let’s Make Love (1960), played a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins (1964) and danced in a nightclub with Ann-Margret in Made in Paris...
- 7/30/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Genre filmmaker Mike Flanagan has brought feature film adaptations of the Stephen King novels Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep to the screen, and recently wrapped up post-production on a feature adaptation of the King short story The Life of Chuck. His production company Intrepid Pictures is currently developing a TV series adaptation of King’s epic The Dark Tower saga for Amazon’s Prime Video. For a while, he was also set to make a movie based on King’s novel Revival, but that fell apart. But one King story he wanted to bring to the screen and never got the chance to work on was the short story 1408, which served as the basis for a 2007 film that was directed by Mikael Håfström from a screenplay by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karaszewski, and starred John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. Flanagan missed out on 1408, but...
- 7/30/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
If your formula for a tragic intergenerational family drama turned kaleidoscopic ghost story ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So says horror heavyweight Mike Flanagan, who got candid when accepting the Cheval Noir career award at the opening weekend of Fantasia Fest (July 18 to August 4) in Montreal.
In a Q&a with Fangoria editor Michael Gingold, Flanagan was asked about the key to adapting the great literary works of horror authors like Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Edgar Allan Poe. The multi-hyphenate storyteller, who made the leap from writer/director at Intrepid Pictures to showrunner at Netflix in 2018 (but has since moved to an overall deal at Amazon), pointed out the structural similarities between his beloved indie features and his most successful prestige streaming projects.
“‘The Haunting of Hill House’ was an interesting case because that was brought to me,” Flanagan explained of his early meetings with Amlin Publishing,...
In a Q&a with Fangoria editor Michael Gingold, Flanagan was asked about the key to adapting the great literary works of horror authors like Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Edgar Allan Poe. The multi-hyphenate storyteller, who made the leap from writer/director at Intrepid Pictures to showrunner at Netflix in 2018 (but has since moved to an overall deal at Amazon), pointed out the structural similarities between his beloved indie features and his most successful prestige streaming projects.
“‘The Haunting of Hill House’ was an interesting case because that was brought to me,” Flanagan explained of his early meetings with Amlin Publishing,...
- 7/26/2024
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
In a way, you can thank Orson Welles for "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music." Over 20 years before he directed either of those pictures, Robert Wise got his start as a film music and sound editor at Rko Pictures. He gradually moved on to editing films themselves, which led to his collaborations with Welles on "Citizen Kane" and "The Magnificent Ambersons." You can see a lot of Welles' influence in Wise's later output as a director, particularly his inclination to shoot with long depth of field and precise use of sound. Both of these were essential to Wise's musicals, which snagged Oscars for both Best Director and Best Picture upon their release in 1961 and 1965, respectively.
Beyond that, though, "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music" couldn't be less alike. "West Side Story" is an impassioned tale of warring New York street gangs and star-crossed lovers fueled...
Beyond that, though, "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music" couldn't be less alike. "West Side Story" is an impassioned tale of warring New York street gangs and star-crossed lovers fueled...
- 7/22/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
A pair of moody horror milestones from producer Val Lewton, I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim are being paired up for a new release from The Criterion Collection.
The double feature is getting a 4K Uhd + Blu-ray combo edition as well as a Blu-ray edition and a DVD edition, with the release date for all three versions set for October 8, 2024.
Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread.
As head of Rko’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease.
Suffused with ritual, mysticism,...
The double feature is getting a 4K Uhd + Blu-ray combo edition as well as a Blu-ray edition and a DVD edition, with the release date for all three versions set for October 8, 2024.
Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread.
As head of Rko’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease.
Suffused with ritual, mysticism,...
- 7/15/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Actor Leonard Nimoy was known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek. The actor played the role for three seasons in the show and even reprised his role for the original films featuring the same cast. He also had a cameo as Elder Spock in J.J. Abrams’ reboot Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness.
As a filmmaker, Nimoy is known for helming the classic Three Men and a Baby. However, he made his debut with the third Star Trek film The Search for Spock. While the actor’s new position made it awkward for the rest of the cast, Nimoy also reportedly respectfully insulted the directors of the first two films while pitching himself for the job.
Leonard Nimoy Proved Why He Was Perfect To Direct A Star Trek Film Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek | Credits: Paramount Pictures
The Star Trek franchise gained a new...
As a filmmaker, Nimoy is known for helming the classic Three Men and a Baby. However, he made his debut with the third Star Trek film The Search for Spock. While the actor’s new position made it awkward for the rest of the cast, Nimoy also reportedly respectfully insulted the directors of the first two films while pitching himself for the job.
Leonard Nimoy Proved Why He Was Perfect To Direct A Star Trek Film Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek | Credits: Paramount Pictures
The Star Trek franchise gained a new...
- 7/13/2024
- by Nishanth A
- FandomWire
France’s Deauville American Film Festival has announced a retrospective gathering 50 U.S. features that have challenged perceptions of the world to mark its 50th anniversary.
