Forget the culture wars of today for a second. In the early '90s, one of the biggest political stories of the era was about a perceived pop culture war –- one that involved America's then vice-president and a fictional TV character. George H.W. Bush's vice president Dan Quayle seemed to almost single-handedly keep the media cycle in business thanks to a number of high profile verbal gaffes, which only seemed to escalate ahead of the 1992 presidential election. He famously spelled potato wrong during a children's spelling bee appearance on the campaign trail (a gag that turned up in an episode of "The Simpsons"), and earlier in the administration had misattributed the Holocaust to America, But none of his statements put him on the spot quite like the time he messed with "Murphy Brown."
"Murphy Brown" may not have a pop culture stronghold these days –- the wildly popular...
"Murphy Brown" may not have a pop culture stronghold these days –- the wildly popular...
- 7/7/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
This piece was originally published in November 2019. It has been updated since and is most current as of June 12, 2024.
“Song of the South” remains the most controversial film in the history of Walt Disney motion pictures, live action or animated. But you’ll never see directors Harve Foster (handling the live action) and Wilfred Jackson’s (behind the animation) 1946 Uncle Remus adaptation on the Disney+ streaming service even as the company continues to roll out its vast library of legacy titles on the home-viewing platform. And not even with a disclaimer. Disney CEO Bob Iger made that clear back in 2020, even before the dated racial politics of classic movies returned heavily to discussion around the Black Lives Matter movement’s impact on entertainment later that year.
Set in a Reconstruction-era American south just as the Civil War has concluded and slavery has ended, “Song of the South” is most famous...
“Song of the South” remains the most controversial film in the history of Walt Disney motion pictures, live action or animated. But you’ll never see directors Harve Foster (handling the live action) and Wilfred Jackson’s (behind the animation) 1946 Uncle Remus adaptation on the Disney+ streaming service even as the company continues to roll out its vast library of legacy titles on the home-viewing platform. And not even with a disclaimer. Disney CEO Bob Iger made that clear back in 2020, even before the dated racial politics of classic movies returned heavily to discussion around the Black Lives Matter movement’s impact on entertainment later that year.
Set in a Reconstruction-era American south just as the Civil War has concluded and slavery has ended, “Song of the South” is most famous...
- 6/12/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.
First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.
Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.
The Pitch: Peering Eyes and Multiple Endings
Sliver really should be mandatory viewing for any “Basic Instinct” fan — or any lover of Sharon Stone noirs, for that matter. Stone reunites with “Basic Instinct” screenwriter Joe Eszterhas for this 1993 erotic thriller that feels more like a Brian De Palma-esque satire on the genre itself. Mixed with the paranoia of surveillance technology, the voyeurism of “Body Double,” and the dual campy performances from Billy Baldwin and Tom Berenger as part of a twisted love triangle, “Sliver” is the ‘90s film you’ve never heard of but will adore.
First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.
Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.
The Pitch: Peering Eyes and Multiple Endings
Sliver really should be mandatory viewing for any “Basic Instinct” fan — or any lover of Sharon Stone noirs, for that matter. Stone reunites with “Basic Instinct” screenwriter Joe Eszterhas for this 1993 erotic thriller that feels more like a Brian De Palma-esque satire on the genre itself. Mixed with the paranoia of surveillance technology, the voyeurism of “Body Double,” and the dual campy performances from Billy Baldwin and Tom Berenger as part of a twisted love triangle, “Sliver” is the ‘90s film you’ve never heard of but will adore.
- 6/1/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre will host a special screening series to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the podcast “You Must Remember This,” created and hosted by Karina Longworth.
Longworth has now spent a decade examining the untold histories of show business — including watercooler seasons spent revisiting the Manson murders, the Star Wars franchise and the life and career of Joan Crawford. The Egyptian, owned by Netflix, has curated a three-day screening series featuring the films of Hollywood bombshell Kim Novak.
Novak was the subject of the “lost” and first-ever recorded episode of “You Must Remember This.” Longworth has previously said a corrupted audio file and “large swaths” of copyrighted music led to the shelving of the episode, which will finally be released [Editor’s note: In the TV series that launched and catapulted Ryan Murphy to stardom, “Popular,” a fictional girl’s room at a Southern California high school was named for Novak after a donation from the star. We love...
Longworth has now spent a decade examining the untold histories of show business — including watercooler seasons spent revisiting the Manson murders, the Star Wars franchise and the life and career of Joan Crawford. The Egyptian, owned by Netflix, has curated a three-day screening series featuring the films of Hollywood bombshell Kim Novak.
Novak was the subject of the “lost” and first-ever recorded episode of “You Must Remember This.” Longworth has previously said a corrupted audio file and “large swaths” of copyrighted music led to the shelving of the episode, which will finally be released [Editor’s note: In the TV series that launched and catapulted Ryan Murphy to stardom, “Popular,” a fictional girl’s room at a Southern California high school was named for Novak after a donation from the star. We love...
- 3/27/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Nine decades ago this December, moviegoers were witnessing the beginning of one of the most successful movie teams, as well as the demise of one of the most dramatic.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made box office magic during the Depression-era 1930s in nine Art Deco musical comedy delights from Rko including 1934’s “The Gay Divorcee” and 1936’s “Swing Time.” Their chemistry was unmatched, and they literally made beautiful musical together introducing countless standards including the Oscar-winning “The Continental” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” And their dancing was robust, romantic and heavenly-just check out the “Never Gonna Dance” routine from “Swing Time.”
It was 90 years ago this week, their first pairing “Flying Down to Rio” opened at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One of the big surprises is that the duo aren’t the stars of the lightweight pre-Code musicals: Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond...
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made box office magic during the Depression-era 1930s in nine Art Deco musical comedy delights from Rko including 1934’s “The Gay Divorcee” and 1936’s “Swing Time.” Their chemistry was unmatched, and they literally made beautiful musical together introducing countless standards including the Oscar-winning “The Continental” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” And their dancing was robust, romantic and heavenly-just check out the “Never Gonna Dance” routine from “Swing Time.”
It was 90 years ago this week, their first pairing “Flying Down to Rio” opened at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. One of the big surprises is that the duo aren’t the stars of the lightweight pre-Code musicals: Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond...
- 12/28/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The erotic thriller is back, and you'd have to be a prudish killjoy to lament its return.
The subgenre has its roots in the pre-code movies of the 1920s, and '30s, and films noir of the '40s and '50s, but the formula as it exists today was codified in 1980 with Paul Schrader's "American Gigolo" and, most vitally, Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill". And thanks to Karina Longworth's deep dive into best and worst of the subgenre via her indispensable podcast "You Must Remember This," younger viewers who weren't there for the '80s and '90s heyday are now revisiting the stylish highs and Skinemax lows of films in which people occasionally take a break from screwing to commit a string of murders (or investigate said murders with alarming aloofness).
As movies (especially studio productions) got progressively less sexy throughout the 2000s, the...
The subgenre has its roots in the pre-code movies of the 1920s, and '30s, and films noir of the '40s and '50s, but the formula as it exists today was codified in 1980 with Paul Schrader's "American Gigolo" and, most vitally, Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill". And thanks to Karina Longworth's deep dive into best and worst of the subgenre via her indispensable podcast "You Must Remember This," younger viewers who weren't there for the '80s and '90s heyday are now revisiting the stylish highs and Skinemax lows of films in which people occasionally take a break from screwing to commit a string of murders (or investigate said murders with alarming aloofness).
As movies (especially studio productions) got progressively less sexy throughout the 2000s, the...
- 12/2/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
It’s late summer, and I’m seated across from Chloe Domont in a congested Brooklyn coffee shop. Both the writers’ and actors’ strikes are in full effect, creating an air of unease. This should be a time of celebration for Domont, whose first feature Fair Play — a sexy psychological thriller about a hedge fund couple, Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich), whose relationship unravels when he discovers that she got the promotion he thought was his — is about to be unleashed on the public after earning raves and...
