News

Franca Bettoia, the Italian actress who starred opposite Vincent Price in the 1964 cult sci-fi film The Last Man on Earth, has died in Rome, her family told the Italian news agency Adnkronos. She was 88.

Bettoia was married to Italian actor Ugo Tognazzi — he starred in the 1978 movie La Cage aux Folles in the part played by Robin Williams in Mike Nichols’ 1996 adaptation The Birdcage — from 1972 until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1990 at age 68.

In The Last Man on Earth, directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow, Bettoia portrays Ruth, a woman who, with the help of Price’s Dr. Robert Morgan, is fending off the effects of a plague that has turned humans into vampiric creatures.

Filmed in Rome, produced by Robert L. Lippert and distributed by American International Pictures, the movie was based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend. The author then co-wrote the screenplay credited as Logan Swanson.

Before Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman starred in what he thought to be his final appearance as Wolverine in Logan. Among the Fox X-Men films, Logan stood out as a film that subverted the expectations of viewers about a superhero film. It is not surprising considering Jackman cited Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Mickey Rourkle’s The Wrestler as inspirations for the film.

Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen in Logan | 20th Century Fox

Eastwood’s 1992 film was one film from the Western genre that dared to visit themes which remained unexplored in films before that. Unforgiven was the Academy Award winner that year for Best Picture, with a Best Director win for the Dirty Harry actor.

Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven Served as an Inspiration for Hugh Jackman’s Logan Clint Eastwood in a still from Unforgiven | Malpaso Productions

Hugh Jackman did a lot of things right in Logan, thinking that...

This article contains Deadpool & Wolverine Spoilers.

It’s something fans have waited 20 years for when it comes to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, even if they didn’t know it. No, not the costume. We always knew we wanted to see Jackman in that little yellow and blue number. And when the mask came on during the third act of Deadpool & Wolverine, the roof of my particular theater strained from the high-decibel cheers.

As beautiful as that costume was while watching Wolverine go on a Madonna-scored berserker rage, we have seen Jackman’s most beloved onscreen character up to his knees in blood splatter before. We have also seen him attempt to sacrifice himself for the world, or at least a handful of loved ones in it, be it in X-Men when he risked dying of slash wounds in order to transfer his healing factor to Anna Paquin’s Rogue,...

Walton Goggins has played gunslingers before. He’s been a renegade sheriff in The Hateful Eight, an outlaw on Justified, a Navy Seal on Six and a trigger-happy train robber in Shanghai Noon — but Fallout marks the first time he’s been two versions of one cowboy.

In Prime Video’s adaptation of the popular video game franchise, Goggins portrays Cooper Howard, a Hollywood Western has-been making ends meet as the lasso-spinning entertainment at kids’ parties. He’s also The Ghoul, a radioactive bounty hunter hardened by two centuries of wandering in a post-nuclear hellscape.

Set in 23rd century dystopian L.A. some 220 years after an atomic bomb decimated the U.S., the first season follows Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), an intrepid vault dweller who leaves her underground community in search of her kidnapped father (Kyle MacLachlan). Along the way, she meets The Ghoul and a soldier named Maximus (Aaron Moten...

Several top stars put their careers on hold and their lives on the line to serve during World War II including Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, Robert Taylor, Alan Ladd, William Holden, Robert Ryan and Robert Montgomery. And numerous young men who weren’t yet actors during the global conflict including Lee Marvin and Charles Durning saw action and suffered severe injuries.

With the 80th anniversary of D-Day, which was the largest amphibious invasion in military history with five naval assault divisions invading the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, let’s look at some actors who participated in the massive operation.

Charles Durning

The versatile character actor, who earned supporting actor Oscar nominations for 1982’s “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and 1983’s “To Be or Not to Be” and nine Emmy nominations, was just 21 when he was one of the first group of soldiers to land and...

George Lucas’ Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon in no time. There might only be a handful who do know something or the other about the franchise. Star Wars has a vast and loyal fanbase that somehow remembers all the minute details shown in the films and the television series. This is how much the fans love Star Wars and why wouldn’t they? After all, George Lucas poured his heart and soul into it.

George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977)

However, before Star Wars (1977) made waves in the film industry, the director met a roadblock on his way when he decided to screen the film for some of the most renowned personalities in Hollywood. This included Brian De Palma, Alan Ladd, and Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately, his film was not met with applause but luckily, his friends were there to help him out of the mess.

George Lucas’ Initial Screening Was Met...

Jeremy Jordan, a seasoned Broadway performer who ventured into other projects, has returned to the stage to star as Jay Gatsby, a millionaire driven by a mysterious past and an unwavering desire to reunite with his former love, Daisy, in an adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel The Great Gatsby.

The brand-new musical has a score composed by Kait Kerrigan, Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen.

