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Jonathan Haze had over 40 screen acting credits to his name, with many of those credits being earned on Roger Corman productions – and the one credit that stands out among all others came when Haze took on the role of Seymour Krelborn in Corman’s 1960 man-eating plant classic The Little Shop of Horrors. We lost Corman earlier this year, when he passed away at the age of 98. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that we’ve lost Haze as well. His daughter Rebecca informed them that Haze passed away at his home in Los Angeles this past Saturday at the age of 95.

A cousin of drummer Buddy Rich, Haze was born with the name Jack Aaron Schachter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1929. He worked the stage for Rich and was Josephine Baker’s stage manager for two years before he got into acting. He hitchhiked to L.A. and got a...

Peter Yates' "Bullitt" is one of the most stylish cop flicks ever made. Those multi-screen opening credits designed by the great Pablo Ferro, that jazzily urbane Lalo Schifren score, those wildly cool outfits donned by Steve McQueen at the height of his laconic sexiness (some inspired by the suits sported by real life detective Dave Toschi) –- it's a stone groove punctuated by spasms of violence and, of course, a raucous car chase through the hilly streets of San Francisco. It's so ineffably pleasurable, you don't mind that the narrative is a sketchily plotted afterthought. Who needs an intricately structured story when you're watching, as Quentin Tarantino wrote in his book "Cinema Speculation," "one of the best directed movies ever made?"

You throw on "Bullitt" for the 1968-ness of it all (it's the apolitical flip-side of the coin to Haskell Wexler's roiling docudrama "Medium Cool"), as well as the...

For comedy fans of a certain age, watching VHS copies of the 1982 concert film “Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip” until the tape fell off of the spools was a rite of passage. Until Eddie Murphy‘s “Raw” dethroned it later in the 1980s, it was the most successful stand-up special of all time, and understandably so; marking Pryor‘s return to the stage after the freebasing accident that almost killed him, it was not only hilarious but revealing and poignant — the passage toward the end of the film in which Pryor personifies his crack pipe and acts out his own struggles with it is one of the most potent depictions of addiction ever put on screen.

The problem is that those VHS copies, as well as the blurry transfers on cable television where “Sunset Strip” was a staple for years, captured the greatness of Pryor’s performance but...

“I directed the best political movie never released.”

Filmmaker Haskell Wexler thus described Medium Cool, his violent feature set during Chicago’s riotous 1968 Democratic National Convention. His movie opened (sort of) exactly 55 years ago this week.

The Paramount release won ardent support from critics and (briefly) from ticket buyers but was renounced by leaders of the Democratic Party and the Chicago police. Their criticism was short-lived because the negative would quickly disappear. A Paramount spokesman was reluctant to confirm it had ever been made.

The mysteries of Medium Cool seemed relevant to cineastes this week as history threatened to repeat itself in Chicago. As in 1968, the chaos at the Democratic convention would be triggered by an overseas conflict – Gaza now, Vietnam then. But the police this week showed they’d learned from the bitter lessons of ’68 when violence jeopardized the political process and the election itself.

Despite forecasts of a...

The sky above Chicago is bright and blue as Democrats gather this week to pitch their vision for America on live TV over the next four nights.

But no matter how high the hopes of the faithful, there are clouds hanging over this particular Democratic National Convention that have been there for more than 50 years. Ghosts from the last time the Democrats convened for a DNC in Chicago were evident Sunday as delegates and other attendees arrived in the Windy City.

The events in and around the 1968 DNC in Chicago have endured as a landmark moment of political chaos and social change for America. Inside the convention hall, Democrats struggled mightily to coalesce around a consensus nominee after the upheaval of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision not to run for reelection and the assassination of his most likely Democratic successor, Robert F. Kennedy. Those two events happened in the...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Roxy Cinema

Fidelio, our four-film program with Chapo Trap House’s Movie Mindset, begins this Saturday with Eyes Wide Shut on 35mm, which plays again on Sunday.

Museum of the Moving Image

70mm prints of 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia screen.

Film at Lincoln Center

A retrospective of Mexican popular cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s continues and a new restoration of Shinji Sōmai’s Moving opens.

Film Forum

A career-spanning Jean-Pierre Melville retrospective continues, as do restorations of Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams and Seven Samurai.

Anthology Film Archives

Films by James Benning, Robert Bresson, and Jean Eustache screen in “Verbatim“; films by James Broughton play in “Essential Cinema.”

Bam

Claire Denis’ monumental No Fear, No Die and Mapantsula continue screening in new restorations.

