When Tony Scott died in 2012, he left behind more than a few unfinished projects, including a remake of Sam Peckinpah’s iconic Western, The Wild Bunch.
L.A. Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland was attached to write the script for the remake of The Wild Bunch for Tony Scott, and he spilled a few details about the project while speaking with Inverse, including that it would have been set in the modern day.
“I also wrote 45 pages of The Wild Bunch for Tony to direct before he died. Sadly, I always say that I’m still on page 45 of that project,” Helgeland said. “It’s pretty violent and set in the modern day. The plot revolves around L.A. rampart cops that were being sent to prison, but during the trial, they’re still technically free. So, they decide to head down to Mexico and rob a bank before scattering to the...
L.A. Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland was attached to write the script for the remake of The Wild Bunch for Tony Scott, and he spilled a few details about the project while speaking with Inverse, including that it would have been set in the modern day.
“I also wrote 45 pages of The Wild Bunch for Tony to direct before he died. Sadly, I always say that I’m still on page 45 of that project,” Helgeland said. “It’s pretty violent and set in the modern day. The plot revolves around L.A. rampart cops that were being sent to prison, but during the trial, they’re still technically free. So, they decide to head down to Mexico and rob a bank before scattering to the...
- 4/24/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
From the moment the film was announced a year ago, “Abigail” has been marketed as a remake of “Dracula’s Daughter,” the 1936 Universal Pictures curio. So it’s no spoiler to say that the title character of “Abigail” is…Dracula’s daughter. Yet if you went in not knowing that, it might be the only real surprise in the movie, apart from what a brutally monotonous blood-vomiting genre mashup it is.
For a while, we think we’re watching a standard kidnap thriller. It opens with Abigail (Alisha Weir), who is 12, on the ballet stage rehearsing “Swan Lake,” a most definite vampire homage, since Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous heart-swelling score is the same music that played over the opening credits of the 1931 Bela Lugosi “Dracula.” That lyrical entré ends in about three minutes, as the kidnappers, all overstated profane synthetic crudeness, jam themselves into a van and abscond with Abigail, who they...
For a while, we think we’re watching a standard kidnap thriller. It opens with Abigail (Alisha Weir), who is 12, on the ballet stage rehearsing “Swan Lake,” a most definite vampire homage, since Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous heart-swelling score is the same music that played over the opening credits of the 1931 Bela Lugosi “Dracula.” That lyrical entré ends in about three minutes, as the kidnappers, all overstated profane synthetic crudeness, jam themselves into a van and abscond with Abigail, who they...
- 4/18/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Dan Wallin, the music scoring engineer who recorded such classic film scores as “Spartacus,” “Bullitt,” “The Wild Bunch” and “Out of Africa,” died early Wednesday in Hawaii. He was 97.
Twice Oscar-nominated for best sound (1970’s “Woodstock” and 1976’s “A Star Is Born”), he won a 2009 Emmy for sound mixing on the Academy Awards telecast and received two additional Emmy nominations in the sound mixing category.
But it was Wallin’s skill behind the console, recording and mixing musical scores for movies and TV, that won him legions of fans among nearly all of Hollywood’s top composers and ensured steady employment for more than half a century.
He recorded the music for an estimated 500 films, including those for “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Cool Hand Luke” and “Finian’s Rainbow” in the 1960s; “The Way We Were,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Nashville,” “King Kong” and “Saturday Night Fever” in the 1970s; “Somewhere in Time,” “The Right Stuff...
Twice Oscar-nominated for best sound (1970’s “Woodstock” and 1976’s “A Star Is Born”), he won a 2009 Emmy for sound mixing on the Academy Awards telecast and received two additional Emmy nominations in the sound mixing category.
But it was Wallin’s skill behind the console, recording and mixing musical scores for movies and TV, that won him legions of fans among nearly all of Hollywood’s top composers and ensured steady employment for more than half a century.
He recorded the music for an estimated 500 films, including those for “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Cool Hand Luke” and “Finian’s Rainbow” in the 1960s; “The Way We Were,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Nashville,” “King Kong” and “Saturday Night Fever” in the 1970s; “Somewhere in Time,” “The Right Stuff...
- 4/10/2024
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
The Story: A covert army unit goes to war with Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe), a well-connected drug dealer, who also happens to be the childhood best friend of an honest Texas Ranger (Nick Nolte) who’s caught in the middle of what’s turning into a bloody drug war.
The Players: Starring: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe, María Conchita Alonso, and Rip Torn. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Directed by Walter Hill.
The History: Let me take a moment here to pay tribute to an actor who never gets his due anymore: the late Powers Boothe. While never a household name, he was well-known as a character actor in a career that spanned four decades. He appeared in a lot of great movies, including Southern Comfort, The Emerald Forest, Sin City, heck – even The Avengers! But, one of the best roles he ever had was in...
The Players: Starring: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe, María Conchita Alonso, and Rip Torn. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Directed by Walter Hill.
The History: Let me take a moment here to pay tribute to an actor who never gets his due anymore: the late Powers Boothe. While never a household name, he was well-known as a character actor in a career that spanned four decades. He appeared in a lot of great movies, including Southern Comfort, The Emerald Forest, Sin City, heck – even The Avengers! But, one of the best roles he ever had was in...
- 4/7/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
The Marvel Cinematic Universe used to be at the apex of the world of Cinema at one time, especially thanks to the massive hit of the Avengers films. Since 2008’s Iron Man, fans were immediately drawn into the world created by several talented people, as it was evident they were planning something incredible. Interestingly enough, The Matrix was also inspired by a rare 1993 Marvel comic.
The Avengers
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has undergone numerous changes and developments over the years, getting mixed responses from fans and critics alike. After all, fans still fondly remember the heydays of Marvel, especially when The Avengers came out in 2012. That film pretty much changed the course of superhero movies forever.
The Matrix Drew Inspiration From A Rare 1993 Marvel Comic Ectokid’s Dex Mungo
According to People, Lily and Lana Wachowski were born in the mid-’60s and raised in Chicago. During their high school years,...
The Avengers
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has undergone numerous changes and developments over the years, getting mixed responses from fans and critics alike. After all, fans still fondly remember the heydays of Marvel, especially when The Avengers came out in 2012. That film pretty much changed the course of superhero movies forever.
The Matrix Drew Inspiration From A Rare 1993 Marvel Comic Ectokid’s Dex Mungo
According to People, Lily and Lana Wachowski were born in the mid-’60s and raised in Chicago. During their high school years,...
- 4/1/2024
- by Subhojeet Mookherjee
- FandomWire
Many people would claim that Frank Darabont has made the best Stephen King adaptations ever put on film, but did you know that over a decade before making The Shawshank Redemption, it would be Stephen King himself who helped Frank Darabont become a filmmaker? Frank would use one of Stephen King’s infamous “Dollar Babies” where King would allow aspiring filmmakers to license one of his short stories for just $1. Darabont would adapt King’s short The Woman in the Room which would be short-listed for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short film in 1983. Despite not getting the nomination, and not even particularly liking the short, King was a fan and for $5,000, granted Darabont the rights to adapt another of his short stories: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
Of course, Darabont wasn’t quite ready to tackle something as massive as that story just yet, so he made...