The selection ranges from D. W. Griffith’s 1916 silent epic Intolerance to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and also includes Ida Lupino’s groundbreaking 1950 rape drama Outrage as well as Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. (see full list below)
“Cinema has always made us dream, travel, desire, fantasize, laugh, cry. But how many films have been able to shake up our certainties, question our beliefs, question our prejudices and put our own views into perspective?,” said the festival.
“The Deauville American Film Festival wanted to highlight a selection of 50 films that have changed the way we look at the world,” it continued.
Launched in 1975, the festival unfolding in the swanky Normandy beach resort of Deauville, annually fetes Hollywood...
The selection ranges from D. W. Griffith’s 1916 silent epic Intolerance to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and also includes Ida Lupino’s groundbreaking 1950 rape drama Outrage as well as Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. (see full list below)
“Cinema has always made us dream, travel, desire, fantasize, laugh, cry. But how many films have been able to shake up our certainties, question our beliefs, question our prejudices and put our own views into perspective?,” said the festival.
“The Deauville American Film Festival wanted to highlight a selection of 50 films that have changed the way we look at the world,” it continued.
Launched in 1975, the festival unfolding in the swanky Normandy beach resort of Deauville, annually fetes Hollywood...
- 7/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
"Star Trek" fans are a notoriously finicky and aggressively opinionated lot, but I don't think it's terribly controversial to suggest that, of the six films featuring "The Original Series" cast, the majority of Trekkers hold the two directed by Nicholas Meyer, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," to be the best of the bunch.
Made for $32 million less than Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Meyer, who'd never seen a single episode of the show, got the franchise's big-screen iteration back on track by dispensing with the previous film's occasionally draggy reverence. Though he inherited the notion of calling back to Tos' "Space Seed" episode, Meyer placed his stamp on the film by imbuing the tale with evocative literary allusions to Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" and Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities." It's a tightly structured yarn that managed...
Made for $32 million less than Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Meyer, who'd never seen a single episode of the show, got the franchise's big-screen iteration back on track by dispensing with the previous film's occasionally draggy reverence. Though he inherited the notion of calling back to Tos' "Space Seed" episode, Meyer placed his stamp on the film by imbuing the tale with evocative literary allusions to Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" and Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities." It's a tightly structured yarn that managed...
- 7/9/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Tony Mordente, who made his mark on Broadway as a dancer and choreographer, played the hot-headed Jet named Action in the 1961 film West Side Story and later segued into a long and busy career as a director of such TV series as Family Ties, Walker Texas Ranger and 7th Heaven, died June 11 in Henderson, Nevada, following a brief illness. He was 88.
His death was announced by his family, including daughter Lisa, whom he shared with his first wife, the late Chita Rivera.
Born December 3, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, Mordente began dancing at the age of 13, and trained at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts and American Ballet Theater School, which led to the launch of his Broadway career as Lonesome Polecat in 1956’s Lil’ Abner.
Related: Michael Callan Dies: ‘Cat Ballou’ Star, Riff In Original ‘West Side Story’ On Broadway Was 86
Tony Mordente in 2005
His next stage...
His death was announced by his family, including daughter Lisa, whom he shared with his first wife, the late Chita Rivera.
Born December 3, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, Mordente began dancing at the age of 13, and trained at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts and American Ballet Theater School, which led to the launch of his Broadway career as Lonesome Polecat in 1956’s Lil’ Abner.
Related: Michael Callan Dies: ‘Cat Ballou’ Star, Riff In Original ‘West Side Story’ On Broadway Was 86
Tony Mordente in 2005
His next stage...
- 6/14/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Armando Silvestre, a busy actor in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema who appeared with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, with Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun and with Burt Lancaster in The Scalphunters, has died. He was 98.
Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.
The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).
He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.
Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.
Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.
The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).
He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.
Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.
- 6/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Throughout the 1950s, big-budget musicals were de rigueur for Hollywood, and there was a sudden glut of epics that sported gigantic budgets, recognizable stars, and no small amount of studio hype. Such films were exhibited as touring roadshow productions, which was a great way for films to make fistfuls of cash. Roadshow epics were also, it should be noted, a concerted ploy by studios to distract audiences from the rising threat of television. Studios felt the need to invest a lot of money into musicals and epics, hoping the massive productions could draw people into theaters and keep the industry afloat.
One might logically predict, however, that Hollywood tried to ride the trend of epics for a little longer than was healthy, and foolish overspending eventually became common. The age of the "roadshow epic" pretty much came to a close with the release of the notorious bomb "Cleopatra" in 1963.
But then,...
One might logically predict, however, that Hollywood tried to ride the trend of epics for a little longer than was healthy, and foolish overspending eventually became common. The age of the "roadshow epic" pretty much came to a close with the release of the notorious bomb "Cleopatra" in 1963.
But then,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Alien didn’t just spring fully formed out of the heads of director Ridley Scott and writers Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Walter Hill, and David Giler. Its combination of “monster on the loose” and “haunted house in space” scenario was perhaps the ultimate distillation of a long line of sci-fi and horror pictures that had come before it, from quick B-movie cheapies to some of the genre’s most elegant offerings. What Alien did under the visionary hand of its director, however, was meld all those influences together in a way that transcended the schlockier elements of the film’s influences and elevated the more artistic and meaningful ones. The result wasn’t just a monster movie, but a psychosexual nightmare with Lovecraftian overtones and a sense of existential dread.