Museum of Modern Art

“Silent Movie Week 2024” begins

IFC Center

“Defamed to Acclaimed” brings films by the Wachowskis,...

Chicago – It was another city in another time when Andrew Davis directed his first film “Stony Island” in 1970s Chicago. The film was released in 1978 to acclaim, but faded into the mist of cinema. Andrew Davis is back in his hometown to introduce “Stony Island” at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Friday, November 17th, 2023. For tickets and info, click Stony Island.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Lovingly filmed on the gritty 1970s streets in the Chicago of Andy Davis, the film features his brother Richard Davis as Ritchie, a white boy guitarist trying to break into a Southside rhythm and blues band that cooks with its own brand of Windy City soul. Based a bit on his brother’s actual circumstances, the film features actual singers and players of the era, including a magnificent performance by Gene Barge as Percy Price, the centerpiece cat in the story who ends up in a fate of celebration.

Click here to read the full article.

Among all the diverse documentaries that had their premieres at this year’s Telluride Film Festival, Chris Smith’s Sr. stands as one of the most unique and affecting. The film is on one level a portrait of indie film pioneer Robert Downey Sr., who was part of the American New Wave that energized cinema in the late 1960s. But the film is also a loving tribute to a father by his very famous son, Robert Downey Jr., who participated in the filming with his wife and fellow producer, Susan Downey.

While the film chronicles Downey Sr.’s career and sometimes tumultuous personal life, it is also a poignant — if inevitably incomplete — father-son chronicle. Downey died last year from Parkinson’s Disease, and he was ill during much of the filming, so that adds an element of pathos that is never overstated.

It...

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (Iffmh) is for the first time taking place in cinemas across both cities, introducing new sections, and looking back at its rich history with a special retrospective.

“Being 70 in a way is a starting point for reflection,” says festival director Sascha Keilholz. “What was the festival like in the past? What is it now? Where do we want to go in the future? The festival is in a transformational process that we started last year and was actually quite successful.”

Indeed, after adopting a new brand image last year, the Iffmh won the 2021 German Brand Award for brand strategy and design.

After being forced online last year amid the pandemic, going back into theaters was one of this year’s main goals, Keilholz says. “This is more important than ever.”

In celebrating its return to cinemas as well...

Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler is the subject of Shoot from the Heart, a new documentary short by Joan Churchill and Alan Barker. Shot over a ten-year period, it follows Wexler as he works on a music video, interacts with film students, and accompanies Jane Fonda to a festival screening of Coming Home. A highlight of Shoot from the Heart is a dinner Wexler shares with documentarian D.A. Pennebaker. The meal extends over hours, with additional footage supplied by Chris Hegedus. As the two reminisce about Sally Rand and […]

The post “We Were Inspired by Haskell the Activist, the Person, and Not the Hollywood Legend and Cinematographer”: Cinematographer and Doc NYC Honoree Joan Churchill and Sound Recordist Alan Barker on Their Wexler Doc, Shoot from the Heart first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

“The Oscar show will have so much wattage, sunglasses may be required to watch.” So proclaims an Academy release this week, deftly ignoring the gloomy clouds hovering over Oscar weekend (voting opens today).

Closures of the Cinerama Dome and other ArcLight and Pacific theaters this week provided a reality check for Oscar prospects. So did projections that the show’s audience may dwell in the 12 milllion-15 million range, down from 42 million in 2014. A glimpse at the “awareness” studies underscores the challenge: Despite some heroic promotion, a movie like Mank failed to register much of an awareness ripple, finishing below Judas and the Black Messiah and others.

In response to all this, will the voting constituencies themselves tune in or tune out? The Academy’s zealous get-out-the-vote campaign has itself reflected concern about Oscar weekend and its gritty choices, reminding voters that winning an Oscar provides a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Vote totals,...

The riot scenes in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” posed the biggest challenges to the re-recording mixer, Julian Slater, and the supervising sound editor, Renee Tondelli, in getting the sounds aspects just right. “The riot scenes and the demonstrations had a certain rhythm to them. You start a slow build and don’t want to reach the end too quickly,” Slater tells Gold Derby in our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above). He specifically cites the score composed by Daniel Pemberton as an accelerant but needing to be a counter to that on the mixing end. “You need to balance that with the energy of the crowd yet whilst hearing everything that’s being said.” Tondelli concurs, saying that, “It was a chaotic score and we went against that, we didn’t go for chaos.”

SEEDaniel Pemberton interview: ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ composer

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,...