Of course, Darabont wasn’t quite ready to tackle something as massive as that story just yet, so he made...
- 3/29/2024
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
There may not be a more daunting artist from the twentieth century (and beyond) to grapple with in any form than Bob Dylan. The folk music legend is regarded by many as the most influential songwriter of the last 60-plus years, and, at the age of 82, is just as relevant today as he was in his rebellious young adulthood. He pricked the nation's conscience in the early 1960s with classic protest anthems like "The Times They Are a-Changin'," "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," inspiring many a teenager and twentysomething to pick up an acoustic guitar and sing their truth. Then, in what his folkie colleagues/admirers took as a betrayal, he went electric. This would be the first of many confounding transformations. In a way, he kept throwing fans off the scent of the big "Who is Bob Dylan?" question by, every few years, getting...
- 3/23/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
At its core, John Sturges’s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is another retelling of the exploits of Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) and Doc Holliday (Kirk Douglas) where the facts are buried under layers of myth. Doc is introduced as a surly card sharp and drunk, and he’s ultimately steered out of trouble by Wyatt. This is a different approach from John Ford’s My Darling Clementine, in which Doc doesn’t appear until well into the film and is a public nuisance to Wyatt and others. By initially focusing on Doc, who’s more receptive to Wyatt’s council here, the film winds up giving the men equal footing as protagonists, making this something closer to a buddy picture.
After a prologue set in Fort Griffin, Texas, the film’s story is neatly mapped out in a two-act structure, with the characters travelling from Dodge City to Tombstone,...
After a prologue set in Fort Griffin, Texas, the film’s story is neatly mapped out in a two-act structure, with the characters travelling from Dodge City to Tombstone,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
Mickey Gilbert, the fearless stunt performer who jumped off a cliff for Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and doubled for Gene Wilder in films including Blazing Saddles, Silver Streak and The Frisco Kid, has died. He was 87.
Gilbert died Monday of natural causes at his home in Camarillo, California, his oldest son, Tim Gilbert, also a stunt performer, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Early in his career, Gilbert was a horse wrangler in William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) and a bank robber in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969). Years later, he took the lumps for Lee Majors’ Colt Seavers on the 1981-86 ABC action show The Fall Guy.
Though they weren’t friends at the time, Gilbert and Redford were in the same class at Van Nuys High School, graduating in 1954. They got together on George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) when Redford...
Gilbert died Monday of natural causes at his home in Camarillo, California, his oldest son, Tim Gilbert, also a stunt performer, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Early in his career, Gilbert was a horse wrangler in William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) and a bank robber in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969). Years later, he took the lumps for Lee Majors’ Colt Seavers on the 1981-86 ABC action show The Fall Guy.
Though they weren’t friends at the time, Gilbert and Redford were in the same class at Van Nuys High School, graduating in 1954. They got together on George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) when Redford...
- 2/6/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Norman Jewison made movies that mattered.
“Timing is everything,” the director told me the one time we met. I’d been enlisted to host a long Q&a with Jewison at the American Cinematheque — and I was more than a little intimidated.
From “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” in 1966 to “Other People’s Money” in 1991, Jewison had an astonishing quarter-century run behind the camera, directing movies that impacted the culture when they came out (none more than “In the Heat of the Night”), a great many of which are still watched today. Turns out, this legendary talent couldn’t have been sweeter.
Jewison liked to tell the story of how he met Bobby Kennedy before making the landmark Sidney Poitier picture. He and Kennedy crossed paths while on vacation skiing, where both of their kids wound up in the hospital.
Still developing “In the Heat of the Night” at the time,...
“Timing is everything,” the director told me the one time we met. I’d been enlisted to host a long Q&a with Jewison at the American Cinematheque — and I was more than a little intimidated.
From “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” in 1966 to “Other People’s Money” in 1991, Jewison had an astonishing quarter-century run behind the camera, directing movies that impacted the culture when they came out (none more than “In the Heat of the Night”), a great many of which are still watched today. Turns out, this legendary talent couldn’t have been sweeter.
Jewison liked to tell the story of how he met Bobby Kennedy before making the landmark Sidney Poitier picture. He and Kennedy crossed paths while on vacation skiing, where both of their kids wound up in the hospital.
Still developing “In the Heat of the Night” at the time,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Norman Jewison, the Canadian multiple Oscar nominee and director of such classics as In The Heat Of The Night and Moonstruck, has died. He was 97.
Jewison’s publicist confirmed the filmmaker died at his home on Saturday (January 20).
Toronto International Film Festival, which staged a retrospective for Jewison in 2011, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the filmmaker’s impact “on the broader film landscape will endure, inspiring future generations of filmmakers and captivating audiences for years to come”.
Jewison was born in Toronto on July 21 1926 and served in the Canadian Navy. Post-war he attended Toronto’s Victoria College where he...
Jewison’s publicist confirmed the filmmaker died at his home on Saturday (January 20).
Toronto International Film Festival, which staged a retrospective for Jewison in 2011, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the filmmaker’s impact “on the broader film landscape will endure, inspiring future generations of filmmakers and captivating audiences for years to come”.
Jewison was born in Toronto on July 21 1926 and served in the Canadian Navy. Post-war he attended Toronto’s Victoria College where he...
- 1/23/2024
- ScreenDaily
Oscar-nominated film director and producer Norman Jewison, who steered the 1967 racial drama “In the Heat of the Night” to a best picture Oscar and also helmed such popular films as “Moonstruck,” “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” as well as film musicals “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” died Saturday at his Los Angeles residence. He was 97.
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
- 1/22/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Norman Jewison is dead at the age of 97. For over four decades he sustained a career of films that became major box office hits as well as others that presented current social issues in a Hollywood context (with some combining the two). He died peacefully at his home on Saturday January 20.
“In the Heat of the Night,” which beat “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Graduate” for the Best Picture Oscar for 1967, is the most obvious example of Jewison’s talent for turning tough subjects into hit movies. It grossed (adjusted to current prices) over $200 million, with it already having become a major success before it won five Oscars. Ironically, the racially-charged story about a Northern Black detective (Sidney Poitier) investigating a murder and confronting a racist Southern police chief wons its Oscars in a ceremony delayed by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Norman Frederick Jewison was born on July 21, 1926 in Toronto,...
“In the Heat of the Night,” which beat “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Graduate” for the Best Picture Oscar for 1967, is the most obvious example of Jewison’s talent for turning tough subjects into hit movies. It grossed (adjusted to current prices) over $200 million, with it already having become a major success before it won five Oscars. Ironically, the racially-charged story about a Northern Black detective (Sidney Poitier) investigating a murder and confronting a racist Southern police chief wons its Oscars in a ceremony delayed by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Norman Frederick Jewison was born on July 21, 1926 in Toronto,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- 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: Ain’t It Just Like the Movies to Play Tricks When You’re Trying to Be So Quiet?
As if assembling the greatest songbook in the history of Western music through six decades (and counting!) of nonstop creative growth and experimentation wasn’t enough, Bob Dylan has made a surprisingly large impact on the world of film. In 1966, he helped launch the cinéma vérité movement — and captivated audiences with the mystery of who broke that fucking glass — by allowing D.A. Pennebaker to follow him for the landmark documentary “Don’t Look Back.