- 10/8/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
Move over, "Jury Duty," there's another twist-filled jury story in town. This time it's "Juror No. 2," the upcoming movie from veteran filmmaker Clint Eastwood. Eastwood is in his 90s now, but age hasn't stopped the prolific actor-turned-filmmaker from working on new stories to bring to the silver screen. Though the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike means "Juror No. 2" has currently suspended filming, the Eastwood picture is still in the works -- and it sounds like it has the potential to be one of the most riveting movies he's made in a while.
When it comes to Eastwood the director, your mileage may vary. The nonagenarian star has certainly made some fantastic projects in his impressive lifetime, from Oscar winners "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" to "Mystic River" and "The Bridges of Madison County." His most recent projects, though, including 2021's "Cry Macho" and "Richard Jewell," weren't wholeheartedly embraced by critics and audiences.
When it comes to Eastwood the director, your mileage may vary. The nonagenarian star has certainly made some fantastic projects in his impressive lifetime, from Oscar winners "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby" to "Mystic River" and "The Bridges of Madison County." His most recent projects, though, including 2021's "Cry Macho" and "Richard Jewell," weren't wholeheartedly embraced by critics and audiences.
- 9/17/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
The lineup for Beyond Fest 2023 has been announced, and, as per usual, attendees will be in for a pretty incredible lineup of sci-fi classics, horror favorites, and more than 30 premieres. The event takes place from September 26th – October 10th.
With 55 features, Beyond Fest 2023 looks like a winner yet again. Some of the major attractions this year are special screenings of The Abyss (hopefully with news of a 4K Blu-ray?), Manhunter, Piranha, The Raven, and Pacific Rim, all with their directors – James Cameron, Michael Mann, Joe Dante, Roger Corman, and Guillermo del Toro – in attendance…and those are just some of the retro screenings! Fans might also want to try nabbing tickets for movies like folk-horror All You Need is Death, Cannes debuted Vincent Must Die, the remake of The Toxic Avenger, and so many more.
You can see the full lineup for the 2023 Beyond Fest below, complete with details on the premiere,...
With 55 features, Beyond Fest 2023 looks like a winner yet again. Some of the major attractions this year are special screenings of The Abyss (hopefully with news of a 4K Blu-ray?), Manhunter, Piranha, The Raven, and Pacific Rim, all with their directors – James Cameron, Michael Mann, Joe Dante, Roger Corman, and Guillermo del Toro – in attendance…and those are just some of the retro screenings! Fans might also want to try nabbing tickets for movies like folk-horror All You Need is Death, Cannes debuted Vincent Must Die, the remake of The Toxic Avenger, and so many more.
You can see the full lineup for the 2023 Beyond Fest below, complete with details on the premiere,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
The largest genre film festival in the U.S. has some of the biggest names in Hollywood attending its 2023 edition. The Los Angeles-based Beyond Fest announced the slate of films and special screenings for the 11th edition, running September 26 through October 10.
This year’s Beyond Fest boasts 55 films across 15 days, including a special screening of “The Abyss” with director James Cameron, Michael Mann in attendance for a “Manhunter” screening, “Pacific Rim” with Guillermo del Toro, Gregg Araki for “Nowhere,” and a panel discussion between Roger Corman and collaborators Ron Howard, Jon Davison, Amy Holden Jones, Joe Dante, and Allan Arkush following the release of new 35mm prints of Corman’s “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” “Piranha,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and “The Raven.”
A special screening of “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut” will feature actor Malcolm McDowell in conversation with archivist/author Thomas Negovan, moderated by critic Stephen Farber. “You Must Remember...
This year’s Beyond Fest boasts 55 films across 15 days, including a special screening of “The Abyss” with director James Cameron, Michael Mann in attendance for a “Manhunter” screening, “Pacific Rim” with Guillermo del Toro, Gregg Araki for “Nowhere,” and a panel discussion between Roger Corman and collaborators Ron Howard, Jon Davison, Amy Holden Jones, Joe Dante, and Allan Arkush following the release of new 35mm prints of Corman’s “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” “Piranha,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and “The Raven.”
A special screening of “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut” will feature actor Malcolm McDowell in conversation with archivist/author Thomas Negovan, moderated by critic Stephen Farber. “You Must Remember...
- 9/14/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Beyond Fest announced today its absolutely insane slate of 2023 programming consisting of 55 features, including 5 world premieres, 3 North American Premieres, 7 US premieres, and 18 West Coast Premieres for its eleventh edition.
The fest returns to Los Angeles from September 26 through October 10. Built in partnership with the American Cinematheque and presented exclusively by Neon, Beyond Fest will screen at the Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3 and Regency Village Theatre with all ticket sales going to the 501c3 non-profit film institution.
The press release that went out this morning highlights a slew of rare treats and world premieres. Tyler Macintyre decks the halls with bloody holly for the World Premiere of the Michael Kennedy-scripted It’S A Wonderful Knife, from Legendary Entertainment, Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger delivers an outrageous new take on the Troma classic with the highly anticipated return of the mop-wielding cinema icon, V/H/S/85 reunites Beyond Fest alum David Bruckner and Scott Derrickson,...
The fest returns to Los Angeles from September 26 through October 10. Built in partnership with the American Cinematheque and presented exclusively by Neon, Beyond Fest will screen at the Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3 and Regency Village Theatre with all ticket sales going to the 501c3 non-profit film institution.
The press release that went out this morning highlights a slew of rare treats and world premieres. Tyler Macintyre decks the halls with bloody holly for the World Premiere of the Michael Kennedy-scripted It’S A Wonderful Knife, from Legendary Entertainment, Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger delivers an outrageous new take on the Troma classic with the highly anticipated return of the mop-wielding cinema icon, V/H/S/85 reunites Beyond Fest alum David Bruckner and Scott Derrickson,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The 2023 Beyond Fest lineup is set. America’s biggest genre-focused festival is returning this month with a 55-film slate that includes a Roger Corman career celebration, special screening of The Abyss with James Cameron, the world premiere of Rlje Films/Shudder’s It’s a Wonderful Knife and much more.
The 11th edition of the fest runs from September 26-October 10 in at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles, the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and Regency Village Theatre in Westwood. See the full lineup below.
Beyond Fest 2023 will open with Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi epic The Creator from 20th Century Studios and close with Kristoffer Borgli’s A24 pic Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage. It also will feature the world premieres of It’s a Wonderful Knife, Welcome Space Brothers, History of Evil and the 4K restorations of Cemetery Man (1994) and The Church (1989).
Other highlights include Legendary’s new remake of Troma classic The Toxic Avenger,...
The 11th edition of the fest runs from September 26-October 10 in at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles, the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and Regency Village Theatre in Westwood. See the full lineup below.
Beyond Fest 2023 will open with Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi epic The Creator from 20th Century Studios and close with Kristoffer Borgli’s A24 pic Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage. It also will feature the world premieres of It’s a Wonderful Knife, Welcome Space Brothers, History of Evil and the 4K restorations of Cemetery Man (1994) and The Church (1989).
Other highlights include Legendary’s new remake of Troma classic The Toxic Avenger,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Beyond Fest is one of the greatest, most unsung movie events of the year in Los Angeles. Happening over 15 days this year (from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9), it is a go-for-broke celebration of genre cinema – smartly programmed, lovingly assembled and genuinely thrilling.
And this year is no different, with highlights being a screening of the special edition of “The Abyss” (the wave lives!) with an appearance by director James Cameron; a screening of “Manhunter,” with director Michael Mann in attendance; a robust Roger Corman retrospective (including a screening of “Piranha” with director Joe Dante) and the West Coast premiere of new movies like Macon Blair’s “The Toxic Avenger” and Nicolas Cage in A24’s “Dream Scenario.”