On paper, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” sounds like a straightforward courtroom drama, but it’s actually a stealthily complicated movie to assemble. While the central plot revolves around the men on trial on charges of inciting a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Aaron Sorkin film is non-linear and is full of quick cutaways in and out of the courtroom, requiring lots of planning beforehand.

“You’re not portraying this event in a way you would normally do it if it were not as intercut,” cinematographer Phedon Papamichael tells Gold Derby at our Meet the Btl Experts: Film Cinematography panel (watch above). “It really has to be designed and the shots have to be structured to be able to function in the rhythm of the edit, which is leaving the courtroom often for a vignette that’s really five seconds and then you’re back in the courtroom.

You’ve asked questions. Prepare for the answers.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)

The Beguiled (1971)

Tenet (2021? Maybe?)

Smokey Is The Bandit (1983)

Robin Hood (2010)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

The Devils (1971)

Song of the South (1946)

Gremlins (1984)

Dillinger (1973)

Marcello I’m So Bored (1966)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

Big Wednesday (1978)

Swamp Thing (1982)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Payback (1999)

Bell, Book And Candle (1958)

Blowup (1966)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Medium Cool (1969)

25th Hour (2002)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Palm Springs (2020)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Mandy (2018)

The Sadist (1963)

Spider Baby (1968)

Night Tide (1960)

Stark Fear

Carnival of Souls (1962)

The Devil’s Messenger (1961)

Ms. 45 (1981)

Léolo (1992)

The Howling (1981)

Showgirls (1995)

Green Book (2018)

The Last Hurrah (1958)

The Best Man (1964)

Advise and Consent (1962)

The Candidate (1972)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Seven Days In May (1964)

The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)

The Man (1972)

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

Four Lions (2010)

Pump Up The Volume (1990)

Nightmare In The Sun (1965)

The Wild Angels (1966)

The Omega Man (1971)

The Nanny (1965)

Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man...

The individual sitting across from me was a veteran filmmaker who was tormented by a tough decision. “The story I want to tell should be made as a doc, not a feature film,” he told me. “But let’s get real: Movies occupy center stage while documentaries sit in the balcony.”

He ended up shooting a feature (more on that later), but in today’s Hollywood, he would have reached the opposite conclusion. That’s because documentaries at the moment are stealing both the audiences and the conversation, and, along the way, acquiring some of the bad habits of the fiction film business — fights over budgets, credits and release dates.

This week, viewers will check out new docs about the future career path facing Michelle Obama, or the mysterious death of Natalie Wood, or the dauntless ambitions of Michael Jordan, or the perils of undercover probes (The Infiltrators). Or they...

Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always has and will continue to be called “an abortion film” as if it were high concept and merely academic. It does find shape in the contents of its “issue,” the cumbersome process its 17-year old-protagonist Autumn sustains to get an abortion without her parents’ consent. But Hittman has concentrated these details to integrate them into the stylization of her film. Information doesn't just facilitate a procedure that might feel daunting to young viewers, it also steers Autumn’s orbit and alludes to the film’s grander scope and emotional intentions. The accents of its naturalismalso allude to more than just a sense of realistic spontaneity.It’s not enough for Hittman to know the implications of the film’s minutiae. But by placing them in the context of Autumn’s “fragile” reality, she makes those allusions felt because the small things feel bigger...

It is hard not to be entertained by QT8: The First Eight, a feature-length documentary chronicling the first eight films written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, featuring interviews with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Kurt Russell, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The clips are a reminder of the still-startling brilliance of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, the slow-burn sensuality of Jackie Brown, and the two-part powerhouse that is Kill Bill. Significant time is spent on Inglorious Bastards and Django Unchained, and two films most in need of reappraisal—Death Proof and The Hateful Eight—are given proper respect.

As the title lays out, do not, however, expect insight into Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood as the ninth film from Tarantino is barely mentioned. Considering that Hollywood might be the finest film of his career, one imagines a supplement to the documentary might already be around the corner.

Actor Robert Forster‘s first film, 1967’s “Reflections in a Golden Eye,” starred Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando, who already were Hollywood legends. But he managed to make a splash on screen in the John Huston-directed dark-themed drama set in a 1940s U.S. Army post by playing a kinky soldier who enjoyed racing through the woods stark naked on top of a black stallion.

His final film, which opened on October 11 — the day he was dead from brain cancer at 78 — was “El Camino,” a spin-off of AMC’s crime series “Breaking Bad” released by Netflix, in which he reprised his role as Ed, a vacuum cleaner repairman who works undercover as a new identity expert who assists Bryan Cranston‘s Walter White. Cranston, who first met Forster when he worked as a special effects assistant on “Alligator” was among the many who paid tribute to his co-star:

I’m...