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: Ain’t It Just Like the Movies to Play Tricks When You’re Trying to Be So Quiet?
As if assembling the greatest songbook in the history of Western music through six decades (and counting!) of nonstop creative growth and experimentation wasn’t enough, Bob Dylan has made a surprisingly large impact on the world of film. In 1966, he helped launch the cinéma vérité movement — and captivated audiences with the mystery of who broke that fucking glass — by allowing D.A. Pennebaker to follow him for the landmark documentary “Don’t Look Back.
- 1/13/2024
- by Christian Zilko and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Danny Trejo in director Paul G. Volk’s Western The Night They Came Home. Courtesy of Lionsgate
The Night They Came Home is a western offering that is a pretty good recycling of several classic themes from the oaters of yesteryear. The great Danny Trejo plays the local gravedigger, but most of his screen time is spent telling a young couple from the East the story of the last outlaw gang to be eliminated, ushering in their current relatively civilized era in a wraparound narrative.
It’s the 1890s. The local Creek tribe members are bitter about being driven off their lands and receiving a lot of broken promises. They also resent their children being forced to attend white schools to learn the settlers’ language, culture and religion at the expense of their own. One of them, Rufus Buck (Charlie Townsend) is brilliant, psychotic and charismatic enough to lead a...
The Night They Came Home is a western offering that is a pretty good recycling of several classic themes from the oaters of yesteryear. The great Danny Trejo plays the local gravedigger, but most of his screen time is spent telling a young couple from the East the story of the last outlaw gang to be eliminated, ushering in their current relatively civilized era in a wraparound narrative.
It’s the 1890s. The local Creek tribe members are bitter about being driven off their lands and receiving a lot of broken promises. They also resent their children being forced to attend white schools to learn the settlers’ language, culture and religion at the expense of their own. One of them, Rufus Buck (Charlie Townsend) is brilliant, psychotic and charismatic enough to lead a...
- 1/11/2024
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.
List of journalists who have been killed.
The below is of lesser note:
Best First Watches:
Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...
In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.
List of journalists who have been killed.
The below is of lesser note:
Best First Watches:
Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...
- 1/3/2024
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
Ever since Martin Scorsese‘s “Killers of the Flower Moon” premiered at Cannes, critics have celebrated it as Scorsese’s first real Western after decades in which the genre’s influence could be felt at the edges of movies like “Casino” and “Gangs of New York.” The director himself sees it a little differently. As the guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast’s 250th episode, he said, “How can I make a Western? I come from the Lower East Side. The guys who made Westerns, when they came out [to Los Angeles], they were riding horses. The old cliché of the director wearing jodhpurs? Well, that’s what they did — you got around on a horse, you had to wear boots, you had to have a riding crop.”
Scorsese feels that the Western as he knew it in childhood ended with Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch” in 1969, and that it’s...
Scorsese feels that the Western as he knew it in childhood ended with Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch” in 1969, and that it’s...
- 12/20/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Let's be blunt: The current state of action cinema worldwide would not be what it is today without the work of director John Woo. While Woo is hardly the only influential filmmaker when it comes to action movies, he's undeniably one of the biggest figures in shaping the genre. Like any great auteur, Woo's style was developed film by film, working his way through his kung-fu features at Golden Harvest in Hong Kong and adding in more experimental techniques (gleaned from the likes of prior filmmakers such as Sam Peckinpah) until he ended up at his signature magnum opus, 1986's "A Better Tomorrow" and its style, which was dubbed "heroic bloodshed."
Over the next several years in Hong Kong and then through to his transition into Hollywood, Woo expanded his "heroic bloodshed" style, peppering in other influences along the way from some of his other favorite filmmakers like Jean-Pierre Melville and Alfred Hitchcock.
Over the next several years in Hong Kong and then through to his transition into Hollywood, Woo expanded his "heroic bloodshed" style, peppering in other influences along the way from some of his other favorite filmmakers like Jean-Pierre Melville and Alfred Hitchcock.
- 12/2/2023
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
From The Killer’s church shootout to Mission: Impossible 2’s motorcycle chase, John Woo’s over-the-top action style has been the stuff of legend for many decades, but now, at 77, the Hong Kong filmmaker has changed up his approach, beginning with the virtually dialogue-free revenge thriller Silent Night.
The Joel Kinnaman-led actioner is Woo’s first American film in two decades, an absence he chalks up to no longer being sent quality scripts. On its surface, Silent Night is a classic tale of vengeance, as Kinnaman’s Brian Godlock stops at nothing to avenge the gang-related death of his 7-year-old son. The quest is made all the more intriguing by Godlock’s inability to speak, having suffered a life-altering injury during his failed attempt to go after the offending gang in the immediate aftermath of his son’s death.
Silent Night moviegoers are undoubtedly going to enjoy plenty of Woo-directed mayhem,...
The Joel Kinnaman-led actioner is Woo’s first American film in two decades, an absence he chalks up to no longer being sent quality scripts. On its surface, Silent Night is a classic tale of vengeance, as Kinnaman’s Brian Godlock stops at nothing to avenge the gang-related death of his 7-year-old son. The quest is made all the more intriguing by Godlock’s inability to speak, having suffered a life-altering injury during his failed attempt to go after the offending gang in the immediate aftermath of his son’s death.
Silent Night moviegoers are undoubtedly going to enjoy plenty of Woo-directed mayhem,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For action fans who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s, the arrival of a new John Woo movie was not just a cinematic event but a spiritual catharsis. No one was making films the way he was, creating exquisitely orchestrated ballets of melodrama and violence influenced in equal amounts by Sam Peckinpah and Douglas Sirk but not beholden to either. Hong Kong imports like “A Better Tomorrow,” “The Killer,” and “Hard Boiled” set a new bar for what audiences could demand in terms of kinetic thrills, and when Woo moved to America, fans wondered if his voice would survive the trip. Luckily, he changed Hollywood more than Hollywood changed him, as he infused “Face/Off,” “Mission Impossible 2,” and other studio assignments with his signature dynamism and influenced a generation of action filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino to Robert Rodriguez.
Then, in 2003, it all stopped. Woo directed Ben Affleck in “Paycheck,...
Then, in 2003, it all stopped. Woo directed Ben Affleck in “Paycheck,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
On December 6, the 2023 IndieWire Honors ceremony will celebrate 11 filmmakers, creators, and actors for their achievements in creative independence. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event.
When Chad Stahelski was working as a stuntman in the 1990s, he had a front-row seat to the way Hollywood typically made action movies — and he didn’t like what he saw. “They’d hire stunt guys and spend a million dollars training the main cast member,” Stahelski told IndieWire. “But then on the day, they’d hire a group of local stunt guys and only give them a day and a half to rehearse. The Dp didn’t go to any of the rehearsals, the camera operators wouldn’t see it until they walked on set, and then the guys that had been with the main actor for two months aren’t the guys he fights with.
When Chad Stahelski was working as a stuntman in the 1990s, he had a front-row seat to the way Hollywood typically made action movies — and he didn’t like what he saw. “They’d hire stunt guys and spend a million dollars training the main cast member,” Stahelski told IndieWire. “But then on the day, they’d hire a group of local stunt guys and only give them a day and a half to rehearse. The Dp didn’t go to any of the rehearsals, the camera operators wouldn’t see it until they walked on set, and then the guys that had been with the main actor for two months aren’t the guys he fights with.
