Gordon T. Dawson, a costume designer-turned-screenwriter who worked on multiple movies with Sam Peckinpah and wrote on TV hits The Rockford Files and Walker, Texas Ranger among other films and series, died March 6 of pulmonary disease in West Hills, CA, his family announced. He was 84.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Stuart Margolin Dies: 'The Rockford Files' Two-Time Emmy Winner Was 82 Related Story Clarence Gilyard Jr Dies: 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' 'Matlock' & 'Die Hard' Actor Was 66
Dawson had worked as a fireman and had moved to working with costumes when Peckinpah used him to age costumes for his 1965 film Major Dundee. He would reteam with the director as wardrobe supervisor on 1969’s The Wild Bunch, then as associate producer (and uncredited writer) on 1970’s The Ballad of Cable Hogue and 1972’s The Getaway, and co-writer with Peckinpah on 1974’s...
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Stuart Margolin Dies: 'The Rockford Files' Two-Time Emmy Winner Was 82 Related Story Clarence Gilyard Jr Dies: 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' 'Matlock' & 'Die Hard' Actor Was 66
Dawson had worked as a fireman and had moved to working with costumes when Peckinpah used him to age costumes for his 1965 film Major Dundee. He would reteam with the director as wardrobe supervisor on 1969’s The Wild Bunch, then as associate producer (and uncredited writer) on 1970’s The Ballad of Cable Hogue and 1972’s The Getaway, and co-writer with Peckinpah on 1974’s...
- 3/23/2023
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Gordon T. Dawson, who parlayed a stint as a costumer for Sam Peckinpah into a career as a writer and producer with credits including The Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Rockford Files, Bret Maverick and Walker, Texas Ranger, has died. He was 84.
Dawson died March 6 in West Hills Hospital of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his family announced.
A former firefighter, Dawson spent three months in a Columbia Pictures basement using a blowtorch, paraffin and glue to age the principal soldier uniforms for the Peckinpah-directed Major Dundee (1965). When the extras’ costumes did not match the ones Dawson had prepared, Peckinpah shut down production on the first day of shooting.
Dawson was summoned to the set in Mexico to age the other costumes, noting in the 1993 documentary Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron that he was “terrified” to meet the intimidating director. He needn’t have worried, though; Dawson fixed the other costumes,...
Dawson died March 6 in West Hills Hospital of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his family announced.
A former firefighter, Dawson spent three months in a Columbia Pictures basement using a blowtorch, paraffin and glue to age the principal soldier uniforms for the Peckinpah-directed Major Dundee (1965). When the extras’ costumes did not match the ones Dawson had prepared, Peckinpah shut down production on the first day of shooting.
Dawson was summoned to the set in Mexico to age the other costumes, noting in the 1993 documentary Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron that he was “terrified” to meet the intimidating director. He needn’t have worried, though; Dawson fixed the other costumes,...
- 3/22/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘The Whooper Returns’ is a supernatural thriller from Samuel Krebs.
UK-based genre specialist Devilworks has boarded worldwide rights to two thriller titles, which it will introduce to buyers at the Marche du Film physical event in Cannes (July 6-15).
It has secured rights to supernatural thriller The Whooper Returns from US writer-director Samuel Krebs. Produced by Krebs, Heidi Scheuermann and Michael X. Schmitt for US company Patio Pictures, the film follows four estranged siblings who, after inheriting their family home, are confronted by an eccentric stranger who claims the house was left to her. Krebs previously co-directed 2013 film Milk Mustache.
UK-based genre specialist Devilworks has boarded worldwide rights to two thriller titles, which it will introduce to buyers at the Marche du Film physical event in Cannes (July 6-15).
It has secured rights to supernatural thriller The Whooper Returns from US writer-director Samuel Krebs. Produced by Krebs, Heidi Scheuermann and Michael X. Schmitt for US company Patio Pictures, the film follows four estranged siblings who, after inheriting their family home, are confronted by an eccentric stranger who claims the house was left to her. Krebs previously co-directed 2013 film Milk Mustache.
- 6/16/2021
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Audioboom Original Podcast Dark Air With Terry Carnation: "Rainn Wilson stars in this fictional darkly comedic podcast that explores the on and off-air life of Terry Carnation – a late-night talk-radio show host who deals with bizarre topics, outrageous callers... and gets caught up in a mystery of his own.
Season 1 consists of 14 weekly episodes featuring Rainn as Terry Carnation, Karan Soni as his co-star, and Al Madrigal as his boss. Additional guest stars include Angela Kinsey, Yvette Nicole Brown, Tom Lennon, Creed Bratton, Mindy Sterling, Jason Reitman, Sam Neill, Nathan Fillion, Mark Proksch, Rizwan Manji, Kate Flannery, Kevin Smith, and Desmin Borges."
Series Synopsis: "Terry Carnation, Aka the “Pope of the Paranormal,(tm)" is as known for his silken voice and luxurious hair as he is for hosting his late-night hit Am radio call-in show, "Dark Air." After a recent mysterious mental breakdown after the death of his wife, DuyLoan,...
Season 1 consists of 14 weekly episodes featuring Rainn as Terry Carnation, Karan Soni as his co-star, and Al Madrigal as his boss. Additional guest stars include Angela Kinsey, Yvette Nicole Brown, Tom Lennon, Creed Bratton, Mindy Sterling, Jason Reitman, Sam Neill, Nathan Fillion, Mark Proksch, Rizwan Manji, Kate Flannery, Kevin Smith, and Desmin Borges."
Series Synopsis: "Terry Carnation, Aka the “Pope of the Paranormal,(tm)" is as known for his silken voice and luxurious hair as he is for hosting his late-night hit Am radio call-in show, "Dark Air." After a recent mysterious mental breakdown after the death of his wife, DuyLoan,...
- 3/17/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
With so much activity, politically, musically, and movie-wise going on at SXSW now , it is easy to get lost in the crowd. There’s just so much there. Deadline’s Dino-Ray Ramos has been on the scene covering it all including openings of the hot ticket films like opener Jordan Peele’s Us, Matthew McConaughey in Beach Bum , and Long Shot with Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron , the unlikely pairing for a new romcom. This year’s SXSW features 131 feature films including 101 world premieres, 9 North American premieres, 3 U.S. premieres, and 64 films from first-time filmmakers, closing on Sunday with the World Premiere of Paramount’s Pet Sematary remake. SXSW clearly loves horror witnessed by their opening and closing night films, so when I got the invite to preview the latest movie from horrormeisters Blumhouse called Adopt-a-Highway last week at the Blumhouse offices in Los Angeles I naturally assumed this might...
- 3/11/2019
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Don Kaye Mar 11, 2019
Vincent D’Onofrio on directing his first Western, The Kid, plus whether he’d like to play Kingpin again if Daredevil ever returns.
Vincent D’Onofrio has been turning out superb acting work ever since the world saw him in his breakout role as Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence in Stanley Kubrick’s acidic 1987 Vietnam War classic, Full Metal Jacket. Since then, the Brooklyn-born, 59-year-old actor has made his mark in movies, TV and on the stage, including films like Mystic Pizza, The Break-Up, Ed Wood, Men in Black, The Magnificent Seven, Jurassic World and many more. But he may be best known to many for two career TV roles: as Detective Robert Goren on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and more recent as Marvel Comics arch-villain Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin on Netflix and Marvel TV’s Daredevil.