There are also retrospective screenings of “The Iron Giant” (with Brad Bird), “Pacific Rim” (with Guillermo del Toro) and a presentation of the new 4K restoration of “The Raid,” among many, many other things.
And this year is no different, with highlights being a screening of the special edition of “The Abyss” (the wave lives!) with an appearance by director James Cameron; a screening of “Manhunter,” with director Michael Mann in attendance; a robust Roger Corman retrospective (including a screening of “Piranha” with director Joe Dante) and the West Coast premiere of new movies like Macon Blair’s “The Toxic Avenger” and Nicolas Cage in A24’s “Dream Scenario.”
There are also retrospective screenings of “The Iron Giant” (with Brad Bird), “Pacific Rim” (with Guillermo del Toro) and a presentation of the new 4K restoration of “The Raid,” among many, many other things.
- 9/14/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
By Glenn Charlie Dunks
If you’re restless for the return of Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This podcast, "Erotic ‘90s", then We Kill For Love: The Lost World of the Erotic Thriller may be for you. In many ways, Anthony Petra’s near three-hour video essay (even so much as to get the opening credit of “A video by”) is like the direct-to-video cousin to Longworth’s long-form audio series. And I don’t mean that as a pejorative. I hope the director wouldn't take it that way, either, given Petra’s desire to focus more attentively on the less fondly remembered, less glossy works of (largely independent) Hollywood eroticism that more often than not skipped theatrical exhibition. Instead they instead found money and eager viewers on the shelves of video stores and as late-night cable network fare across the country...
If you’re restless for the return of Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This podcast, "Erotic ‘90s", then We Kill For Love: The Lost World of the Erotic Thriller may be for you. In many ways, Anthony Petra’s near three-hour video essay (even so much as to get the opening credit of “A video by”) is like the direct-to-video cousin to Longworth’s long-form audio series. And I don’t mean that as a pejorative. I hope the director wouldn't take it that way, either, given Petra’s desire to focus more attentively on the less fondly remembered, less glossy works of (largely independent) Hollywood eroticism that more often than not skipped theatrical exhibition. Instead they instead found money and eager viewers on the shelves of video stores and as late-night cable network fare across the country...
- 9/10/2023
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
For 24 years, The New Yorker has leaned on the talents of actors, writers, and others from the world of Hollywood to be a part of its annual New Yorker Festival, which will be held this year Oct. 6-8.
The ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes have thrown a wrench in many plans that have traditionally relied on Hollywood talent, but the festival will go on, New Yorker editor David Remnick tells The Hollywood Reporter. And there will still be plenty of star power.
The New Yorker, of course, is not owned by a struck company, but SAG has advised its members not to promote projects from studios that have not signed interim agreements, and the Condé Nast-owned publication has had to adapt accordingly: “We faced a challenge or two,” Remnick says.
“I think a lot of the navigation is on the side of the talent, and what they...
The ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes have thrown a wrench in many plans that have traditionally relied on Hollywood talent, but the festival will go on, New Yorker editor David Remnick tells The Hollywood Reporter. And there will still be plenty of star power.
The New Yorker, of course, is not owned by a struck company, but SAG has advised its members not to promote projects from studios that have not signed interim agreements, and the Condé Nast-owned publication has had to adapt accordingly: “We faced a challenge or two,” Remnick says.
“I think a lot of the navigation is on the side of the talent, and what they...
- 9/6/2023
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paul Verhoeven’s “Basic Instinct” is one of the most iconic — and controversial — films of the 1990s. It’s hard to imagine the erotic thriller starring anyone other than Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, but the cast could have looked very different if Douglas had gotten his way.
In a new interview on “Who’s Talking with Chris Wallace?” on Max and CNN, Stone recalled the lengthy process of auditioning for the film. While Verhoeven was eager to work with Stone again after directing her in “Total Recall,” Douglas wanted a bigger name for the part of Catherine Tramell.
“I got a screen test. But Michael [Douglas] didn’t want a screen test with me,” Stone said. “Because it was such a huge risk for him to play this part in this at this period in time.”
The movie, which was recently featured on Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This...
In a new interview on “Who’s Talking with Chris Wallace?” on Max and CNN, Stone recalled the lengthy process of auditioning for the film. While Verhoeven was eager to work with Stone again after directing her in “Total Recall,” Douglas wanted a bigger name for the part of Catherine Tramell.
“I got a screen test. But Michael [Douglas] didn’t want a screen test with me,” Stone said. “Because it was such a huge risk for him to play this part in this at this period in time.”
The movie, which was recently featured on Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This...
- 7/29/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
[Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated since.]
The erotic thriller — the sleaziest and at one point most enduring genres of the 1980s and ’90s — seemed on the cusp of a comeback last year with the return of director Adrian Lyne. The master behind films like “Fatal Attraction” and “9 ½ Weeks” came back to screens (albeit small ones) with “Deep Water,” his first film in two decades since “Unfaithful” earned Diane Lane an Oscar nomination and one that firmly returns him to the erotic stomping grounds of his heyday.
Alas, the turgid drama, based on a Patricia Highsmith potboiler and starring a listless Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as open lovers who detest each other, is a turkey, a straight-to-streaming dud that evokes better ideas from better movies and fails to be neither erotic nor thrilling.
Still, “Deep Water” can serve as a twofold instruction point: for Hollywood to dig deeper to come up with hopefully...
The erotic thriller — the sleaziest and at one point most enduring genres of the 1980s and ’90s — seemed on the cusp of a comeback last year with the return of director Adrian Lyne. The master behind films like “Fatal Attraction” and “9 ½ Weeks” came back to screens (albeit small ones) with “Deep Water,” his first film in two decades since “Unfaithful” earned Diane Lane an Oscar nomination and one that firmly returns him to the erotic stomping grounds of his heyday.
Alas, the turgid drama, based on a Patricia Highsmith potboiler and starring a listless Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as open lovers who detest each other, is a turkey, a straight-to-streaming dud that evokes better ideas from better movies and fails to be neither erotic nor thrilling.
Still, “Deep Water” can serve as a twofold instruction point: for Hollywood to dig deeper to come up with hopefully...
- 7/11/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
In the pantheon of Erotic Thrillers, Body of Evidence is an odd one. It falls into the even more niche sub-category of courtroom thrillers, which spend as much time on the naughty bits as they do with witnesses on the stand or in depositions (see also: Disclosure).
Enter Body of Evidence. In the film, femme fatale Rebecca Carlson (Madonna) is arrested and charged with murder when her older, wealthy boyfriend John Marsh (Michael Forest) is found dead. Turns out the pair had quite the risqué sex life (or at least as risqué as mainstream Hollywood fare was willing to address in 1993): they were having non-missionary sex that involved some light bondage (ie: restraints such as belts and handcuffs).
District Attorney Robert Garrett (Joe Mantegna) makes it clear to the jury in his opening remarks that Rebecca’s body is the murder weapon. She induced Marsh’s fatal heart attack...
Enter Body of Evidence. In the film, femme fatale Rebecca Carlson (Madonna) is arrested and charged with murder when her older, wealthy boyfriend John Marsh (Michael Forest) is found dead. Turns out the pair had quite the risqué sex life (or at least as risqué as mainstream Hollywood fare was willing to address in 1993): they were having non-missionary sex that involved some light bondage (ie: restraints such as belts and handcuffs).
District Attorney Robert Garrett (Joe Mantegna) makes it clear to the jury in his opening remarks that Rebecca’s body is the murder weapon. She induced Marsh’s fatal heart attack...
- 7/11/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
From the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski to Claire Denis, Oscar winner Juliette Binoche has starred in many of your favorite European arthouse classics, and she’s probably the reason we return to them again and again. This summer, New Yorkers — or any ambitious traveling cinephiles — will have the chance to see many of her all-time greatest performances on 35mm thanks to a new retrospective set for the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village.