- 11/29/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Burt Young, best known for his riveting portrayal of Paulie in the iconic “Rocky” films, passed away on October 8th in Los Angeles at the age of 83. His passing was confirmed by his devoted daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser.
The actor, originally from Queens, exhibited a rugged charm that landed him roles in more than 160 films and TV shows, from gritty crime dramas like “Chinatown” and “Once Upon a Time in America” to the poignant portrayal of Paulie, the brother of Adrian and Rocky’s loyal friend. This particular role would garner him an Academy Award nomination, showcasing his ability to infuse a tough exterior with a deep-seated vulnerability.
Lee Strasberg, the legendary acting teacher, once described Young as a “library of emotions.” This sentiment perfectly captures the depth and versatility that Burt Young brought to the big screen. Even when he embodied a criminal or thug, Young never settled for one-dimensional characterizations.
The actor, originally from Queens, exhibited a rugged charm that landed him roles in more than 160 films and TV shows, from gritty crime dramas like “Chinatown” and “Once Upon a Time in America” to the poignant portrayal of Paulie, the brother of Adrian and Rocky’s loyal friend. This particular role would garner him an Academy Award nomination, showcasing his ability to infuse a tough exterior with a deep-seated vulnerability.
Lee Strasberg, the legendary acting teacher, once described Young as a “library of emotions.” This sentiment perfectly captures the depth and versatility that Burt Young brought to the big screen. Even when he embodied a criminal or thug, Young never settled for one-dimensional characterizations.
- 10/19/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
Ex-Marine, former boxer, consummate ruffian, beloved character actor, and Academy Award nominee Burt Young has passed away, confirmed The New York Times. He was 83 years old. With a career spanning over five decades, Young's acting resume included over 160 roles, with memorable performances in films like "Chinatown," "Once Upon a Time in America," and "Back to School." Trained by the legendary Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York City, Young made a career playing Hollywood tough guys, street-smart cops, relatable working men, and as an Italian-American — of course — a mob boss.
However, it's his role as Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the "Rocky" film series that made him a household name and earned him the coveted Oscar nomination. The role allowed Young to not only shine as a complex, gifted performer but also bring his real-life experience as a professional boxer to the screen.
However, it's his role as Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the "Rocky" film series that made him a household name and earned him the coveted Oscar nomination. The role allowed Young to not only shine as a complex, gifted performer but also bring his real-life experience as a professional boxer to the screen.
- 10/19/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Burt Young, a former boxer who was in Sylvester Stallone’s corner as his brother-in-law Paulie in the six Rocky films and received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his turn in the original, has died. He was 83.
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told The New York Times Wednesday.
A tough guy in real life who usually played tough guys onscreen, Young portrayed a rotten client of gumshoe Jack Nicholson’s in Chinatown (1974), was mobster “Bed Bug” Eddie in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and played Rodney Dangerfield’s protector/chauffeur Lou in Back to School (1986).
Young also appeared in four movies in four straight years with fellow Queens guy James Caan — Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) — before they worked together again in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
He played a getaway driver in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite,...
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told The New York Times Wednesday.
A tough guy in real life who usually played tough guys onscreen, Young portrayed a rotten client of gumshoe Jack Nicholson’s in Chinatown (1974), was mobster “Bed Bug” Eddie in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and played Rodney Dangerfield’s protector/chauffeur Lou in Back to School (1986).
Young also appeared in four movies in four straight years with fellow Queens guy James Caan — Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) — before they worked together again in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
He played a getaway driver in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Some unfortunate news to report, folks. Burt Young, the legendary character actor who co-starred with JoBlo’s beloved Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, is dead at 83. Deadline was the first to report the news. Young famously played Rocky’s brother-in-law Paulie, Adrian’s (Talia Shire) brother, a wannabe tough guy who stays in Rocky’s corner despite everything. Young was nominated for an Oscar for the original film, and indeed, Paulie was a complex character. In the first film, he’s Adrian’s abusive older brother. By the third film, his mounting insecurity is confronted by the Italian Stallion, leading to him becoming a corner man for his climactic fight with Mr T’s Clubber Lang in Rocky III. He goes on to back him up for his bout with Ivan Drago in IV before giving power of attorney to a crooked lawyer in V, temporarily bankrupting the family, only for...
- 10/19/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Burt Young, who played Paulie in six of the “Rocky” films starring Sylvester Stallone, drawing an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his performance in the 1976 original, has died, his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser confirmed to the New York Times. He was 83.
Roger Ebert gave Young his props for his performance in the first “Rocky” film: “And Burt Young as (Adrian’s) brother — defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief.” The New York Times — in an absolutely scathing, completely dismissive review of the film — nevertheless said: “Burt Young is effective as Rocky’s best friend, a beer-guzzling mug.”
Young’s temperamental, jealous but nonetheless loyal and caring Paulie Pennino was Rocky’s best friend — he would defend the Italian Stallion if someone insulted him. But he was a problematic friend who shouts at Adrian during her pregnancy,...
Roger Ebert gave Young his props for his performance in the first “Rocky” film: “And Burt Young as (Adrian’s) brother — defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief.” The New York Times — in an absolutely scathing, completely dismissive review of the film — nevertheless said: “Burt Young is effective as Rocky’s best friend, a beer-guzzling mug.”
Young’s temperamental, jealous but nonetheless loyal and caring Paulie Pennino was Rocky’s best friend — he would defend the Italian Stallion if someone insulted him. But he was a problematic friend who shouts at Adrian during her pregnancy,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Martin Scorsese is crediting Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” for inspiring the pacing and running time of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Scorsese told The Irish Times that the 206-minute length of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is in line with horror films ranging from auteurs like Aster or Val Lewton. “Killers of the Flower Moon” borrows from a blend of genres like Westerns and horror.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ or ‘Beau Is Afraid,'” Scorsese said. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s ‘Cat People’ or ‘I Walked With a Zombie.’ Just going a little slower, a little quieter.”
Scorsese continued, “I was very concerned about allowing scenes that were not narrative into the story, scenes to do with the Osage culture — leaving in those scenes of custom,...
Scorsese told The Irish Times that the 206-minute length of “Killers of the Flower Moon” is in line with horror films ranging from auteurs like Aster or Val Lewton. “Killers of the Flower Moon” borrows from a blend of genres like Westerns and horror.
“I very much like the style and pacing of good horror films like Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ or ‘Beau Is Afraid,'” Scorsese said. “The pacing of those films goes back to the B films of Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur’s ‘Cat People’ or ‘I Walked With a Zombie.’ Just going a little slower, a little quieter.”
Scorsese continued, “I was very concerned about allowing scenes that were not narrative into the story, scenes to do with the Osage culture — leaving in those scenes of custom,...
- 10/16/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Plot: A detective (Benicio del Toro) living in New England with his wife (Alicia Silverstone) investigates the gruesome death of a local real estate magnate’s (Justin Timberlake) wife.