Now D’Onofrio is taking on a new role: as director.
Vincent D’Onofrio on directing his first Western, The Kid, plus whether he’d like to play Kingpin again if Daredevil ever returns.
Vincent D’Onofrio has been turning out superb acting work ever since the world saw him in his breakout role as Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence in Stanley Kubrick’s acidic 1987 Vietnam War classic, Full Metal Jacket. Since then, the Brooklyn-born, 59-year-old actor has made his mark in movies, TV and on the stage, including films like Mystic Pizza, The Break-Up, Ed Wood, Men in Black, The Magnificent Seven, Jurassic World and many more. But he may be best known to many for two career TV roles: as Detective Robert Goren on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and more recent as Marvel Comics arch-villain Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin on Netflix and Marvel TV’s Daredevil.
Now D’Onofrio is taking on a new role: as director.
- 3/11/2019
- Den of Geek
Fresh product is invigorating the post-awards season. Julianne Moore in “Gloria Bell,” Sebastián Lelio’s Los Angeles redo of his Chilean success “Gloria,” led the field with a strong two-city start. Expanding “Apollo 11” (Neon) added to its initial IMAX runs, landing in tenth place overall.
Scoring surprisingly strong numbers is “Babylon,” an almost 40-year-old British-Jamaican film finally released stateside. Its exclusive New York run took in $20,000, a strong number for any specialized opener.
The recent subtitled surge continues as a variety of new esoteric and well-reviewed entries join previous non-English successes “Climax” (Neon) and “Everybody Knows” (Focus).
Opening
Gloria Bell (A24) – Metacritic: 81; Festivals include: Toronto 2018
$154,775 in 5 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $30,955
Lelio has already enjoyed three significant specialized successes: the original “Gloria,” his Oscar-winner “A Fantastic Woman” last year, and London-made “Disobedience.” For his first U.S. film, he reworked “Gloria” with Julianne Moore playing a single grandmother,...
Scoring surprisingly strong numbers is “Babylon,” an almost 40-year-old British-Jamaican film finally released stateside. Its exclusive New York run took in $20,000, a strong number for any specialized opener.
The recent subtitled surge continues as a variety of new esoteric and well-reviewed entries join previous non-English successes “Climax” (Neon) and “Everybody Knows” (Focus).
Opening
Gloria Bell (A24) – Metacritic: 81; Festivals include: Toronto 2018
$154,775 in 5 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $30,955
Lelio has already enjoyed three significant specialized successes: the original “Gloria,” his Oscar-winner “A Fantastic Woman” last year, and London-made “Disobedience.” For his first U.S. film, he reworked “Gloria” with Julianne Moore playing a single grandmother,...
- 3/10/2019
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Looking back on this still-young century makes clear that 2007 was a major time for cinematic happenings — and, on the basis of this retrospective, one we’re not quite through with ten years on. One’s mind might quickly flash to a few big titles that will be represented, but it is the plurality of both festival and theatrical premieres that truly surprises: late works from old masters, debuts from filmmakers who’ve since become some of our most-respected artists, and mid-career turning points that didn’t necessarily announce themselves as such at the time. Join us as an assembled team, many of whom were coming of age that year, takes on their favorites.
A kaleidoscopic portrait / exploration / celebration / etc. of Bob Dylan’s many contradictions and personas, I’m Not There isn’t the first pseudo-biopic from director Todd Haynes. His debut film, Superstar, unravels the life of singer Karen Carpenter and her eventual,...
A kaleidoscopic portrait / exploration / celebration / etc. of Bob Dylan’s many contradictions and personas, I’m Not There isn’t the first pseudo-biopic from director Todd Haynes. His debut film, Superstar, unravels the life of singer Karen Carpenter and her eventual,...
- 12/4/2017
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
Sam Peckinpah was a fine director of actors when the material was right, and his first collaboration with Steve McQueen is an shaded character study about a rodeo family dealing with changing times. Joe Don Baker and Ben Johnson shine, but the movie belongs to Ida Lupino and Robert Preston.
Junior Bonner
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Special Edition / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Ben Johnson, Mary Murphy, Dub Taylor, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Bill McKinney.
Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Film Editors: Frank Santillo, Robert L. Wolfe
Second Unit Director: Frank Kowalski
Bud Hurlbud: Special Effects
Original Music: Jerry Fielding
Written by Jeb Rosebrook
Produced by Joe Wizan
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
I suppose there were plenty of successful rodeo-themed westerns back in the day, perhaps the kind interrupted by a cowboy song every ten minutes or so.
Junior Bonner
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Special Edition / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Ben Johnson, Mary Murphy, Dub Taylor, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Bill McKinney.
Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Film Editors: Frank Santillo, Robert L. Wolfe
Second Unit Director: Frank Kowalski
Bud Hurlbud: Special Effects
Original Music: Jerry Fielding
Written by Jeb Rosebrook
Produced by Joe Wizan
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
I suppose there were plenty of successful rodeo-themed westerns back in the day, perhaps the kind interrupted by a cowboy song every ten minutes or so.
- 10/17/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In today’s casting roundup, the Lionsgate feature film “The Kid,” starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Ethan Hawke, is seeking men, women, and children to play a wide variety of background roles. There are also spots available in a lifestyle photo shoot for a tech company, a series of commercials about beer and football, and roles for musicians in the feature “Last Laugh!” “The Kid”Background casting is now underway for the upcoming Lionsgate feature film “The Kid,” starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Ethan Hawke in “the story of a young boy who witnesses Billy the Kid’s encounter with Sheriff Pat Garrett.” Male and female talent, aged 13–75, are wanted to portray a wide variety of roles, including a Native American family, prisoners, brothel women, and more. “The Kid” will shoot this fall in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Some pay will be provided. Apply here! Lifestyle Photo Shoota technology company...
- 10/2/2017
- backstage.com
"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.
Any excuse to talk about What a Way to Go! is a good excuse. But the centennial of Ted Haworth is an especially excellent excuse. He was nominated for six Oscars, starting with Marty in 1955. He won for 1957’s Sayonara. Highlights from the rest of his career include Some Like It Hot, The Beguiled, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.
But none of those movies could hold a candle to the astonishing level of creativity on display in What a Way to Go! The epic 1964 comedy of love and loss stars Shirley MacLaine as Louisa May Foster, a many-time widow and heiress. Each husband, with one particularly tragic exception, begins the marriage as a near-pauper who wants nothing but love. But their passion inevitably leads them...
Any excuse to talk about What a Way to Go! is a good excuse. But the centennial of Ted Haworth is an especially excellent excuse. He was nominated for six Oscars, starting with Marty in 1955. He won for 1957’s Sayonara. Highlights from the rest of his career include Some Like It Hot, The Beguiled, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.
But none of those movies could hold a candle to the astonishing level of creativity on display in What a Way to Go! The epic 1964 comedy of love and loss stars Shirley MacLaine as Louisa May Foster, a many-time widow and heiress. Each husband, with one particularly tragic exception, begins the marriage as a near-pauper who wants nothing but love. But their passion inevitably leads them...
