Howard Stern has been one of the most controversial – and revered – figures in the history of modern media. With a passion for the field as a child, Stern’s climb to the top of the radio world truly began in the ‘80s. And he did it off of his unique, button-pressing, FCC-clashing brand and humor: the boobs, the prank calls, the Wack Pack, all of it all made Howard Stern one of the most recognizable figures in all of media. And so as his markets grew and his written word topped the charts – but long before his first $500 million contract with Sirius – it was time for Stern to enter the movie business…with something a little more commercially viable than Butt Bongo Fiesta.
So how did the guy who mocked his wife’s miscarriage on the air and flipped the bird to nearly every boss he’s ever had...
So how did the guy who mocked his wife’s miscarriage on the air and flipped the bird to nearly every boss he’s ever had...
- 2/7/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Director, producer and screenwriter Jason Reitman, son of director Ivan Reitman, is paying tribute to his late father’s dear friend, writer-producer Daniel Goldberg, who died today at 74. Goldberg was a writer and/or producer on several of Ivan Reitman’s films and a father figure to Jason. Here is his first-person remembrance.
Dan Goldberg is the writer and producer of some of your favorite films. He made a career of dangerous outsider comedies that often-challenged comfort zones, yet he was one of the kindest and most gentle souls I’ve ever known. This morning, he passed away in Los Angeles.
Dan and my father met at McMaster University in 1966. By the time they graduated, they founded a film society, made several short films with classmate Eugene Levy, and shot a short film that received national distribution. Additionally, they financed and completed a feature adaptation of My Secret Life, for...
Dan Goldberg is the writer and producer of some of your favorite films. He made a career of dangerous outsider comedies that often-challenged comfort zones, yet he was one of the kindest and most gentle souls I’ve ever known. This morning, he passed away in Los Angeles.
Dan and my father met at McMaster University in 1966. By the time they graduated, they founded a film society, made several short films with classmate Eugene Levy, and shot a short film that received national distribution. Additionally, they financed and completed a feature adaptation of My Secret Life, for...
- 7/13/2023
- by Jason Reitman
- Deadline Film + TV
Unsuspecting comic book readers raised on the EC-inspired black and white horror magazines from Warren Publishing had no idea what to make of Heavy Metal when it debuted on American newsstands in 1977. We came to understand it was a domestic version of France’s wildly successful Metal Hurlant, and introduced us to European talents and storytelling. It was mind-blowing.
The magazine’s success led to an animated feature, released in the summer of 1981, heralded by the beautiful Chris Achilléos promotional poster image generic levitra , introducing us to Taarna, who has become the magazine’s unofficial mascot and most recognizable figure.
The film, like the magazine, was a series of animated shorts, an anthology of science fiction, and fantasy, with heavy dollops of violence, nudity, and heavy metal music. And like the magazine, it was beautiful to look at and occasionally made sense.
It opened to mixed reviews and modest success,...
The magazine’s success led to an animated feature, released in the summer of 1981, heralded by the beautiful Chris Achilléos promotional poster image generic levitra , introducing us to Taarna, who has become the magazine’s unofficial mascot and most recognizable figure.
The film, like the magazine, was a series of animated shorts, an anthology of science fiction, and fantasy, with heavy dollops of violence, nudity, and heavy metal music. And like the magazine, it was beautiful to look at and occasionally made sense.
It opened to mixed reviews and modest success,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Heavy Metal Synopsis
Based on the fantastical illustrated magazine Heavy Metal, producer Ivan Reitman enlists the help of some of Hollywood’s animation masters to create the otherworldly tale of a glowing green orb from outer space that spreads destruction throughout the galaxy. Only when encountered by its one true enemy, to whom it is inexplicably drawn, will goodness prevail throughout the universe. Richly and lavishly drawn, the vignettes of the orb’s dark victories include the character voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis and a pounding soundtrack by Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust. Highly imaginative and full of surprising special effects, Heavy Metal set the standard for alternative contemporary animation. An intoxicating experience not to be missed!
Disc Details & Bonus Materials
Presented within a limited edition SteelBook, including Heavy Metal...
Based on the fantastical illustrated magazine Heavy Metal, producer Ivan Reitman enlists the help of some of Hollywood’s animation masters to create the otherworldly tale of a glowing green orb from outer space that spreads destruction throughout the galaxy. Only when encountered by its one true enemy, to whom it is inexplicably drawn, will goodness prevail throughout the universe. Richly and lavishly drawn, the vignettes of the orb’s dark victories include the character voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis and a pounding soundtrack by Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust. Highly imaginative and full of surprising special effects, Heavy Metal set the standard for alternative contemporary animation. An intoxicating experience not to be missed!
Disc Details & Bonus Materials
Presented within a limited edition SteelBook, including Heavy Metal...
- 2/15/2022
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Exhumed Films is resurrecting some beloved horror favorites from the 1970s and ’80s and projecting them onto the big screen at Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers, including Friday the 13th Part III, starring my original horror crush and maybe yours, too, Jason Voorhees! And also, we have release details for Escape Room, Paperbacks From Hell, Ghastlies, and Mountain Fever, as well as information on the new book Godzilla Faq.