IndieWire exclusively announces “Beautiful Binoche,” which will take place August 4–10 at New York City’s longest-running, four-screen multiplex. In addition to some of the great Binoche titles from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, the Quad Cinema will also present Binoche’s latest film, “Between Two Worlds,” opening from Cohen Media Group on August 11.
The French actress has long made a career playing determined women pulling themselves through confusing situations — from perverse erotic entanglements to political intrigue and isolating grief.
IndieWire exclusively announces “Beautiful Binoche,” which will take place August 4–10 at New York City’s longest-running, four-screen multiplex. In addition to some of the great Binoche titles from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, the Quad Cinema will also present Binoche’s latest film, “Between Two Worlds,” opening from Cohen Media Group on August 11.
The French actress has long made a career playing determined women pulling themselves through confusing situations — from perverse erotic entanglements to political intrigue and isolating grief.
- 7/6/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
According to a report in Variety, pioneering experimental queer filmmaker Kenneth Anger, the director of seminal shorts like "Fireworks," "Rabbit's Moon," "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome," and "Scorpio Rising," has died at the age of 96.
The news was announced on Anger's website by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, the managers of Anger's art galleries. He had passed away on May 11, 2023, and the news was only just announced today.
Anger was a firebrand, an artistic rebel who aggressively and provocatively eschewed convention to present the world a new, cohesive type of underground, ultra-queer aesthetic that informs media and culture to this day. His shorts "Fireworks" and "Scorpio Rising" in particular blended traditionally ultra-masculine imagery -- Naval officers, leather-clad bikers -- with unapologetic gay lust, revealing the desire that exists so naturally in those worlds. Anger also blended images of queerness with religious iconography, tearing down conventional Christian morality, and introducing...
The news was announced on Anger's website by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, the managers of Anger's art galleries. He had passed away on May 11, 2023, and the news was only just announced today.
Anger was a firebrand, an artistic rebel who aggressively and provocatively eschewed convention to present the world a new, cohesive type of underground, ultra-queer aesthetic that informs media and culture to this day. His shorts "Fireworks" and "Scorpio Rising" in particular blended traditionally ultra-masculine imagery -- Naval officers, leather-clad bikers -- with unapologetic gay lust, revealing the desire that exists so naturally in those worlds. Anger also blended images of queerness with religious iconography, tearing down conventional Christian morality, and introducing...
- 5/24/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Experimental filmmaker, artist and author Kenneth Anger has died. He was 96.
His gallery, operated by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, confirmed the news on their website, writing, “Kenneth was a trailblazer. His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.”
Born in 1927 in Santa Monica, Calif., Anger produced over 30 short films from 1937 to 2013, having made his first movie at 10 years old. Known as “one of America’s first openly gay filmmakers,” he gained a reputation for exploring themes of erotica and homosexuality decades before gay sex was legalized in America. Anger received recognition for his homoerotic 1947 film “Fireworks,” which landed him in court on obscenity charges. Filmed in his childhood home in Beverly Hills while his parents were away for the weekend, “Fireworks” is known as the first gay narrative film produced in the U.S.
Afterward, Anger...
His gallery, operated by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, confirmed the news on their website, writing, “Kenneth was a trailblazer. His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.”
Born in 1927 in Santa Monica, Calif., Anger produced over 30 short films from 1937 to 2013, having made his first movie at 10 years old. Known as “one of America’s first openly gay filmmakers,” he gained a reputation for exploring themes of erotica and homosexuality decades before gay sex was legalized in America. Anger received recognition for his homoerotic 1947 film “Fireworks,” which landed him in court on obscenity charges. Filmed in his childhood home in Beverly Hills while his parents were away for the weekend, “Fireworks” is known as the first gay narrative film produced in the U.S.
Afterward, Anger...
- 5/24/2023
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Gather ’round, kids, and let’s tell a tale of a time long ago, when movie screens weren’t filled with just superheroes and special effects. A time when parents policed what you were watching for fear of an awkward conversation.
We’re referring, of course, to sex.
From “Basic Instinct” and “Eyes Wide Shut” to “Body Double,” “Risky Business” and “9 ½ Weeks,” on-screen nookie was once a staple of cinema, as much a part of the moviegoing experience as buttered popcorn.
But Hollywood has been strangely celibate for at least the last decade. There are no specific statistics on the declining rate of sex scenes in movies: The closest TheWrap could find was a 2022 report that found R-rated features, where you often found sex scenes, had dipped to a mere 30% share of releases. But if you look at films in theaters today, even R-rated ones like “Joker” and “It,...
We’re referring, of course, to sex.
From “Basic Instinct” and “Eyes Wide Shut” to “Body Double,” “Risky Business” and “9 ½ Weeks,” on-screen nookie was once a staple of cinema, as much a part of the moviegoing experience as buttered popcorn.
But Hollywood has been strangely celibate for at least the last decade. There are no specific statistics on the declining rate of sex scenes in movies: The closest TheWrap could find was a 2022 report that found R-rated features, where you often found sex scenes, had dipped to a mere 30% share of releases. But if you look at films in theaters today, even R-rated ones like “Joker” and “It,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Molly Ringwald may have been pretty in pink, but that doesn’t mean she wanted to be a “Pretty Woman.”
The “Pretty in Pink” and “Sixteen Candles” icon revealed that she turned down the lead role in the 1990 rom-com “Pretty Woman” that launched Julia Roberts’ career. Ringwald was approached to play a sex worker who is hired by a successful businessman (Richard Gere) to be his date for his stay in Los Angeles.
“Julia Roberts was wonderful in it, but I didn’t really like the story,” Ringwald told The Guardian. “Even then, I felt like there was something icky about it.”
Ringwald also revealed she was rejected from “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Working Girl.”
“I didn’t really feel like darker roles were available to me. The ones that I wanted to do, I didn’t get,” Ringwald recalled. “I was too young for certain roles. I...
The “Pretty in Pink” and “Sixteen Candles” icon revealed that she turned down the lead role in the 1990 rom-com “Pretty Woman” that launched Julia Roberts’ career. Ringwald was approached to play a sex worker who is hired by a successful businessman (Richard Gere) to be his date for his stay in Los Angeles.
“Julia Roberts was wonderful in it, but I didn’t really like the story,” Ringwald told The Guardian. “Even then, I felt like there was something icky about it.”
Ringwald also revealed she was rejected from “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Working Girl.”
“I didn’t really feel like darker roles were available to me. The ones that I wanted to do, I didn’t get,” Ringwald recalled. “I was too young for certain roles. I...
- 4/28/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Los Angeles video store and non-profit film organization Vidiots officially has a reopening date.
After years-worth of renovations, Vidiots is set to open its doors again June 1. Sneak preview events for the Founding Members program will start in May 2023 leading up to the launch date. Now located at 4884 Eagle Rock Boulevard, Vidiots boasts a 271-seat, state-of-the-art movie theater with 35mm, 16mm, and digital projection capabilities; a beer and wine bar with concessions and a light menu; a flexible micro-cinema and community space, and the legendary signature video store. The nearly 11,000 square-foot venue will provide flexibility for various screenings, special events, workshops, and community gatherings per the official press statement.
The video store, meanwhile, boasts 50,000 titles on DVD, Blu-ray, and VHS.
“We’re overjoyed to finally see our dream of bringing Vidiots back to Los Angeles,” Vidiots founders Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber said. “We could not have accomplished this incredible...
After years-worth of renovations, Vidiots is set to open its doors again June 1. Sneak preview events for the Founding Members program will start in May 2023 leading up to the launch date. Now located at 4884 Eagle Rock Boulevard, Vidiots boasts a 271-seat, state-of-the-art movie theater with 35mm, 16mm, and digital projection capabilities; a beer and wine bar with concessions and a light menu; a flexible micro-cinema and community space, and the legendary signature video store. The nearly 11,000 square-foot venue will provide flexibility for various screenings, special events, workshops, and community gatherings per the official press statement.
The video store, meanwhile, boasts 50,000 titles on DVD, Blu-ray, and VHS.