Review: There’s a version of Reptile that could have been a standard cop noir. After all, how many movies have we seen about a rumpled detective investigating a murder that implicates a well-connected family? Yet, director Grant Singer seems less interested in making the straight-laced neo-noir this could have been and instead turns this into a quirky, darkly comedic riff on the genre that almost functions as a spoof at times. After all, a movie that uses Bob Dylan’s ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door” for a gunfight can’t expect us to take it entirely seriously.
Reptile is a weird but wonderful surprise. The odd vibe will turn some off, and it took me about thirty minutes to finally...
Review: There’s a version of Reptile that could have been a standard cop noir. After all, how many movies have we seen about a rumpled detective investigating a murder that implicates a well-connected family? Yet, director Grant Singer seems less interested in making the straight-laced neo-noir this could have been and instead turns this into a quirky, darkly comedic riff on the genre that almost functions as a spoof at times. After all, a movie that uses Bob Dylan’s ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door” for a gunfight can’t expect us to take it entirely seriously.
Reptile is a weird but wonderful surprise. The odd vibe will turn some off, and it took me about thirty minutes to finally...
- 9/22/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Actor James Caan almost got into a smackdown with director Sam Peckinpah during the making of The Killer Elite.
Peckinpah allowed for an explosion to be detonated near Caan’s face, which amped up the actor’s anger. “I said to Sam, ‘I’ll beat you like a redheaded stepchild,'” Caan told Bright Lights Film Journal in 2022.
“He was great, though, just insane,” he recalled. “As a matter of fact, when someone wrote a book about him, I was asked to give a quote for the cover. They had four quotes on the back. He called and said mine was the best. I had written, ‘Two more signatures and I’ll have him committed.'”
During the interview, Caan recalled how Peckinpah seemingly met his match on set. “He was like a great intimidator, but he found out really quick – I told him I would kick his f***ing ass.
Peckinpah allowed for an explosion to be detonated near Caan’s face, which amped up the actor’s anger. “I said to Sam, ‘I’ll beat you like a redheaded stepchild,'” Caan told Bright Lights Film Journal in 2022.
“He was great, though, just insane,” he recalled. “As a matter of fact, when someone wrote a book about him, I was asked to give a quote for the cover. They had four quotes on the back. He called and said mine was the best. I had written, ‘Two more signatures and I’ll have him committed.'”
During the interview, Caan recalled how Peckinpah seemingly met his match on set. “He was like a great intimidator, but he found out really quick – I told him I would kick his f***ing ass.
- 9/4/2023
- by Gina Ragusa
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Austin Sipes, student symposium coordinator for the Telluride Film Festival, checked in this year’s class that had traveled far and wide to participate in what he termed as a “life-changing” immersion into the intricacies of filmmaking.
In 2000, as an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, Sipes hitched up in Telluride as one of the few chosen to engage in the student symposium, now in its 33rd year.
Okay, how life-changing was it? “A thousand million percent life-changing,” came the sparky response.
“I tell the students every year that it’s a life-changing experience,” Sipes told me.
(L-r) Austin Sipes, Graydon Hanson and Jacob Stefiuk
“And invariably they come to me afterwards with cries of, ‘You are not kidding!’”
Sipes now works in reality television. He’s currently associate director of Top Chef, and left the shoot for a few days to run the Telluride symposium.
Over the years, I’ve observed scores of students,...
In 2000, as an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, Sipes hitched up in Telluride as one of the few chosen to engage in the student symposium, now in its 33rd year.
Okay, how life-changing was it? “A thousand million percent life-changing,” came the sparky response.
“I tell the students every year that it’s a life-changing experience,” Sipes told me.
(L-r) Austin Sipes, Graydon Hanson and Jacob Stefiuk
“And invariably they come to me afterwards with cries of, ‘You are not kidding!’”
Sipes now works in reality television. He’s currently associate director of Top Chef, and left the shoot for a few days to run the Telluride symposium.
Over the years, I’ve observed scores of students,...
- 8/31/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Garth Craven, the British-born sound and film editor and second-unit director whose credits included six Sam Peckinpah features, as well as Turner and Hooch, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Legally Blonde, has died. He was 84.
A resident of Malibu, Craven died May 20 after he suffered a medical emergency while flying back to Los Angeles from a safari in Namibia, his daughter, Willow Kalatchi, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Craven collaborated with the maverick director Peckinpah on Straw Dogs (1971), The Getaway (1972), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Convoy (1978).
He worked with fellow editor Roger Spottiswoode on the first three of those films, and when Spottiswoode graduated to director, they partnered on the features Shoot to Kill (1988), Turner and Hooch (1989) and Air America (1990) and on two HBO telefilms: 1989’s Third Degree Burn and 1993’s And the Band Played On.
Craven also cut Gaby: A True Story...
A resident of Malibu, Craven died May 20 after he suffered a medical emergency while flying back to Los Angeles from a safari in Namibia, his daughter, Willow Kalatchi, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Craven collaborated with the maverick director Peckinpah on Straw Dogs (1971), The Getaway (1972), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Convoy (1978).
He worked with fellow editor Roger Spottiswoode on the first three of those films, and when Spottiswoode graduated to director, they partnered on the features Shoot to Kill (1988), Turner and Hooch (1989) and Air America (1990) and on two HBO telefilms: 1989’s Third Degree Burn and 1993’s And the Band Played On.
Craven also cut Gaby: A True Story...
- 8/22/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film and sound editor Garth Craven, who edited films including “Legally Blonde” and got his start in film editing with Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” died May 20 in Barcelona. He was 84.
His death was only recently announced by his daughter Willow.
Craven not only worked in the cutting room but also in sound departments and served as second unit director on several films. At the beginning of his career, Craven worked on Federico Fellini’s fantasy drama “Satyricon” (1969) in the sound editing department, which served as his introduction to filmmaking.
Back in England, he continued working on films in London. Resuming his work in the sound department, Craven received a BAFTA for the critically acclaimed romantic drama “The Go-Between” (1971) directed by Joseph Losey.
He eventually became a frequent collaborator and friend of Peckinpah. Craven worked as a sound consultant on “The Getaway,” a sound editor on “Straw Dogs,...
His death was only recently announced by his daughter Willow.
Craven not only worked in the cutting room but also in sound departments and served as second unit director on several films. At the beginning of his career, Craven worked on Federico Fellini’s fantasy drama “Satyricon” (1969) in the sound editing department, which served as his introduction to filmmaking.
Back in England, he continued working on films in London. Resuming his work in the sound department, Craven received a BAFTA for the critically acclaimed romantic drama “The Go-Between” (1971) directed by Joseph Losey.
He eventually became a frequent collaborator and friend of Peckinpah. Craven worked as a sound consultant on “The Getaway,” a sound editor on “Straw Dogs,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Peckinpah's consideration of the brutality of war gets the fully furnished 4Hd and Blu-ray treatment from Studiocanal with the release of this Vintage Classics edition. Handsomely presented in 1080p High Definition video it looks good but without losing the feel of the original grain and the sound has also been scrubbed up. The restoration allows you to appreciate the richness of the browns and greens that dominate in stark contrast to many a modern war film that has deliberately had all colour drained from it. This, of course, also allows the blood to be more shocking when it does occur.
