Joe Dante's "Gremlins" is a one-of-a-kind blockbuster from an era when studios hadn't quite yet developed the formula for producing hit movies. In the early 1980s, executives under pressure to find projects capable of breaking the coveted $100 million domestic mark relied heavily on movie stars or bestselling books, but to strike gold you needed vision. That meant finding a visionary.
There were two 30-something film brats who fit this profile during that period: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And since Lucas was, at the moment, a two-franchise man with "Star Wars" and the just-taking-off Indiana Jones series, Spielberg, who'd just set up his production company Amblin Entertainment at Universal Pictures, was the closest thing to a Walt Disney alive and unfrozen in Hollywood.
After scoring a one-two box-office knockout in 1982 with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Poltergeist," Spielberg was eager to expand his burgeoning showbiz empire. For his first official,...
There were two 30-something film brats who fit this profile during that period: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. And since Lucas was, at the moment, a two-franchise man with "Star Wars" and the just-taking-off Indiana Jones series, Spielberg, who'd just set up his production company Amblin Entertainment at Universal Pictures, was the closest thing to a Walt Disney alive and unfrozen in Hollywood.
After scoring a one-two box-office knockout in 1982 with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Poltergeist," Spielberg was eager to expand his burgeoning showbiz empire. For his first official,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Most who worked with director Joel Schumacher walked away feeling like they’d made a friend. He was generous in spirit, open and honest about his own success and flaws and disappointments. He had a strong eye for budding talent, an audacious visual sense, a past history he’d tell anyone about, one that almost killed him before he moved from being a window dresser to a successful filmmaker. Even journalists who interviewed him came away with a ton of great quotes and a feeling they were better for the experience. Carl Kurlander, who went from being Schumacher’s assistant to writing the zeitgeist hit St. Elmo’s Fire with him that launched his own career, paints a picture of what made Schumacher special.
I first met Joel Schumacher when I was right out of college, interning for the head of production at Universal who had requested I get lunch for...
I first met Joel Schumacher when I was right out of college, interning for the head of production at Universal who had requested I get lunch for...
- 6/23/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Right now, in this galaxy… featuring Lloyd Kaufman, Brad Simpson, Gilbert Hernandez, Grant Moninger and Blaire Bercy.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Mondo Keazunt (1955)
The Human Tornado (1976)
Gigot (1962)
The Hustler (1961)
How to Commit Marriage (1969)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Touch of Evil (1958)
The Last Man On Earth (1963)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Omega Man (1971)
I Am Legend (2007)
Panic In Year Zero! (1962)
Dogtooth (2009)
The Entity (1983)
Shelf Life (1993)
The Killers (1964)
The Next Voice You Hear… (1950)
Donovan’s Brain (1953)
Talk About A Stranger (1952)
Julius Caesar (1950)
They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1968)
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
The Jerk (1979)
Kings Row (1942)
Santa Fe Trail (1940
Bedtime For Bonzo (1951)
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (19468)
Point Blank (1967)
House of Wax (1953)
Black Shampoo (1976)
A History Of Violence (2005)
Return To Oz (1985)
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
The Anderson Tapes (1971)
Psycho (1960)
Two Evil Eyes (1990)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Mondo Keazunt (1955)
The Human Tornado (1976)
Gigot (1962)
The Hustler (1961)
How to Commit Marriage (1969)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Touch of Evil (1958)
The Last Man On Earth (1963)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Omega Man (1971)
I Am Legend (2007)
Panic In Year Zero! (1962)
Dogtooth (2009)
The Entity (1983)
Shelf Life (1993)
The Killers (1964)
The Next Voice You Hear… (1950)
Donovan’s Brain (1953)
Talk About A Stranger (1952)
Julius Caesar (1950)
They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1968)
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
The Jerk (1979)
Kings Row (1942)
Santa Fe Trail (1940
Bedtime For Bonzo (1951)
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (19468)
Point Blank (1967)
House of Wax (1953)
Black Shampoo (1976)
A History Of Violence (2005)
Return To Oz (1985)
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
The Anderson Tapes (1971)
Psycho (1960)
Two Evil Eyes (1990)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three...
- 5/15/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for March 2020, including "Arcadia", "Kung Fu", "Omens" and a whole lot more:
Feature
10-31
Local Production Company: 10-31 Productions Canada Ltd.
Producer: Eli Roth, Roger Birnbaum, Raynor Shimabukuro, Jonathan DuBois
3/2/2020 - 4/8/2020
Arcadia
Local Production Company: Gramercy Film Productions Inc.