Robert Forster‘s Breaking Bad and El Camino costars are paying tribute to the late actor.

Forster died in Los Angeles on Friday at the age of 78, after battling brain cancer. His death came the same day that one of his last projects, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, was released on Netflix. In the film, which is a spinoff of the Emmy-winning AMC series, Forster reprised his role as Ed Galbraith.

On Saturday, El Camino star Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad and the new movie, paid tribute to Forster on Twitter.

“I am heartbroken...

It is no surprise how many people are expressing grief at the death of Robert Forster from brain cancer at age 78. It was far too soon. He’s actually on screen now, in Vince Gilligan’s “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which hit both theaters and Netflix this weekend.

Anyone who met Forster knows what a kindly man he was, often handing out elegant silver letter openers to set visitors and new acquaintances; he gave me my second at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where he was promoting the intimate family drama “What They Had.” He steals the movie and provides its emotional center as the tough but vulnerable patriarch doggedly hanging onto his wife (Blythe Danner) as she slips into Alzheimer’s.

Bryan Cranston described his “Alligator,” “Breaking Bad,” and “El Camino” costar Forster as a “lovely man and a consummate actor,” he tweeted. “I never...

It is no surprise how many people are expressing grief at the death of Robert Forster from brain cancer at age 78. It was far too soon. He’s actually on screen now, in Vince Gilligan’s “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which hit both theaters and Netflix this weekend.

Anyone who met Forster knows what a kindly man he was, often handing out elegant silver letter openers to set visitors and new acquaintances; he gave me my second at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where he was promoting the intimate family drama “What They Had.” He steals the movie and provides its emotional center as the tough but vulnerable patriarch doggedly hanging onto his wife (Blythe Danner) as she slips into Alzheimer’s.

Bryan Cranston described his “Alligator,” “Breaking Bad,” and “El Camino” costar Forster as a “lovely man and a consummate actor,” he tweeted. “I never...

Los Angeles – The unforgettable actor Robert Forster had one of the most celebrated of “second acts” in show biz history, but he would humbly characterize himself as a “working actor,” performing in film and TV for over 50 years. Forster passed away on October 11th, 2019, in Los Angeles. He was 78 years old.

Robert Wallace Forster Jr. was born in Rochester, New York, and graduated from the University of Rochester in the mid-1960s. His father had done time as an elephant trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses, so the show business coursing through his blood changed his ambitions from the legal profession to acting. After making his Broadway debut in 1965 with “Mrs. Dolly,” the rave reviews got him a screen test at 20th Century Fox, and he was one of the last put under contract by old school studio chief Darryl Zanuck.

Robert Forster at the 54th Chicago...

Forster in Tarantino's "Jackie Brown".

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actor Robert Forster has passed away from brain cancer at age 78. Forster enjoyed a long career that included many major feature films as well appearances on popular television shows. He made his feature film debut in director John Huston's 1967 pyscho-sexual drama "Reflections in a Golden Eye". In the film, Forster played a hunky U.S. Army private with a penchant for taking nude nighttime horseback rides, a scenario that obsesses a secretly gay officer played by Marlon Brando. He would soon land a plum supporting role opposite Gregory Peck in the 1969 western thriller "The Stalking Moon". That same year, Forster had a rare leading role in director Haskell Wexler's controversial and acclaimed counter-culture drama "Medium Cool" that chronicled the riots at the `1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Stardom didn't follow, however, and Forster soon found himself laboring in supporting roles in mostly forgettable films.

Alec Bojalad Oct 12, 2019

Robert Forster, the prolific actor best known for roles in Jackie Brown and the recent El Camino, has died at 78.

Robert Forster, a prolific actor whose career spanned over a hundred films including a starring role in 1997's Jackie Brown, has died at 78. Forster died at his Los Angeles home from brain cancer. Deadline reported the news, which was confirmed by Forster's family and representatives.

Born in Rochester, New York, Forster moved to New York City to pursue an acting career shortly after graduating from the University of Rochester. His film-acting career began in 1967 with a small role in the Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando-starring film Reflections in a Golden Eye. He would go on to work consistently through six decades, culminating most recently with a role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which premiered on the same day of Forster's death.

In the Breaking Bad universe,...

78-year-old Robert Forster died this past Friday in Los Angeles after a brief battle with brain cancer. The calmly charismatic actor left behind a wealth of credits, including his latest, “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which was just released on Netflix. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1998 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown.” His other credits include “Medium Cool,” “The Descendants,” “Mulholland Drive,” the latest season of “Twin Peaks,” the TV series “Nakia” and “Banyon,” and many more.