All credit must go to director and film historian Mike Seigel whose own passion for Peckinpah is the driving force and proves to be infectious. His dilligent collection of archive material and championing of the US director result in a wealth of extras that, like Peckinpah, comes at its subject.
All credit must go to director and film historian Mike Seigel whose own passion for Peckinpah is the driving force and proves to be infectious. His dilligent collection of archive material and championing of the US director result in a wealth of extras that, like Peckinpah, comes at its subject.
- 8/1/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Stars: James Coburn, Maximillian Schell, James Mason, David Warner, Senta Berger | Written by Julius J. Epstein, Walter Kelley, James Hamilton | Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Cross of Iron might not be as well-known or well-reviewed as some of the most popular World War II films. If you Google this subgenre you will soon see the likes of The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Thin Red Line, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. But whilst Cross of Iron might not be on the list, it’s worthy of every film fan’s attention and the new 4K release is a perfect way to do that.
Set on the Eastern Front in World War II during the Soviet’s Caucasus operations against the German Kuban bridgehead in late 1943. But interestingly, the story focuses on the class conflict in the German army and it is all the more interesting for it. It’s...
Cross of Iron might not be as well-known or well-reviewed as some of the most popular World War II films. If you Google this subgenre you will soon see the likes of The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, The Thin Red Line, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. But whilst Cross of Iron might not be on the list, it’s worthy of every film fan’s attention and the new 4K release is a perfect way to do that.
Set on the Eastern Front in World War II during the Soviet’s Caucasus operations against the German Kuban bridgehead in late 1943. But interestingly, the story focuses on the class conflict in the German army and it is all the more interesting for it. It’s...
- 8/1/2023
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
If you’re in the market for Cross of Iron on 4K Blu-ray, you won’t need much exposition from me. You know that it is a bleak story of rank, class and grinding warfare during the German retreat of 1943. What you don’t know is whether Studiocanal has managed a quality 4K transfer. Or rather Silver Salt Restoration, the specialist firm Studiocanal hired to scan, nip and tuck Sam Peckinpah’s film from 1977.
The short answer is yes, and it has awakened the physical media evangelist in me. I’m no stranger to this stuff. I own many pounds and stones of DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K Uhd
material. But over the last few years, I have allowed streaming to wash over me with its
convenience and value. This is a shame, because neglecting physical media means neglecting yourself, because the best transfers hold many small moments of pleasure, and...
The short answer is yes, and it has awakened the physical media evangelist in me. I’m no stranger to this stuff. I own many pounds and stones of DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K Uhd
material. But over the last few years, I have allowed streaming to wash over me with its
convenience and value. This is a shame, because neglecting physical media means neglecting yourself, because the best transfers hold many small moments of pleasure, and...
- 7/31/2023
- by Jack Hawkins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Quentin Tarantino is one of the most influential and distinctive filmmakers of our time. His movies are known for their stylish violence, witty dialogue, eclectic soundtracks, and homages to various genres and eras of cinema. He has also been vocal about his admiration for other filmmakers and their works, often citing them as inspirations or influences for his own projects.
In a recent interview, Tarantino revealed his list of seven perfect movies that he considers flawless and masterful in every aspect. He said that these movies are “the ones that I go, ‘Ok, this is as good as a movie can get.’ And I don’t think I can do any better than that.”
CineArticles decided to rank these seven perfect movies according to their own criteria and preferences. Here is their list, from the least to the most perfect movie picked by Tarantino:
7. The Wild Bunch (1969) The Wild Bunch...
In a recent interview, Tarantino revealed his list of seven perfect movies that he considers flawless and masterful in every aspect. He said that these movies are “the ones that I go, ‘Ok, this is as good as a movie can get.’ And I don’t think I can do any better than that.”
CineArticles decided to rank these seven perfect movies according to their own criteria and preferences. Here is their list, from the least to the most perfect movie picked by Tarantino:
7. The Wild Bunch (1969) The Wild Bunch...
- 7/29/2023
- by amalprasadappu
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
It’s hard to believe today, after Speed and four Matrix movies, and four John Wick movies, but there
was a time when Keanu Reeves was not considered viable as an action star, especially after his portrayal
of lovable time-traveling doofus Ted Theodore Logan in Bill & Ted’S Excellent Adventure.
But that perception radically changed in 1991 with the adrenaline extravaganza Point Break, which
featured Reeves as an FBI agent hot on the trail of some bank-robbing surfers led by Patrick Swayze. But how exactly did this preposterous combination ever reach the beach? Grab your board and catch a wave as we find out Wtf Happened to this movie!
The idea for Point Break first surfaced in the mind of filmmaker Rick King [The Killing Time] after he
saw a newspaper article declaring Los Angeles as the bank-robbing capital of America thanks to the
getaway convenience provided by the city’s numerous freeways.
was a time when Keanu Reeves was not considered viable as an action star, especially after his portrayal
of lovable time-traveling doofus Ted Theodore Logan in Bill & Ted’S Excellent Adventure.
But that perception radically changed in 1991 with the adrenaline extravaganza Point Break, which
featured Reeves as an FBI agent hot on the trail of some bank-robbing surfers led by Patrick Swayze. But how exactly did this preposterous combination ever reach the beach? Grab your board and catch a wave as we find out Wtf Happened to this movie!
The idea for Point Break first surfaced in the mind of filmmaker Rick King [The Killing Time] after he
saw a newspaper article declaring Los Angeles as the bank-robbing capital of America thanks to the
getaway convenience provided by the city’s numerous freeways.
- 7/26/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Maple Syrup Massacre is an editorial series where Joe Lipsett dissects the themes, conventions and contributions of new and classic Canadian horror films. Spoilers follow…
William Fruet is one of Canada’s most important directors. He’s renowned for not only his contributions to ‘realist social dramas’ such as 1970’s Goin’ Down The Road (one of Canada’s first English language fiction feature films) and 1972’s Wedding in White, but also for his Canuxploitation films of the 70s.
Death Weekend – or The House by the Lake as it was known in the United States – was made in 1976 in an effort to capitalize on a unique Canadian funding model at the time.
As previously explored in this editorial series, as well as my David Cronenberg podcast Sexy & Surreal, Canadian films are funded by the public via governmental organizations. In the 1970s, the government created the Canadian Film Development Council (Cfdc) in...
William Fruet is one of Canada’s most important directors. He’s renowned for not only his contributions to ‘realist social dramas’ such as 1970’s Goin’ Down The Road (one of Canada’s first English language fiction feature films) and 1972’s Wedding in White, but also for his Canuxploitation films of the 70s.
Death Weekend – or The House by the Lake as it was known in the United States – was made in 1976 in an effort to capitalize on a unique Canadian funding model at the time.
As previously explored in this editorial series, as well as my David Cronenberg podcast Sexy & Surreal, Canadian films are funded by the public via governmental organizations. In the 1970s, the government created the Canadian Film Development Council (Cfdc) in...
- 7/25/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
To celebrate the release of Studiocanal’s Cross Of Iron stunning new 4K restoration coming to Uhd Steelbook, Blu-Ray & DVD and with new bonus material, on 31st July, we have a Blu-Ray to give away!