Exhumed Films' Guilty Pleasures IV Marathon: Press Release: "Exhumed Films Presents: Guilty Pleasures IV--in 3-D!
Exhumed Films is pleased to return to the Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers to present the fourth edition of The Guilty Pleasures Marathon, our annual assault of cinematic insanity. For this year’s marathon, we present some of the greatest 3-D films of all time, projected from original 35mm prints using state of the art technology! The 1970’s and 1980’s saw a resurgence of three-dimensional movies, particularly in the realm of genre cinema.
Exhumed Films' Guilty Pleasures IV Marathon: Press Release: "Exhumed Films Presents: Guilty Pleasures IV--in 3-D!
Exhumed Films is pleased to return to the Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers to present the fourth edition of The Guilty Pleasures Marathon, our annual assault of cinematic insanity. For this year’s marathon, we present some of the greatest 3-D films of all time, projected from original 35mm prints using state of the art technology! The 1970’s and 1980’s saw a resurgence of three-dimensional movies, particularly in the realm of genre cinema.
- 8/15/2017
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Festival brass unveil Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and more.
Mary Harron, Kim Nguyen (both pictured above), Ingrid Veninger, and Denis Côté are among the familiar names in the 26-strong Canadian Features slate that Toronto International Film Festival programmers unveiled on Wednesday.
The selection comprises the highest number of feature directorial debutants and films from Western Canada in recent years. More than 30% of the titles are by first-time feature directors.
Festival brass also announced Short Cuts, Tiff Cinematheque, Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and the recipient of the 2017 Len Blum Residency.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7-17.
Canadian Features
“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,” Tiff senior programmer Steve Gravestock said. “This year’s line-up has a truly international feel to it, too, with a number of features shot all over the globe — something that also...
Mary Harron, Kim Nguyen (both pictured above), Ingrid Veninger, and Denis Côté are among the familiar names in the 26-strong Canadian Features slate that Toronto International Film Festival programmers unveiled on Wednesday.
The selection comprises the highest number of feature directorial debutants and films from Western Canada in recent years. More than 30% of the titles are by first-time feature directors.
Festival brass also announced Short Cuts, Tiff Cinematheque, Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and the recipient of the 2017 Len Blum Residency.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7-17.
Canadian Features
“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,” Tiff senior programmer Steve Gravestock said. “This year’s line-up has a truly international feel to it, too, with a number of features shot all over the globe — something that also...
- 8/9/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Deadline has confirmed that Ivan Reitman is in very early pre-production on Summer of Love, and that the Canadian pop singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes whose known for such hits as “Stitches” and “Treat You Better” will topline. Reitman is behind the underlying story of Summer of Love, and Shawn Wines, Lorene Scafaria and Leonard Blum have worked on the screenplay. Summer of Love is not a musical in the La La Land sense, rather it’s being billed as a comedy with music. The…...
- 3/15/2017
- Deadline
A heavyweight roster of world premieres from the leading lights of Canada’s film industry will grace the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
- 8/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
A heavyweight roster of world premieres from the leading lights of Canada’s film industry will grace the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
- 8/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has announced an additional selection of feature picks — all falling under the banner of Canadian-made films, appropriately enough — along with their Tiff Rising Stars group, the recipient of the Len Blum Residency and a selection of Canadian shorts. Major programming standouts including Xavier Dolan’s Cannes Grand Prix winner “It’s Only the End of the World” and Nathan Morlando’s Cannes debut “Mean Dreams.” Other films of note include April Mullen’s “Below Her Mouth” and Kim Nguyen’s Dane DeHaan-starring “Two Lovers and a Bear.”
This year’s Tiff Rising Stars — four Canadian actors who will take part in a series of specialized programming organized by Tiff’s Industry team — include Jared Abrahamson, Grace Glowicki, Mylène Mackay and Sophie Nélisse. Additional international Rising Stars will be announced in the coming weeks.
Screenwriter and filmmaker Andrew Cividino is the 2016 Len Blum Resident. Cividino,...
This year’s Tiff Rising Stars — four Canadian actors who will take part in a series of specialized programming organized by Tiff’s Industry team — include Jared Abrahamson, Grace Glowicki, Mylène Mackay and Sophie Nélisse. Additional international Rising Stars will be announced in the coming weeks.
Screenwriter and filmmaker Andrew Cividino is the 2016 Len Blum Resident. Cividino,...
- 8/3/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Writers Guild of America, West has chosen late screenwriter-director-actor-producer Harold Ramis to receive its Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, awarded to a Writers Guild member who has advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter. Erica Mann Ramis and family will accept the award on Ramis’ behalf at the Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 14. Harold Ramis passed away on February 24, 2014 at the age of 69. From today’s announcement:
“Harold Ramis changed the face of comedy. His death last year deprived us of his unique way of seeing the world, at once hilarious and wise. From his early work with National Lampoon and Sctv through Animal House, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters, Ramis’ voice was strong, clear, outrageous in all the best ways. His unrealized projects – an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces, a biopic about Emma Goldman – leave us aching with...