“We’re overjoyed to finally see our dream of bringing Vidiots back to Los Angeles,” Vidiots founders Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber said. “We could not have accomplished this incredible...
- 4/17/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Vidiots is finally getting ready to welcome movie fans, as the video store and nonprofit film organization unveils its renovation of the Eagle Theatre in northeast L.A.’s Eagle Rock neighborhood. The official opening is set for June 1, with sneak previews for supporters starting in May.
The beloved Santa Monica video rental store opened in 1985 and closed in 2017 after becoming a nonprofit in 2013.
“We’re overjoyed to finally see our dream of bringing Vidiots back to Los Angeles,” said Vidiots founders Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber. “We could not have accomplished this incredible feat without the loyal and steadfast support of a community truly devoted to cinema and creating a space for new generations to be inspired and enlightened by the arts, and where they can fall in love with film as we have.”
The new complex at 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. will include a physical media library boasting 50,000 titles on DVD,...
The beloved Santa Monica video rental store opened in 1985 and closed in 2017 after becoming a nonprofit in 2013.
“We’re overjoyed to finally see our dream of bringing Vidiots back to Los Angeles,” said Vidiots founders Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber. “We could not have accomplished this incredible feat without the loyal and steadfast support of a community truly devoted to cinema and creating a space for new generations to be inspired and enlightened by the arts, and where they can fall in love with film as we have.”
The new complex at 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. will include a physical media library boasting 50,000 titles on DVD,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Los Angeles native Karina Longworth has long ridden the swells of writing about Hollywood, whether as a cofounder of film blog Cinematical and contributor to Spout, critic and film editor at LA Weekly, author, or creator of the popular nine-year-old “You Must Remember This” podcast. Over the years, Longworth’s memorable series include in-depth explorations of Charles Manson; Joan Crawford; Jane Fonda and Jean Seberg; Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.; gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons; and Polly Platt and Peter Bogdanovich (which is being developed as a TV series).
It may seem like fans of the Patreon podcast have to wait long stretches between seasons. But Longworth and an assistant invest months of research and writing into podcast series such as the “Erotic 80s” (ten episodes) and the just-released “Erotic 90s” (Part One is 14 episodes; Part Two debuts in the fall), which indulge in a depth no...
It may seem like fans of the Patreon podcast have to wait long stretches between seasons. But Longworth and an assistant invest months of research and writing into podcast series such as the “Erotic 80s” (ten episodes) and the just-released “Erotic 90s” (Part One is 14 episodes; Part Two debuts in the fall), which indulge in a depth no...
- 4/11/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Directed by David Lynch
On the occasion of the home video and streaming release of the newly remastered Inland Empire (for which we were lucky enough to chat with the man himself), Criterion has put together a fine tribute to David Lynch, also featuring Eraserhead (1977), Dune (1984), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Lost Highway (1997), and Mulholland Dr. (2001). Don’t sleep on the bonus features, including a new conversation between Laura Dern and Kyle Maclachlan. Also, set to arrive on April 1 is The Elephant Man (1980).
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Eric Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons
French New Wave master Eric Rohmer’s 1990s project was Tales of the Four Seasons, all of which have now received new restorations. Following...
Directed by David Lynch
On the occasion of the home video and streaming release of the newly remastered Inland Empire (for which we were lucky enough to chat with the man himself), Criterion has put together a fine tribute to David Lynch, also featuring Eraserhead (1977), Dune (1984), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Lost Highway (1997), and Mulholland Dr. (2001). Don’t sleep on the bonus features, including a new conversation between Laura Dern and Kyle Maclachlan. Also, set to arrive on April 1 is The Elephant Man (1980).
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Eric Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons
French New Wave master Eric Rohmer’s 1990s project was Tales of the Four Seasons, all of which have now received new restorations. Following...
- 4/7/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
by Cláudio Alves
Mainstream cinema feels more sexless than ever. Even at the height of the Hays Code's second coming, sex had a place of pride in Hollywood, often sublimated into insinuation to avoid censorship. There's art to horniness, to making the camera a conduit of erotic reverie or a purveyor of desire, want itself synthesized as form. Sexual films can also be rich texts, telling us much about the times when they were made, the culture that created them, and the audiences that either embraced or repudiated the movie. Whether prurient or intellectual, there are many ways to engage with erotic cinema, especially when carnal craving collides with violence, and annihilation that goes beyond the ecstasy of an orgasm.
Erotic Thrillers is the theme of one of the Criterion Channel's latest collections, released right in time for the You Must Remember This podcast's new season - "Erotic 90s...
Mainstream cinema feels more sexless than ever. Even at the height of the Hays Code's second coming, sex had a place of pride in Hollywood, often sublimated into insinuation to avoid censorship. There's art to horniness, to making the camera a conduit of erotic reverie or a purveyor of desire, want itself synthesized as form. Sexual films can also be rich texts, telling us much about the times when they were made, the culture that created them, and the audiences that either embraced or repudiated the movie. Whether prurient or intellectual, there are many ways to engage with erotic cinema, especially when carnal craving collides with violence, and annihilation that goes beyond the ecstasy of an orgasm.
Erotic Thrillers is the theme of one of the Criterion Channel's latest collections, released right in time for the You Must Remember This podcast's new season - "Erotic 90s...
- 4/4/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Using the genre trappings of the superhero origin story, Amazon’s new drama The Power explores society’s preoccupation with and fear of pubescent girls. The series, which I’m not actually reviewing here, delves into how vast corners of the law and organized religion have been unconsciously or very consciously advanced to deny those girls agency. In the case of The Power, that agency arrives not in the form of legislation or a Supreme Court verdict, but as an evolutionary ability to generate and wield electricity. The patriarchy is in for a shock!
If you prefer this topic to be treated with more text and less subtext, Lana Wilson’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields moves to Hulu after a January premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The two-part documentary — 136 minutes in total, but surely better suited to have been edited into a 120-minute feature — uses Shields’ alternately unsettling and...
If you prefer this topic to be treated with more text and less subtext, Lana Wilson’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields moves to Hulu after a January premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The two-part documentary — 136 minutes in total, but surely better suited to have been edited into a 120-minute feature — uses Shields’ alternately unsettling and...
- 3/31/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
You Must Remember This, the hit podcast dedicated to exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century, returns with sizzling new episodes this spring. Created, written, produced and narrated by Karina Longworth, this season follows up on the success of “Erotic 80s” with a look at sex in film and TV during the 1990s. You Must Remember This is presented in partnership with Cadence13 Studios.
The 21-episode season subtitled “Erotic 90s” will launch on March 28, 2023, everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes will be available Tuesdays.
For this season, Longworth has partnered with The American Cinematheque, who will program weekly screenings on Tuesday nights at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles of a select film highlighted on the podcast. The series will kick off with a screening of Philip Kaufman’s Henry and June in 35mm on March 28th and the Julia Roberts starrer Sleeping with the Enemy on April 4th.
The 21-episode season subtitled “Erotic 90s” will launch on March 28, 2023, everywhere podcasts are available. New episodes will be available Tuesdays.
For this season, Longworth has partnered with The American Cinematheque, who will program weekly screenings on Tuesday nights at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles of a select film highlighted on the podcast. The series will kick off with a screening of Philip Kaufman’s Henry and June in 35mm on March 28th and the Julia Roberts starrer Sleeping with the Enemy on April 4th.
- 3/28/2023
- Podnews.net
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.
Today is a very special episode with a very special guest. Karina Longworth of the incredible You Must Remember This podcast joins us––ahead of the release of her new season “Erotic 90s”––to discuss Erotic 90s B-Sides like Sliver, Boxing Helena, and Jade.