- 9/25/2017
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Harry Dean Stanton, the legendary character actor and offbeat leading man who starred in Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Big Love in a career that spanned over seven decades, has died at the age of 91.
Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles, Variety reports, with TMZ adding that the actor died peacefully Friday afternoon at the city's Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
Director David Lynch, who cast Stanton in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story and the recent Twin Peaks: The Return,...
Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles, Variety reports, with TMZ adding that the actor died peacefully Friday afternoon at the city's Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
Director David Lynch, who cast Stanton in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story and the recent Twin Peaks: The Return,...
- 9/15/2017
- Rollingstone.com
With Sharknado 5 making a splash on TV screens across the globe these past few weeks, what better time to visit the world of The Asylum? With a myriad of films under their belt, from their beginnings as king of the mockbuster to their foray into original film making, it’s no secret we’re big fans of these bastions of the direct to DVD market and have reviewed a Lot of their output! With that in mind, here’s my pick of the Top 5 (because it’s Sharknado Five… geddit?!?) movies from The Asylum in – shock, horror – order of preference…
5) Avengers Grimm
An off-the-wall mix of Grimm Fairy tale characters and superhero team-up movies which, frankly, should have been obvious given the title, Avengers Grimm’s plot is relatively simple: when Rumpelstiltskin uses the Magic Mirror to escapes to the modern world taking Snow White with him and destroying the mirror in the process,...
5) Avengers Grimm
An off-the-wall mix of Grimm Fairy tale characters and superhero team-up movies which, frankly, should have been obvious given the title, Avengers Grimm’s plot is relatively simple: when Rumpelstiltskin uses the Magic Mirror to escapes to the modern world taking Snow White with him and destroying the mirror in the process,...
- 8/22/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Bob Dylan turns 76 today and we’re ranking Dylan’s 10 best film performances, dating back half a century to 1967. The key word is “performances,” which encompass acting work, concert films, and documentaries. It’s often hard to know when Dylan is acting and when he’s being himself (whoever that is), but whenever the iconic singer-songwriter appears on film, one thing’s for certain: you’re watching a performance.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ Gets Deluxe Treatment With New Blu-ray Set
For this reason, we’re lumping everything together, ranking the films based on the depth and richness of performance. It was hard not to include the televised 1965 press conference in San Francisco, which sees Dylan effortlessly (and hilariously) shoot down reporters’ attempts to have him label himself, but we limited this list to feature-length films. Don’t look for Todd Haynes’ “I’m Not There” or any...
Bob Dylan’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ Gets Deluxe Treatment With New Blu-ray Set
For this reason, we’re lumping everything together, ranking the films based on the depth and richness of performance. It was hard not to include the televised 1965 press conference in San Francisco, which sees Dylan effortlessly (and hilariously) shoot down reporters’ attempts to have him label himself, but we limited this list to feature-length films. Don’t look for Todd Haynes’ “I’m Not There” or any...
- 5/24/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
The laid-back, plot challenged non-violent western gets a boost in this folksy comedy about two aging cowboys with less sense than the horses they tame. Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda star together for the first time, leaving behind their older images… they’re too tender-hearted for their own good. If the sex comedy wasn’t quite so dated, Burt Kennedy’s picture might be a classic.
The Rounders
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Sue Ane Langdon, Hope Holiday, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Kathleen Freeman, Joan Freeman, Denver Pyle, Barton MacLane, Doodles Weaver, Peter Fonda, Peter Ford, Bill Hart, Warren Oates, Chuck Roberson.
Cinematography: Paul Vogel
Film Editor: John McSweeney
Original Music: Jeff Alexander
From the Novel by Max Evans
Produced by Richard E. Lyons
Written and Directed by Burt Kennedy
Producer Richard E. Lyons is...
The Rounders
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Sue Ane Langdon, Hope Holiday, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Kathleen Freeman, Joan Freeman, Denver Pyle, Barton MacLane, Doodles Weaver, Peter Fonda, Peter Ford, Bill Hart, Warren Oates, Chuck Roberson.
Cinematography: Paul Vogel
Film Editor: John McSweeney
Original Music: Jeff Alexander
From the Novel by Max Evans
Produced by Richard E. Lyons
Written and Directed by Burt Kennedy
Producer Richard E. Lyons is...
- 4/22/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
With the success of series like Narcos which features the story of the infamous Medellin drug cartem ran by Pablo Escobar, I knew it was a matter of time before the story of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera aka "El Chapo" was picked up by a studio or network.
According to Variety Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire the film rights to the book Hunting El Chapo: The Thrilling Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World's Most-Wanted Drug Lord. The book is written by Cole Merrell and Douglas Century At the same time Sony Pictures is also in talks with Michael Bay, who is currently in post-production on Transformers: The Last Knight, to either direct or produce the film.
Related: Transformers: The Last Knight - Trailer #2 Drops
Here is a summery of the book which is listed on Amazon:
A blend of Manhunt, Killing Pablo, and Zero Dark Thirty,...
According to Variety Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire the film rights to the book Hunting El Chapo: The Thrilling Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World's Most-Wanted Drug Lord. The book is written by Cole Merrell and Douglas Century At the same time Sony Pictures is also in talks with Michael Bay, who is currently in post-production on Transformers: The Last Knight, to either direct or produce the film.
Related: Transformers: The Last Knight - Trailer #2 Drops
Here is a summery of the book which is listed on Amazon:
A blend of Manhunt, Killing Pablo, and Zero Dark Thirty,...
- 3/31/2017
- by Emmanuel Gomez
- LRMonline.com
At the turn of the ‘80s, Jamie Lee Curtis was The face of horror; by this point she had already starred in Halloween (1978), and cemented her position with three releases in 1980 alone – The Fog in February, Prom Night in July, and today’s title, Terror Train, in October. It was a banner year for her, and for horror fans alike – well, apart from that snoozy school picture. Terror Train was a great way to end her 1980, and a fitting way to cap off 2016, as it’s a – ta da! – New Year’s Eve movie. Climb aboard for a fun, surprisingly classy ride.
There just aren’t that many horror films that take advantage of the holiday. New Year’s Evil (also 1980) is probably the most well known, and uses the neat conceit of the killer performing a bad deed for every time zone to, sadly, dull effect. Terror Train doesn...
There just aren’t that many horror films that take advantage of the holiday. New Year’s Evil (also 1980) is probably the most well known, and uses the neat conceit of the killer performing a bad deed for every time zone to, sadly, dull effect. Terror Train doesn...
- 12/31/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Marlon Brando put his all into this impassioned, expertly acted and crafted VistaVision western spectacle. Has it been overlooked because of the scarcity of quality presentations? Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Pina Pellicer, Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens are unforgettable, as are the Big Sur locations. One-Eyed Jacks Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 844 1961 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 141 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 22, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Pina Pellicer, Larry Duran, Sam Gilman, Míriam Colón, Timothy Carey, Margarita Cordova, Elisha Cook Jr., Rodolfo Acosta, Joan Petrone, Joe Dominguez, Tom Webb, Ray Teal, John Dierkes, Philip Ahn, Hank Worden, Clem Harvey, William Forrest, Mina Martinez. Cinematography Charles Lang. Jr. Film Editor Archie Marshek Original Music Hugo Friedhofer Written by Guy Trosper, Calder Willingham from the novel The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones by Charles Neider Produced by Frank P. Rosenberg Directed by Marlon Brando...