“Harold Ramis changed the face of comedy. His death last year deprived us of his unique way of seeing the world, at once hilarious and wise. From his early work with National Lampoon and Sctv through Animal House, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters, Ramis’ voice was strong, clear, outrageous in all the best ways. His unrealized projects – an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces, a biopic about Emma Goldman – leave us aching with...
- 1/13/2015
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline
Reviewed by Kevin Scott, MoreHorror.com
Heavy Metal (1981)
Director: Gerald Potterton
Writers: Daniel Goldberg, Len Blum, Dan O’Bannon, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson, Angus McKie, Jean Giraud
Voice talents: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Richard Romanus, Al Waxman, John Vernon
Soundtrack artists: Sammy Hagar, Journey, Riggs, Devo, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Don Felder, Donald Fagen, Nazareth, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Trust, Stevie Nicks
If you were a kid in a record store in the early 1980’s, you saw this poster. Our record store was poorly lit with carpet crawling up the walls where you could thumb through albums with provocative covers while your parents ran their errands. Ahh, innocence lost. I couldn’t recall an animated film like this before or since, but the most significant thing that I can remember about “Heavy Metal” is that it taught me that animation can have adult and horrific elements. This movie scared me a little.
Heavy Metal (1981)
Director: Gerald Potterton
Writers: Daniel Goldberg, Len Blum, Dan O’Bannon, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson, Angus McKie, Jean Giraud
Voice talents: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Richard Romanus, Al Waxman, John Vernon
Soundtrack artists: Sammy Hagar, Journey, Riggs, Devo, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Don Felder, Donald Fagen, Nazareth, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Trust, Stevie Nicks
If you were a kid in a record store in the early 1980’s, you saw this poster. Our record store was poorly lit with carpet crawling up the walls where you could thumb through albums with provocative covers while your parents ran their errands. Ahh, innocence lost. I couldn’t recall an animated film like this before or since, but the most significant thing that I can remember about “Heavy Metal” is that it taught me that animation can have adult and horrific elements. This movie scared me a little.
- 5/24/2014
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Top 10 Patrick Sproull 29 Aug 2013 - 06:56
Critically derided they may be, but there's a lot to love in Steve Martin's two Pink Panther movies, Patrick writes...
To start with, it is probably worth noting that I rate The Pink Panther 2 over the preceding yarn. Unfortunately few agree - the sequel to the not-much-of-a-hit 2006 Steve Martin comedy is gauged even lower than the first on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus being that in “underutilizing its talented cast, The Pink Panther 2 is little more than a series of lame slapstick gags.”
I, however, beg to differ, both episodes of the rebooted Pink Panther twosome are serviceable and convivial salutes to Peter Sellers’ original movies. Steve Martin takes the plum role of Inspector Clouseau, the clodhopping gendarme whose entire career seemingly pivots around the recovery of the precious Pink Panther diamond. Martin has perfect comic timing, conveying the good inspector’s heavy-handed,...
Critically derided they may be, but there's a lot to love in Steve Martin's two Pink Panther movies, Patrick writes...
To start with, it is probably worth noting that I rate The Pink Panther 2 over the preceding yarn. Unfortunately few agree - the sequel to the not-much-of-a-hit 2006 Steve Martin comedy is gauged even lower than the first on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus being that in “underutilizing its talented cast, The Pink Panther 2 is little more than a series of lame slapstick gags.”
I, however, beg to differ, both episodes of the rebooted Pink Panther twosome are serviceable and convivial salutes to Peter Sellers’ original movies. Steve Martin takes the plum role of Inspector Clouseau, the clodhopping gendarme whose entire career seemingly pivots around the recovery of the precious Pink Panther diamond. Martin has perfect comic timing, conveying the good inspector’s heavy-handed,...
- 8/28/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Chicago – Now that Wes Anderson’s marvelous “Moonrise Kingdom” has finally received a much-belated wide release, it’s an ideal time for audiences to revisit Bill Murray’s first cinematic excursion to summer camp. Ivan Reitman’s 1979 hit, “Meatballs,” is famous primary for giving the SNL vet his first starring role, which is appropriate considering Murray is the only reason worth watching it.
As far as “snobs vs. slobs” farces of the ’70s go, “Meatballs” is a passable but wholly unremarkable escapist lark. It assembles a series of misfit stereotypes—the clueless nerd, the fat kid, the guy who can’t help blowing stuff up—and has them go through the motions. There isn’t a single gag involving the hapless counselors-in-training at Camp North Star that is the least bit funny or surprising. Half of the film’s 99-minute running time is so tiresome that it will undoubtedly lead...