We discuss the era of Joe Eszterhas, the appeal of Sliver, the failure of Jade, and the fractured ambition of Boxing Helena. We also discuss the famous Kim Basinger lawsuit that goes along with the film. Basic Instinct and its ignored sequel (Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction) are also discussed, and this line read gets a lot of time. Oh and, just for fun, enjoy this clip of Jim Carrey impersonating David Caruso on CSI: Miami.
Today is a very special episode with a very special guest. Karina Longworth of the incredible You Must Remember This podcast joins us––ahead of the release of her new season “Erotic 90s”––to discuss Erotic 90s B-Sides like Sliver, Boxing Helena, and Jade.
We discuss the era of Joe Eszterhas, the appeal of Sliver, the failure of Jade, and the fractured ambition of Boxing Helena. We also discuss the famous Kim Basinger lawsuit that goes along with the film. Basic Instinct and its ignored sequel (Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction) are also discussed, and this line read gets a lot of time. Oh and, just for fun, enjoy this clip of Jim Carrey impersonating David Caruso on CSI: Miami.
- 3/24/2023
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Karina Longworth is traveling back in time yet again, as the podcaster and film historian to take on everyone from Britney Spears to Harvey Weinstein in the latest installment of her “You Must Remember This.”
The new season of the acclaimed podcast boasts an extended 21 episodes tied to the “Erotic ’90s” of Hollywood. The season debuts March 28. Host and creator Longworth writes and produces the podcast, now centered on sex in film and TV during the 1990s, with new episodes streaming every Tuesday.
For this season, Longworth has partnered with The American Cinematheque, who will program weekly screenings on Tuesday nights at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles of a select film highlighted on the podcast. The series will kick off with a screening of Philip Kaufman’s “Henry and June” in 35mm on March 28 and the Julia Roberts vehicle “Sleeping with the Enemy” on April 4.
“We had some incredible...
The new season of the acclaimed podcast boasts an extended 21 episodes tied to the “Erotic ’90s” of Hollywood. The season debuts March 28. Host and creator Longworth writes and produces the podcast, now centered on sex in film and TV during the 1990s, with new episodes streaming every Tuesday.
For this season, Longworth has partnered with The American Cinematheque, who will program weekly screenings on Tuesday nights at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles of a select film highlighted on the podcast. The series will kick off with a screening of Philip Kaufman’s “Henry and June” in 35mm on March 28 and the Julia Roberts vehicle “Sleeping with the Enemy” on April 4.
“We had some incredible...
- 3/1/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Last year, Karina Longworth’s hit Hollywood podcast You Must Remember This looked at the Erotic ‘80s. Longworth is now delving into the same topic of sex in film and TV across the 1990s for the next season.
The show, which is presented in partnership with Audacy’s Cadence13, returns on March 28 with its 21-episode season.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Hollywood movies explored the sexual lives, mores and fantasies of adults with degrees of candor, realism and imagination not seen before or since. While Erotic 80s episodes covered the theme one year at a time, the super-sized Erotic 90s breaks down themes from Lolitas and sex symbols to gender politics and more.
The first episode covers the disastrous rollout of Nc-17 and the evolving state of both porn and feminism at the dawn of the ’90s, with topics including David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, “pro-porn” feminism, “the new morality,” video stores,...
The show, which is presented in partnership with Audacy’s Cadence13, returns on March 28 with its 21-episode season.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Hollywood movies explored the sexual lives, mores and fantasies of adults with degrees of candor, realism and imagination not seen before or since. While Erotic 80s episodes covered the theme one year at a time, the super-sized Erotic 90s breaks down themes from Lolitas and sex symbols to gender politics and more.
The first episode covers the disastrous rollout of Nc-17 and the evolving state of both porn and feminism at the dawn of the ’90s, with topics including David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, “pro-porn” feminism, “the new morality,” video stores,...
- 3/1/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Spoiler Alert: This post contains details from the first four episodes of Peacock’s Poker Face.
Natasha Lyonne is a casino waitress with an uncanny ability to tell when people are lying in her latest collaboration with Rian Johnson, Peacock’s Poker Face.
She’s not reading their faces or their body language. It’s “just a feeling,” her character Charlie explains in the first episode, which debuted Thursday along with three additional episodes.
Related Story ‘Poker Face’ Review: No Lie! Natasha Lyonne & Rian Johnson’s Peacock Road Trip Procedural Is All Green Lights & Parking Spaces Related Story NBCUniversal And Comcast Execs "More Confident" Than They Were A Year Ago In Peacock Profit Outlook, Jeff Shell Says Related Story Peacock Clears 20M Subscribers, Helping Comcast Nip Wall Street Q4 Estimates
As the premiere unfolds, Charlie agrees to help her boss take down a high-profile gambler, only to realize that he...
Natasha Lyonne is a casino waitress with an uncanny ability to tell when people are lying in her latest collaboration with Rian Johnson, Peacock’s Poker Face.
She’s not reading their faces or their body language. It’s “just a feeling,” her character Charlie explains in the first episode, which debuted Thursday along with three additional episodes.
Related Story ‘Poker Face’ Review: No Lie! Natasha Lyonne & Rian Johnson’s Peacock Road Trip Procedural Is All Green Lights & Parking Spaces Related Story NBCUniversal And Comcast Execs "More Confident" Than They Were A Year Ago In Peacock Profit Outlook, Jeff Shell Says Related Story Peacock Clears 20M Subscribers, Helping Comcast Nip Wall Street Q4 Estimates
As the premiere unfolds, Charlie agrees to help her boss take down a high-profile gambler, only to realize that he...
- 1/26/2023
- by Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
There are times when you see a documentary about a subject you think you know well, and the fact that you do almost becomes part of what’s gratifying about it. It’s like seeing a movie drama you loved a second time; you go deeper and savor the nuances. “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is like that. It’s a 2-hour-and-13-minute documentary that unfurls the saga, soup to nuts, of Brooke Shields, starting from when she did her very first commercial, at 11 months old, right up through where she is today, at 57. It covers her rise as a child advertising model, how she prospered professionally under the wing of her doting but troubled alcoholic manager mother, Terry, how she was sexualized in movies, starting at age 12, in “Pretty Baby” (1978), and then at 15, in “The Blue Lagoon” (1980), and what it was like for her to be at the center of a global gaze.
- 1/21/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
New York City’s fabled movie rental chain, Kim’s Video, shuttered its downtown locations throughout the early-to-mid aughts, offering an early warning sign that the cinema as we once knew it was dying, or at least migrating to other formats.
The chain’s disappearance left an open wound among lower Manhattan film buffs, stranding Kim’s hundreds of thousands of members without a good place — any place, actually — to rent movies, while leaving behind a collection of 55,000 VHS tapes and DVDs that encompassed everything from horror flicks like C.H.U.D. to the complete works of Paul Morrissey to bootleg copies of Jean-Luc Godard’s Histoire(s) du cinéma.
What happened to Kim’s treasure trove of films remained a mystery for quite some time, with occasional stories popping up — including a long-form Village Voice piece by movie critic and podcaster Karina Longworth (You Must Remember This) — explaining...
The chain’s disappearance left an open wound among lower Manhattan film buffs, stranding Kim’s hundreds of thousands of members without a good place — any place, actually — to rent movies, while leaving behind a collection of 55,000 VHS tapes and DVDs that encompassed everything from horror flicks like C.H.U.D. to the complete works of Paul Morrissey to bootleg copies of Jean-Luc Godard’s Histoire(s) du cinéma.
What happened to Kim’s treasure trove of films remained a mystery for quite some time, with occasional stories popping up — including a long-form Village Voice piece by movie critic and podcaster Karina Longworth (You Must Remember This) — explaining...
- 1/20/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It was the spring of 2007 — the height of the DVD boom — and I struggled to choose between the only two colleges that wanted me. Both were in Manhattan, but only one had a Kim’s Video within a one-block radius of the freshman dorms. I’m not saying that was the deciding factor, but I’m not not saying that was a deciding factor.