Studiocanal are thrilled to announce the return of 1970s war-action classic Cross Of Iron by The Wild Bunch director Sam Peckinpah in a stunning new 4K restoration coming to Uhd Steelbook, Blu-Ray & DVD and with new bonus material, on 31st July as part of Studiocanal’s iconic Vintage Classics brand.
Boasting a first-rate cast including acting stalwarts James Coburn (The Magnificent Seven), James Mason (The London Nobody Knows) and David Warner (Perfect Friday), alongside international stars Maximilian Schell (A Bridge Too Far) as the standout Battalion Commander and Senta Berger (The Glory Guys), this important anti-war film, based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Willi Heinrich, is a visually captivating and authentic portrayal of the horrors of war,...
Studiocanal are thrilled to announce the return of 1970s war-action classic Cross Of Iron by The Wild Bunch director Sam Peckinpah in a stunning new 4K restoration coming to Uhd Steelbook, Blu-Ray & DVD and with new bonus material, on 31st July as part of Studiocanal’s iconic Vintage Classics brand.
Boasting a first-rate cast including acting stalwarts James Coburn (The Magnificent Seven), James Mason (The London Nobody Knows) and David Warner (Perfect Friday), alongside international stars Maximilian Schell (A Bridge Too Far) as the standout Battalion Commander and Senta Berger (The Glory Guys), this important anti-war film, based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Willi Heinrich, is a visually captivating and authentic portrayal of the horrors of war,...
- 7/23/2023
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, announced today that it has acquired what its curators describe as “a significant collection of items and archives” from the late filmmaker Sam Peckinpah, best known for Western cinema classics such as “The Wild Bunch,” “Ride the High Country” and “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.”
The donation to the Museum comes courtesy of filmmaker/historian Lathan McKay, who Michael R. Grauer, curator of the Museum’s Cowboy Collections and Western Art, describes as “incredibly dedicated to Sam Peckinpah’s legacy,” and who chose the Oklahoma City institution because of the Museum’s commitment to ensure Peckinpah’s belongs and papers would be “preserved, cataloged, researched, interpreted and studied with great respect.”
McKay, who is also the nation’s premier collector of personal effects of the late legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, concurs with Grauer’s description of his motivations in...
The donation to the Museum comes courtesy of filmmaker/historian Lathan McKay, who Michael R. Grauer, curator of the Museum’s Cowboy Collections and Western Art, describes as “incredibly dedicated to Sam Peckinpah’s legacy,” and who chose the Oklahoma City institution because of the Museum’s commitment to ensure Peckinpah’s belongs and papers would be “preserved, cataloged, researched, interpreted and studied with great respect.”
McKay, who is also the nation’s premier collector of personal effects of the late legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, concurs with Grauer’s description of his motivations in...
- 6/28/2023
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Last we saw him, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) had taken his trusty pistol and Stetson to Miami and made cautious peace with longtime frenemy Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), closing out six seasons (2010–15) of FX’s acclaimed drama Justified. Eight years later, Raylan returns — a little grayer and slower — in the limited series Justified: City Primeval. Just don’t expect him to give quarter to his latest nemesis, perhaps the most dangerous killer to spring from the pen of Elmore Leonard. This tale of good, evil, and the spaces between is set in Detroit, where Raylan’s job is to nail whoever murdered a powerful judge. The top suspect: sunny sociopath Clement Mansell (a beautifully evil Boyd Holbrook), antagonist of Leonard’s 1980 novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. That book had long attracted attention from the likes of directors Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino but was never filmed,...
- 6/28/2023
- TV Insider
Veteran location scout Beth Tate will be honored by the Location Managers Guild International with this year’s Trailblazer Award at the 10th Annual Lmgi Awards. The ceremony is set for Saturday, August 26 at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
Tate is being recognized for her trailblazing work in the inception, formation, and continued support of the Location Managers Guild International, as well as her stellar location scouting career.
“The Lmgi is extremely honored to recognize Beth Tate as one of its founding forces. She has been supporting location professionals over the past two decades and is most deserving to be recognized with this year’s Lmgi Trailblazer Award,” said Lmgi Awards Committee Chairs John Rakich, Lmgi President, and Robin Citrin, Supervising Location Manager, who made the announcement.
The Lmgi Trailblazer Award recognizes an individual whose efforts and innovations elevate the status of location professionals.
Tate is being recognized for her trailblazing work in the inception, formation, and continued support of the Location Managers Guild International, as well as her stellar location scouting career.
“The Lmgi is extremely honored to recognize Beth Tate as one of its founding forces. She has been supporting location professionals over the past two decades and is most deserving to be recognized with this year’s Lmgi Trailblazer Award,” said Lmgi Awards Committee Chairs John Rakich, Lmgi President, and Robin Citrin, Supervising Location Manager, who made the announcement.
The Lmgi Trailblazer Award recognizes an individual whose efforts and innovations elevate the status of location professionals.
- 6/15/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Nothing can look pretty gorgeous in widescreen, and there was quite a lot of it in the Australian New Wave of the '70s. The daunting expanse of the Outback provided the canvas for several classic films of the period, such as two masterpieces that were roughly analogous to the folk horror genre emerging in Britain around the same time: Nicholas Roeg's "Walkabout" and Ted Kotcheff's controversial "Wake in Fright." In these movies, the stark setting created a dislocating sense that white settlers don't belong in such a harsh and humbling environment, adding to their aura of unease.
Most of the notable films of the Aussie New Wave were set in the past or present but, as the '80s beckoned, the biggest hit of the bunch looked to the future in George Miller's "Mad Max." Unlike "Walkabout" and "Wake in Fright," which were both shot in the heart of the Outback,...
Most of the notable films of the Aussie New Wave were set in the past or present but, as the '80s beckoned, the biggest hit of the bunch looked to the future in George Miller's "Mad Max." Unlike "Walkabout" and "Wake in Fright," which were both shot in the heart of the Outback,...
- 5/29/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
Projeto Paradiso has announced in Cannes that Daniel Bandeira has won the Pop Up Film Residency Paradiso. The program is created exclusively for Brazilian professionals.
Bandeira, currently developing “Red Express,” is also behind “Property”, which premiered at the Berlinale’s Panorama back in February. Born in Pernambuco, he has been a filmmaker since 2001, making his feature debut with “Peer Pressure.”
The three-week Pop Up Film Residency – carried out in partnership with Matthieu Darras of Tatino Films – will take place in the Faroe Islands in Denmark, with Jón Hammer of Kyk Pictures joining as local partner.
“In so many ways, this project will be a step up for me. In terms of production, but also creatively. It’s a complex story,” Bandeira told Variety.
“I really want to think about my potential audience this time. Who are they? It’s the kind of concern I didn’t have in the past,...
Bandeira, currently developing “Red Express,” is also behind “Property”, which premiered at the Berlinale’s Panorama back in February. Born in Pernambuco, he has been a filmmaker since 2001, making his feature debut with “Peer Pressure.”
The three-week Pop Up Film Residency – carried out in partnership with Matthieu Darras of Tatino Films – will take place in the Faroe Islands in Denmark, with Jón Hammer of Kyk Pictures joining as local partner.
“In so many ways, this project will be a step up for me. In terms of production, but also creatively. It’s a complex story,” Bandeira told Variety.