As far as “snobs vs. slobs” farces of the ’70s go, “Meatballs” is a passable but wholly unremarkable escapist lark. It assembles a series of misfit stereotypes—the clueless nerd, the fat kid, the guy who can’t help blowing stuff up—and has them go through the motions. There isn’t a single gag involving the hapless counselors-in-training at Camp North Star that is the least bit funny or surprising. Half of the film’s 99-minute running time is so tiresome that it will undoubtedly lead...
- 7/3/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
I thought it was funnier. Meatballs looms large in the memory as Bill Murray’s first big film and a laugh riot along the lines of Caddyshack. It certainly has the right pedigree as it came from director Ivan Reitman and was co-written by Harold Ramis. The film was a hit when first released in 1979 and spawned several sequels and now it is making its Blu-ray debut on Tuesday from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
It has not aged well. The humor is mild, even for 1979, when Animal House rewrote the rules a year earlier. This PG-rated comedy features the counselors and kids at Camp North Star, a ramshackle summer camp. Despite a reporter telling us the camp charges $1000 a week, we have no idea where the money goes given the dilapidated bunks, grounds, and facilities. The kids aren’t required to wear camp uniforms and they don’t seem to be following much of a schedule.
It has not aged well. The humor is mild, even for 1979, when Animal House rewrote the rules a year earlier. This PG-rated comedy features the counselors and kids at Camp North Star, a ramshackle summer camp. Despite a reporter telling us the camp charges $1000 a week, we have no idea where the money goes given the dilapidated bunks, grounds, and facilities. The kids aren’t required to wear camp uniforms and they don’t seem to be following much of a schedule.
- 6/13/2012
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
After producing Animal House in 1978 — an experience that only reinforced his desire to direct — 31-year-old Ivan Reitman gave himself a five-month window to conceive and shoot his own movie. He started with a simple premise — a crazy summer camp — but not much else in terms of Hollywood support or financing. (The budget was less than a million dollars.) But he thought he had an ace in the hole in Bill Murray, the then-27-year-old who was just emerging as one of the new faces on Saturday Night Live. If only he could persuade the contrarian comic, who he knew from...
- 6/12/2012
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Howard Stern’s Private Parts has been running ad nauseam on HBO this month, but one of Saturday’s broadcasts had plugged-in fans glued to the tube. That is because Stern himself was simultaneously tweeting a running commentary online while he was watching at home. Stern broke down his favorite scenes, discussed his co-stars, and separated fact from fiction: “The real reality- we called him pig virus and I have no idea why I changed it . I have to ask the writer Len Blum why i did that,” he typed about Pig Vomit, the film’s antagonist played by Paul Giamatti.
- 2/14/2011
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW.com - PopWatch
I can probably trace back my taste in men to Bill Murray, because I have always had a thing for a smart-ass. Especially when there is a touch of the rebel and the slacker in there, and in Ivan Reitman's 1979 comedy Meatballs, Murray was all of those things rolled into a neat little package. So in honor of my (questionable) taste in men and the summer movie season, today's Summer Scenes We Love is dedicated to Reitman's summer camp classic. After all, there is nothing that spells S-u-m-m-e-r like a coming of age story and sleep-away camp (No, not that one).
Meatballs was written by Harold Ramis (along with Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg, and Janis Allen) and starred Murray (in his first lead role) as head counselor Tripper Harrison. The story, at least what little there was, centered on the counselors-in-training and campers at the low-rent summer spot, Camp...
Meatballs was written by Harold Ramis (along with Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg, and Janis Allen) and starred Murray (in his first lead role) as head counselor Tripper Harrison. The story, at least what little there was, centered on the counselors-in-training and campers at the low-rent summer spot, Camp...
- 5/16/2010
- by Jessica Barnes
- Cinematical
DreamWorks' animated film, "Over the Hedge", is a backyard ecological comedy outfitted with some fine, silly slapstick and clever animal characters. This one is aimed more at a younger audience than, say, "Shrek" but has plenty of entertainment value for older family members to ensure substantial boxoffice returns in both domestic and foreign markets.
One gets the sense though that the DreamWorks/PDI 3-D animation team isn't pushing the edges of their computers the way the Pixar gang does. DreamWorks is playing it safe here with a PC comedy that delivers an ecological message while pitching family values to the point that one wants to shout, "Enough already!" The CG animation is routine, but the writers (working from the popular comic strip) and character animators under the supervision of directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick do a crackerjack job of filling the screen with lively, ingratiating creatures. The humans are crudely drawn, but the two prominently featured have distinctly evil personalities that make up for their rudimentary design.
Because the family in question here consists of porcupines, possums, a squirrel, skunk and chipmunk, all led by a tortoise, DreamWorks has amusingly messed up the animal kingdom on a par with Walt Disney's old Mickey Mouse shorts. Our family awakens from a winter hibernation to discover their forest is gone. In its place is a housing development that has destroyed their food source. A huge hedge separates them from the enemy.