It was also a film that impacted countless others in the 45 years since its release (it came out in May...
It was also a film that impacted countless others in the 45 years since its release (it came out in May...
- 5/29/2024
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
At the beginning of Robert Wise's 1951 sci-fi classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a flaying saucer lands in Washington, D.C. and a stern, masked alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) emerges. He announces to the gathered military and curious humans that he comes in peace, and even has a gift for the people of Earth. He extracts a small, palm-sized tube and flicks it open, revealing multiple small antennae. The flicking device, however, spooks one of the nearby military men, and he fires off a shot, injuring Klaatu's hand. He falls in pain.
Almost instantly, as if sensing Klaatu's panic, an enormous eight-foot humanoid robot emerges from the flying saucer. It is silvery and featureless, sporting a mysterious visor across its face. This is Gort. Gort steps out onto the ground, and its visor lifts, revealing a glowing power source. A laser beam emerges from Gort's head, striking all the Army's weapons.
Almost instantly, as if sensing Klaatu's panic, an enormous eight-foot humanoid robot emerges from the flying saucer. It is silvery and featureless, sporting a mysterious visor across its face. This is Gort. Gort steps out onto the ground, and its visor lifts, revealing a glowing power source. A laser beam emerges from Gort's head, striking all the Army's weapons.
- 5/20/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Note: This article discusses sexual misconduct and abuse.
As much as I roll my eyes at Joe Russo blaming Marvel's pandemic-era box office woes on the children, he's right about one thing: Hollywood, like the world at large, is at a crossroads at the time of this writing. Superhero films, which have been the bread and butter of the industry for most of the 21st century, are no longer a reliable draw. We also find ourselves in a curious place where franchise fatigue seems to be settling in, yet it remains challenging for anything that isn't based on an IP to find financial success. At the same time, the growing popularity of smaller and scrappier fare from studios like A24 could point to a way forward.
It's a lot like the 1960s, when you think about it. By the end of that decade, the American New Wave was in full swing.
As much as I roll my eyes at Joe Russo blaming Marvel's pandemic-era box office woes on the children, he's right about one thing: Hollywood, like the world at large, is at a crossroads at the time of this writing. Superhero films, which have been the bread and butter of the industry for most of the 21st century, are no longer a reliable draw. We also find ourselves in a curious place where franchise fatigue seems to be settling in, yet it remains challenging for anything that isn't based on an IP to find financial success. At the same time, the growing popularity of smaller and scrappier fare from studios like A24 could point to a way forward.
It's a lot like the 1960s, when you think about it. By the end of that decade, the American New Wave was in full swing.
- 5/17/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
For as long as “teenager” has been a demographic, there have been stories about teens breaking free from the status quo. While a lot of the modern great teen rebellion media is confined to the world of TV — where shows like “Euphoria” attract constant buzz — the archetypal troubled teen story remains 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause.” Starring James Dean in unquestionably his defining role, a rebellious teen struggling with his demons in L.A., Nicholas Ray’s film spoke to young people at the time with its story of high schoolers struggling with, and going against, the social pressures that bring them down. Over the years it became a touchstone because its themes and its honesty transcends generations.
As the teen film has evolved and morphed as a genre, there’s always been room for stories of iconoclastic youth who don’t fit in with the status quo. Oftentimes, these...
As the teen film has evolved and morphed as a genre, there’s always been room for stories of iconoclastic youth who don’t fit in with the status quo. Oftentimes, these...
- 4/23/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
John Flynn’s Rolling Thunder is a lean, mean revenge thriller that could have only been made in the 1970s. It’s 1973, to be exact, and Major Charles Rane (William Devane) has recently returned to San Antonio after several years in a Viet Cong prison camp. Greeted with a hero’s welcome, Rane has little use for his neighbors’ praise, which he appears to regard (correctly) as an almost poignantly inadequate expression of collective survivor’s guilt.
Rane, along with his friend and fellow veteran Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), inhabits the film with a calm pragmatism that might be disconcerting for viewers accustomed to cinema’s more overheated depictions of soldiers coming home. The men don’t appear to resent the friends and family who’re blessedly ignorant of the atrocities they experienced abroad, but the soldiers no longer possess the facilities necessary to uphold basic social conventions such...
Rane, along with his friend and fellow veteran Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones), inhabits the film with a calm pragmatism that might be disconcerting for viewers accustomed to cinema’s more overheated depictions of soldiers coming home. The men don’t appear to resent the friends and family who’re blessedly ignorant of the atrocities they experienced abroad, but the soldiers no longer possess the facilities necessary to uphold basic social conventions such...
- 4/23/2024
- by Chuck Bowen
- Slant Magazine
Remakes are always a tricky proposition. Some of the greats both in the horror genre and elsewhere are actually remakes, whether it’s a loose one or not. Be it The Magnificent Seven coming from Seven Samurai or The Thing being birthed into imitation dog from the Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks original. I talk about The Thing A Lot but obviously it’s for a reason. You could also throw The Fly in that same category too while we are here. Those are some of the examples of the good but unfortunately, things can go downhill and fast. You have harmless ones like the Friday the 13th remake or Texas Chainsaw, the annoyingly unnecessary like Halloween and Amityville Horror, or the egregiously awful like The Fog and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Like them or loathe them, or in our case both, they are here to stay, and each...