As Jordan steps into the shoes of Gatsby, he acknowledges the inherent challenge the role poses as he follows in the footsteps of actors like Alan Ladd, Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio, who have portrayed the character on screen. His determination to create his interpretation of Gatsby drove him to the understanding of the character.

“What kind of person would literally go to the ends of the earth and somehow become the richest person in Long Island over the course of a very...

Now that actor Hugh Jackman has resurrected the role of 'Wolverine’ for the upcoming feature "Deadpool 3", from the movie review site TheGoodTheBadandtheUgly.Ca, take another look at director James Mangold's "Logan", featuring the previous cinematic death of Wolverine:

Michael Stevens For: The Good

"R-Rated for 'strong brutal violence and language', actor Hugh Jackman cuts like a knife, in the part he was born to play, carving his initials into another fierce performance as Marvel's mutant 'Wolverine'.

"In the near future, the scarred, 150 year old, adamantium-clawed 'Old Man Logan' is reduced to guzzling liquor and cranking drugs, while his self-healing regenerative powers continue to wane.

"Logan picks up petty cash in El Paso as a driver for hire, while hunkering down in an industrial plant on a stretch of the Mexican border.

"His hideout companions include the 'Nosferatu'-looking clairvoyant 'Caliban' (Stephen Merchant)...

"...and the foul, abusive,...

Now that actor Hugh Jackman has decided to resurrect the role of 'Logan'/'Wolverine' in the upcoming feature "Deadpool 3", from the movie review site TheGoodTheBadandtheUgly.Ca, take another look at director James Mangold's "Logan":

Michael Stevens For: The Good

"R-Rated for 'strong brutal violence and language', actor Hugh Jackman cuts like a knife, in the part he was born to play, carving his initials into another fierce performance as Marvel's mutant 'Wolverine'.

"In the near future, the scarred, 150 year old, adamantium-clawed 'Old Man Logan' is reduced to guzzling liquor and cranking drugs, while his self-healing regenerative powers continue to wane.

"Logan picks up petty cash in El Paso as a driver for hire, while hunkering down in an industrial plant on a stretch of the Mexican border.

"His hideout companions include the 'Nosferatu'-looking clairvoyant 'Caliban' (Stephen Merchant)...

"...and the foul, abusive, Alzheimer stricken...

There are many films that have quotable last lines such as “After all, tomorrow is another day” from “Gone with the Wind.” And who can forget Humphrey Bogart telling Claude Rains: “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” But the beloved 1953 George Stevens’ Western “Shane” perhaps has one of the most endearing and emotional final lines. Young Joey (Brandon De Wilde) wants his idol, the former gunslinger Shane (Alan Ladd), to stay with his family. But the wounded hero continues to ride off.

“Shane………come back,” Joey cries out.

Be prepared to bring you handkerchiefs to the Academy Museum’s 70th anniversary screening Dec 10 at the David Geffen Theatre. Ladd, in his strongest performance, plays a world-weary gunslinger who wants to hang up his six-shooter. He ends up working for an honest, struggling rancher Joe, (Van Heflin), his wife Marian (Jean Arthur) and young son...

Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91.

Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).

In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...

Friends star Matthew Perry was laid to rest during a ceremony attended by family, his costars, and close pals. The actor died on Oct. 28 at his Los Angeles home. He is interred alongside a galaxy of Hollywood stars at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Here’s what we know about the ceremony and the celebrity-packed final resting place of the beloved actor.

Matthew Perry’s funeral occurred on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023

Entertainment Tonight reported that Matthew Perry’s funeral occurred less than a week after the Friends star was found unresponsive at his LA home. He was 54.

Perry was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. The cemetery is located in the near vicinity of the Warner Bros. Studios lot where the actor filmed Friends from 1994 through 2004.

The ceremony was held Friday afternoon per Et. It was attended by Perry’s parents, family, and friends, including his former cast members Jennifer Aniston,...

Imagine being a young actor and getting a role in a feature film. It's a sci-fi adventure, and you're going to be the lead. You get all packed up and get on a plane to London to shoot, but when you get there, no one seems to care very much that you're around. That was the case for Mark Hamill, who was heading to the United Kingdom to play Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope," which was simply "Star Wars" back then.

In the 2013 book "The Making of Star Wars: (Enhanced Edition)" by J.W. Rinzler (an upgraded version of the 2007 book of the same name), Hamill spoke about what it was like to head over there, all ready to go, and the odd situation he walked into that he didn't know anything about. That day was his first meeting with George Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz.

Of all the James Bond movies, "The Man with the Golden Gun" isn't the most beloved. Debuting to lackluster reviews in 1974, following the success that was '73's "Live and Let Die," Roger Moore's sophomore outing as Bond failed to dazzle audiences who were growing weary of the franchise.