While pondering their dilemma, a "savior" emerges in the form of RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis), a rascally raccoon. He labors under an urgent deadline, imposed by a large and angry grizzly (Nick Nolte), to restock the food larder the bear caught RJ stealing. The raccoon offers the family an apparent solution: Humans throw all sorts of food away in shiny outdoor metal cans. By combining the family's foraging skills with RJ's strategic talents, they can fill next winter's larder in no time.
The family's leader, a turtle named Verne (Garry Shandling), is dubious. He is as wary of humans as he is of the junk they eat. But tree bark can't compete with donuts and pizzas. So the family makes it over the hedge -- well, actually they tunnel through it -- where they pilfer food at will, led by Hammy, a squirrel (Steve Carell) who is overcaffeinated even before eating junk food. So much so that a shrill homeowners association lady (Allison Janney) calls pest control in the hulking form of Dwayne the Verminator (Thomas Haden Church).
This story sets in motion more than enough comic action sequences to fill the movie's 84 minutes. The final caper mimics and rivals the "Mission: Impossible" films' derring-do to hilarious results.
Character animators beautifully marry their creatures to the voice actors' individual eccentricities. Especially noteworthy are Wanda Sykes' slinky skunk, Carell's hyperactive Hammy, Omid Djalili's Persian housecat, Shandling's thoughtful tortoise and Willis' conniving raccoon with a touch of wistful loneliness coming through his bandit exterior.
Production designer Kathy Altieri's witty suburban landscape and Rupert Gregson-Williams' bouncy music keep things light and playful.
OVER THE HEDGE
Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation
Credits:
Directors: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Screenwriters: Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the comic strip by: Michael Fry, T Lewis
Producers: Bonnie Arnold
Executive producer: Bill Damaschke
Production designer: Kathy Altieri
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Songs: Ben Folds
Visual effects supervisor: Craig Ring
Editor: John K. Carr
Voices:
RJ: Bruce Willis
Verne: Garry Shandling
Hammy: Steve Carell
Stella: Wanda Sykes
Ozzie: William Shatner
Vincent: Nick Nolte
Dwayne: Thomas Haden Church
Gladys: Allison Janney
Lou: Eugene Levy
Penny: Catherine O'Hara
Tiger: Omid Djalili
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 84 minutes...
One gets the sense though that the DreamWorks/PDI 3-D animation team isn't pushing the edges of their computers the way the Pixar gang does. DreamWorks is playing it safe here with a PC comedy that delivers an ecological message while pitching family values to the point that one wants to shout, "Enough already!" The CG animation is routine, but the writers (working from the popular comic strip) and character animators under the supervision of directors Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick do a crackerjack job of filling the screen with lively, ingratiating creatures. The humans are crudely drawn, but the two prominently featured have distinctly evil personalities that make up for their rudimentary design.
Because the family in question here consists of porcupines, possums, a squirrel, skunk and chipmunk, all led by a tortoise, DreamWorks has amusingly messed up the animal kingdom on a par with Walt Disney's old Mickey Mouse shorts. Our family awakens from a winter hibernation to discover their forest is gone. In its place is a housing development that has destroyed their food source. A huge hedge separates them from the enemy.
While pondering their dilemma, a "savior" emerges in the form of RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis), a rascally raccoon. He labors under an urgent deadline, imposed by a large and angry grizzly (Nick Nolte), to restock the food larder the bear caught RJ stealing. The raccoon offers the family an apparent solution: Humans throw all sorts of food away in shiny outdoor metal cans. By combining the family's foraging skills with RJ's strategic talents, they can fill next winter's larder in no time.
The family's leader, a turtle named Verne (Garry Shandling), is dubious. He is as wary of humans as he is of the junk they eat. But tree bark can't compete with donuts and pizzas. So the family makes it over the hedge -- well, actually they tunnel through it -- where they pilfer food at will, led by Hammy, a squirrel (Steve Carell) who is overcaffeinated even before eating junk food. So much so that a shrill homeowners association lady (Allison Janney) calls pest control in the hulking form of Dwayne the Verminator (Thomas Haden Church).
This story sets in motion more than enough comic action sequences to fill the movie's 84 minutes. The final caper mimics and rivals the "Mission: Impossible" films' derring-do to hilarious results.
Character animators beautifully marry their creatures to the voice actors' individual eccentricities. Especially noteworthy are Wanda Sykes' slinky skunk, Carell's hyperactive Hammy, Omid Djalili's Persian housecat, Shandling's thoughtful tortoise and Willis' conniving raccoon with a touch of wistful loneliness coming through his bandit exterior.
Production designer Kathy Altieri's witty suburban landscape and Rupert Gregson-Williams' bouncy music keep things light and playful.
OVER THE HEDGE
Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation
Credits:
Directors: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Screenwriters: Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, Karey Kirkpatrick
Based on the comic strip by: Michael Fry, T Lewis
Producers: Bonnie Arnold
Executive producer: Bill Damaschke
Production designer: Kathy Altieri
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Songs: Ben Folds
Visual effects supervisor: Craig Ring
Editor: John K. Carr
Voices:
RJ: Bruce Willis
Verne: Garry Shandling
Hammy: Steve Carell
Stella: Wanda Sykes
Ozzie: William Shatner
Vincent: Nick Nolte
Dwayne: Thomas Haden Church
Gladys: Allison Janney
Lou: Eugene Levy
Penny: Catherine O'Hara
Tiger: Omid Djalili
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 84 minutes...