- 4/23/2024
- by Andrew Hatfield
- JoBlo.com
On September 15, 1965, Irwin Allen whisked television viewers out of their living rooms on a journey to the outer reaches of space, where the Robinson family finds themselves marooned on a strange, not-entirely-hospitable planet thanks to the sabotage of their chief medical officer. For a nation dreaming of a seemingly impossible moon landing, "Lost in Space" was both wish fulfillment and cautionary tale; a part of us was enthralled by the notion of exploring the cosmos, but we were also terrified by the thought of aimlessly hurtling through a universe with no known end and no direction home.
Allen's series didn't dwell much on the more frightening aspects of the Robinsons' predicament. Unlike Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" (which would debut a year later), Allen employed a fairly rigid formula that found the Robinsons and the hunky Major Don West (Mark Goddard) having to outwit the generally inept scheming of Dr.
Allen's series didn't dwell much on the more frightening aspects of the Robinsons' predicament. Unlike Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" (which would debut a year later), Allen employed a fairly rigid formula that found the Robinsons and the hunky Major Don West (Mark Goddard) having to outwit the generally inept scheming of Dr.
- 4/22/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Steve McQueen was the Oscar-nominated performer who helped define the meaning of “cool” in just a handful of movies before his untimely death in 1980 at the age of 50. But how many of those titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1930, McQueen first came to the attentions of movie audiences with his leading role in the sci-fi B-movie classic “The Blob” (1958). He quickly made a name for himself as an action star thanks to a series of hits through the 1960s and early 1970s, including “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), “The Great Escape” (1963), “Bullitt” (1968), “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), “The Getaway” (1972), and “The Towering Inferno” (1974). Known as “The Kind of Cool,” his onscreen persona as a reluctant antihero made him a favorite of both men who wanted to be him and women who wanted to be with him.
His sole Oscar...
Born in 1930, McQueen first came to the attentions of movie audiences with his leading role in the sci-fi B-movie classic “The Blob” (1958). He quickly made a name for himself as an action star thanks to a series of hits through the 1960s and early 1970s, including “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), “The Great Escape” (1963), “Bullitt” (1968), “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), “The Getaway” (1972), and “The Towering Inferno” (1974). Known as “The Kind of Cool,” his onscreen persona as a reluctant antihero made him a favorite of both men who wanted to be him and women who wanted to be with him.
His sole Oscar...
- 3/15/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
When Gene Roddenberry began developing the screenplay for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1975, expectations for how a science fiction film could look and feel were rapidly shifting. "2001: A Space Odyssey" offered moviegoers a 70mm trip to outer space, while "The Omega Man," "Soylent Green," and the "Planet of the Apes" series fed off the sociopolitical tumult of the times to thrust audiences into dystopian futures of our own foolish making.
Where did a show that was, at its core, a dream of racially and ethnically inclusive space exploration fit in an era of consciousness-raising spectacle and pessimistic earthbound forecasting? Though the series had failed to enthrall a sizable enough viewership to survive more than three seasons during its initial run on NBC in the late 1960s, "Star Trek" had become popular in syndication with 1970s couch potatoes. There was clearly a hunger for more, and there weren't any...
Where did a show that was, at its core, a dream of racially and ethnically inclusive space exploration fit in an era of consciousness-raising spectacle and pessimistic earthbound forecasting? Though the series had failed to enthrall a sizable enough viewership to survive more than three seasons during its initial run on NBC in the late 1960s, "Star Trek" had become popular in syndication with 1970s couch potatoes. There was clearly a hunger for more, and there weren't any...
- 3/3/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
In the late Spring of 1979, Paramount Pictures' production of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was in big trouble. With a looming release date of December 7 of that year, the film was still struggling to be completed, with the bulk of its visual effects work yet to be even attempted, let alone finished.
In retrospect, given the movie's production history, this was an inevitable problem. Ever since the original "Star Trek" series was cancelled in the summer of 1969, the franchise had experienced a number of stops and starts when it came to being revived. Around the mid-'70s, creator Gene Roddenberry had seemingly set up a script and a production for the show's leap to the big screen, only for Paramount to pivot and seek to turn that work into a proposed reboot of the series back on television, to be known as "Star Trek: Phase II." That show was literal...
In retrospect, given the movie's production history, this was an inevitable problem. Ever since the original "Star Trek" series was cancelled in the summer of 1969, the franchise had experienced a number of stops and starts when it came to being revived. Around the mid-'70s, creator Gene Roddenberry had seemingly set up a script and a production for the show's leap to the big screen, only for Paramount to pivot and seek to turn that work into a proposed reboot of the series back on television, to be known as "Star Trek: Phase II." That show was literal...