Producer: Cecil O'Connor, Pat Crowley
Director: Colin Trevorrow
2/24/2020 - 3/6/2020
Ellington
Local Production Company: Swan Song BC Productions Inc.
Director: Ben Cleary
5/11/2020 - 7/10/2020
Lou
Local Production Company: Big Indie Lou Canada Inc.
Producer: JJ Abrams, Jonathan Cohen
Director: Anna Foerster
5/11/2020 - 7/2/2020
Mixtape
Local Production Company: Gjln Film Productions Inc.
Producer: Gil Netter, Jim Wedaa
Director: Valerie Weiss
4/20/2020 - 6/5/2020
Umma
Local Production Company: Umma Productions BC Inc.
Producer: Matt Black, Jonathan Schwartz, Zainab Azizi
Director: Iris K. Shim
4/6/2020 - 5/26/2020
Untitled Graham King Project
Local Production Company: Cold Hut Production Ulc.
Producer: Nan Morales
Director: Nora Fingscheidt
2/3/2020 - 4/9/2020
New Media Feature
Bonfire
Local Production Company: No Clocks Productions Ltd.
Feature
10-31
Local Production Company: 10-31 Productions Canada Ltd.
Producer: Eli Roth, Roger Birnbaum, Raynor Shimabukuro, Jonathan DuBois
3/2/2020 - 4/8/2020
Arcadia
Local Production Company: Gramercy Film Productions Inc.
Producer: Cecil O'Connor, Pat Crowley
Director: Colin Trevorrow
2/24/2020 - 3/6/2020
Ellington
Local Production Company: Swan Song BC Productions Inc.
Director: Ben Cleary
5/11/2020 - 7/10/2020
Lou
Local Production Company: Big Indie Lou Canada Inc.
Producer: JJ Abrams, Jonathan Cohen
Director: Anna Foerster
5/11/2020 - 7/2/2020
Mixtape
Local Production Company: Gjln Film Productions Inc.
Producer: Gil Netter, Jim Wedaa
Director: Valerie Weiss
4/20/2020 - 6/5/2020
Umma
Local Production Company: Umma Productions BC Inc.
Producer: Matt Black, Jonathan Schwartz, Zainab Azizi
Director: Iris K. Shim
4/6/2020 - 5/26/2020
Untitled Graham King Project
Local Production Company: Cold Hut Production Ulc.
Producer: Nan Morales
Director: Nora Fingscheidt
2/3/2020 - 4/9/2020
New Media Feature
Bonfire
Local Production Company: No Clocks Productions Ltd.
- 2/26/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Ten years ago, Netflix was an innocuous DVD-by-mail company, the Marvel tsunami was just testing the water with “Iron Man” and “Thor,” and the “Star Wars” empire still belonged to George Lucas, not Disney. The only celebrity to become President of the United States was “Bedtime for Bonzo” star Ronald Reagan, Amazon was a place you went to buy cheap books not the biggest spender at the Sundance Film Festival, and “the cloud” was something Carl Fredricksen’s CG house floated above rather than the way people screen Pixar movies.
Lest those descriptions make you feel nostalgic, keep in mind that, apart from “Twilight,” Hollywood movies were mostly being made by and about white men. Audiences found their voice over the last decade, letting the industry know how they felt — and studios listened, or started to at least, as criticisms of #OscarsSoWhite and #TimesUp sparked seismic change in the industry.
Lest those descriptions make you feel nostalgic, keep in mind that, apart from “Twilight,” Hollywood movies were mostly being made by and about white men. Audiences found their voice over the last decade, letting the industry know how they felt — and studios listened, or started to at least, as criticisms of #OscarsSoWhite and #TimesUp sparked seismic change in the industry.
- 12/19/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
He was a former radio announcer who broke into movies in the late 1930s and served time as an actor in Warner Brothers’ B-movie unit and a TV host (and corporate pitchman) for General Electric Theater. Then, after flirting with the growing post-Goldwater conservative side of the G.O.P., Ronald Reagan successfully ran for the governorship of California in 1966. That was when Jim Hoberman, a Queens, New York, native who’d wound up in Berkeley right as things were coming to a sociopolitical boil in the Bay Area, first...