The last time we saw Inspector Clouseau, the once-illustrious Pink Panther franchise had fallen on hard times with actor (now TV director) Ted Wass stuck in the thankless role of attempting to fill the late Peter Sellers' formidable footwear in 1983's "Curse of the Pink Panther".
That title would have been equally apropos of the current incarnation, simply titled "The Pink Panther", which finally arrives after being bounced around the release schedule numerous times, in part because of Sony's purchase of MGM/UA.
Even with the inspired choice of Steve Martin in the Clouseau role, this "Panther" picture is more bumbling and fumbling than the blissfully oblivious, accident-prone Inspector.
The painfully unfunny results -- a couple of exceptions, like the "hamburger" bit, have already begun to lose their comic luster thanks to all the advance advertising -- likely won't have audiences tickled pink.
Even with the added enticement of the lovely Beyonce, whose current hit "Check on It" has been remixed with a little Mancini, there's a stale, warmed-over feel to the entire production that ultimately will keep ticket sales in check.
There's slapstick and then there's the finely honed variety of physical comedy introduced by Sellers and director Blake Edwards in 1964's "The Pink Panther". Putting a broader stamp on a distinct style that paid homage to the likes of Chaplin, Keaton and Jacques Tati, the collaboration flourished over the course of a half-dozen pictures, all bearing Henry Mancini's immortal signature theme.
But even though Martin (who shares screenplay credit with "Stripes" scribe Len Blum) and director Shawn Levy worked together before in the first "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake, they fail to generate the necessary comic sparks. Too many of the gags fall flat on their face long before the inspector does, and the entire pace feels like it's on some sort of three-second delay.
The downbeat upshot strands a lot of usually reliable talent, also including Kevin Kline as Clouseau's pompous superior and Jean Reno as Clouseau's stoic assistant, as well as Emily Mortimer and Kristin Chenoweth, in a comedy vacuum, timing their performances to a nonexistent laugh track.
Despite being filmed in New York, Paris and Prague, followed by some reshoots in Vancouver, the picture might as well have been shot on a studio backlot for all the excitement those backdrops manage to impart.
Miraculously, Mancini's score is about the only thing that manages to emerge unscathed, even with composer Christophe Beck's attempts at a techno-tinged update.
The Pink Panther
Columbia Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures present
a Robert Simonds production
a Shawn Levy film
Credits:
Director: Shawn Levy
Screenplay: Len Blum and Steve Martin
Story: Len Blum and Michael Saltzman
Based on characters created by: Maurice Richlin & Blake Edwards
Based on the Pink Panther films by: Blake Edwards
Producer: Robert Simonds
Executive producers: Tracey Trench, Ira Shuman
Director of photography: Jonathan Brown
Production designer: Lilly Kilvert
Editors: George Folsey Jr., Brad E. Wilhite
Costume designer: Joseph G. Aulisi
Music: Christophe Beck
Cast:
Inspector Clouseau: Steve Martin
Dreyfus: Kevin Kline
Gilbert Ponton: Jean Reno
Xania: Beyonce Knowles
Cherie: Kristin Chenoweth
Nicole: Emily Mortimer
Yuri: Henry Czerny
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 92 minutes...
That title would have been equally apropos of the current incarnation, simply titled "The Pink Panther", which finally arrives after being bounced around the release schedule numerous times, in part because of Sony's purchase of MGM/UA.
Even with the inspired choice of Steve Martin in the Clouseau role, this "Panther" picture is more bumbling and fumbling than the blissfully oblivious, accident-prone Inspector.
The painfully unfunny results -- a couple of exceptions, like the "hamburger" bit, have already begun to lose their comic luster thanks to all the advance advertising -- likely won't have audiences tickled pink.
Even with the added enticement of the lovely Beyonce, whose current hit "Check on It" has been remixed with a little Mancini, there's a stale, warmed-over feel to the entire production that ultimately will keep ticket sales in check.
There's slapstick and then there's the finely honed variety of physical comedy introduced by Sellers and director Blake Edwards in 1964's "The Pink Panther". Putting a broader stamp on a distinct style that paid homage to the likes of Chaplin, Keaton and Jacques Tati, the collaboration flourished over the course of a half-dozen pictures, all bearing Henry Mancini's immortal signature theme.
But even though Martin (who shares screenplay credit with "Stripes" scribe Len Blum) and director Shawn Levy worked together before in the first "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake, they fail to generate the necessary comic sparks. Too many of the gags fall flat on their face long before the inspector does, and the entire pace feels like it's on some sort of three-second delay.