As an aspiring movie addict with a new driver’s license and nowhere to go, I’d spent an ungodly number of teenage weekends loitering around the Tower Records that sat at the corner of a strip mall a few towns over from my parents’ house. It was the kind of brick-and-mortar Brigadoon that corporate seemed to have semi-forgotten about, and the store’s irregular hours — combined with its ghostly lack of foot traffic — often left me with the feeling that it was only there on...
As an aspiring movie addict with a new driver’s license and nowhere to go, I’d spent an ungodly number of teenage weekends loitering around the Tower Records that sat at the corner of a strip mall a few towns over from my parents’ house. It was the kind of brick-and-mortar Brigadoon that corporate seemed to have semi-forgotten about, and the store’s irregular hours — combined with its ghostly lack of foot traffic — often left me with the feeling that it was only there on...
- 1/20/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Kim’s Video was a grungy movie rental empire and cinephile paradise in downtown Manhattan that grouped its tapes and DVDs by director. Started in 1987 out of a dry-cleaning business by Yongman Kim, who was a little-seen and mysterious figure to even his employees, Kim’s Video eventually expanded to five stores and became a way of life for both the customers and the people who worked there.
(I worked at the Kim’s farthest west on Bleecker Street one summer and we all gorged ourselves on movie classics, cult films, outsider art, bootlegs of rarities, and shelves and shelves of unclassifiable ephemera.)
Video stores started to close by 2008 when the near-mythical Mr. Kim offered his collection of 55,000 movies to any institution that would keep it intact. The town of Salemi, Sicily, acquired the archive, and in 2012 there was an article in The Village Voice by Karina Longworth that attempted...
(I worked at the Kim’s farthest west on Bleecker Street one summer and we all gorged ourselves on movie classics, cult films, outsider art, bootlegs of rarities, and shelves and shelves of unclassifiable ephemera.)
Video stores started to close by 2008 when the near-mythical Mr. Kim offered his collection of 55,000 movies to any institution that would keep it intact. The town of Salemi, Sicily, acquired the archive, and in 2012 there was an article in The Village Voice by Karina Longworth that attempted...
- 1/20/2023
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Natasha Lyonne thinks that the very idea of lying is bullshit.
“I don’t think I believe in it philosophically, as a concept,” she says. “When people lie, on a deep level, I’m perplexed that they don’t seem to know that we’re going to die and that their lie doesn’t matter. It’s just a source of confusion.”
It’s late on a Friday night, and the diminutive redhead is carrying her laptop from room to room in her Los Angeles home so she can opine without interrupting our Zoom call.
“I don’t think I believe in it philosophically, as a concept,” she says. “When people lie, on a deep level, I’m perplexed that they don’t seem to know that we’re going to die and that their lie doesn’t matter. It’s just a source of confusion.”
It’s late on a Friday night, and the diminutive redhead is carrying her laptop from room to room in her Los Angeles home so she can opine without interrupting our Zoom call.
- 1/11/2023
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Rian Johnson has a cinematic sensation on his hands with his “Knives Out” movie series. Both critics and audiences love the whodunit films and Daniel Craig‘s detective at their center, Benoit Blanc. But Johnson has murder mystery plans beyond the highly successful movie franchise, too. Enter “Poker Face,” Johnson’s upcoming series for Peacock, which stars Natasha Lyonne as the lead in a case-of-the-week detective show alá classic series like “Murder, She Wrote” or “Columbo.”
Read More: Rian Johnson Will Take On The Challenge Of The Third ‘Knives Out’ Next [Interview]
Johnson and Lyonne, the star of Netflix‘s time-loop dramedy “Russian Doll,” cooked up the idea for “Poker Face” at a book party thrown by Johnson’s wife, Karina Longworth.
Continue reading ‘Poker Face’ First Look: Rian Johnson & Nastasha Lyonne Team Up For Upcoming Peacock Murder Mystery Series at The Playlist.
Read More: Rian Johnson Will Take On The Challenge Of The Third ‘Knives Out’ Next [Interview]
Johnson and Lyonne, the star of Netflix‘s time-loop dramedy “Russian Doll,” cooked up the idea for “Poker Face” at a book party thrown by Johnson’s wife, Karina Longworth.
Continue reading ‘Poker Face’ First Look: Rian Johnson & Nastasha Lyonne Team Up For Upcoming Peacock Murder Mystery Series at The Playlist.
- 12/15/2022
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Click here to read the full article.
At its 11th annual outing, stars and power players came out en masse for Lacma’s celebrated Art+Film Gala on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.
A bevy of celebrities wore Gucci on the red carpet at the museum, dressed by the long-time supporter of the evening, before heading into a dinner honoring South Korean director Park Chan-wook (whose critically acclaimed Decision to Leave is South Korea’s official entry in the 2023 Oscars after snagging a best director trophy for the auteur in Cannes) and artist Helen Pashgian, a pioneering member of California’s Light and Space art movement.
The benefit — chaired once again by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Lacma board member Eva Chow with additional support from luxury automaker Audi — last year raised a record 5 million for the museum, funds which serve both its broader mission and support Lacma’s focus on spotlighting film.
At its 11th annual outing, stars and power players came out en masse for Lacma’s celebrated Art+Film Gala on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.
A bevy of celebrities wore Gucci on the red carpet at the museum, dressed by the long-time supporter of the evening, before heading into a dinner honoring South Korean director Park Chan-wook (whose critically acclaimed Decision to Leave is South Korea’s official entry in the 2023 Oscars after snagging a best director trophy for the auteur in Cannes) and artist Helen Pashgian, a pioneering member of California’s Light and Space art movement.
The benefit — chaired once again by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Lacma board member Eva Chow with additional support from luxury automaker Audi — last year raised a record 5 million for the museum, funds which serve both its broader mission and support Lacma’s focus on spotlighting film.
- 11/6/2022
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
An Armani-clad Richard Gere cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in a black Mercedes-Benz as Blondie’s “Call Me” blares, sets the tone not only for Paul Schrader’s classic neo-noir “American Gigolo,” but also, as Karina Longworth posits in the latest season of her podcast You Must Remember This, the erotic ’80s. So, of course, this deep into the era of reboots, the film was ripe for a television re-imagining.
Continue reading ‘American Gigolo’ Review: A Perfectly Cast Jon Bernthal Can’t Save This Misogynistic Mess at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘American Gigolo’ Review: A Perfectly Cast Jon Bernthal Can’t Save This Misogynistic Mess at The Playlist.
- 9/6/2022
- by Marya E. Gates
- The Playlist
It almost feels too early for a documentary series about the abuse allegations against Armie Hammer. If you leave out the fact that much of the scandal takes place via texts and Instagram DMs, it feels like the kind of story we might learn decades later, perhaps in a harrowing season of Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This” podcast. A rich and handsome movie star with a dark personal life? That’s most certainly not a new concept. Plus, there’s no ending yet. Despite many public accounts of his treatment of romantic partners, including accusations of rape, Armie Hammer is just selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands, biding his time until an inevitable comeback attempt.
But the point of “House of Hammer,” the new docuseries on Discovery+, is that this scandal goes back further than most people might realize. The Hammer family is made up of a long...
But the point of “House of Hammer,” the new docuseries on Discovery+, is that this scandal goes back further than most people might realize. The Hammer family is made up of a long...
- 9/2/2022
- by Lauren Piester
- The Wrap
Karina Longworth’s house is, quite possibly, haunted. This is not necessarily something she has experienced herself, she tells me of her pale-pink 1926 Mediterranean, where Longworth could be found one July morning on the frond-shadowed patio. But it is something she has on authority from a friend who drunkenly stumbled in from the pool one night and heard, in the empty home, a dinner party going on in the dining room upstairs. Since then, the hauntedness or unhauntedness of Longworth’s abode has become a matter of some debate. “My...
- 8/13/2022
- by Alex Morris
- Rollingstone.com
According to Paul Verhoeven, Hollywood has a basic problem: There’s not enough sex onscreen.