- 7/8/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Frankenstein 1970
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1958 / 2:35:1 / 83 Min. / Street Date – April 9, 2019
Starring Boris Karloff, Don Barry, Jana Lund
Written by Richard H. Landau
Cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie
Directed by Howard Koch
Color TVs, swimming pools and cars (especially cars). American culture of the 50s was fueled by desire for the newest status symbol – even the title of the latest monster movie was pitched to the upwardly mobile – get behind the wheel of the atomic powered Frankenstein 1970.
Take a look under the hood though and apart from a few modernistic bells and whistles (most notably its CinemaScope framing) director Howard Koch’s movie is doggedly retrograde. The swooning ingenues, skeptical villagers and dank dungeons – all would have fit comfortably in a Universal horror film of the 30’s.
The movie’s real attraction is a more than welcome blast from the past – Boris Karloff returns to Mary Shelley’s monsterverse...
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1958 / 2:35:1 / 83 Min. / Street Date – April 9, 2019
Starring Boris Karloff, Don Barry, Jana Lund
Written by Richard H. Landau
Cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie
Directed by Howard Koch
Color TVs, swimming pools and cars (especially cars). American culture of the 50s was fueled by desire for the newest status symbol – even the title of the latest monster movie was pitched to the upwardly mobile – get behind the wheel of the atomic powered Frankenstein 1970.
Take a look under the hood though and apart from a few modernistic bells and whistles (most notably its CinemaScope framing) director Howard Koch’s movie is doggedly retrograde. The swooning ingenues, skeptical villagers and dank dungeons – all would have fit comfortably in a Universal horror film of the 30’s.
The movie’s real attraction is a more than welcome blast from the past – Boris Karloff returns to Mary Shelley’s monsterverse...
- 4/13/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Mark Weinberg will be speaking at this year’s St. Louis Jewish Book Festival Wednesday November 7th at 10:30am at The Jewish Community Center (2 Millstone Campus Drive). Ticket information can be found Here
Mark Weinberg is a former speechwriter and advisor to President Ronald Reagan, who served on the 1980 Reagan campaign traveling staff, all eight years in the Reagan White House, and two years thereafter as Reagan’s spokesman in his post-presidency office in Los Angeles. He is an experienced executive communications consultant who has held senior management positions at Fortune 500 corporations and the federal government. Weinberg currently runs his own communications consultancy, Weinberg Communications. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and their two children. Movie Nights with the Reagans is his first book.
Mark Weinberg took the time to talk to We Are Movie Geeks about his book and his upcoming event in St. Louis
Tom Stockman...
Mark Weinberg is a former speechwriter and advisor to President Ronald Reagan, who served on the 1980 Reagan campaign traveling staff, all eight years in the Reagan White House, and two years thereafter as Reagan’s spokesman in his post-presidency office in Los Angeles. He is an experienced executive communications consultant who has held senior management positions at Fortune 500 corporations and the federal government. Weinberg currently runs his own communications consultancy, Weinberg Communications. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and their two children. Movie Nights with the Reagans is his first book.
Mark Weinberg took the time to talk to We Are Movie Geeks about his book and his upcoming event in St. Louis
Tom Stockman...
- 11/6/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
[[tmz:video id="0_h5mi4nko"]] Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is down with Ronald Reagan receiving a posthumous Oscar, but he concedes it would be an uphill battle. We got the Republican Senator Tuesday on Capitol Hill and he thinks Reagan's CV is Oscar-worthy -- movie star, SAG President and Prez of the U.S. There's a petition being circulated asking the Academy to honor Reagan -- as the only Academy member to become Prez. The Senator -- who's retiring this...
- 1/24/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
According to Pacho Velez and Sierra Pettengill's The Reagan Show, the administration of America's first entertainer-turned-president shot more film and video than the previous five administrations combined. Harvesting both bloopers and well-rehearsed sound bites, the two comb through this massive trove in a documentary composed entirely of vintage source material, letting the era speak for itself and the "Great Communicator" show, oddly, both more and less of himself than intended. The film will be a peculiar artifact in its likely limited art house run, both quaint and full of painful reminders of our current Bedtime for Bonzo moment.
The doc...
The doc...
- 5/9/2017
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Later this month, the mighty Kong returns to the big screen! To celebrate, we’re looking back at all the major primate appearances in film.