- 2/25/2024
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Robert Wise's 1965 musical "The Sound of Music" is, when adjusted for inflation, the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time. In 2024 dollars, "The Sound of Music" made $2.89 billion internationally, which is slightly more than "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and slightly less than "Avengers: Endgame." The only additional films above it in terms of earnings are "Star Wars," "Titanic," "Avatar," and "Gone with the Wind." Something about Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical captured the popular imagination, and the world really, really needed to see the kindly, musical nun Maria (Julie Andrews) raise a gaggle of Von Trapp children in Salzburg in 1938.
The film's famous opening shot was an extensive helicopter view of the hills of Austria, depicted as verdant and placid, a place ideal for swinging one's arms around and belting out the film's title song. The camera, still poised from a helicopter, settles on Andrews, way out in the middle of a grassy plateau,...
The film's famous opening shot was an extensive helicopter view of the hills of Austria, depicted as verdant and placid, a place ideal for swinging one's arms around and belting out the film's title song. The camera, still poised from a helicopter, settles on Andrews, way out in the middle of a grassy plateau,...
- 2/25/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Actors do not get to pick the roles that make them stars. They might have an inkling in certain cases that a part has the potential to catapult them off the B-list (look no further than Humphrey Bogart convincing George Raft to surrender the lead in Raoul Walsh's 1941 gangster classic "High Sierra"), but, ultimately, the public chooses. And this can be the source of lifelong agony for actors who envisioned entirely different careers for themselves.
Take Christopher Plummer. The great Canadian actor worked steadily in theater, film, and television for over seven decades. He was equally at home playing Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway or hamming it up as a paganistic reverend in Tom Mankiewicz's irredeemably silly "Dragnet." He won an Oscar, two Tonys, and two Primetime Emmys, and seemed to be having the time of his life even in the worst of movies (and they don't get...
Take Christopher Plummer. The great Canadian actor worked steadily in theater, film, and television for over seven decades. He was equally at home playing Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway or hamming it up as a paganistic reverend in Tom Mankiewicz's irredeemably silly "Dragnet." He won an Oscar, two Tonys, and two Primetime Emmys, and seemed to be having the time of his life even in the worst of movies (and they don't get...
- 2/24/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
On February 7, 2022, special effect pioneer Douglas Trumbull died at the age of 79. He left behind a massive and impressive legacy of cinematic visuals that might be some of the best in the history of the medium. Trumbull worked on the effects for "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and "Blade Runner." Trumbull was also the inventor of a filming process called Showscan, which involved shooting 70mm film at 60 frames per second. Showscan was meant to increase the visual fidelity of film by a massive margin. Modern-day 8K cameras are close to the visual fidelity of 70mm film, and most movies, despite tinkering by Peter Jackson and Ang Lee, still run at 24 frames per second.
Trumbull's work on Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" might be the most impressive gig of his career merely because of the circumstances under which he worked. The story goes...
Trumbull's work on Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" might be the most impressive gig of his career merely because of the circumstances under which he worked. The story goes...
- 2/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow came along at the tail end of film noir’s steady decline in popularity in the 1950s and just before the civil rights movement reached its peak in the ’60s. The quintessential male icons of these two distinct eras clash in the film through the extremely confrontational yet mutually beneficial collaboration between a virulently racist ex-con, Earle (Robert Ryan), and a slick, Black jazz musician, Johnny (Harry Belaafonte).
The unlikely pair are brought together by a disgraced retired cop, Burke (Ed Begley), who caught wind of a robbery that’s a sure thing. If something sounds too good to be true in a noir, it always is, but the weaselly Earle’s too macho to let his doting wife, Lorry (Shelley Winters), continue being the breadwinner. Meanwhile, Johnny’s gambling debts have caused him to be estranged from his wife, Ruth (Kim Hamilton), as...
The unlikely pair are brought together by a disgraced retired cop, Burke (Ed Begley), who caught wind of a robbery that’s a sure thing. If something sounds too good to be true in a noir, it always is, but the weaselly Earle’s too macho to let his doting wife, Lorry (Shelley Winters), continue being the breadwinner. Meanwhile, Johnny’s gambling debts have caused him to be estranged from his wife, Ruth (Kim Hamilton), as...
- 2/1/2024
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Most Trekkies will be able to tell you that Robert Wise's 1979 film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" wasn't as big a success as Paramount had hoped. The film is famously slow-moving, aiming for cosmic grandeur and hefty evolutionary themes over the then-popular whizzbang action of "Star Wars." "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry oversaw the production of "Motion Picture," and the overall tepid response left him in Paramount's bad graces. This was in addition to multiple delays in filming, the production going over budget, and those common studio spats so often classified as "creative differences." According to William Shatner (as he wrote in his autobiography "Star Trek Movie Memories"), Roddenberry was essentially fired from the production of any potential sequel for "Motion Picture" as a result of all the drama, and the Great Bird of the Galaxy was given the faraway and somewhat demeaning title of "executive consultant" on any future productions.
- 1/28/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" is not everyone's favorite movie in the franchise, but it is an important one. Not only did it revive Spock after the events of the much-beloved "Wrath of Khan," but it also was an important first as Leonard Nimoy stepped behind the camera to direct the film as well. Before that, Nimoy had only directed select episodes of TV shows like "Night Gallery." But this was his feature directorial debut, and fittingly, it was within the franchise that made him famous. However, it did create a bit of awkward tension with his friend and co-star, William Shatner, who had starred as Captain Kirk since the beginning of the original series.
