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Gregory Jein, the acclaimed model maker and artist who worked on eight Star Trek properties and earned Oscar nominations for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941, has died. He was 76.
Jein died May 22 in his Los Angeles home after a long history of health issues that included a battle with diabetes, a family spokeswoman told The Hollywood Reporter. His family elected to keep his death quiet until this week, she added.
According to the website Memory Alpha, Jein began his association with Star Trek in 1977 by designing a Klingon battle cruiser for Star Trek: Phase II, which would have been the first live-action spinoff of NBC’s original Star Trek had it gone forward.
He collaborated with visual effects maestro Douglas Trumbull on Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), then followed with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country...
Gregory Jein, the acclaimed model maker and artist who worked on eight Star Trek properties and earned Oscar nominations for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941, has died. He was 76.
Jein died May 22 in his Los Angeles home after a long history of health issues that included a battle with diabetes, a family spokeswoman told The Hollywood Reporter. His family elected to keep his death quiet until this week, she added.
According to the website Memory Alpha, Jein began his association with Star Trek in 1977 by designing a Klingon battle cruiser for Star Trek: Phase II, which would have been the first live-action spinoff of NBC’s original Star Trek had it gone forward.
He collaborated with visual effects maestro Douglas Trumbull on Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), then followed with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country...
- 6/29/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘The Godfather’ at 50: Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire Reflect on the Making of a Mob Classic
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 50 years since Francis Ford Coppola’s”The Godfather” made moviegoers an offer they couldn’t refuse.
The film was a sensation when it debuted in March 24, 1972, setting box office records, revitalizing the career of Marlon Brando, launching the likes of Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and James Caan onto the A-list, and scoring an Oscar for Best Picture. But things could have gone very differently. Coppola, an up-and-coming director tasked with bringing Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel to the screen, was hardly the studio’s first choice for the task (Paramount production chief Robert Evans preferred Costa-Gavras). And things didn’t improve when cameras started rolling, with Paramount openly flirting with firing the filmmaker at several key points.
Somehow, however, Coppola persevered and delivered a masterpiece. In the five decades since the epic story of a criminal family whose ambitions to achieve...
The film was a sensation when it debuted in March 24, 1972, setting box office records, revitalizing the career of Marlon Brando, launching the likes of Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and James Caan onto the A-list, and scoring an Oscar for Best Picture. But things could have gone very differently. Coppola, an up-and-coming director tasked with bringing Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel to the screen, was hardly the studio’s first choice for the task (Paramount production chief Robert Evans preferred Costa-Gavras). And things didn’t improve when cameras started rolling, with Paramount openly flirting with firing the filmmaker at several key points.
Somehow, however, Coppola persevered and delivered a masterpiece. In the five decades since the epic story of a criminal family whose ambitions to achieve...
- 3/22/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Apocalypse Now in 4K? After The Wild Bunch this is one title likely to get me to invest in a new format. Francis Coppola & John Milius’ Vietnam War epic may not be perfect, but it’s one of the most exciting movie experiences ever and one of the top achievements of the first film school generation of moviemakers. The release is agreeably all-inclusive: the original Road Show cut and the two revised versions are here along with the excellent making-of feature Hearts of Darkness. Re-tooled and polished up for picture and audio, this qualifies as a prime audio show-off disc too.
Apocalypse Now Final Cut
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital
Lionsgate
1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...
Apocalypse Now Final Cut
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital
Lionsgate
1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...
- 3/6/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
‘Close Encounters’ awareness is up this week, what with a national mini-release of the 1977 Steven Spielberg hit, so I reached into the bottomless Savant archives for something to show-and-tell. This might be educational for fans of old-school visual effects, in this case, the miniature-making genius of Gregory Jein.
The miniature shop at the Marina Del Rey effects facility for Close Encounters of the Third Kind was full of surprises. Miniature specialist propmaker Gregory Jein had help at times from several modelmakers, mainly Ken Swenson and Michael McMillen. But a great many of the tabletop miniatures for the flying saucer epic were built primarily by Greg alone. He carved the Devil’s Tower mountain and constructed several other landscapes on plywood tables about ten feet in length.
The most complex miniature was not a full model, but a ‘reflections’ model of an auto toll booth, in which Director of Photography of...
The miniature shop at the Marina Del Rey effects facility for Close Encounters of the Third Kind was full of surprises. Miniature specialist propmaker Gregory Jein had help at times from several modelmakers, mainly Ken Swenson and Michael McMillen. But a great many of the tabletop miniatures for the flying saucer epic were built primarily by Greg alone. He carved the Devil’s Tower mountain and constructed several other landscapes on plywood tables about ten feet in length.
The most complex miniature was not a full model, but a ‘reflections’ model of an auto toll booth, in which Director of Photography of...
- 9/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Guns! Guns! Guns! John Milius' rootin' tootin' bio of the most famous of the '30s bandits has plenty of good things to its credit, especially its terrific, funny cast, topped by the unlikely star Warren Oates. The battles between Dillinger's team of all-star bank robbers and Ben Johnson's G-Man aren't neglected, as Milius savors every gun recoil and Tommy gun blast. Dillinger Blu-ray + DVD Arrow Video U.S. 1973 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date April 26, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Michelle Phillips, Cloris Leachman, Harry Dean Stanton, Geoffrey Lewis, John Ryan, Richard Dreyfuss, Steve Kanaly, John Martino, Roy Jenson, Frank McRae. Cinematography Jules Brenner Special Effects A.D. Flowers, Cliff Wenger Edited by Fred R. Feitshans, Jr. Original Music Barry De Vorzon Produced by Buzz Feitshans Written and Directed by John Milius
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There it was in the dentist's office, an article in either...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There it was in the dentist's office, an article in either...
- 4/19/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Well they can’t all be winners. After the phenomenal success of both Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind Steven Spielberg was on top of the world. He could do no wrong—or so they thought. For his third feature Spielberg directed the Pre-World War II comedy 1941. Taking place a few short days after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor it chronicles the hysteria that occurred as America prepared for war. Considering it covers a time period that is rarely touched upon there is some inherit intrigue to this story. Unfortunately that initial intrigue does not last long. 1941 is a mess on nearly every level. The comedy is a constant misfire of bland jokes—a combination of disjointed editing and a lackluster script makes it one of Spielberg’s worst films by far. Even with surprisingly well done special effects it is challenging to take anything of merit away from this effort.
- 6/24/2013
- by Dan Clark
- Nerdly
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