Below, IndieWire has rounded up testimonies from members of the entertainment community who’ve spoken out in tribute to the actor via Twitter.

Tarantino also chimed in, via Deadline, to say: “Today the world is left with one less gentlemen. One less square shooter. One less good man. One less wonderful father. One less marvelous actor. I remember all the breakfasts we had at silver spoons.

Robert Forster, the longtime character actor who experienced a career resurgence after his Oscar-nominated performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, has died at the age of 78.

The actor’s publicist confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that Forster died Friday at his Los Angeles home following a battle with brain cancer.

Forster’s death came the same day his final role was released on Netflix: A reprisal of his Breaking Bad role of Ed “the Disappearer” in the spinoff film El Camino.

“With more than 100 film credits spanning six decades,...

Robert Forster has died.

The beloved actor, who is best known for his roles on Jackie Brown and Breaking Bad, died on Friday following a battle with brain cancer. He was 78.

His passing comes on the same day the Breaking Bad movie, El Camino, was released.

Forster reprised his role Ed in that movie, the one he played on the hit AMC original series, meaning that fans may already have watched his final role.

He started out his career with roles in hit movies Reflections in a Golden Eye and Medium Cool, before turning his attention to the small screen.

He was the lead cast member on NBC's Banyon and ABC's Nakia, but both series were short-lived.

Forster followed those up with roles in Magnum P.I., Walker, Texas Ranger, and Police Story.

However, his breakthrough role came in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. He played the role of...

Oscar-nominee Robert Forster has died. He was 78.

Forster, who was known for his roles in movies like Mulholland Drive and Medium Cool, died in Los Angeles on Friday after battling brain cancer, a representative for the actor confirmed to People.

Despite being known for acting in movies, Forster also appeared in many TV shows, including Heroes, Alcatraz, Twin Peaks and, most recently, Last Man Standing. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1998 for his supporting role in Jackie Brown.

He also appeared in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which was released on Netflix Friday.

In the movie, which is...

Robert Forster, an Academy Award nominee for 1997’s Jackie Brown and who reprised his Breaking Bad role in the just-released El Camino follow-up movie, died on Friday following a battle with brain cancer. He was 78.

After starting out his career with roles in such movies as Reflections in a Golden Eye (opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando) and Medium Cool, Forster headlined a pair of short-lived TV series, NBC’s Banyon and then ABC’s Nakia.

More from TVLineLast Man Standing: How [Spoiler]'s Death Will Affect Fox RevivalTwin Peaks Recasts Major Role for Revival (and It's a Total Bummer)TVLine Items: Syfy's 12 Monkeys Trailer,...

Robert Forster, a prolific character actor who was nominated for an Oscar for Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” and appeared in more than 100 films, died Friday in Los Angeles of brain cancer. He was 78.

Tarantino created the bail bondsman character Max Cherry with Forster in mind, and the role netted him his first Academy Award nomination.

Most recently Forster reprised his “Breaking Bad” role as Ed in “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which was released Friday, and appeared in Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” and in “Werewolf.”

David Lynch cast the actor with a distinctive weathered look in “Mulholland Dr.” and in the rebooted “Twin Peaks” as Sheriff Frank Truman.

“I’ve done a lot of genre pictures in my career…I’ve always liked them,” Forster told the Bleecker Street blog upon the release of 2018’s indie drama “What They Had.”

Forster played Tim Allen’s father in “Last Man Standing,...

Robert Forster, an Academy Award nominee for his work as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, died at his Los Angeles home today following a brief battle with brain cancer. His death was confirmed by his family and representatives.

Forster appeared in more than 100 films, including his latest, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, released today via Netflix.

Born in Rochester, New York, Forster, a member of Triple Nine Society, graduated from the University of Rochester and then moved to New York City, where he was quickly cast in the Broadway production Mrs. Dally Has a Lover, opposite Arlene Francis.

Forster’s performance caught the eye of director John Huston, who cast him in his first film, Reflections in a Golden Eye, with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando. He then worked with renowned director Haskell Wexler on Medium Cool, which became a classic due to its filming during...

To Quentin Tarantino, the year 1969 represented a moment of magic and turmoil in Hollywood and, being Tarantino, he determined to make a movie exploring it. He was, in fact, only 6 years old in 1969; as a result, his “take” on that year inevitably poses a challenge to those of us who’d actually lived through it. This is particularly true since Tarantino has a colorful propensity to rewrite history, his movies re-arraying events about slavery or Hitler — or hippies.