The producers had a rough time replacing Sean Connery, who'd come to define the character with his run as England's greatest spy, before departing the series and being replaced by Aussie actor George Lazenby. While Lazenby did a solid job in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," he too left the role after his one and only appearance, after which Connery returned for the less than stellar "Diamonds Are Forever."

Unfortunately, Connery would once again leave the role that helped launch his career following this brief return, clearing the way for Roger Moore to take on the mantle with "Live and Let Die.

The iconic treasure hunter Indiana Jones, whose exploits have been synonymous with the word ‘adventure’ in mainstream pop culture, was the brainchild of the visionary trio of George Lucas, Philip Kaufman, and Steven Spielberg. The character was conceptualized with fictional pulp action heroes like Doc Savage in mind, along with rowdy characters from the 40s and 50s features starring Alan Ladd and Gregory Peck. The character was famously imbued with Spielberg’s personal touches, as the director tried to make him fallible, relatable, and grounded even though the adventures he embarked on were epic in proportion. Actor Harrison Ford, who had portrayed the character in all five movies, was so attached to the character that he famously stated that the character would be gone when he decided to retire from acting; there would be no continuation with other actors. Needless to say, handling a character of such importance in the final movie of the franchise,...

The desert will again be a hotbed of deceit and larceny in luxurious black-and-white as the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival returns to Palm Springs this Thursday through Sunday, with the quintessential noir classics “The Killing” and “Double Indemnity” bookending a marathon weekend that otherwise tends toward more rarely screened ‘40s and ‘50s titles.

Several sons or daughters of the original actors or directors will be on hand, but of special interest to festival attendees will be the presence of one of the actual filmmakers: James B. Harris, 94, Stanley Kubrick’s producing partner for several of his best early films, who’ll be able to speak first-hand about the making of 1956’s “The Killing,” the crime drama that turned out to be Kubrick’s first real masterpiece.

“I’m just utterly thrilled that ‘The Killing’ will show and Jimmy will be the guest on opening night,” says the festival’s longtime guiding light,...

The United States had been at war a little over a year when the 15th Academy Awards were presented on March 4, 1943. It was the last year that the awards were celebrated at a lavish banquet; they would be moved to a theater setting in the ensuing years. The impact of World War II can be seen in the films honored, as well as the ceremony itself.

Popular musical star Jeannette MacDonald sang the National Anthem, and newly enlisted military privates Tyrone Power and Alan Ladd unfurled a flag that listed over 25,000 film industry members who had joined the armed forces. Bob Hope hosted the event, which saw one big winner, numerous patriotic choices and the first win for one of the industry’s biggest record-makers. Let’s flashback 80 years to the Oscars ceremony of 1943.

SEEOscar hosts: Performers who have hosted the Academy Awards

Ten movies made the cut for a Best Picture nomination.

The original "Star Wars" has one of the most unforgettable opening scenes in movie history, as the 20th Century Fox fanfare and opening crawl give way to the sight of a massive Imperial Star Destroyer, gliding in at the top of the frame in pursuit of a Rebel blockade runner. The two spaceships shoot each other with lasers, and from there, it cuts to droid and fleet trooper activity on the Rebel ship. It's not long before a boarding party of Stormtroopers takes the ship, with Darth Vader himself bringing up the rear. He soon comes face to face with Princess Leia, and the rest is history.

The prequel "Rogue One" went to great lengths to recreate the moments leading up to the opening scene of "Star Wars," but while fans may view it as sacrosanct now, that wasn't always the case with Fox. Like many movies, "Star Wars" (now...

"Star Wars" was an all-in gamble for George Lucas in 1977. Even with the blockbuster success of 1973's "American Graffiti," the filmmaker was taking a massive risk by creating a sprawling, richly imagined sci-fi/fantasy saga from scratch. Just about every studio in Hollywood passed on the project. No one understood it. Alan Ladd, then the head of 20th Century Fox, didn't get it either, but he believed in Lucas enough to give him a budget in the neighborhood of 10 million. This translates to 52 million in 2022: not exorbitant, but big enough that Fox would feel a bit of financial pain if the film flopped.

It was impossible to predict just how emphatically moviegoers would connect with "Star Wars," and there was no road map for how to capitalize on its unprecedented success. Lucas and the VFX wizards at Industrial Light & Magic had pioneered new techniques to capture the thrilling intergalactic...