Nimoy and Shatner had worked together for nearly 20 years by the time the 1984 film rolled around. But with Nimoy behind the camera, the power dynamic was about to change in a meaningful way.
Nimoy and Shatner had worked together for nearly 20 years by the time the 1984 film rolled around. But with Nimoy behind the camera, the power dynamic was about to change in a meaningful way.
- 1/21/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
by Chad Kennerk
Considered the first film noir to feature a leading black protagonist, Odds Against Tomorrow is a vital entry in the noir canon. Directed by legend Robert Wise and produced by star Harry Belafonte’s HarBel Productions, the gritty look at racial tension is also one of cinema’s most important films about prejudice. Created amidst growing disquiet in America, the film heralds the explosive events to come at the dawn of the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.
The screenplay was based on the novel by William P. McGivern (The Big Heat) and secretly written by Abraham Polonsky, who penned the screenplays for films such as Body and Soul and Force of Evil. Polonsky had been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, so Belafonte approached black novelist and friend John O. Killens to serve as the credited screenwriter. It would take until...
by Chad Kennerk
Considered the first film noir to feature a leading black protagonist, Odds Against Tomorrow is a vital entry in the noir canon. Directed by legend Robert Wise and produced by star Harry Belafonte’s HarBel Productions, the gritty look at racial tension is also one of cinema’s most important films about prejudice. Created amidst growing disquiet in America, the film heralds the explosive events to come at the dawn of the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.
The screenplay was based on the novel by William P. McGivern (The Big Heat) and secretly written by Abraham Polonsky, who penned the screenplays for films such as Body and Soul and Force of Evil. Polonsky had been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, so Belafonte approached black novelist and friend John O. Killens to serve as the credited screenwriter. It would take until...
- 1/20/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
Peter Berkos, the Universal Pictures sound effects maestro and champion of sound editors everywhere who shared a special achievement Oscar for his work on the Robert Wise-directed disaster epic The Hindenburg, has died. He was 101.
Berkos died Tuesday in Rancho Bernardo, California, his friend Brae Wyckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.
While president of the Motion Picture Sound Editors from 1963-66, Berkos began a successful campaign for his colleagues to gain full membership into the film and television academies and to receive credit onscreen and off for their work.
Berkos himself was uncredited for the first 20 years of his career until Car Wash (1976), and the Oscars would eventually revive its dormant competitive sound effects category from 1983 onward.
Across four decades, he worked for Universal on such films as Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958), four features directed by George Roy Hill — Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), the Oscar best picture winner The Sting...
Berkos died Tuesday in Rancho Bernardo, California, his friend Brae Wyckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.
While president of the Motion Picture Sound Editors from 1963-66, Berkos began a successful campaign for his colleagues to gain full membership into the film and television academies and to receive credit onscreen and off for their work.
Berkos himself was uncredited for the first 20 years of his career until Car Wash (1976), and the Oscars would eventually revive its dormant competitive sound effects category from 1983 onward.
Across four decades, he worked for Universal on such films as Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958), four features directed by George Roy Hill — Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), the Oscar best picture winner The Sting...
- 1/3/2024
- by Rhett Bartlett
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's pretty well known among Trekkies that Robert Wise's 1979 feature film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" came about after the proposed 1977 TV series "Star Trek: Phase II" never quite made it off the ground. "Phase II" was meant to be the initial "Star Trek" spinoff series, but various behind-the-scenes decisions eventually saw the project mutating to fit the big screen. "Phase II" characters were changed to be part of "The Motion Picture," and several ideas for "Phase II" scripts made their way into future episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which debuted in 1987.
Trekkies will also tell you that Paramount was unimpressed by the box office numbers for "Motion Picture," a film that "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry was heavily involved in. Harold Livingston is the credited screenwriter, but Roddenberry aided in the story and served as producer. Because "Motion Picture" was a relative dud, Roddenberry was pushed out of the sequel.
Trekkies will also tell you that Paramount was unimpressed by the box office numbers for "Motion Picture," a film that "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry was heavily involved in. Harold Livingston is the credited screenwriter, but Roddenberry aided in the story and served as producer. Because "Motion Picture" was a relative dud, Roddenberry was pushed out of the sequel.
- 1/1/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The Starfleet uniforms seen on the original "Star Trek" series back in 1966 were designed by William Ware Theiss, a costume designer who had previously worked on major Hollywood productions like "Spartacus," and who would go on to design for films like "Harold & Maude," "Bound for Glory," and "Pete's Dragon." According to an article on StarTrek.com, Theiss became friends with D.C. Fontana on the set of "Spartacus" (Fontana worked as a member of the studio's typing pool), which gave him the connection he needed to land his "Star Trek" job. It was Theiss' idea to make futuristic space uniforms look more shirt-like and casual, which stood in contrast to the shiny-and-chrome sci-fi costumes that were more in vogue at the time.
Theiss was also notorious for the skin-revealing outfits he designed for the show's many female guest stars, and he was noted for being able to ride the line...