The era of the erotic thriller is all but forgotten, with sensuality giving way to Marvel movies and watered-down studio films. But “Showgirls” and “Basic Instinct” director Verhoeven isn’t letting steamy cinema go down without a fight.
“Sex is the essence of existence,” the filmmaker, whose 2021 “Benedetta” is now releasing in the U.K., told The Times. “Without it, there are no species anymore. So why is that a big secret? There is a new purity.”
The “Benedetta” director made headlines last year for depicting a lesbian nun masturbating with a crucifix, among other Nsfw (and arguably blasphemous) sequences. Verhoeven, whose upcoming film “Young Sinner” reportedly is a return to form as an erotic thriller in the vein of “Basic Instinct,” blamed the Church for snuffing out sex in films.
Verhoeven said that “the...
The era of the erotic thriller is all but forgotten, with sensuality giving way to Marvel movies and watered-down studio films. But “Showgirls” and “Basic Instinct” director Verhoeven isn’t letting steamy cinema go down without a fight.
“Sex is the essence of existence,” the filmmaker, whose 2021 “Benedetta” is now releasing in the U.K., told The Times. “Without it, there are no species anymore. So why is that a big secret? There is a new purity.”
The “Benedetta” director made headlines last year for depicting a lesbian nun masturbating with a crucifix, among other Nsfw (and arguably blasphemous) sequences. Verhoeven, whose upcoming film “Young Sinner” reportedly is a return to form as an erotic thriller in the vein of “Basic Instinct,” blamed the Church for snuffing out sex in films.
Verhoeven said that “the...
- 4/11/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Deep in the bowels of Wall Street, the legacy of Kim’s Video lives on. At the Alamo Drafthouse’s new downtown Manhattan location, just a few blocks from the New York Stock Exchange, the arrival of a movie rental store that hasn’t fully been appreciated for 12 years seems like some sort of anti-capitalist lark.
For Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League, however, the decision to ingest the collection of roughly 55,000 DVDs and VHS tapes once housed at the iconic East Village mainstay Kim’s Video & Music is an experiment with no real downside. “Free movie rentals is not a great business model, but we have the space,” League said in an interview last week, a few hours before Kim’s reopened in the lobby of the new location. “We’re already paying the rent, we already have people at the box office, and we have air conditioning. It’s...
For Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League, however, the decision to ingest the collection of roughly 55,000 DVDs and VHS tapes once housed at the iconic East Village mainstay Kim’s Video & Music is an experiment with no real downside. “Free movie rentals is not a great business model, but we have the space,” League said in an interview last week, a few hours before Kim’s reopened in the lobby of the new location. “We’re already paying the rent, we already have people at the box office, and we have air conditioning. It’s...
- 4/6/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Nearly 200 episodes and a dozen-plus seasons in, Karina Longworth’s indispensable film-centric podcast “You Must Remember This” only continues to excavate “the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century.” In her newest season, which kicked off with an informative introductory episode on Tuesday, Longworth aims to explore a particular subset of films from the ’80s and ’90s: the kind of “erotic” offerings that most studios stopped churning out years ago.
And while most people might be thinking “erotic thrillers,” Longworth’s insightful podcast reaches far beyond that particular sub-genre. Set to be released in two parts — “Erotic ’80s” this spring, with “Erotic ’90s” to follow in the fall, though Longworth said she considers the entire run to be one complete season — most episodes will focus on a single year at the movies, with a particular focus on a key film released that year.
The first three episodes,...
And while most people might be thinking “erotic thrillers,” Longworth’s insightful podcast reaches far beyond that particular sub-genre. Set to be released in two parts — “Erotic ’80s” this spring, with “Erotic ’90s” to follow in the fall, though Longworth said she considers the entire run to be one complete season — most episodes will focus on a single year at the movies, with a particular focus on a key film released that year.
The first three episodes,...
- 4/6/2022
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
As media conglomerates tout their “massive” streaming libraries, with little sense of curation much less interest in presenting classic and overlooked cinema, the false notion of having everything at the click of a button is quite clear. For the cinephiles that rightfully still hold physical media near and dear to their hearts, a new announcement should be well-embraced.
Kim’s Video, the East Village establishment which last closed its doors in 2014 and its rental collection, is returning. Alamo Drafthouse has announced they are working with founder Yongman Kim to bring his collection of around 55,000 films back to Manhattan, specifically their newly-launched Lower Manhattan location.
See their announcement below.
From 1986 to 2012, film lovers from around the world would flock to the East Village to browse the legendarily diverse and esoteric catalog of Kim’s Video. One of the largest video collections in the world, the Kim’s Video collection has close...
Kim’s Video, the East Village establishment which last closed its doors in 2014 and its rental collection, is returning. Alamo Drafthouse has announced they are working with founder Yongman Kim to bring his collection of around 55,000 films back to Manhattan, specifically their newly-launched Lower Manhattan location.
See their announcement below.
From 1986 to 2012, film lovers from around the world would flock to the East Village to browse the legendarily diverse and esoteric catalog of Kim’s Video. One of the largest video collections in the world, the Kim’s Video collection has close...
- 3/22/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Hollywood history podcast “You Must Remember This,” hosted by generously insightful historian and movie expert Karina Longworth, is set to dive into erotic films of the 1980s and 1990s, with a two-part season premiering April 5.
While juicy recent seasons have focused on Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, and the life and forgotten-by-many career of producer and production designer Polly Platt, Longworth is taking on more recent cinematic history for her next outing.
The upcoming “You Must Remember This” season will be split into two parts, with “Erotic 80s” debuting on April 5, and “Erotic 90s” set to premiere in the fall. Episodes will focus on genres including erotic thrillers, body horrors, neo-noirs, and sex comedies, and will also trace the fallout of the Motion Picture Production Code, as well as the rise of X-rated movies. As always, new episodes will debut on Tuesdays.
While juicy recent seasons have focused on Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, and the life and forgotten-by-many career of producer and production designer Polly Platt, Longworth is taking on more recent cinematic history for her next outing.
The upcoming “You Must Remember This” season will be split into two parts, with “Erotic 80s” debuting on April 5, and “Erotic 90s” set to premiere in the fall. Episodes will focus on genres including erotic thrillers, body horrors, neo-noirs, and sex comedies, and will also trace the fallout of the Motion Picture Production Code, as well as the rise of X-rated movies. As always, new episodes will debut on Tuesdays.
- 3/9/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Podcast veteran Sam Dingman has signed with CAA.
Dingman is the writer and showrunner behind Wondery’s The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra, hosted and narrated by John Stamos.
CAA will create opportunities for Dingman in the areas of podcasting, with a focus on sports-themed content, and publishing.
It comes after the launch of Snatching Sinatra, which tells the story of Barry Keenan, who kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr in 1963, as well as The Rumor, a podcast that he co-hosts and produces for Blue Wire. The Rumor follows a crazy baseball story centered around Kevin Costner and Cal Ripken Jr.
Dingman is also creator, host, and executive producer of Prx’s Family Ghosts, a storytelling podcast about familial myths and legends. He was also the founding producer of Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn, which examines the complexities of finances and is the former editor of Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This,...
Dingman is the writer and showrunner behind Wondery’s The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra, hosted and narrated by John Stamos.
CAA will create opportunities for Dingman in the areas of podcasting, with a focus on sports-themed content, and publishing.
It comes after the launch of Snatching Sinatra, which tells the story of Barry Keenan, who kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr in 1963, as well as The Rumor, a podcast that he co-hosts and produces for Blue Wire. The Rumor follows a crazy baseball story centered around Kevin Costner and Cal Ripken Jr.
Dingman is also creator, host, and executive producer of Prx’s Family Ghosts, a storytelling podcast about familial myths and legends. He was also the founding producer of Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn, which examines the complexities of finances and is the former editor of Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This,...
- 1/18/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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