The upshot: Tarantino’s new movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, offers filmgoers classic star turns from Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Both seem exhilarated, cast as polar opposites of their true selves: DiCaprio plays a terminally insecure actor, obsessed that he will never achieve stardom, Pitt plays an unemployed stunt man eager to bury his loser past. Both have an eerie premonition of a generational change in the public taste for TV and movies,...

If 1939 was cinema's golden year, 1969 was its watershed. Though Hollywood was still producing big-budget films (Hello, Dolly!) and features starring such veterans as John Wayne (True Grit), the counterculture was quickly taking root. That year heralded the arrival of such new filmmakers as Paul Mazursky (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) and three X-rated dramas — John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool and Frank Perry's Last Summer — which all became critical and commercial successes. Midnight Cowboy even claimed the best picture Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards over relatively lighter fare like Dolly! and Butch ...

If 1939 was cinema's golden year, 1969 was its watershed. Though Hollywood was still producing big-budget films (Hello, Dolly!) and features starring such veterans as John Wayne (True Grit), the counterculture was quickly taking root. That year heralded the arrival of such new filmmakers as Paul Mazursky (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) and three X-rated dramas — John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool and Frank Perry's Last Summer — which all became critical and commercial successes. Midnight Cowboy even claimed the best picture Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards over relatively lighter fare like Dolly! and Butch ...

IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to “Olympic Dreams,” a romance shot on location at the 2018 Winter Olympics co-starring Nick Kroll and real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas. The film draws on Pappas’ experiences in the Rio Olympic Games of 2016, and she shares a writing credit on the project with director Jeremy Teicher.

The couple previously co-directed the 2016 drama “Tracktown,” which starred Pappas as long-distance runner who attempts to take a break in the midst of stressful training sessions. That movie caught the attention of International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who watched it on a plane and selected Pappas as one of four athletes chosen to participate in last year’s artists-in-residence program.

“Olympic Dreams” was initially conceived as a series of narrative short films, which were posted to the Olympic Channel, but Pappas and Teicher convinced the Olympics to allow them to cut a feature-length story out of the footage.

Those scurrilous Italian ‘mondo’ films are difficult to see in original versions; this Something Weird double bill yields an American hybrid of one of the better (?) examples, given the classy touch of a narration by George Sanders. A second oversexed pseudo-docu is a homegrown mongrel with all the credibility of today’s Reality TV — it doesn’t even try to be legit. Once again, Severin comes through with a doubly guilty pleasure, for sex-starved carnival suckers everywhere.

Ecco + The Forbidden

Blu-ray

Severin Films/Something Weird

1962/65 + 1966

Street Date January 29, 2019

29.98

Severin Films has released two Something Weird ‘Mondo’ double bills on Blu-ray, that came out on DVD thirteen years ago on the Image label. One of the few genres of exploitation film that still receives little or no serious criticism is an infestation series of opportunistic faux- documentaries borne from the massive success of 1962’s Mondo Cane. These pictures do have a...

Bloom with Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter".

Veteran actress Verna Bloom has died at age 80. Bloom made her screen debut as the female lead in Haskell Wexler's acclaimed 1969 film "Medium Cool". Her performance gained her much traction in the film industry and she went on to star opposite Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter" and "Honkytonk Man". She also memorably appeared in director John Landis's "National Lampoon's Animal House" playing the dean's wife who had a penchant for bedding college students. Her other film credits include "Badge 373", "The Hired Hand", "The Last Temptation of Christ" and the Frank Sinatra TV movie "Pickup on Cherry Street". Click here for more.

Verna Bloom, a character actress best known for playing the cheating wife of Dean Wormer in “Animal House” and Mary, mother of Jesus in Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ,” has died at age 80.

A family spokesperson told USA Today that Bloom died from complications from dementia.

Bloom made her film debut co-starring in Haskell Wexler’s acclaimed 1969 drama “Medium Cool,” for which she received a best actress and best supporting actress nomination from the National Society of Film Critics.

She appeared as Sarah Belding in Clint Eastwood’s 1973 Western “High Plains Drifter,” and later worked again with Eastwood in his 1982 film “Honkytonk Man.”

During this time, Bloom also struck a working relationship with Scorsese, appearing in three of his films: 1970’s “Street Scenes,” 1985’s “After Hours,” and in 1988, “The Last Temptation of Christ.”

Also Read: Daryl Dragon, the Captain of Pop Duo Captain and Tennille, Dies at...