Theiss was also notorious for the skin-revealing outfits he designed for the show's many female guest stars, and he was noted for being able to ride the line...
- 12/30/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Celine Song could join a rare club of just filmmakers to win the Academy Award for Best Director with their first-ever movie. Usually, we predict experienced, veteran helmers to win the award or at filmmakers who have at least had a couple of smaller movies under their belt. But sometimes, a debut director comes along with a film that is so special, they earn their place in the history books. This has only happened six times in Oscars history.
Delbert Mann was the first to do it when he won for “Marty” in 1956, six years before Jerome Robbins won for his acclaimed debut “West Side Story” in 1962. Robert Wise, who had already helmed 27 movies before, co-directed the movie with Robbins, but it was Robbins’ debut. Actor Robert Redford then took a trip behind the camera and emerged victorious in 1981 for “Ordinary People.” Three years later, in 1984, James L. Brooks won for “Terms of Endearment.
Delbert Mann was the first to do it when he won for “Marty” in 1956, six years before Jerome Robbins won for his acclaimed debut “West Side Story” in 1962. Robert Wise, who had already helmed 27 movies before, co-directed the movie with Robbins, but it was Robbins’ debut. Actor Robert Redford then took a trip behind the camera and emerged victorious in 1981 for “Ordinary People.” Three years later, in 1984, James L. Brooks won for “Terms of Endearment.
- 12/21/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Quentin Tarantino will not direct his much talked about Star Trek movie. We have known that for a while, with the iconoclastic filmmaker moving away from the project back in late 2019 and following the release of his last film, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. But now as Tarantino edges close to lensing his fabled final film, we are getting some better insight into the starship that got away.
In a new interview with Collider, screenwriter Mark L. Smith, the Oscar-nominated scribe who co-wrote The Revenant with Alejandro G. Inárritu, and who’s next film is the George Clooney-directed The Boys in the Boat, opened up about the Qt Star Trek film he was brought in to write, and how it would have been a whole different kind of captain’s log.
“It was a different thing,” Smith said, “but this was such a particular different type of story...
In a new interview with Collider, screenwriter Mark L. Smith, the Oscar-nominated scribe who co-wrote The Revenant with Alejandro G. Inárritu, and who’s next film is the George Clooney-directed The Boys in the Boat, opened up about the Qt Star Trek film he was brought in to write, and how it would have been a whole different kind of captain’s log.
“It was a different thing,” Smith said, “but this was such a particular different type of story...
- 12/19/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
On the 8th day of Creepmas, we’re celebrating the Victorian holiday tradition of sharing ghost stories. Telling ghost stories during winter was a folk custom that dated back centuries but slowly faded over time. Any tradition that involves scaring each other with horror stories feels like one worth reviving, so today’s Creepmas festivities embrace holiday horror movies that center around ghosts and hauntings. The eight titles below run the gamut from inducing warm holiday feels to ghostly insanity to chilling terror.
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 8 Christmas ghosts to haunt your holiday season.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
Anything for Jackson
Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings star as Audrey and Henry Walsh, a well-to-do couple mourning their young grandson’s tragic loss. Still deep in the denial stage of grief, they turn to Satanism. The couple kidnaps a pregnant...
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 8 Christmas ghosts to haunt your holiday season.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
Anything for Jackson
Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings star as Audrey and Henry Walsh, a well-to-do couple mourning their young grandson’s tragic loss. Still deep in the denial stage of grief, they turn to Satanism. The couple kidnaps a pregnant...
- 12/18/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Victor J. Kemper, the former president of the American Society of Cinematographers whose career spanned four decades and included films as diverse as Dog Day Afternoon and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, has died according to the ASC. He was 96.
Kemper made films with many of the greats of ’70s cinema, including John Cassavetes, Arthur Hiller, Michael Ritchie, Peter Yates, Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Robert Wise, Carl Reiner, Richard Attenborough and Norman Jewison.
His very first film was Cassavetes’ Husbands, and it was an education in itself.
“We shot more than a million-and-a-half feet of film during 10 weeks in New York and 12 weeks in London,” Kemper recalled. “That’s the way Cassavetes worked.”
He went on to make Mikey & Nicky with the director.
Subsequent work included The Candidate, And Justice for All, Audrey Rose, Slap Shot, Oh God!, The Gambler, The Jerk, The Four Seasons, Coma, Mr. Mom, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,...
Kemper made films with many of the greats of ’70s cinema, including John Cassavetes, Arthur Hiller, Michael Ritchie, Peter Yates, Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Robert Wise, Carl Reiner, Richard Attenborough and Norman Jewison.
His very first film was Cassavetes’ Husbands, and it was an education in itself.
“We shot more than a million-and-a-half feet of film during 10 weeks in New York and 12 weeks in London,” Kemper recalled. “That’s the way Cassavetes worked.”
He went on to make Mikey & Nicky with the director.
Subsequent work included The Candidate, And Justice for All, Audrey Rose, Slap Shot, Oh God!, The Gambler, The Jerk, The Four Seasons, Coma, Mr. Mom, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Victor J. Kemper, the veteran cinematographer who shot more than 50 features, including Dog Day Afternoon, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Jerk and Slap Shot, has died. He was 96.
Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).
The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...
Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).
The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...
- 11/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within…and whatever walked there, walked alone.” – Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (1959).
Of all the subgenres of horror, the haunted house story has provided the most opportunities for slow and subtle terror that creeps and crawls its way under the skin and into the psyche. The Old Dark House (1932), The Uninvited (1944), The Innocents (1961), Burnt Offerings (1976), and The Changeling (1980) stand among the best that not only the haunted house film, but all of horror have to offer. For many, the absolute pinnacle of these films is Robert Wise’s 1963 masterpiece of suggestive horror The Haunting. Based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, the film owes much to the influences of the past while still carving a way toward the future, is populated by rich and relatable characters, and is a deeply felt...
Of all the subgenres of horror, the haunted house story has provided the most opportunities for slow and subtle terror that creeps and crawls its way under the skin and into the psyche. The Old Dark House (1932), The Uninvited (1944), The Innocents (1961), Burnt Offerings (1976), and The Changeling (1980) stand among the best that not only the haunted house film, but all of horror have to offer. For many, the absolute pinnacle of these films is Robert Wise’s 1963 masterpiece of suggestive horror The Haunting. Based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, the film owes much to the influences of the past while still carving a way toward the future, is populated by rich and relatable characters, and is a deeply felt...
- 11/28/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
“Maestro” brought together three filmmakers — the sophomore director Bradley Cooper and the screen masters Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese — as producers. “Maestro” chronicles the marriage of famed composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and his muse Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). You can catch this acclaimed films in cinemas before it starts streaming on Netflix on Dec. 20. Either way, you’re in for a treat.
While Scorsese has his own film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in contention for this year’s Oscars, Spielberg is also a producer on the musical remake of “The Color Purple.” (This fact was omitted in the original version of this article due to an editing error.) He is one of the most successful filmmakers of all time and has an Oscars track record to prove it. He’s won two of his nine bids for Best Director: in 1994 for “Schindler’s List” and 1999 for “Saving Private Ryan.” While...
While Scorsese has his own film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in contention for this year’s Oscars, Spielberg is also a producer on the musical remake of “The Color Purple.” (This fact was omitted in the original version of this article due to an editing error.) He is one of the most successful filmmakers of all time and has an Oscars track record to prove it. He’s won two of his nine bids for Best Director: in 1994 for “Schindler’s List” and 1999 for “Saving Private Ryan.” While...
- 11/28/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
The "Star Trek" movie franchise was almost a one-and-done fiasco. Paramount had the highest of hopes when they released "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" on December 7, 1979, and, at first, it appeared as though their commercial expectations would be exceeded. The film scored the biggest opening of the year with a gross of $11.9 million (slightly better than the openings for "Alien" and "Moonraker"), but mixed reviews and ho-hum word of mouth (particularly from non-fans) kept it from being the runaway blockbuster it needed to be given its then exorbitant $44 million budget. It wound up being the fourth highest grossing film of 1979 behind "Kramer vs. Kramer," "The Amityville Horror" and "Rocky II").
The film's primary problem was its length and lack of action. At 132 minutes, Robert Wise's movie kind of lumbered; there are long, reverent shots of the U.S.S. Enterprise that, for many in the audience, quickly went from awe-inspiring to tedious.
The film's primary problem was its length and lack of action. At 132 minutes, Robert Wise's movie kind of lumbered; there are long, reverent shots of the U.S.S. Enterprise that, for many in the audience, quickly went from awe-inspiring to tedious.
- 11/19/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
After a dearth of new releases worth discussing in the few months since Barbenheimer, it’s been refreshing to see the response to Martin Scorsese’s epic Killers of the Flower Moon as it enters a wide release. While we’ll have our own extensive discussion coming soon on The Film Stage Show, the director himself has now provided some welcome homework as he’s highlighted six key films to watch that influenced the making of his David Grann adaptation.
Courtesy of TCM and Letterboxd, the director has joined the latter platform and provided nearly 60 companion films that he studied in preparation for making all of his features. While that entire list is well worth checking out, particularly the accompanying notes the director has provided, we’re keying in on the influences for Killers of the Flower Moon. Find the list below, including where to watch each film, as well as Scorsese’s full commentary.
Courtesy of TCM and Letterboxd, the director has joined the latter platform and provided nearly 60 companion films that he studied in preparation for making all of his features. While that entire list is well worth checking out, particularly the accompanying notes the director has provided, we’re keying in on the influences for Killers of the Flower Moon. Find the list below, including where to watch each film, as well as Scorsese’s full commentary.
- 10/27/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Among the myriad reasons we could call the Criterion Channel the single greatest streaming service is its leveling of cinematic snobbery. Where a new World Cinema Project restoration plays, so too does Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. I think about this looking at November’s lineup and being happiest about two new additions: a nine-film Robert Bresson retro including L’argent and The Devil, Probably; and a one-film Hype Williams retro including Belly and only Belly, but bringing as a bonus the direct-to-video Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club. Until recently such curation seemed impossible.
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
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