For as long as films were being made, humans have starred alongside primates. Unlike other animals, their human-like qualities can lend a sense of comedy or horror. Throughout the history of film, primates have been used to fulfill certain roles. In the early days, they were often a form of antagonist, carrying out dastardly deeds or causing mayhem. More common is the primate cast in a role of mischief, causing all sorts of comedic hijincks. While most primate roles were portrayed by live animals, it was not uncommon for men to dress up in ape suits for roles where the primates needed to carry out specific actions. Later, the advent of CGI has led to men mimicking primates in real time to create a motion-capture performance.
For as long as films were being made, humans have starred alongside primates. Unlike other animals, their human-like qualities can lend a sense of comedy or horror. Throughout the history of film, primates have been used to fulfill certain roles. In the early days, they were often a form of antagonist, carrying out dastardly deeds or causing mayhem. More common is the primate cast in a role of mischief, causing all sorts of comedic hijincks. While most primate roles were portrayed by live animals, it was not uncommon for men to dress up in ape suits for roles where the primates needed to carry out specific actions. Later, the advent of CGI has led to men mimicking primates in real time to create a motion-capture performance.
- 3/1/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump sold himself as a successful businessman and deal-maker who gets things done. But former Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III warns that “running a business and running the government are two entirely different functions.”
In a wide-ranging new interview with Politico, the widely respected Republican — who counts admirers from both sides of the aisle and reigned as Washington’s top backstage power broker under former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan — shares his criticisms, hopes and advice for the 45th president.
Rule No. 1: “Process matters,...
In a wide-ranging new interview with Politico, the widely respected Republican — who counts admirers from both sides of the aisle and reigned as Washington’s top backstage power broker under former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan — shares his criticisms, hopes and advice for the 45th president.
Rule No. 1: “Process matters,...
- 2/6/2017
- by Tierney McAfee
- PEOPLE.com
Part Birdman, part After Hours and at least one-quarter Bedtime for Bonzo, French comic star Edouard Baer's directorial debut is a pleasant, occasionally funny romp through the streets of late-night Paris in the hands of an overzealous theater impresario and his no-nonsense young intern. Better crafted than many Gallic comedies, if a bit unconvincing in its final reel, Open at Night (Ouvert la nuit) should see a good turnout from Baer's local fan base and pickups in Francophonia and beyond.
Set during one roller-coaster 24-hour period, the story (written by Baer and Benoit Graffin, Priceless) follows the travails of Luigi,...
Set during one roller-coaster 24-hour period, the story (written by Baer and Benoit Graffin, Priceless) follows the travails of Luigi,...
- 1/11/2017
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bob Greenblatt knew he’d get a Donald Trump question Tuesday morning during the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour — he just thought it’d be earlier in his executive session. “I can’t believe we got all the way through this without question,” Greenblatt joked about the penultimate query of the morning’s first panel. Specifically, a reporter asked the NBC Entertainment chairman to discuss the responsibility of the broadcaster in growing the Gop nominee’s celebrity to the point of his current political opportunity. “Isn’t the role of television to create celebrity in the world? That’s what every show does,...
- 8/2/2016
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
NBC is not responsible for Donald Trump’s Gop nomination, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt made very clear this monrning when asked pointedly about that, by a reporter clearly looking for someone to blame, at TCA. “Bedtime For Bonzo helped [Ronald] Reagan become a nationally prominent figure,” Greenblatt responded, in the nicest possible way. In that ’50s film, the future Potus played a psychology professor teaching human morals to a chimp, whereas Trump played…...
- 8/2/2016
- Deadline TV
I know that you were waiting with bated breath to find out who would play Ronald Reagan in the upcoming (and cleverly titled) Reagan, so I shall keep you in suspense no longer. Ronald Reagan will be played by…David Henrie!
Who is David Henrie, you ask? I am not really sure, but some of the younger crowd among us might know. Henrie is a Disney star, apparently, renowned for his roles on Wizards of Waverly Place and That’s So Raven. The slightly older members of the TV-going community might know him from How I Met Your Mother, on which he played the role of the son. Now he’s going to take on the part of a young Ronnie Reagan, back when he was a bad actor and stern anti-communist.
Reagan will be told from the perspective of a Kgb agent keeping tabs on our man Ronald in...
Who is David Henrie, you ask? I am not really sure, but some of the younger crowd among us might know. Henrie is a Disney star, apparently, renowned for his roles on Wizards of Waverly Place and That’s So Raven. The slightly older members of the TV-going community might know him from How I Met Your Mother, on which he played the role of the son. Now he’s going to take on the part of a young Ronnie Reagan, back when he was a bad actor and stern anti-communist.