Saucy pre-Code entertainment frequently served up risqué dialogue, with edgy content like promiscuity and drug use. Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 murder mystery goes straight for a supposed family-industry no-no: Broadway-revue near-nudity featuring Earl Carroll’s ‘Most Beautiful Girls In The World’. Victor McLaglen is an inept detective and Jack Oakie a wise-cracking impresario. Gertrude Michael and Kitty Carlisle carry the musical numbers, the most famous being an ode to the still-legal Sweet Marijuana. Showgirls like Lucille Ball possess the daring to don the skimpy costumes, even if they hadn’t yet learned what Marijuana was. Duke Ellington and his orchestra sit in for Ebony Rhapsody, a mixed-race musical number with room for ‘guest dancers from Harlem.’

Murder at the Vanities

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1934 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Street Date October 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle, Dorothy Stickney, Gertrude Michael, Jessie Ralph,...

Nehemiah Persoff, who appeared as Barbra Streisand’s rabbi father in “Yentl” and had roles in hundreds of films and TV series including “Some Like It Hot” and “Twins,” died Tuesday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was 102.

His death was confirmed by his daughter, Dahlia Reano. Beyond prolific, Persoff racked up almost 200 credits in film and TV in a career that began in the very earliest days of television.

Persoff broke through in the 1959 movie “Some Like It Hot,” in which he played mobster boss Little Bonaparte. (The actor had been the last surviving member of the cast.) Early in his career, he was known for playing villainous tough guys, such as in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Wrong Man,” starring Henry Fonda, and “Al Capone,” starring Rod Steiger, in which he had a substantial role as Johnny Torrio, the mobster who mentored Capone only to be replaced by him.

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(Alan Ladd Jr. has passed away at the age of 84. In his honor, we're republishing Todd Garbarini's interview with him which originally ran in November, 2020.)

By Todd Garbarini

If you ask the average movie fan who Alan Ladd, Jr. is, you will more than likely be greeted with a blank stare. Some might say, “Oh yeah, he was in Shane!â€., erroneously thinking of his movie star father. If you asked a movie fan who Laddie is, they would probably think you were referring to that old TV show about the border collie. The truth is, “Laddieâ€. is an affectionate industry nickname for Alan Ladd, Jr., a man who grew up in and made his profession in the movie business and has produced some of the greatest and most successful films of all-time, including the Oscar-winning films The Omen (1976), Chariots of Fire...

Oscar-winning producer and influential motion picture executive Alan Ladd Jr., who ushered in the “Star Wars” era of motion pictures, died Wednesday. He was 84.

“With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on March 2, 2022, Alan Ladd, Jr. died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on films and filmmaking will live on in his absence,” his daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones, who directed the documentary “Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies,” wrote on the film’s Facebook page.

During his tenure at 20th Century Fox in the late 1970s, Ladd greenlit “Star Wars,” a $10 million sci-fi film that would become the yardstick for blockbuster movies and tentpole film franchises thereafter. He was the son of golden age film star Alan Ladd, best remembered for “Shane,” but in many ways, Ladd Jr. had a more substantial effect on Hollywood than did his famous dad.

Alan Ladd Jr., the revered Hollywood producer and studio executive who saved Star Wars when Fox wanted to shut down production and gained vindication when he received an Oscar for Braveheart after being dumped by MGM, has died. He was 84.

Ladd, who headed production at Fox, Pathe Entertainment and MGM (in two stints) and ran his own outfit, The Ladd Co., with great success, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles.

“With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on March 2, 2022, Alan Ladd, Jr. died peacefully at home surrounded by his family,” his daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones wrote on social media. “Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on films and filmmaking will live on in his absence.”

As a studio executive and producer, Ladd — the son of screen idol Alan Ladd (This Gun for Hire, Shane) — had a hand in 14 best picture nominees. His imprint...

Alan Ladd Jr, the veteran film producer who won a Best Picture Oscar for Braveheart, commissioned George Lucas to write Star Wars and was an influential executive for Fox and MGM/United Artists, died today, his family said. He was 84.

His daughter Amanda Ladd-Jones, who directed the 2017 feature documentary Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies wrote on social media: “With the heaviest of hearts, we announce that on March 2, 2022, Alan Ladd, Jr. died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on films and filmmaking will live on in his absence.”

Watch a trailer for her documentary below.

Along with Star Wars and Braveheart, Ladd was responsible for such Hollywood classics as a producer and studio boss, including Alien, Blade Runner, The Omen, All That Jazz, Norma Rae, Chariots of Fire, Thelma & Louise and Young Frankenstein.

Overall, his films...

Michael Jackson, the Los Angeles talk radio personality who spent 32 years at Kabc Radio and was syndicated on the ABC Radio Network for nearly a decade, died peacefully today at his LA home after a decade-long battle with Parkinson’s disease, a family spokesperson tells Deadline. He was 87.

“The world knew and adored our Michael Jackson. But Michael’s home was California, Los Angeles, America,” said Jackson’s frequent radio guest, former California Senator Barbara Boxer in a statement. “For that we are grateful.”