- 11/12/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Former Geffen Records president Jordan Schur and his Suretone Pictures banner have set up two new action features.
First up, "The Grey" and "Narc" helmer Joe Carnahan is set to direct "Five Against A Bullet," a potential franchise launcher boasting a script by Alex Litvak and Carnahan. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Jordan Schur and Mimran Schur are producing.
Bruce Willis was previously attached to an earlier version of the project which follows five elite bodyguards who are tasked with keeping a Mexican mayoral candidate safe through the elections as a drug cartel kingpin has sent an army of hitmen after him.
The other project is Lionsgate's "The Kid," a western on which "Daredevil" actor Vincent D'Onofrio is set to make his feature directorial debut.
James Franco and Ethan Hawke star in the story of gunfighter Billy the Kid leading up to his killing by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Andrew Lanham penned the...
First up, "The Grey" and "Narc" helmer Joe Carnahan is set to direct "Five Against A Bullet," a potential franchise launcher boasting a script by Alex Litvak and Carnahan. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Jordan Schur and Mimran Schur are producing.
Bruce Willis was previously attached to an earlier version of the project which follows five elite bodyguards who are tasked with keeping a Mexican mayoral candidate safe through the elections as a drug cartel kingpin has sent an army of hitmen after him.
The other project is Lionsgate's "The Kid," a western on which "Daredevil" actor Vincent D'Onofrio is set to make his feature directorial debut.
James Franco and Ethan Hawke star in the story of gunfighter Billy the Kid leading up to his killing by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Andrew Lanham penned the...
- 8/28/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
'Affliction' movie: Nick Nolte as the troubled police officer Wade Whitehouse. 'Affliction' movie: Great-looking psychological drama fails to coalesce Set in a snowy New Hampshire town, Affliction could have been an excellent depiction of a dysfunctional family's cycle of violence and how that is accentuated by rapid, destabilizing socioeconomic changes. Unfortunately, writer-director Paul Schrader's 1998 film doesn't quite reach such heights.* Based on a novel by Russell Banks (who also penned the equally snowy The Sweet Hereafter), Schrader's Affliction relies on a realistic wintry atmosphere (courtesy of cinematographer Paul Sarossy) to convey the deadness inside the story's protagonist, the middle-aged small-town sheriff Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte). The angst-ridden Wade is intent on not ending up like his abusive, alcoholic father, Glen (James Coburn), while inexorably sliding down that very path. Making matters more complicated, Wade must come to terms with the fact that his ex-wife, Lillian (Mary Beth Hurt), will never return to him,...
- 8/25/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Here's another installment featuring Joe Dante's reviews from his stint as a critic for Film Bulletin circa 1969-1974. Our thanks to Video Watchdog and Tim Lucas for his editorial embellishments!
Post-production tampering mitigates against this Western by Sam Peckinpah finding its deserved reception from better-class audiences. Shortened release version is vague, confusing, and is being sold as routine action entry in saturation breaks where it should perform routinely, no more. Kris Kristofferson and acting debut of Bob Dylan provide youth lures. Rating: R.
“It feels like times have changed,” says Pat Garrett. “Times, maybe—not me," says Billy the Kid. A classical Sam Peckinpah exchange, reflecting one of the numerous obsessive themes that run through his latest Western. But times certainly haven’t changed for Peckinpah—for, despite the overdue success of his last venture, The Getaway, the embattled and iconoclastic director who revolutionized the Western with The Wild Bunch...
Post-production tampering mitigates against this Western by Sam Peckinpah finding its deserved reception from better-class audiences. Shortened release version is vague, confusing, and is being sold as routine action entry in saturation breaks where it should perform routinely, no more. Kris Kristofferson and acting debut of Bob Dylan provide youth lures. Rating: R.
“It feels like times have changed,” says Pat Garrett. “Times, maybe—not me," says Billy the Kid. A classical Sam Peckinpah exchange, reflecting one of the numerous obsessive themes that run through his latest Western. But times certainly haven’t changed for Peckinpah—for, despite the overdue success of his last venture, The Getaway, the embattled and iconoclastic director who revolutionized the Western with The Wild Bunch...
- 8/6/2015
- by Joe Dante
- Trailers from Hell
This article by Fernando Ganzo is an excerpt from Capricci's monograph Sam Peckinpah, edited by Ganzo, which accompanies this year's retrospective at the Locarno Film Festival.Warren Oates in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. © Park Circus / MGM“Don’t ever ruin your career as a loser with a shitty success.”—Jorge OteizaThere is only one thing that can be said about a person as erratic, contradictory, mythomaniac, complex and profound as Sam Peckinpah: here is a director who was made in the image of his characters, those men who belong to a different era, born too late, in a world that opposed all freedom and eccentricity. We like to describe Peckinpah as one of the fathers of New Hollywood, of the baroque aesthetic of the 1970s, as someone who had a primordial and often regrettable influence on that particular style. This is not completely false. However, this...
- 8/4/2015
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Hong Sang-soo's Right Now, Wrong Then.The lineup for the 2015 festival has been revealed, including new films by Hong Sang-soo, Andrzej Zulawski, Chantal Akerman, Athina Rachel Tsangari, and others, alongside retrospectives and tributes dedicated to Sam Peckinpah, Michael Cimino, Bulle Ogier, and much more.Piazza GRANDERicki and the Flash (Jonathan Demme, USA)La belle saison (Catherine Corsini, France)Le dernier passage (Pascal Magontier, France)Der staat gegen Fritz Bauer (Lars Kraume, Germany)Southpaw (Antoine Fuqua, USA)Trainwreck (Judd Apatow, USA)Jack (Elisabeth Scharang, Austria)Floride (Philippe Le Guay, France)The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, UK/USA)Erlkönig (Georges Schwizgebel, Switzerland)Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre (Philippe Falardeau, Canada)Bombay Velvet (Anurag Kashyap, India)Pastorale cilentana (Mario Martone, Italy)La vanite (Lionel Baier, Switzerland/France)The Laundryman (Lee Chung, Taiwan)Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, USA) I pugni ni tasca (Marco Bellocchio, Italy)Heliopolis (Sérgio Machado, Brazil)Amnesia (Barbet Schroeder,...
- 7/20/2015
- by Notebook
- MUBI
I interviewed James Coburn in late 1998 for the cover story of the February 1999 issue of Venice Magazine. I had grown up watching Coburn on the late show, but also seeing him on the big screen, first-run. Meeting him was a thrill as he entered the living room of his manager, the late Hilly Elkins', home in Beverly Hills. Coburn was elegant, charming and had the grace of a cat. The only thing that revealed the health problems that had nearly done him in were his gnarled hands, the result of severe arthritis. We spoke about his role in Paul Schrader's newest film, "Affliction," which would earn him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Later, as I walked Coburn to his Acura Nsx sport coupe, he bid me a warm farewell.
Several months later, I encountered him again at The Independent Spirit Awards, in Santa Monica. I went up...
Several months later, I encountered him again at The Independent Spirit Awards, in Santa Monica. I went up...
- 7/15/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
It's fitting that Clint Eastwood and John Wayne both have the same birthday week. (Wayne, who died in 1979, was born May 26, 1907, while Eastwood turns 85 on May 31). After all, these two all-American actors' careers span the history of that most American of movie genres, the western.