Reagan will be told from the perspective of a Kgb agent keeping tabs on our man Ronald in...
- 1/21/2015
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
It's official: Urban Tarzan has moved to Reelz. In honor of next week's episode which features Urbantarzan handling a gun-toting chimp, we've compiled a list of our very favorite monkeys and other non-human primates to star in movies or on TV. Check out this list and don't miss Urban Tarzan Thursdays at 10pm Et/Pt.
Next Showing:
Link | Posted 9/6/2013 by Mandy
Urban Tarzan | Urbantarzan | Any Which Way You Can | Bedtime for Bonzo | Project X | The Hangover II | The Brady Bunch Movie...
Next Showing:
Link | Posted 9/6/2013 by Mandy
Urban Tarzan | Urbantarzan | Any Which Way You Can | Bedtime for Bonzo | Project X | The Hangover II | The Brady Bunch Movie...
- 9/6/2013
- by Mandy McAdoo
- Reelzchannel.com
As an American born in the 80′s with no direct ties to the United Kingdom, writing this for free, I believe I am the best person to write any article relating to Margaret Thatcher, who recently passed on April 8th.
From my glib perspective, she was the Ronald Reagan from across the pond. Only she wanted the Berlin Wall to stay up. And unemployment rose. And she is responsible (and blamed by Argentinians) for the Falklands War.
At some point during Thatcher’s relationship with Reagan, the topic of movies had to have come up at some point. I’m sure Reagan probably lent her laserdiscs and VHS tapes of Kings Row, Bedtime for Bonzo, or Knut Rockne, All American.
Thatcher, probably nodded and smiled politely and opted to view on of the following, as she probably loved them over Reagan’s work. And she probably preferred soft-serve ice cream over jelly beans.
From my glib perspective, she was the Ronald Reagan from across the pond. Only she wanted the Berlin Wall to stay up. And unemployment rose. And she is responsible (and blamed by Argentinians) for the Falklands War.
At some point during Thatcher’s relationship with Reagan, the topic of movies had to have come up at some point. I’m sure Reagan probably lent her laserdiscs and VHS tapes of Kings Row, Bedtime for Bonzo, or Knut Rockne, All American.
Thatcher, probably nodded and smiled politely and opted to view on of the following, as she probably loved them over Reagan’s work. And she probably preferred soft-serve ice cream over jelly beans.
- 4/17/2013
- by Nico Lehmann
- Obsessed with Film
Universal Pictures executives may have had a tough last weekend with "The Five-Year Engagement" underperforming at the box office, but Monday was all about celebrating.
Per a press release, "Universal Film Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated in New York on April 30, 1912." That means this is the venerable film company's 100th anniversary. Party time, y'all!
To honor the centennial, Universal sent out a press release of 100 facts about the studio, 17 of which were kinda awesome. Check out some great Universal Pictures trivia below (via press release); for the full list of facts, click here.
1. The only physical damage made during the filming of "National Lampoon’s Animal House" was when John Belushi made a hole in the wall with a guitar. The actual Sigma Nu fraternity house (which subbed for the fictitious Delta House) never repaired it, and instead framed the hole in honor of the film.
2. The working title for...
Per a press release, "Universal Film Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated in New York on April 30, 1912." That means this is the venerable film company's 100th anniversary. Party time, y'all!
To honor the centennial, Universal sent out a press release of 100 facts about the studio, 17 of which were kinda awesome. Check out some great Universal Pictures trivia below (via press release); for the full list of facts, click here.
1. The only physical damage made during the filming of "National Lampoon’s Animal House" was when John Belushi made a hole in the wall with a guitar. The actual Sigma Nu fraternity house (which subbed for the fictitious Delta House) never repaired it, and instead framed the hole in honor of the film.
2. The working title for...
- 4/30/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Today marks the 100th birthday of Universal Pictures and to celebrate the studio has released a list of 100 facts based on its first 100 years in existence. I have placed in bold some of the ones I found interesting as well as offered a selection of photo and video accompaniments here and there. 1. Universal Film Manufacturing Company was officially incorporated in New York on April 30, 1912. Company legend says Carl Laemmle was inspired to name his company Universal after seeing "Universal Pipe Fittings" written on a passing delivery wagon. 2. The only physical damage made during the filming of National Lampoon's Animal House was when John Belushi made a hole in the wall with a guitar. The actual Sigma Nu fraternity house (which subbed for the fictitious Delta House) never repaired it, and instead framed the hole in honor of the film. 3. The working title for Et: The Extra Terrestrial was "A Boy's Life.