During Jackson’s time at Kabc between 1966 and 1998, he interviewed hundreds of public figures including Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, along with Heads of State, governors, senators, A-List film and TV stars, authors, musicians, singers and artists.

“It was a testament to Michael, that so many of the guests and celebrities preferred to actually come in studio,...

Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America is as epic as The Godfather, gorier than Goodfellas, and as streetwise as Mean Streets. It tells a full history, from childhood to old age, street hustles to political suicides, community toilets to opium dens. The version which is right now available on Netflix has been amazingly restored by Italy’s Bologna Cinematheque L’Immagine Ritrovata lab. I don’t think I have ever seen the film so clear, and it is a perennial to me, as is The Godfather.

It’s true, even the most devoted gangster fan and cinephile doesn’t watch Once Upon a Time in America as often as The Godfather, and it’s got Robert De Niro at his most gangta. For one thing, Leone’s film has never been as accessible. It is not shown regularly on any kind of broadcast channel, and even the...

Hollywood acknowledges the existence of America’s proto- C.I.A. intelligence agency with this espionage tale of Yanks working with the resistance in occupied France. It’s basic cloak ‘n’ dagger action, with intrepid Alan Ladd and the daring Geraldine Fitzgerald risking life and limb to plant plastic explosive bombs. The details are fairly interesting: Ladd outwits the Gestapo by working with a turncoat inside their ranks. The outcome is grimly realistic, even if that old Paramount glamour is part of the package. The writer-producer is Richard Maibaum, who would later write almost thirty years’ worth of franchise James Bond 007 adventures.

O.S.S.

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1946 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date August 10, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Alan Ladd, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles, John Hoyt, Gloria Saunders, Richard Webb, Richard Benedict, Harold Vermilyea, Don Beddoe, Onslow Stevens, Gavin Muir, Egon Brecher, Joseph Crehan, Bobby Driscoll, Julia Dean,...

And now the 93rd Annual Oscars are finished. Another one for the records books, it is now history. But how to quench your thirst for a bit more Hollywood history? Here’s the perfect refresher. It’s a warm, interview and clip-filled look back at one of the motion picture industry’s greatest producers. As a matter of fact (and it’s hammered home here) he was the head (or close to) of four of the major studio. Oh, and he’s still with us, offering his sage advice and counsel to filmmakers and stars. So we’re not talking about the cigar-chomping Golden Age studio moguls who are usually vilified in the non-fiction books and films (The biggest villain of Mank may be the ruthless and controlling Louis Mayer). No, this is about a man whose influence may have ushered in, maybe not a silver, but a bronze age,...

Alan Ladd Jr greenlit Star Wars, Alien, The Omen and many more – winning the lasting admiration of countless directors and actors. Now, his daughter has made a heartfelt celluloid tribute to the producer

Here is a highly watchable documentary about Hollywood executive Alan Ladd Jr: an old gold Hollywood profile leavened with top-notes of family strife and reconciliation. Ladd, famously, was the studio boss at 20th Century Fox who got Star Wars through when the corporate brass wanted to pull the plug; but as this film shows, there was quite a lot more to him than that.

As his name indicates, Ladd was the son of troubled he-man actor Alan Ladd and it’s safe to say they didn’t have the best of relationships: as a gawky teenager, Ladd Jr didn’t fit in with his father’s attempts to project a wholesome family image and can be seen...

Los Angeles, Feb 26: Writer F Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 classic novel The Great Gatsby is set to be made into an animated feature film.

The adaptation will be helmed by William Joyce, Oscar winner in 2012 in the Best Short Film (Animated) category for his film, The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Writer Brian Selznick is also associated with The Great Gatsby project. An official announcement on the cast is yet to be made.

Joyce said, "Gatsby continues to cast a powerful spell over readers unlike any other book in American letters. Much of the power of Gatsby comes from the enchantment of Fitzgerald's prose. He created a vivid dreamscape that, to some degree, has eluded filmmakers since the silent era."

He added, "The previous film versions were constrained by live action, but innovative animation could finally realize the elusive quality of the novel."

Joyce will direct the animated feature,...

The director of Palmer helps us kick off our new season by walking us through some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)

Salvador (1986)

True Believer (1989)

Palmer (2021)

Wonder Wheel (2017)

A Face In The Crowd (1957)

On The Waterfront (1954)

No Time For Sergeants (1958)

The Confidence Man (2018)

Lolita (1962)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)

The Marrying Man (1991)

The Ruling Class (1972)

The Krays (1990)

Let Him Have It (1991)

The Changeling (1980)

On The Border (1998)

Murder By Decree (1979)

Bigger Than Life (1956)

The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Fat City (1972)

Angel (1984)

Animal House (1978)

My Science Project (1985)

Lucía (1968)

Paper Moon (1973)

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

The Great McGinty (1940)

I Married A Witch (1942)

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Raging Bull (1980)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

The Rider (2017)

The Mustang (2019)

Nomadland (2020)

Murmur of the Heart (1971)

Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

The Conversation (1974)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

The Magnificent Ambersons...