Both iconic actors were top box office draws for decades, both seldom stretched from their familiar personas, and both played macho, conservative cowboy heroes who let their firearms do most of the talking. Each represented one of two very different strains of western, the traditional and the revisionist.
As a birthday present to Hollywood's biggest heroes of the Wild West, here are the top 57 westerns you need to see.
57. 'Meek's Cutoff' (2010)
Indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt and her frequent leading lady, Michelle Williams, are the talents behind this sparse, docudrama about an 1845 wagon train whose Oregon Trail journey goes horribly awry. It's an intense...
Both iconic actors were top box office draws for decades, both seldom stretched from their familiar personas, and both played macho, conservative cowboy heroes who let their firearms do most of the talking. Each represented one of two very different strains of western, the traditional and the revisionist.
As a birthday present to Hollywood's biggest heroes of the Wild West, here are the top 57 westerns you need to see.
57. 'Meek's Cutoff' (2010)
Indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt and her frequent leading lady, Michelle Williams, are the talents behind this sparse, docudrama about an 1845 wagon train whose Oregon Trail journey goes horribly awry. It's an intense...
- 5/26/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
All week long our writers will debate: Which was the greatest film year of the past half century. Click here for a complete list of our essays. How to decide in the grand scheme of things which film year stands above all others? History gives us no clear methodology to unravel this thorny but extremely important question. Is it the year with the highest average score of movies? So a year that averages out to a B + might be the winner over a field strewn with B’s, despite a few A +’s. Or do a few masterpieces lift up a year so far that whatever else happened beyond those three or four films is of no consequence? Both measures are worthy, and the winner by either of those would certainly be a year not to be sneezed at. But I contend the only true measure of a year’s...
- 4/27/2015
- by Richard Rushfield
- Hitfix
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce that we are now the North American home for Locarno Film Festival Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian's blog. Chatrian has been writing thoughtful blog entries in Italian on Locarno's website since he took over as Director in late 2012, and now you can find the English translations here on Notebook as they're published. To kick things off, we're posting his piece on Sam Peckinpah, who was recently announced to be the subject of the festival's epic retrospective this year. The Locarno Film Festival will be taking place August 5th to 15th. ***The life of Sam Peckinpah sits like a splendid diamond set between two glorious eras for American cinema, one already on the decline and the other still to come. Retracing his career means looking as much at the great classical tradition that preceded him as at the new directors currently leaving their mark on the imagination.
- 3/22/2015
- by Carlo Chatrian
- MUBI
Every holiday deserves their share of horror films made for it, and President’s Day is no exception. The weird thing is that with all the President’s the United States has had over the past 239 years, only one of them seems to be important enough to be the center of a genre movie. Abraham Lincoln is hands down the most popular Chief who needs hailing. Look no further than the following gems to celebrate your Monday off from work or school with these blood-soaked classics.
Let’s start with the most obvious. 2010’s indie slasher film President’s Day couldn’t be more perfect to mark the occasion. It revolves around the student council elections at Lincoln High. They turn into a matter of life and death when someone dressed as Abraham Lincoln starts hacking up the candidates. Made on a shoestring budget of $5,000, it doesn’t get any more grassroots gory than this.
Let’s start with the most obvious. 2010’s indie slasher film President’s Day couldn’t be more perfect to mark the occasion. It revolves around the student council elections at Lincoln High. They turn into a matter of life and death when someone dressed as Abraham Lincoln starts hacking up the candidates. Made on a shoestring budget of $5,000, it doesn’t get any more grassroots gory than this.
- 2/16/2015
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Eric Shirey)
- Cinelinx
Clu Gulager is best known for playing the tamed down version of Billy The Kid -- photographed here with Barry Sullivan as Pat Garrett -- in the early '60s western "The Tall Man." Guess what he looks like now! Read more...
- 12/30/2014
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
By Fred Blosser
Many books have been written about Hollywood Westerns. After 45 years, the late William K. Everson’s “A Pictorial History of the Western Film” (The Citadel Press, 1969) remains one of the best: a coffee-table book with substance. Everson appropriately tips his sombrero to John Ford, John Wayne, Henry Hathaway, and Howard Hawks (with measured praise for “Red River”), and his comments on films spanning the history of the genre up to the end of the 1960s, from “The Great Train Robbery” (1903) to “The Wild Bunch” (1969), are incisive and thought-provoking. As a film scholar and preservationist, Everson was particularly knowledgeable about older and often obscure movies from the silent and early sound eras. Three of the classic titles he highlights are worthy of his approval and deserve to be better known than they are.
King Vidor’s “Billy the Kid” (1930) is slow going at times, particularly if you’re...
Many books have been written about Hollywood Westerns. After 45 years, the late William K. Everson’s “A Pictorial History of the Western Film” (The Citadel Press, 1969) remains one of the best: a coffee-table book with substance. Everson appropriately tips his sombrero to John Ford, John Wayne, Henry Hathaway, and Howard Hawks (with measured praise for “Red River”), and his comments on films spanning the history of the genre up to the end of the 1960s, from “The Great Train Robbery” (1903) to “The Wild Bunch” (1969), are incisive and thought-provoking. As a film scholar and preservationist, Everson was particularly knowledgeable about older and often obscure movies from the silent and early sound eras. Three of the classic titles he highlights are worthy of his approval and deserve to be better known than they are.
King Vidor’s “Billy the Kid” (1930) is slow going at times, particularly if you’re...
- 9/13/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
So, last week I watched the Keanu Reeves abomination that was 47 Ronin and this week I took it upon myself to watch the 1941 original, The 47 Ronin, available on Hulu Plus and it's rather astonishing the differences between the two. Of course, the original doesn't have magic, monsters or the Reeves character and those are the immediate differences, but what's even more fascinating is to compare the way the two films approach the story and what is considered important. The first difference is in the approach to the story. Even though the '41 film runs 223, versus the 118 minutes that make up the 2013 remake, it wastes no time getting started. A little on screen text and immediately we see Lord Asano attack the court official Kira Yoshinaka. Due to the injection of Reeves' character into the remake it takes forever to get to this moment and by that time it's already...
- 4/13/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Long a dream project for producer Jeremy Thomas, J.G. Ballard's dystopian High-Rise is finally getting its chance to loom on screen, with Ben Wheatley directing and Amy Jump writing the screenplay. Film4 are the backers.Ballard's 1975 satirical sci-fi novel takes place in a tower block, which is supposed to be a gleaming new, exciting and exotic home for its affluent residents, but ends up isolating and factionalising them into all-out war, with the surface sophistication degenerating to primal savagery. In short, it seems a perfect vehicle to continue the idiosyncratic humour-and-horror proclivities of the team behind Kill List, Sightseers and A Field In England.Thomas first attempted to get High-Rise made in the late '70s with Nicolas Roeg. Rudy Wurlitzer (Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid) wrote a screenplay that remained in development for a number of years, and most recently the project was in the hands of Vincenzo Natali (Splice).For a time,...