- 4/30/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I was privileged enough to 'interview' the chimp, so breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered he was still hanging around
Tape machine on table, chair a suitably safe distance from the "talent", it was a nerve-racking one. Usually with celebrity interviews danger can come from one of three sources: jet lag, substance abuse or monstrous ego – sometimes, if you're unlucky, all three rolled together, perched on the edge of a hotel bed. The fear here, though, was from the purely physical. Natural aggression. Instinct. The advice from the actor's "people" was simple and chillingly clear. "You don't touch him! If you touch him he could break your arm. If he goes for you, you dive into the pool. He has been tethered to the chair for your safety."
When #cheetah started trending on Twitter this morning, I feared the worst. Possibly the most famous ape in history had climbed into heaven's hanging tyre.
Tape machine on table, chair a suitably safe distance from the "talent", it was a nerve-racking one. Usually with celebrity interviews danger can come from one of three sources: jet lag, substance abuse or monstrous ego – sometimes, if you're unlucky, all three rolled together, perched on the edge of a hotel bed. The fear here, though, was from the purely physical. Natural aggression. Instinct. The advice from the actor's "people" was simple and chillingly clear. "You don't touch him! If you touch him he could break your arm. If he goes for you, you dive into the pool. He has been tethered to the chair for your safety."
When #cheetah started trending on Twitter this morning, I feared the worst. Possibly the most famous ape in history had climbed into heaven's hanging tyre.
- 12/28/2011
- by Andrew Woods
- The Guardian - Film News
Fox is planning to adapt The Magicians into a series for television. What caught my interest, since so many scripts get picked up this time of year, was that Michael London is producing, and he was heavily involved in Milk. Anyone read the books?
During the premiere week for The Rosie Show, Rosie will be flying the entire cast of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to Chicago to perform a medley.
Is the next James Bond movie going to be called Skyfall?
Sarah Palin will not be running for president in 2012. In possibly related news, Fox News president Roger Ailes says "I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings."
E! is starting a new modeling show called Scouted, and it sounds slightly interesting. This isn't about people who want to be models – they're heading into cities around the country and plucking the hot waitress or barista, giving them a fast makeover,...
During the premiere week for The Rosie Show, Rosie will be flying the entire cast of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to Chicago to perform a medley.
Is the next James Bond movie going to be called Skyfall?
Sarah Palin will not be running for president in 2012. In possibly related news, Fox News president Roger Ailes says "I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings."
E! is starting a new modeling show called Scouted, and it sounds slightly interesting. This isn't about people who want to be models – they're heading into cities around the country and plucking the hot waitress or barista, giving them a fast makeover,...
- 10/6/2011
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
Apes rule at the box office – but films for chimps? Chris Michael reports on an evolution in film-making
Just as ice ages are cyclical, recessions come and go and Iron Maiden T-shirts periodically pop back into fashion for a few seconds, so it is undeniable: as we do every couple of decades, we are living through what can only be described as a Chimp Moment. The major symptoms you know about. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a prequel to the 1968 Charlton Heston film, a Chimp Moment that itself came about two decades after Ronald Reagan made 1951's Bedtime for Bonzo. Project Nim documents the post-hippy social-experiment Chimp Moment of the 70s. There's even the remarkable success of Go Ape!, the treetop zip-line obstacle course "for those in search of their inner Tarzan" – now with 27 branches across the UK. But perhaps the most disturbing blurring of the line...
Just as ice ages are cyclical, recessions come and go and Iron Maiden T-shirts periodically pop back into fashion for a few seconds, so it is undeniable: as we do every couple of decades, we are living through what can only be described as a Chimp Moment. The major symptoms you know about. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a prequel to the 1968 Charlton Heston film, a Chimp Moment that itself came about two decades after Ronald Reagan made 1951's Bedtime for Bonzo. Project Nim documents the post-hippy social-experiment Chimp Moment of the 70s. There's even the remarkable success of Go Ape!, the treetop zip-line obstacle course "for those in search of their inner Tarzan" – now with 27 branches across the UK. But perhaps the most disturbing blurring of the line...
- 9/29/2011
- by Chris Michael
- The Guardian - Film News
Friend, killer, lover, specimen ...