It is staggering to think that Sophia Loren has been making movies for 70 years, initially appearing uncredited in such films as 1950’s “Tototarzan” and “Quo Vadis” before becoming a full-fledged star in mentor Vittorio De Sica’s 1954 comedy anthology “The Gold of Naples.” And she became the first performer to win an Oscar for a foreign language film for De Sica’s harrowing World War II drama “Two Women,” which opened in the U.S. in 1961. She received two more Oscar nominations for Italian productions: DeSica’s “Marriage Italian Style” and Ettore Scala’s 1977 “A Special Day.”

After a decade’s hiatus from features, Loren has made a triumphant return to film in her son Edoardo Ponti’s poignant “The Life Ahead,” currently streaming on Netflix. The 86-year-old actress has received some of the strongest reviews of her career and loud Oscar buzz for her performance as an aged prostitute...

It’s lurid, it’s soapy, it’s forbidden: where does the line form? Joseph E. Levine made hay from Harold Robbins’ best seller, with prose that The New York Times said belonged more properly “on the walls of a public lavatory.” So why is the picture so much fun? When the performances are good they’re very good, and when they’re bad they’re almost better. Plus there’s a who’s who game to be played: If George Peppard is Howard Hughes and Carroll Baker is Jean Harlow, who exactly is Robert Cummings? I think this is the first time on Blu for this title, and playback-wise it’s A-ok for Region A.

The Carpetbaggers

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 9 (Australia)

1964 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 150 min. / Street Date August 26, 2020 / Available at [Imprint] 34.95

Starring: George Peppard, Alan Ladd, Robert Cummings, Martha Hyer, Elizabeth Ashley, Martin Balsam, Lew Ayres, Carroll Baker, Ralph Taeger, Archie Moore,...

The director of Over The Edge and The Accused takes us on a journey through some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Student Teachers (1973)

Night Call Nurses (1972)

White Line Fever (1975)

Truck Turner (1974)

Heart Like A Wheel (1983)

The Accused (1988)

Over The Edge (1979)

Modern Times (1936)

City Lights (1931)

Manhattan (1979)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

North By Northwest (1959)

Moon Pilot (1962)

Mr. Billion (1977)

White Heat (1949)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Three Musketeers (1973)

The Four Musketeers (1974)

Superman (1978)

Superman II (1980)

The Three Musketeers (1948)

Shane (1953)

The 400 Blows (1959)

8 ½ (1963)

Fellini Satyricon (1969)

Richard (1972)

Millhouse (1971)

The Projectionist (1970)

El Dorado (1966)

The Shootist (1976)

Woodstock (1970)

Payback (1999)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Billy Liar (1963)

Ford Vs Ferrari (2019)

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Bad Girls (1994)

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Giant (1956)

The More The Merrier (1943)

The Graduate (1967)

The Victors (1963)

…And Justice For All (1979)

Citizen Kane (1941)

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn...

With Marvel Studios seriously considering bringing back actor Hugh Jackman in some capacity as Marvel's 'Wolverine', take another look at the good, the bad and the ugly in director James Mangold's comic book adaptation "Logan":

Michael Stevens For: The Good

"R-Rated for 'strong brutal violence and language', actor Hugh Jackman cuts like a knife, in the part he was born to play, carving his initials into another fierce performance as Marvel's mutant 'Wolverine'.

"In the near future, the scarred, 150 year old, adamantium-clawed 'Old Man Logan' is reduced to guzzling liquor and cranking drugs, while his self-healing regenerative powers continue to wane.

"Logan picks up petty cash in El Paso as a driver for hire, while hunkering down in an industrial plant on a stretch of the Mexican border.

"His hideout companions include the 'Nosferatu'-looking clairvoyant 'Caliban' (Stephen Merchant)...

"...and the foul, abusive, Alzheimer stricken...

This article contains major spoilers for Netflix’s Hollywood.

Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series is here. And as Hollywood begins tripping the light fantastic on your streaming service, we’re here to provide you with some texture, color, and insight on all the little easter eggs about the Dreamland that was. We’ve already gone further in-depth here with regard to the real historical players bouncing around Murphy and co-creator Ian Brennan’s fantasy, but here we begin a nice overview of all the little nods (and perhaps come-hither stares that accompany their winks) in the show. Go here to find all our coverage, including more episodes’ easter eggs.