- 8/29/2013
- EmpireOnline
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Written by Rudy Wurlitzer
1973, USA
Sam Peckinpah was not an easy man to get along with at the best of times and the battles he faced in making Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, now widely considered as amongst the top dozen Westerns ever made, are legendary even by his standards. Peckinpah wanted his name taken off the film after a distraught MGM instructed the half-dozen editors (probably a world record by the films release in 1973) allocated to the film to hack the footage into something more straightforward and to their minds more marketable, reducing the run time to under two hours and most crucially shaving off the pathos riven, 1908 set bookends of the film, these bridging buttresses detailing the final fate of one of the titular characters in light of the main narrative tragedy. Peckinpah had faced relentless obstructions on...
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
Written by Rudy Wurlitzer
1973, USA
Sam Peckinpah was not an easy man to get along with at the best of times and the battles he faced in making Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, now widely considered as amongst the top dozen Westerns ever made, are legendary even by his standards. Peckinpah wanted his name taken off the film after a distraught MGM instructed the half-dozen editors (probably a world record by the films release in 1973) allocated to the film to hack the footage into something more straightforward and to their minds more marketable, reducing the run time to under two hours and most crucially shaving off the pathos riven, 1908 set bookends of the film, these bridging buttresses detailing the final fate of one of the titular characters in light of the main narrative tragedy. Peckinpah had faced relentless obstructions on...
- 1/4/2013
- by John
- SoundOnSight
Clu Gulager has spent the majority of his life acting. Although he was born in Oklahoma, he has spent the majority of his life in front of the camera. Recently, we sat down and had a conversation about his life times as a western and horror star. This is the fourth and final installment of that conversation. The first three parts can also be found on FEARnet.com.
What changed the way that you approached your acting?
Bette Davis, I'm mentioning names because these are familiar names. I had to work with Bette Davis one time because they fired the one guy and hired me very quickly. I had to fly down there in two hours to Dallas. I tried to learn the lines and I couldn't in that length of time. Bette Davis had done her close-up the day before so she was out on the tarmac of the airfield.
What changed the way that you approached your acting?
Bette Davis, I'm mentioning names because these are familiar names. I had to work with Bette Davis one time because they fired the one guy and hired me very quickly. I had to fly down there in two hours to Dallas. I tried to learn the lines and I couldn't in that length of time. Bette Davis had done her close-up the day before so she was out on the tarmac of the airfield.
- 11/7/2012
- by Del Howison
- FEARnet
Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies
Stars: Bill Oberst Jr., Kent Igleheart, Rhianna Van Helton, Debra Crittenden, Chris Hlozek, Jason Vail, Ronald Ogden, Josh Sinyard | Written by Richard Schenkman, Karl T. Hirsch, J. Lauren Proctor | Directed by Richard Schenkman
Whilst it’s namesake Hollywood counterpart takes the battle to undead bloodsucking legions, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies sees Lincoln take on an all-together more daunting task… zombies. Opening with Lincoln as a child in the midst of the first zombie outbreak, an outbreak which took the life of his mother; the film follows the titular President as, in the middle of the American Civil War and prepping the Gettysburg address, he downs tools and heads behind confederate lines to battle the undead which have once again risen from their graves and whom have no qualms about chomping down on union or confederate, because as we all know zombies don’t discriminate!
Forget the...
Stars: Bill Oberst Jr., Kent Igleheart, Rhianna Van Helton, Debra Crittenden, Chris Hlozek, Jason Vail, Ronald Ogden, Josh Sinyard | Written by Richard Schenkman, Karl T. Hirsch, J. Lauren Proctor | Directed by Richard Schenkman
Whilst it’s namesake Hollywood counterpart takes the battle to undead bloodsucking legions, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies sees Lincoln take on an all-together more daunting task… zombies. Opening with Lincoln as a child in the midst of the first zombie outbreak, an outbreak which took the life of his mother; the film follows the titular President as, in the middle of the American Civil War and prepping the Gettysburg address, he downs tools and heads behind confederate lines to battle the undead which have once again risen from their graves and whom have no qualms about chomping down on union or confederate, because as we all know zombies don’t discriminate!
Forget the...
- 7/7/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Timeliness is one thing you can count on with the Asylum Entertainment. If there's a big event film hitting movie screens, they'll be one step ahead of the curve with their own version of the subject matter. This time around we learn that not only was Abraham Lincoln a vampire hunter, but he had another part-time job as a zombie killer.
"Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies" begins when the future leader of our country sees his mother die from an infection that turns her into a flesh-eating creature. He pushes the horrible ordeal behind him and goes on to become the President. Years later, he journeys behind enemy lines to find that "sick" soldiers are really the ravenous undead he encountered as a child. It's left to him to lead a band of famous historical figures in a mission to destroy the walking dead.
First off, I have to give props...
"Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies" begins when the future leader of our country sees his mother die from an infection that turns her into a flesh-eating creature. He pushes the horrible ordeal behind him and goes on to become the President. Years later, he journeys behind enemy lines to find that "sick" soldiers are really the ravenous undead he encountered as a child. It's left to him to lead a band of famous historical figures in a mission to destroy the walking dead.
First off, I have to give props...
- 6/21/2012
- by feeds@themoviepool.com (Eric Shirey)
- Cinelinx
Well, the dog days of summer are fast approaching, and what better way to duck out of the heat than by spending a cool day inside, AC-blasting, with your Blu-ray player and an endless supply of chilled adult beverages. June sees the release of an Alfred Hitchcock classic (beautifully restored), a trio of Lina Wertmüller gems, a nearly lost Michael Curtiz effort, a movie about the sex lives of ghosts, and a plane crash survival tale sold on the, er, ample merits of its female lead.
“The 39 Steps” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
Why You Should Care: Because “The 39 Steps,” a crackling (86 minutes!) spy thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, is one of the most beloved British movies of all time, coming in at fourth place in the British Film Institute’s poll of top British films, and more recently, named the 21st greatest British film of all time by movie magazine Total Film. The film,...
“The 39 Steps” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
Why You Should Care: Because “The 39 Steps,” a crackling (86 minutes!) spy thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, is one of the most beloved British movies of all time, coming in at fourth place in the British Film Institute’s poll of top British films, and more recently, named the 21st greatest British film of all time by movie magazine Total Film. The film,...
- 6/7/2012
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
From the classic western "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" to the painful ego-trip that was "Masked and Anonymous," Bob Dylan has a pretty extensive, if varied, movie resume for a rock star. But in a career that netted him a Best Song Oscar for his work on "Wonder Boys," Dylan has yet to see one of his albums adapted for the silver screen -- until now. Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" will be turned into a feature length film from Brazilian-based Rt Features. "Blood on the Tracks" is widely considered to be...
- 4/4/2012
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
Dolphin Tale, release in UK cinemas on October 14th, is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life and features a great cast including Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jnr, and Ashley Judd alongside many wonderful animals. But the real star is “Winter”, who plays herself in the film, and today serves as a symbol of courage, perseverance and hope to millions of people.
In advance of the release, we caught up with director Charles Martin Smith (pictured below with Ashley Judd) and asked about his experiences working on Dolphin Tale.
When you said, ‘I’ve got to have Kris Kristofferson in this. We worked in Pat Garrett and the Billy and the Kid,’ what did people say to you?
Charles Martin Smith: Well, it was one of those things that came up in meetings, like with Andrew Broderick,...