The guinea pig
Cinema persistently tries to achieve what science so far has not: make a man/monkey mashup. In The Doctor's Experiment; or Reversing Darwin's Theory (1908) men are turned into apes, while in Balaoo the Demon Baboon (1913, twice remade) a doctor has a go at the reverse, with the side-effect of turning them murderous. In 1932's Murders in the Rue Morgue, women are injected with ape blood (they die); in Return of the Ape Man (1944) Bela Lugosi swaps John Carradine's brain with that of a gorilla (again, doesn't go well). The Man Without a Body (1957) tells of an impressionable gent who submits to the ministrations of a scientist who has been seeing what happens when you play switcheroo with monkey heads.
The erotic cipher
King Kong resonates because, much as Kong repels us, we empathise too: who hasn't been rejected by the object of...
The guinea pig
Cinema persistently tries to achieve what science so far has not: make a man/monkey mashup. In The Doctor's Experiment; or Reversing Darwin's Theory (1908) men are turned into apes, while in Balaoo the Demon Baboon (1913, twice remade) a doctor has a go at the reverse, with the side-effect of turning them murderous. In 1932's Murders in the Rue Morgue, women are injected with ape blood (they die); in Return of the Ape Man (1944) Bela Lugosi swaps John Carradine's brain with that of a gorilla (again, doesn't go well). The Man Without a Body (1957) tells of an impressionable gent who submits to the ministrations of a scientist who has been seeing what happens when you play switcheroo with monkey heads.
The erotic cipher
King Kong resonates because, much as Kong repels us, we empathise too: who hasn't been rejected by the object of...
- 8/3/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Bill Maher was asked on "Piers Morgan Tonight" whether he would rather see Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann as President of the United States. The HBO host and comedian said "I guess Bachmann…I don't know. Who can say? At least she is somebody who can read. She has a job. She was a lawyer. She's in Congress. She's not someone who just sits there and reads the prayer on her Blackberry like Sarah Palin. I mean, we're splitting hairs here." Pier Morgan went on to asked whether Maher thinks that Palin could actually win the presidency. He said "Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. People say, 'This one is a joke or this one is a joke.' I remember when I was 12 years old in 1968 and Ronald Reagen was first considering running for president. I remember what a joke that was. Ronald Reagan? You mean the "Bedtime for Bonzo" guy? Well,...
- 7/12/2011
- IrishCentral
It's a big day for USA history today. 100 years ago today in 1911 Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois. He lived there until his college graduation in the early 30s. By 1937, after a brief dip in Iowa, he was seeking movie stardom in Hollywood. Forty-four years later he became the 40th President of the United States.
Reagan in the late 20s or early 30s in Illinois
He remains the only Us President who ever starred in motion pictures, though he isn't remotely the only entertainer who has been elected to public office. Even when movie stars don't express a desire to run for office, they often dive in in a big way. (Warren Beatty is a prime example. His political life has a supporting role in the book Star. Today is the last day to enter the contest to win the book).
Jane Wyman & Reagan in 1940. She won "Best Actress" shortly after divorcing him.
Reagan in the late 20s or early 30s in Illinois
He remains the only Us President who ever starred in motion pictures, though he isn't remotely the only entertainer who has been elected to public office. Even when movie stars don't express a desire to run for office, they often dive in in a big way. (Warren Beatty is a prime example. His political life has a supporting role in the book Star. Today is the last day to enter the contest to win the book).
Jane Wyman & Reagan in 1940. She won "Best Actress" shortly after divorcing him.
- 2/6/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Tarzan Chimp Makes Hollywood Comeback
The chimpanzee star of movies Tarzan and Bedtime For Bonzo is making his return to Hollywood after a four decade-long hiatus - the ape's handlers have signed a record and DVD deal and announced plans to publish a memoir on his behalf.
The 76-year-old ape, Cheeta, starred in his last feature film Doctor Dolittle opposite Rex Harrison in 1967, and has been hailed by The Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living ape.
And now his owner, Dan Westfall, is looking to capitalise on the Liberian-born chimp's unusual life, publishing details in a memoir entitled Me Cheeta, slated for release next year.
Westfall tells the New York Post his pet's nine-year struggle with Type 2 diabetes has not prevented him from enjoying a full life - claiming the ape has enjoyed married life and fathered one child.
He says, "When (Cheeta) sees the needle, he holds his hands out...He's the light of my life, and I'm the light of his."
Westfall, who cares for Cheeta at his shelter in Palm Springs, California, has also announced plans for Cheeta to take part in a music single available for download on iTunes. The record, a cover of 1976 country-music hit Convoy, will release in conjunction with the promotion of his DVD - showing Cheeta on film as he drives a buggy and eyes a bikini clad girl.