Verna Bloom, whose memorable turn as Marion Wormer in the 1979 comedy classic Animal House saw her immortalize cucumber innuendo, has died. She passed Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine from dementia complications, according to a family spokesperson.

Bloom had a long career in film, television and on the stage, spanning a wide range of roles in drama and comedy. She made her film debut in Medium Cool as a single mother mixed up in the violence of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. She also worked with Martin Scorsese in the comedy After Hours; played Mary in the The Last Temptation of Christ; was the lover of Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter (1973) and again joined him in Honkytonk Man.

Perhaps her most memorable film role was Marion Wormer, the boozy but sexy wife of Faber College Dean Vernon Wormer in Animal House. Approached in the supermarket vegetable isle by Tim Matheson’s Bmoc Otter,...

Verna Bloom, who starred in Haskell Wexler's groundbreaking Medium Cool and played the boozing, philandering wife of the college dean in the John Landis comedy Animal House, has died. She was 80.

Bloom died Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine, of complications from dementia, family spokesman Mike Kaplan announced.

For Martin Scorsese, Bloom portrayed a sculptor in the comedy After Hours (1985) and then Mary in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Earlier, she was the lover of Clint Eastwood's The Stranger in High Plains Drifter (1973) before reteaming with the actor-director in Honkytonk Man (1982).

Survivors include her husband Jay ...

Verna Bloom, who starred in Haskell Wexler's groundbreaking Medium Cool and played the boozing, philandering wife of the college dean in the John Landis comedy Animal House, has died. She was 80.

Bloom died Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine, of complications from dementia, family spokesman Mike Kaplan announced.

For Martin Scorsese, Bloom portrayed a sculptor in the comedy After Hours (1985) and then Mary in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Earlier, she was the lover of Clint Eastwood's The Stranger in High Plains Drifter (1973) before reteaming with the actor-director in Honkytonk Man (1982).

Survivors include her husband Jay ...

Verna Bloom, who appeared in “Animal House” and worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese, died Jan. 9 in Bar Harbor, Maine, her rep confirmed to Variety. She was 80 years old.

The cause was complications of dementia, her family stated.

Although Bloom appeared extensively in theater and television, she is most noted for her film work. One of her memorable roles came in John Landis’ 1978 comedy “Animal House,” in which she appeared as the drunken, debauched wife of the beleaguered Dean Wormer. She also appeared in three films by Martin Scorsese — “Street Scenes 1970,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988), and “After Hours” (1985) — and two by Clint Eastwood: “High Plains Drifter” (1973) and “Honkytonk Man” (1982).

Bloom was born in Lynn, Mass., in 1938. After graduating from Boston University, she moved to Denver and started a local theater. Moving to New York in the mid-1960s, she starred as Charlotte Corday in the Broadway revival of “Marat/Sade” and,...

Chicago – Families dealing with the effects of aging parents – which include dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease – can experience a new film which explores these topics through the family dynamic. “What They Had” is writer/director Elizabeth Chomko’s debut, and features Robert Forster, Blythe Danner, Hilary Swank and Michael Shannon.

Blythe Danner and Robert Forster in ‘What They Had’

Photo credit: Bleecker Street Media

Forster and Danner portray an elder couple from Chicago, who are being pressured by their children (Michael Shannon and Hilary Swank) to provide dementia care for Danner’s character, who is mentally slipping away. Taut and emotional, it features fine performances from all the principal players, including Forster as a man of his generation who isn’t used to ultimately not taking care of his castle and family. The film recently had a Red Carpet screening at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff), and is currently in release nationwide.

Chicago – He’s a legendary character actor that began his career in 1967. She’s a first time director interpreting her own script, which that legend called “the best he’s ever been in.” Robert Forster portrays Burt in writer/director Elizabeth Chomko’s “What They Had,” also featuring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Blythe Danner and Taissa Farmiga. Forster and Chomko walked the Red Carpet representing the film at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival on Monday, October 15th, 2018.

Robert Forster of ‘What They Had’ at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival

Photo credit: Joe Arce for Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

“What They Had” features an elder Chicago couple, portrayed by Blythe Danner and Robert Forster, who are being pressured by their children (Michael Shannon and Hilary Swank) to provide dementia care for Danner’s character, who is mentally slipping away. Taut and emotional, it features fine performances from all the principal players,...