In advance of the release, we caught up with director Charles Martin Smith (pictured below with Ashley Judd) and asked about his experiences working on Dolphin Tale.
When you said, ‘I’ve got to have Kris Kristofferson in this. We worked in Pat Garrett and the Billy and the Kid,’ what did people say to you?
Charles Martin Smith: Well, it was one of those things that came up in meetings, like with Andrew Broderick,...
- 10/7/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford contend with goo-dripping aliens in Jon Favreau's sadly humourless sci-fi western
In all the advertising for Jon Favreau's blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the latter element of the provocative title is presented in larger type, thus suggesting the current ascendancy of one genre over the other. Among the dozen or so listed producers are a pair of directors – Steven Spielberg, who has been behind a string of sci-fi movies, and Ron Howard, who has made two ambitious westerns, one rather good, the other a distinct failure.
Based (not surprisingly) on a graphic novel, the picture stars Daniel Craig, a stranger both to the west and to sci-fi, and Harrison Ford, who made his name in the Star Wars movies but came a cropper with his only big-screen western. They play a couple of gun-toting hardmen in post-civil war New Mexico territory, the stamping ground of...
In all the advertising for Jon Favreau's blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the latter element of the provocative title is presented in larger type, thus suggesting the current ascendancy of one genre over the other. Among the dozen or so listed producers are a pair of directors – Steven Spielberg, who has been behind a string of sci-fi movies, and Ron Howard, who has made two ambitious westerns, one rather good, the other a distinct failure.
Based (not surprisingly) on a graphic novel, the picture stars Daniel Craig, a stranger both to the west and to sci-fi, and Harrison Ford, who made his name in the Star Wars movies but came a cropper with his only big-screen western. They play a couple of gun-toting hardmen in post-civil war New Mexico territory, the stamping ground of...
- 8/20/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford contend with goo-dripping aliens in Jon Favreau's sadly humourless sci-fi western
In all the advertising for Jon Favreau's blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the latter element of the provocative title is presented in larger type, thus suggesting the current ascendancy of one genre over the other. Among the dozen or so listed producers are a pair of directors – Steven Spielberg, who has been behind a string of sci-fi movies, and Ron Howard, who has made two ambitious westerns, one rather good, the other a distinct failure.
Based (not surprisingly) on a graphic novel, the picture stars Daniel Craig, a stranger both to the west and to sci-fi, and Harrison Ford, who made his name in the Star Wars movies but came a cropper with his only big-screen western. They play a couple of gun-toting hardmen in post-civil war New Mexico territory, the stamping ground of...
In all the advertising for Jon Favreau's blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the latter element of the provocative title is presented in larger type, thus suggesting the current ascendancy of one genre over the other. Among the dozen or so listed producers are a pair of directors – Steven Spielberg, who has been behind a string of sci-fi movies, and Ron Howard, who has made two ambitious westerns, one rather good, the other a distinct failure.
Based (not surprisingly) on a graphic novel, the picture stars Daniel Craig, a stranger both to the west and to sci-fi, and Harrison Ford, who made his name in the Star Wars movies but came a cropper with his only big-screen western. They play a couple of gun-toting hardmen in post-civil war New Mexico territory, the stamping ground of...
- 8/20/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
In the movie world, the last name McDonagh might particularly stand out to those who really enjoyed In Bruges, which starred Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Martin McDonagh made a triumphant debut with his film about assassins on holiday in Bruges. Now, Martin’s brother John has stepped up, with his own film starring Brendan Gleeson called The Guard.
In the film, Gleeson plays a crude Irish sergeant who works with a serious FBI agent (played by Don Cheadle) as they attempt to stop a group of drug smugglers (lead by Mark Strong).
I sat down with John Michael McDonagh at Chicago’s Peninsula Hotel to discuss the film’s Western influences, the creation of the character, and McDonagh’s dream of putting gangsters on a roller coaster.
The Guard opened in Portland on 8/12, and will be expanding across America throughout the end of summer.
Read – Nick Allen’s Scorecard...
In the film, Gleeson plays a crude Irish sergeant who works with a serious FBI agent (played by Don Cheadle) as they attempt to stop a group of drug smugglers (lead by Mark Strong).
I sat down with John Michael McDonagh at Chicago’s Peninsula Hotel to discuss the film’s Western influences, the creation of the character, and McDonagh’s dream of putting gangsters on a roller coaster.
The Guard opened in Portland on 8/12, and will be expanding across America throughout the end of summer.
Read – Nick Allen’s Scorecard...
- 8/18/2011
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
The last known image of Billy the Kid sold at a Denver auction on Sunday (June 26) for $2.3 million dollars. (For anyone keeping count, that's exactly half the amount Marilyn Monroe's famous "subway dress" sold for earlier this month.)
An infamous Old West outlaw, Billy the Kid -- aka William Henry McCarty -- is believed to have killed between eight and 22 people during his career of crime. He was relatively unknown during his lifetime until the governor of New Mexico placed a price on his head. But, like many Old West figures, many of the Kid's exploits were exaggerated.
Billy the Kid reportedly died in 1881 at the hands of sheriff Pat Garrett.
In 2010, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson considered a posthumous pardon for McCarty, but decided against it because of "historical ambiguity."
Auctioneers estimated that the image would bring in about $400,000, according to ABC News. But the buyer -- private...
An infamous Old West outlaw, Billy the Kid -- aka William Henry McCarty -- is believed to have killed between eight and 22 people during his career of crime. He was relatively unknown during his lifetime until the governor of New Mexico placed a price on his head. But, like many Old West figures, many of the Kid's exploits were exaggerated.
Billy the Kid reportedly died in 1881 at the hands of sheriff Pat Garrett.
In 2010, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson considered a posthumous pardon for McCarty, but decided against it because of "historical ambiguity."
Auctioneers estimated that the image would bring in about $400,000, according to ABC News. But the buyer -- private...
- 6/26/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
On this day in 1936, a star was born. Over the past 75 years, it seems there have been very few areas in which Kris Kristofferson hasn’t excelled.
Born in Brownsville, Texas, to a major general in the U.S. Air Force father, as a teen, he tore up the field at rugby, football, and track. He graduated from Pomona College a member of Phi Beta Kappa and became a Rhodes Scholar. His travels actually led to his singing career, when he decided to make a go of songwriting while studying at Oxford.
His family ultimately pressured him to give up music to join the military,...
Born in Brownsville, Texas, to a major general in the U.S. Air Force father, as a teen, he tore up the field at rugby, football, and track. He graduated from Pomona College a member of Phi Beta Kappa and became a Rhodes Scholar. His travels actually led to his singing career, when he decided to make a go of songwriting while studying at Oxford.
His family ultimately pressured him to give up music to join the military,...
- 6/22/2011
- by Lanford Beard
- EW.com - PopWatch
The legendary Bob Dylan turned 70 years old on May 24th. This article takes a close look at his association with the movies…
Bob Dylan had his first acting gig aged 21 on British TV with a play called Madhouse on Castle Street. His eponymously-titled first album had been released but few people in Britain would have known him; this was a few months before Freewheelin’ hit the shelves and Dylan-fever (which is like Beatlemania, only less wild and more pretentious) swept the Western world. He was intended to play the lead but quickly proved that he wasn’t interested in learning lines and was perhaps more interested in his recent discovery of cannabis, so David Warner was hired as the lead and Dylan provided a Greek chorus to the action.