The downbeat upshot strands a lot of usually reliable talent, also including Kevin Kline as Clouseau's pompous superior and Jean Reno as Clouseau's stoic assistant, as well as Emily Mortimer and Kristin Chenoweth, in a comedy vacuum, timing their performances to a nonexistent laugh track.
Despite being filmed in New York, Paris and Prague, followed by some reshoots in Vancouver, the picture might as well have been shot on a studio backlot for all the excitement those backdrops manage to impart.
Miraculously, Mancini's score is about the only thing that manages to emerge unscathed, even with composer Christophe Beck's attempts at a techno-tinged update.
The Pink Panther
Columbia Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures present
a Robert Simonds production
a Shawn Levy film
Credits:
Director: Shawn Levy
Screenplay: Len Blum and Steve Martin
Story: Len Blum and Michael Saltzman
Based on characters created by: Maurice Richlin & Blake Edwards
Based on the Pink Panther films by: Blake Edwards
Producer: Robert Simonds
Executive producers: Tracey Trench, Ira Shuman
Director of photography: Jonathan Brown
Production designer: Lilly Kilvert
Editors: George Folsey Jr., Brad E. Wilhite
Costume designer: Joseph G. Aulisi
Music: Christophe Beck
Cast:
Inspector Clouseau: Steve Martin
Dreyfus: Kevin Kline
Gilbert Ponton: Jean Reno
Xania: Beyonce Knowles
Cherie: Kristin Chenoweth
Nicole: Emily Mortimer
Yuri: Henry Czerny
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 92 minutes...
- 2/26/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On the heels of signing Steve Martin to star in The Birth of the Pink Panther, MGM has enlisted Shawn Levy and Robert Simonds to direct and produce, respectively. The comedy will reunite the trio, who worked together on 20th Century Fox's upcoming Cheaper by the Dozen. Levy and Simonds first worked together on Fox's Just Married, which made more than $100 million worldwide. Tracey Trench will executive produce with an aim for a spring shoot in Paris and New York. Martin is doing a rewrite on the Len Blum script and will tailor it to his comedic sensibility.
- 11/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fitting for his March release date, Howard Stern comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb in "Private Parts", the shock jock's foray into yet another medium in this movie celebration of Stern's unlikely rise to radio superstardom.
Misunderstood geeks everywhere -- a sizable majority in any metropolis -- should line up for this cozy and caustic comedy and, perhaps most surprisingly, the film will appeal to educated women who have been dragged into the theater, a demographic not known for their unabashed enthusiasm for Stern's inspired sophomorisms. The boxoffice call letters for this Paramount release should be W-HIT or K-HIT, depending on your side of the FCC line.
Thematically, "Private Parts" is wonderfully non-PC, while stylistically, it's "Rebel Without a Cause", "Good Morning, Vietnam" and the triumph-of-the-nerds genre all rolled into one as it traces Howard's gangly life from yelled-at kid to yelled-at adult. The consistency is that everyone was always telling him to shut up, and he always felt misunderstood.
Unfortunately for Howard, he was never able to channel that adolescent anomie in the way a James Dean or a more accomplished girl-getter would have sublimated. Being misunderstood got him no girls, and so it seems, scant few friends. A cross between Woody Allen and Big Bird, with severe penis-size anxiety, Howard had only one outlet other than masturbation -- doing radio.
In this affectionate bio, screenwriters Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko trace Howard's life from his childhood to his paisley days at Boston University up through a triumphant 1985 love fest in Central Park. With his Hebro, prominent schnoz and black-rimmed glasses, collegiate Howard most resembled a costume-shop dork trying to find his way during the days of free love and rebellion.
The most hilarious bits are in Howard's early days as he flounders to find his voice, actually serving as a DJ in Dee-troit for a country/western station while he balances a marriage to a wonderful girl, Alison, whose only liability seems to mirror the problem most intelligent women have always endured, lousy taste in men.
Overall, "Private Parts" is biblical in spirit, with Howard the voice crying in the wilderness. Here the Philistines, of course, are philistinic radio programmers and the pusillanimous pussies of public mores. While "Private Parts" is at its most hilarious when Howard slays the authority figures, it also has a tender underside: We see that the private vs. public Howard are two very different figures, the cerebral, acerbic social satirist on one hand, the squirrelly but devotedly faithful husband and family man on the other.
Playing himself, Stern is no Mel Gibson, but that's the point. As an abrasive pain in the ass, he's actually appealing. Sidekick Robin Quivers is similarly convincing and engaging as herself, while Mary McCormack is warm as Howard's understanding wife. Amid the proper mix of lesbians, rock stars, babes, droolers and dysfunctionals, there's a character who swallows a 12-inch kielbasa -- credit to actress Althea Cassidy for that filmic feat.
From start to finish, Betty Thomas is the perfect program director, keeping an eye on the narrative dial. The tech contributions are similarly inspired and aptly off-center, particularly costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi's loopy threads. Spinning between the sputum is a soundtrack of timely tunes, some clearly tongue-in-cheek, or, in this case, cheeks.