It is perhaps the most famous movie never made. Orson Welles’ “The Other Side of the Wind” was intended to be his magnum opus, an ambitious meta-movie about a filmmaker’s last night on Earth, intercut with footage of his final project — a parody of an over-stylized 1970s atmospheric art film in the vein of Antonioni, et al. But Welles didn’t finish the movie, and now, Netflix has come to the rescue, ponying up to complete this missing piece of the master’s oeuvre — which is not quite the same thing as a “masterpiece,” alas, though that word will get used plenty.

A companion documentary about Welles’ particular obsession with this film, and the final decade or so of his career, “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead” is not a traditional making-of, nor is it an especially useful reference to how the movie came to be completed.

Chicago – It was 50 years ago today – August 28th, 1968 – that Chicago Police and Viet Nam War protestors clashed in front of the Hilton Chicago Hotel on Michigan Avenue, while the Democratic National Convention was in town nominating Hubert Humphrey as their presidential candidate. As the police used excessive force on the protestors, the “whole world was watching.” This included witnesses actor/director Warren Beatty, comedian Robert Klein, and the production crew – including future director Andrew Davis – of the Haskell Wexler film “Medium Cool.”

Medium Coolers: Writer/Director/Cinematographer Haskell Wexler and Director Andrew Davis

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

The story of “Medium Cool” (released in 1969) is quite remarkable. Writer/Director Haskell Wexler had already won an Oscar as Director of Photography for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” and was one of the most sought after cinematographers during that era. Although “Medium Cool” was a narrative feature film,...

Previous | Image 1 of 6 | NextCelebration: Michael Kutza, Founder of the Chicago International Film Festival.

Chicago – It was a night of stars, tributes and memories as Cinema/Chicago, the organization that presents the annual Chicago International Film Festival, honored the Founder of the Fest (and longtime Artistic Director) Michael Kutza at their 2018 Summer Gala on July 14th. Appearing on the Red Carpet to honor the Chicago cinema icon, who will be retiring at the end of the year, were movie stars Kathleen Turner and Terrence Howard, directors Andrew Davis (“The Fugitive”) and Steve James (“Hoop Dreams), as well as the iconic movie producer Paula Wagner.

Michael Kutza was 22 years old in 1965, when he founded the Chicago International Film Festival, with former silent film star and Chicagoan Colleen Moore. He was Artistic Director until 2017, and held that title longer than any other festival Ad in history… and in honor of that record and...

Joe

Blu ray

Olive Films

1970 /1:85 / Street Date April 24, 2018

Starring Peter Boyle, Susan Sarandon

Cinematography by John Avildsen

Written by Norman Wexler

Directed by John Avildsen

Galvanized by Martin Luther King’s assassination, an army of protestors descended upon 1968’s Democratic convention then playing out on Chicago’s south side. They were greeted by an enraged mayor who made sure there would be no contest between his men in blue and their bell-bottemed adversaries – cops came out swinging and left Michigan Avenue swimming in blood and the smell of tear gas.

Like Vietnam, Richard Daley’s Windy city purge was a living room war – a TV sensation that ensured the whole world would be watching. It took some time for movies to catch up. Films like Medium Cool and Easy Rider met the head-cracking controversy head on but big studio releases related to this particular counter-culture moment tended toward docile...

Above: French poster for Chronicle of a Summer (Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin, France, 1961). Design by Raymond Gid.There is an essential and vital film series opening today at Film Forum in New York: a survey of 1960s Cinema Verité productions which brings vividly to life a decade of instability and protest as well as a new era of introspection. While this survey of posters doesn’t give a complete look at the series—“more than 50 modern classics which not only changed the recording of social history, but revolutionized filmmaking itself”—since many of the films are not feature-length (some of the shows pair an hour long film with a 30 minute short) and thus were not theatrically released. But those that I’ve gathered do convey the urgency of the movement as well as its seat-of-the-pants guerrilla style of film marketing as much as film making.I’ve not included the...

An often serenely meditative exploration of sociopolitical life in contemporary Hong Kong, Christopher Doyle’s Hong Kong Trilogy is a stunningly-photographed blend of documentary and fictional narrative, following real locals playing themselves. We can’t tell where real life ends and fiction begins, and ultimately, we don’t care. The film marks Doyle’s first directorial effort, crowdfunded via a Kickstarter campaign in 2014. Doyle, the self-proclaimed Keith Richards of cinematographers, is one of the most beloved and provocative DPs in the world, endowed with an exquisite eye for composition. His new film, however, meanders around for a merciful 85 minutes before fading to black, never fusing together into anything impacting, beyond a fleetingly casual interest in the characters. Other than that, we’re left with just a handful of dazzling visuals to recall, and little more.

The film is divided across three chapters. The first, titled Preschooled, follows the students of a local private school,...