“I really want to think about my potential audience this time. Who are they? It’s the kind of concern I didn’t have in the past,...
- 5/25/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The Directors Guild of America is disputing a Writers Guild of America strike rule that forbids writer-directors from making minor script changes.
The conflict revives a decades-old battle — which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 — over the WGA’s jurisdiction. Though the Supreme Court ruled against the WGA, the guild has continued to argue that “hyphenate” members are prohibited from making minor script modifications during a strike.
The dispute turns on eight types of activities — including cutting material for time, making adjustments in dialogue, and changing stage directions — that the WGA sees as writing work under its jurisdiction.
The DGA sees those activities — known as “(a) through (h) services” because of how they are identified in the contract clauses in WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement — as part of a director’s job. According to the DGA, directors are required to keep performing those services.
The...
The conflict revives a decades-old battle — which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 — over the WGA’s jurisdiction. Though the Supreme Court ruled against the WGA, the guild has continued to argue that “hyphenate” members are prohibited from making minor script modifications during a strike.
The dispute turns on eight types of activities — including cutting material for time, making adjustments in dialogue, and changing stage directions — that the WGA sees as writing work under its jurisdiction.
The DGA sees those activities — known as “(a) through (h) services” because of how they are identified in the contract clauses in WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement — as part of a director’s job. According to the DGA, directors are required to keep performing those services.
The...
- 5/18/2023
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
The great Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar is a rabid fan of the Western genre but until now he had never made one. He had also only dabbled in directing an English-language film with the exception of the 2020 short The Human Voice, which starred Tilda Swinton.
His latest movie is also a short, just 31 minutes, but he finally got to do his Western in English. It’s a nice homage to the form and those great directors who created it, but it is safe to say this homage could only have come from this master of cinema.
Almodóvar brought the finished product to its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday and, if flattered by the attention, the ghosts of John Ford, Howard Hawks, John Sturges, Anthony Mann, Raoul Walsh and Sam Peckinpah may be surprised at the twist that this 73-year-old fanboy has given Strange Way of Life.
His latest movie is also a short, just 31 minutes, but he finally got to do his Western in English. It’s a nice homage to the form and those great directors who created it, but it is safe to say this homage could only have come from this master of cinema.
Almodóvar brought the finished product to its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday and, if flattered by the attention, the ghosts of John Ford, Howard Hawks, John Sturges, Anthony Mann, Raoul Walsh and Sam Peckinpah may be surprised at the twist that this 73-year-old fanboy has given Strange Way of Life.
- 5/17/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Following its recent theatrical run, Organ Trail will be available on digital May 12th, and we caught up with co-stars Zoé De Grand’Maison and Olivia Applegate, who talked about preparing for their roles, their favorite on-set experiences, and more!
How did you get involved with Organ Trail and what interested you in being a part of this film?
Zoé De Grand’Maison: I taped the audition in my kitchen, while my best friend read the other characters’ lines with me over Zoom. I do remember having a lot of fun with this audition, though; I put patches of brown eyeshadow all over myself to mimic dirt, and blush around my eyes to give me a “tired” sort of look. I then did a callback over Zoom, and was really excited when I was offered the role. I was interested in being a part of this film because I was really...
How did you get involved with Organ Trail and what interested you in being a part of this film?
Zoé De Grand’Maison: I taped the audition in my kitchen, while my best friend read the other characters’ lines with me over Zoom. I do remember having a lot of fun with this audition, though; I put patches of brown eyeshadow all over myself to mimic dirt, and blush around my eyes to give me a “tired” sort of look. I then did a callback over Zoom, and was really excited when I was offered the role. I was interested in being a part of this film because I was really...
- 5/11/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
John Wright, the film editor who received Oscar nominations for his work on Jan de Bont’s Speed and The Hunt for Red October, one of six movies he cut for John McTiernan, has died. He was 79.
Wright died April 20 at his home in Calabasas after a battle with prostate and bone cancer, his wife of 57 years, Jane Wright, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Wright’s résumé also included such other high-profile films as Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy (1978), Paul Michael Glaser’s The Running Man (1987), Stan Dragoti’s Necessary Roughness (1991), John Woo’s Broken Arrow (1996), Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000), James Gartner’s Glory Road (2006) and Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk (2008).
He collaborated with directors Mel Gibson on The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Apocalypto (2006); with Graeme Clifford on Frances (1982) and Gleaming the Cube (1989); and with Randall Wallace on Secretariat (2010) and Heaven Is for Real (2014).
Wright was nominated for an Emmy...
Wright died April 20 at his home in Calabasas after a battle with prostate and bone cancer, his wife of 57 years, Jane Wright, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Wright’s résumé also included such other high-profile films as Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy (1978), Paul Michael Glaser’s The Running Man (1987), Stan Dragoti’s Necessary Roughness (1991), John Woo’s Broken Arrow (1996), Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000), James Gartner’s Glory Road (2006) and Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk (2008).
He collaborated with directors Mel Gibson on The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Apocalypto (2006); with Graeme Clifford on Frances (1982) and Gleaming the Cube (1989); and with Randall Wallace on Secretariat (2010) and Heaven Is for Real (2014).
Wright was nominated for an Emmy...
- 5/2/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Filmmaker Guy Ritchie's filmography is, like Sam Peckinpah before him, replete with assertive, unabashed maleness. With the possible exception of "Aladdin," Ritchie's films hover on the concerns of dudes being dudes, usually bonding over their mutual passions for criminality and violence. When he makes gangster movies, he's careful to include multiple scenes of his characters hanging out, chatting, and generally enjoying being blokes. His spies and detectives tended to be obsessed with fashionably outshining the men closest to them. Femaleness is rarely Ritichie's focus, as he lives in the realm of lager louts. Even his Arthurian movie, the legendary bomb "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," featured a scene wherein the title monarch reveals his famous Round Table to his beer-drinking knights. "It's a table," he said. "You sit at it." Actual warmth and tender emotions aren't to be much expected from Ritchie's protagonists.
It's curious, then, that...
It's curious, then, that...
- 4/18/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When it comes to John McTiernan's 1987 action classic "Predator," there's no shortage of unforgettable moments or images. There's the design of the titular alien, a camouflaged, green-blooded beast (Kevin Peter Hall in full makeup and prosthetics) on the hunt. There's the military unit's fraught arrival to a Central American jungle set to "Long Tall Sally." There's a shootout that seemingly borrows from Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch."
But it could be argued the most quoted and memorable moment from the whole movie comes from its opening act, where Vietnam War vets Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Dillon (Carl Weathers) are reunited after many years. As Dutch calls his old friend a "son of a b*tch," they clasp hands, each man revealing cartoonishly massive biceps.
Both actors had gotten their start as athletes. Schwarzenegger had found fame as an Austrian bodybuilder before being rejected to play TV's Incredible Hulk...
But it could be argued the most quoted and memorable moment from the whole movie comes from its opening act, where Vietnam War vets Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Dillon (Carl Weathers) are reunited after many years. As Dutch calls his old friend a "son of a b*tch," they clasp hands, each man revealing cartoonishly massive biceps.
Both actors had gotten their start as athletes. Schwarzenegger had found fame as an Austrian bodybuilder before being rejected to play TV's Incredible Hulk...
- 4/15/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
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