Hollywood Episode 1

-Ryan Murphy begins his Hollywood show where else but at the movies! We meet David Corenswet’s Jack Castello as he watches a newsreel in awe. It tells him to go west, young man, and find his start in Hollywood’s boomtown!

” Just don’t get too complicated, Eddie. When a man gets too complicated, he’s unhappy. And when he’s unhappy, his luck runs out.”

The Blue Dahlia (1946) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 18th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the final film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series . A Facebook invite can be found Here.

In the first original screenplay by master of the crime thriller Raymond Chandler—for which he received an Oscar nomination—The Blue Dahlia pairs Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake for the third time. Ladd plays Lt. Commander Johnny Morrison, who returns home from World War II only to find that his wife, Helen has been cheating on him. Helen soon after turns up dead, and Morrison enlists the help of a mysterious stranger (Lake) to clear his...

” I just met the swellest dame… She smacked me in the kisser. “

The Glass Key starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 11th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the second film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.

Fast-tracked into production on account of Ladd’s rising stardom, The Glass Key is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1931 bestseller, previously adapted just seven years prior as a George Raft vehicle of the same name. Here we have Ladd playing Ed Beaumont, something of a fixer for corrupt politician Paul Madvig. Ed falls into a dangerous love triangle with Paul and Paul’s political rival’s daughter, Janet Henry (Lake). Things get even more complicated when Janet’s brother turns up dead,...

This Gun For Hire (1942) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake screens at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave) screens Tuesday February 4th. The film begins at 7:00pm. This is the opening film in a 3-film ‘Lake and Ladd’ series that continues February 11th with The Glass Key and February 18th with The Blue Dahlia. A Facebook invite can be found Here.

The first pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake wasn’t meant to be so—Ms. Lake’s love interest in the film is played by Robert Preston (The Music Man)—and yet all of the chemistry is between her nightclub singer and Mr. Ladd’s hit man. Based on the Graham Greene novel A Gun for Sale, This Gun for Hire shot Ladd to instant stardom and immediately had audiences clamoring for more Lake/Ladd films.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public

$6 for seniors, Webster...

Most fans of film (especially comedies) may recall this quick three or four-second gag from that iconic 1980 comic smash Airplane. The stewardess is walking up the center aisle, clutching a load of magazines. Spotting a white-haired grandmotherly-type she asks, “Would you care for something to read?” “Do you have anything light?” “How about ‘Famous Jewish Sports Legends’?”. Then Julie Haggerty hands the elderly passenger a very thin (maybe a folded page) leaflet. Got a pretty good chuckle back then. Well, the subject of this new documentary feature is worthy of a thick book (and he has). It’s a life full of drama and danger, about a man of such varied interests, he could be the hero of a thriller. And he was, in last year’s The Catcher Was A Spy, played by Ant-Man himself, Paul Rudd, no less. So many historical figures and celebrities crossed path with this man,...

"Lucky Brown" (left) with his friend of many years, Douglas Dunning.

By Todd Garbarini

Film producer, director, and sometime actor Ewing Miles Brown, who was known affectionately to legions of performers and crew members in the industry as “Lucky” Brown, passed away from respiratory failure on Monday, May 27, 2019 at the age of 97 according to his personal friend of forty years, actor and film historian Douglas Dunning.

After making his acting debut in bit parts in the Our Gang shorts (which were later titled The Little Rascals for syndication), Mr. Brown followed up with a stint as the head editor at Emperor Films and was personally recruited by film producer and movie theater owner Robert L. Lippert to head up production. Dissatisfied with working for others, Lucky branched out on his own in the late 1950’s and started his own motion picture film company called Movie Tech Studios which he built from the ground up.

Noir City: Hollywood — The 21st Annual Los Angeles Festival of Film NoirBy Alex Divine DeleonThe Noir City Festival has now come of age and the 21st edition which opened at the venerable Hollywood landmark Egyptian Theatre on Friday, March 29, 2019, will this year display twenty uncut gems on ten consecutive nights running in strict chronological order from ‘Trapped’ (1949) to ‘Cry Tough’ (1959). In essence a cannily selected survey of the Hollywood decade of the fifties from an underbelly angle such as only the Film Noir Foundation has the guts and integrity to reveal. Many of these old pictures have been rescued from oblivion by the cutting edge preservation skills of the UCLA film department.

Think the 1950s were buttoned-down and conservative? Think again.

In the 2019 edition of Noir City: Hollywood you will experience the rush — through a lens, darkly — of a turbulent and transitional time in American history, culture, and cinema. Nothing would ever be the same.

Tony Sokol Jan 26, 2019

I Am the Night exposes Dr. George Hodel, who was accused by his own son and granddaughter for being the Black Dahlia murderer.