PRIVATE PARTS
Paramount Pictures
Paramount and Rysher Entertainment present
An Ivan Reitman production
A Betty Thomas film
Producer Ivan Reitman
Director Betty Thomas
Screenwriters Len Blum, Michael Kalesniko
Based on the book by Howard Stern
Executive producers Daniel Goldberg,
Joe Medjuck, Keith Samples
Director of photography Walt Lloyd
Production designer Eric Golden
Editor Peter Teschner
Co-producer Celia Costas
Costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi
Color/stereo
Cast:
Howard Stern Howard Stern
Robin Quivers Robin Quivers
Alison Stern Mary McCormack
Fred Norris Fred Norris
Jackie Martling Jackie Martling
Gary Dell'Abate Gary Dell'Abate
Ben Stern Richard Portnow
Ray Stern Kelly Bishop
Vin Vallescca Reni Santoni
Kenny Paul Giamattti
Brittany Melanie Good
Howard (age 7) Bobby Boriello
Howard (age 12) Michael Maccarone
Howard (age 16) Matthew Friedman
Running time -- 108 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Misunderstood geeks everywhere -- a sizable majority in any metropolis -- should line up for this cozy and caustic comedy and, perhaps most surprisingly, the film will appeal to educated women who have been dragged into the theater, a demographic not known for their unabashed enthusiasm for Stern's inspired sophomorisms. The boxoffice call letters for this Paramount release should be W-HIT or K-HIT, depending on your side of the FCC line.
Thematically, "Private Parts" is wonderfully non-PC, while stylistically, it's "Rebel Without a Cause", "Good Morning, Vietnam" and the triumph-of-the-nerds genre all rolled into one as it traces Howard's gangly life from yelled-at kid to yelled-at adult. The consistency is that everyone was always telling him to shut up, and he always felt misunderstood.
Unfortunately for Howard, he was never able to channel that adolescent anomie in the way a James Dean or a more accomplished girl-getter would have sublimated. Being misunderstood got him no girls, and so it seems, scant few friends. A cross between Woody Allen and Big Bird, with severe penis-size anxiety, Howard had only one outlet other than masturbation -- doing radio.
In this affectionate bio, screenwriters Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko trace Howard's life from his childhood to his paisley days at Boston University up through a triumphant 1985 love fest in Central Park. With his Hebro, prominent schnoz and black-rimmed glasses, collegiate Howard most resembled a costume-shop dork trying to find his way during the days of free love and rebellion.
The most hilarious bits are in Howard's early days as he flounders to find his voice, actually serving as a DJ in Dee-troit for a country/western station while he balances a marriage to a wonderful girl, Alison, whose only liability seems to mirror the problem most intelligent women have always endured, lousy taste in men.
Overall, "Private Parts" is biblical in spirit, with Howard the voice crying in the wilderness. Here the Philistines, of course, are philistinic radio programmers and the pusillanimous pussies of public mores. While "Private Parts" is at its most hilarious when Howard slays the authority figures, it also has a tender underside: We see that the private vs. public Howard are two very different figures, the cerebral, acerbic social satirist on one hand, the squirrelly but devotedly faithful husband and family man on the other.
Playing himself, Stern is no Mel Gibson, but that's the point. As an abrasive pain in the ass, he's actually appealing. Sidekick Robin Quivers is similarly convincing and engaging as herself, while Mary McCormack is warm as Howard's understanding wife. Amid the proper mix of lesbians, rock stars, babes, droolers and dysfunctionals, there's a character who swallows a 12-inch kielbasa -- credit to actress Althea Cassidy for that filmic feat.
From start to finish, Betty Thomas is the perfect program director, keeping an eye on the narrative dial. The tech contributions are similarly inspired and aptly off-center, particularly costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi's loopy threads. Spinning between the sputum is a soundtrack of timely tunes, some clearly tongue-in-cheek, or, in this case, cheeks.
PRIVATE PARTS
Paramount Pictures
Paramount and Rysher Entertainment present
An Ivan Reitman production
A Betty Thomas film
Producer Ivan Reitman
Director Betty Thomas
Screenwriters Len Blum, Michael Kalesniko
Based on the book by Howard Stern
Executive producers Daniel Goldberg,
Joe Medjuck, Keith Samples
Director of photography Walt Lloyd
Production designer Eric Golden
Editor Peter Teschner
Co-producer Celia Costas
Costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi
Color/stereo
Cast:
Howard Stern Howard Stern
Robin Quivers Robin Quivers
Alison Stern Mary McCormack
Fred Norris Fred Norris
Jackie Martling Jackie Martling
Gary Dell'Abate Gary Dell'Abate
Ben Stern Richard Portnow
Ray Stern Kelly Bishop
Vin Vallescca Reni Santoni
Kenny Paul Giamattti
Brittany Melanie Good
Howard (age 7) Bobby Boriello
Howard (age 12) Michael Maccarone
Howard (age 16) Matthew Friedman
Running time -- 108 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/25/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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