Cheeta - who has starred in 12 Tarzan movies - has tried and failed seven times to get his own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
His latest attempt was denied earlier this month after he failed to attract enough votes from committee members to grant him a special spot on Hollywood Boulevard in 2009.
The 76-year-old ape, Cheeta, starred in his last feature film Doctor Dolittle opposite Rex Harrison in 1967, and has been hailed by The Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living ape.
And now his owner, Dan Westfall, is looking to capitalise on the Liberian-born chimp's unusual life, publishing details in a memoir entitled Me Cheeta, slated for release next year.
Westfall tells the New York Post his pet's nine-year struggle with Type 2 diabetes has not prevented him from enjoying a full life - claiming the ape has enjoyed married life and fathered one child.
He says, "When (Cheeta) sees the needle, he holds his hands out...He's the light of my life, and I'm the light of his."
Westfall, who cares for Cheeta at his shelter in Palm Springs, California, has also announced plans for Cheeta to take part in a music single available for download on iTunes. The record, a cover of 1976 country-music hit Convoy, will release in conjunction with the promotion of his DVD - showing Cheeta on film as he drives a buggy and eyes a bikini clad girl.
Cheeta - who has starred in 12 Tarzan movies - has tried and failed seven times to get his own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
His latest attempt was denied earlier this month after he failed to attract enough votes from committee members to grant him a special spot on Hollywood Boulevard in 2009.
- 6/30/2008
- WENN
Former President Ronald Reagan, whose career as an actor preceded his highly successful run in politics, died Saturday after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease; he was 93. Reagan died at his home in California, after his health reportedly took a swift turn for the worse, and word of his death was given to news sources on condition of anonymity by a family friend, who also said the Reagan family was currently making funeral arrangements and would issue an official statement later Saturday. "Dutch" Reagan, as he was known in his younger years, started his career as a radio sportscaster in Chicago and moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he became a contract player for Warner Bros., making his debut in Love Is on the Air. Numerous Warner films followed through the 30s and 40s, most notably a supporting role opposite Bette Davis in Dark Victory and the iconic part of George Gipp, aka "the Gipper," in Knute Rockne All American. 1942's Kings Row (where Reagan uttered the memorable line, "Where's the rest of me?") marked a turning point for the actor, and after completing military service during World War II and returning to Hollywood, well-received roles in The Voice of the Turtle, The Hasty Heart, and Storm Warning followed. Alas, most of his post-war films were less than memorable . though Bedtime for Bonzo, in which Reagan was paired with a monkey, became something of a comedy classic . but 1957's Hellcats of the Navy paired him with his second wife, Nancy Davis, whom he married in 1952 (he had previously been married to Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman from 1940-1948).
TV work followed, though Reagan also began pursuing a career in politics, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild twice; he also made a notable turn from liberal to conservative in the 60s. Reagan made his last film in 1964 . the acclaimed The Killers opposite Lee Marvin . and successfully ran for governor of California in 1966, a post he held for eight years. Though he lost the Republican party's candidacy for president in 1976, he successfully ran again in 1980, and his eight year term as President, in which he survived an assassination attempt, defined the 80s; the rest, as they say, is history. After his presidency, Reagan's health quickly declined due to Alzheimer's, and was said to have contributed to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition; he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, tended to by his wife. According to news reports, Reagan's body is expected to be taken to his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A funeral is expected to be at the National Cathedral, with his body to be returned to California for a sunset burial at the library. Living longer than any US President, Reagan is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children: Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
TV work followed, though Reagan also began pursuing a career in politics, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild twice; he also made a notable turn from liberal to conservative in the 60s. Reagan made his last film in 1964 . the acclaimed The Killers opposite Lee Marvin . and successfully ran for governor of California in 1966, a post he held for eight years. Though he lost the Republican party's candidacy for president in 1976, he successfully ran again in 1980, and his eight year term as President, in which he survived an assassination attempt, defined the 80s; the rest, as they say, is history. After his presidency, Reagan's health quickly declined due to Alzheimer's, and was said to have contributed to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition; he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, tended to by his wife. According to news reports, Reagan's body is expected to be taken to his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A funeral is expected to be at the National Cathedral, with his body to be returned to California for a sunset burial at the library. Living longer than any US President, Reagan is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children: Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 6/6/2004
- IMDb News
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