I Am the Night tells the story of the characters who surround one of Hollywood's most famous homicides, and certainly the city of Los Angeles' longest and most infamous cold case: the Black Dahlia murder. TNT's new miniseries, directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), gets some facts right, fudges others for dramatic continuity, and smashes a few to pulp. At one point in I Am the Night, investigative reporter Jay Singletary, played by Chris Pine, picks up a graphic compilation of tabloid news on the case to catch up on what's he's missed since covering it last. The grotesque unsolved homicide had grown to iconic status.

Actress Elizabeth Short was 22 years old when her body was found in a vacant lot on Norton...

On Dec. 9, 1948, Paramount released the 88-minute Alan Ladd Western Whispering Smith. The Hollywood Reporter's original review, headlined "'Whispering' First-Rate Western Railroad Saga - Film Teeming With Realism, Activity," is below: 

It has been a long time since Western filmmakers tossed together a story of old railroading, and the fact that Whispering Smith takes up this neglected bit of subject matter is but one provocative element of a first-rate drama of the plains. 

The presentation of associate producer Mel Epstein not only gives the film a full quota of elegant action but offers a feast for ...

On Dec. 9, 1948, Paramount released the 88-minute Alan Ladd Western Whispering Smith. The Hollywood Reporter's original review, headlined "'Whispering' First-Rate Western Railroad Saga - Film Teeming With Realism, Activity," is below: 

It has been a long time since Western filmmakers tossed together a story of old railroading, and the fact that Whispering Smith takes up this neglected bit of subject matter is but one provocative element of a first-rate drama of the plains. 

The presentation of associate producer Mel Epstein not only gives the film a full quota of elegant action but offers a feast for ...

Thus far, everything seems to be going right for Bradley Cooper. He has consistently shown his smarts (and patience) in surviving the celebrity interview circuit. Even the Tomato Tyrants have been downright loving to A Star Is Born (91% “fresh”). Academy voters formed a geriatric line along Wilshire Boulevard for the rare sold-out screening and Q&A at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, though Lady Gaga blew them off.

But while exuberant trade reviewers have already anointed Cooper a kudos contender, a few grumpy New York critics have raised this question: Will A Star Is Born become yet another victim of The Gatsby Syndrome as it pursues the long and winding road to the Oscars?

As with The Great Gatsby, Cooper has fashioned the fourth remake of a venerable story — one that poses an enticing “set-up” and vivid characters, but a fragile third act. Gatsby, of course, traces back to F. Scott Fitzgerald...

Norristown, Pa. — Bill Cosby was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon to three to 10 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home back in 2004 — the final step in his downward spiral from America’s Dad to convicted felon.

Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill denied Cosby’s request for bail pending his appeal. Cosby took off his suit jacket, watch, and tie as two deputy sheriffs handcuffed him and transported him to jail.

Cosby showed no visible reaction to the sentence, which was close to the maximum that could be imposed. He remained seated in the courtroom, chatting quietly with his lawyers and two friends during a recess.

Under Pennsylvania law, Cosby will have to serve the full minimum of three years before he can be eligible for parole. The maximum possible sentence was five to 10 years behind bars.

“This is a serious crime,” said O’Neill,...

Frank Tuttle, the man who made a star of Alan Ladd with the twisted film noir This Gun for Hire (1942), began as a comedy specialist, churning out three or more films a year as vehicles for Eddie Cantor, Edgar Bergen and his knee-pal Charlie McCarthy, Burns & Allen et cetera. Pleasure Cruise (1933) is a pre-Code farce centered on improbably couple Roland Young and Genevieve Tobin.Young plays a penniless author working as house-husband to the gainfully employed Tobin, while seething with jealousy at the thought of the young blades romancing her in the office. In one of many unusual stylistic touches, we see her portrait come to life and watch as she mingles with the staff, none of whom looks to be under sixty, and they're not exactly silver foxes. The stage is set for a film mocking male paranoia and jealousy and questioning notions of fidelity, virtue, and honesty.Young is his usual self,...

To see the feline countenance of Alain Delon is to immediately understand his movie stardom. How could he have been anything else? It would almost be a cosmic insult to his beauty not to commit it to celluloid. But beyond the erotically-charged pin-up and genre tough guy, Delon would also become a respected actor with a long list of auteur collaborators: Visconti, Melville, Antonioni, Joseph Losey, and the like. The mega-star of European cinema, with his cold grey eyes and louche attitude, could be forbidding or aloof; dashing or innocent. There’s a chance to see all of those iterations of the actor at a new retrospective dedicated to him at New York’s Quad Cinema, aptly-titled "L’Homme Fatal."Early in his career, Delon’s youthful beauty would be utilized in Luchino Visconti’s classics Rocco and his Brothers (1960) and The Leopard (1963), but filmmakers also quickly recognized his ability to play the cad,...