In its wisdom, the BBC has long since destroyed the footage so it’s not easy to gauge how people would...
Bob Dylan had his first acting gig aged 21 on British TV with a play called Madhouse on Castle Street. His eponymously-titled first album had been released but few people in Britain would have known him; this was a few months before Freewheelin’ hit the shelves and Dylan-fever (which is like Beatlemania, only less wild and more pretentious) swept the Western world. He was intended to play the lead but quickly proved that he wasn’t interested in learning lines and was perhaps more interested in his recent discovery of cannabis, so David Warner was hired as the lead and Dylan provided a Greek chorus to the action.
In its wisdom, the BBC has long since destroyed the footage so it’s not easy to gauge how people would...
- 6/1/2011
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
Updated through 5/6.
The series Anthology Film Archives is running from Friday through May 5, Drop Edges of Yonder: The Films of Rudy Wurlitzer, takes its name from Wurlitzer's 2008 novel and complements the relatively recent reprinting of his first three, Nog (1969), Flats (1970) and Quake (1974). And the series features more than films. Drag City has released an audio version of Wurlitzer's 1984 novel Slow Fade narrated by Will Oldham and, on Friday evening, Oldham and Wurlitzer himself, accompanied by musician Ben Chasny, will be giving something of a performance built on what Joe O'Brien, introducing his 2008 interview with Wurlitzer for Arthur Magazine, calls "a dark, masterful novel written in a more straightforward style than his earlier work. It is set in the divergent worlds of Hollywood and India, and finally Nova Scotia, and exudes a spiritual exhaustion tied in with frustrations with the shuck and jive of the film business." Wurlitzer and Oldham won't be winging it,...
The series Anthology Film Archives is running from Friday through May 5, Drop Edges of Yonder: The Films of Rudy Wurlitzer, takes its name from Wurlitzer's 2008 novel and complements the relatively recent reprinting of his first three, Nog (1969), Flats (1970) and Quake (1974). And the series features more than films. Drag City has released an audio version of Wurlitzer's 1984 novel Slow Fade narrated by Will Oldham and, on Friday evening, Oldham and Wurlitzer himself, accompanied by musician Ben Chasny, will be giving something of a performance built on what Joe O'Brien, introducing his 2008 interview with Wurlitzer for Arthur Magazine, calls "a dark, masterful novel written in a more straightforward style than his earlier work. It is set in the divergent worlds of Hollywood and India, and finally Nova Scotia, and exudes a spiritual exhaustion tied in with frustrations with the shuck and jive of the film business." Wurlitzer and Oldham won't be winging it,...
- 5/6/2011
- MUBI
The big-budget (usually summer) blockbuster is the financial cornerstone of the American motion picture industry, and has been for much of the last 35 years or so. In all its forms – action/adventure, suspense, Western, war story, horror, science fiction, fantasy, et al – the big budget thriller’s earning power is unmatched by any other movie form. Romantic comedies like The Proposal (2009), slapstick and teen comedies like The Hangover (2009) and Little Fockers (2010), are sometimes capable of blockbuster-caliber domestic earnings, but rarely match those of the thriller, nor can they rival its attraction overseas. The performances of more adult-themed dramas and comedies – even those considered financial successes — are often weaker still. The reliance of most major thriller releases today on action-driven plots is a form of cinematic Esperanto, transcending barriers of language and cultural nuance. The blockbuster thriller is as accessible to Asian audiences as it is to Latin American audiences as it is to U.
- 5/1/2011
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
David Thomson salutes the work of Jane Russell, star of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, who has died age 89
For decades, wherever she went, Jane Russell was the subject of dirty jokes. She knew this in advance, and she continued to meet fate and fortune with good humour and the kind of sassy grin that keeps hope alive in the guys who tell the smutty stories. But she must have known how in Hollywood innuendo can kill you as easily as the official diseases. After all, Russell had worked with one of the great victims of the dirty joke. In Howard Hawks's gorgeous and very witty Gentlemen Prefer Blondes she had done immaculate routines with Marilyn Monroe.
You can still feel Jane's sisterly care for Marilyn on screen, and Gentlemen was one of Marilyn's happier outings. Russell had opportunities to see how Marilyn might get to be a wreck one day,...
For decades, wherever she went, Jane Russell was the subject of dirty jokes. She knew this in advance, and she continued to meet fate and fortune with good humour and the kind of sassy grin that keeps hope alive in the guys who tell the smutty stories. But she must have known how in Hollywood innuendo can kill you as easily as the official diseases. After all, Russell had worked with one of the great victims of the dirty joke. In Howard Hawks's gorgeous and very witty Gentlemen Prefer Blondes she had done immaculate routines with Marilyn Monroe.
You can still feel Jane's sisterly care for Marilyn on screen, and Gentlemen was one of Marilyn's happier outings. Russell had opportunities to see how Marilyn might get to be a wreck one day,...
- 3/2/2011
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
Jane Russell, the Hollywood silver-screen siren who ignited a tinder box with Howard Hughes’ bosom-heaving 1943 western The Outlaw, died on Monday at age 89. But the legacy she leaves behind will always be more than just the sum of her ample parts. The raven-haired beauty was only 19 and working as a receptionist in a doctor’s office when the notorious ladies’ man Hughes spotted her and cast her as Rio MacDonald, the smoldering girlfriend of Sheriff Pat Garrett, in The Outlaw. Overnight, she was catapulted from obscurity to infamy, thanks to the movie’s poster, which featured Russell reclining suggestively on a haystack,...
- 3/1/2011
- by Chris Nashawaty
- EW.com - PopWatch
We look back at Jane Russell's movie career, from The Outlaw through Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to her late-60s cameos
As a 20-year-old and the object of Howard Hughes's attentions, Jane Russell was force-fed into a series of low-cut dresses for The Outlaw (1943).
She plays Doc Holliday's girl Rio, who falls in love with a wounded Billy the Kid when he hides out with her, on the run from Pat Garrett. Not remotely historically accurate, this blood-heat western is best remembered for the censorship squabbles over exactly how far Russell was allowed to lean over while tenderly ministering to the Kid. Hughes's legendary underwired cantilevered brassiere was designed during the shooting of the film, but Russell denied she ever wore it.
The Paleface (1948) was a real change of pace: a comedy western with Bob Hope as the useless dentist Peter Potter, who plays husband to Russell's deep-cover Calamity Jane.
As a 20-year-old and the object of Howard Hughes's attentions, Jane Russell was force-fed into a series of low-cut dresses for The Outlaw (1943).
She plays Doc Holliday's girl Rio, who falls in love with a wounded Billy the Kid when he hides out with her, on the run from Pat Garrett. Not remotely historically accurate, this blood-heat western is best remembered for the censorship squabbles over exactly how far Russell was allowed to lean over while tenderly ministering to the Kid. Hughes's legendary underwired cantilevered brassiere was designed during the shooting of the film, but Russell denied she ever wore it.
The Paleface (1948) was a real change of pace: a comedy western with Bob Hope as the useless dentist Peter Potter, who plays husband to Russell's deep-cover Calamity Jane.
- 3/1/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
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