MoMA’s Bulle Ogier retrospective was occasion upon occasion for discovery, and even then it was great fortune to encounter Candy Mountain, a 1987 road picture directed by legendary photographer Robert Frank and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer starring Kevin J. O’Connor, Tom Waits, Joe Strummer, and Dr. John, with the legendary French actress in a small, pivotal supporting role. Replete with cold, pale colors and a thoroughly comfortable vibe, it’s also, from the 2024’s vantage, more than a little melancholy for introducing sequestered communities that very likely don’t exist today.
But all’s been preserved in a 2K restoration which Film Movement’s releasing on October 25 in celebration of Frank’s centenary, and we’re pleased to debut the trailer. Here’s the synopsis: “New York City, 1980s. A struggling, deadbeat musician named Julius has fallen on hard times. With no guitar, band or paying gigs, he cooks up a...
But all’s been preserved in a 2K restoration which Film Movement’s releasing on October 25 in celebration of Frank’s centenary, and we’re pleased to debut the trailer. Here’s the synopsis: “New York City, 1980s. A struggling, deadbeat musician named Julius has fallen on hard times. With no guitar, band or paying gigs, he cooks up a...
- 9/25/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
What's the best Jack Nicholson movie? Ask a group of film fans, and you'll likely get a half-dozen different answers. The actor's most historically significant movie may be "Chinatown," the sun-baked California noir from 1974 that earned 11 Oscar nominations and a permanent spot in the American Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Or it might be "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," the beloved adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel that swept the Oscars in 1975 and turned the already-popular Nicholson into Hollywood's hottest commodity.
The actor's most popular films according to Letterboxd users are Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece "The Shining" and Martin Scorsese's crime saga "The Departed." His highest-grossing role at the box office came in 1989, when Tim Burton cast him as the rictus-grin supervillain The Joker in "Batman." Other popular moneymakers featuring the veteran performer include James L. Brooks' "As Good As It Gets," Nancy Meyers' "Something's Gotta Give,...
The actor's most popular films according to Letterboxd users are Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece "The Shining" and Martin Scorsese's crime saga "The Departed." His highest-grossing role at the box office came in 1989, when Tim Burton cast him as the rictus-grin supervillain The Joker in "Batman." Other popular moneymakers featuring the veteran performer include James L. Brooks' "As Good As It Gets," Nancy Meyers' "Something's Gotta Give,...
- 7/6/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Fred Roos, casting director for landmark films such as “American Graffiti” and who went on to have a close relationship with Francis Ford Coppola, including producing best picture winner “Godfather Part II” and “Apocalypse Now,” died Saturday in Beverly Hills. He was 89.
Roos was both casting director and executive producer on Coppola’s most recent film “Megalopolis” which premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival. Last year, Coppola posted a photo of Roos with Adam Driver on Instagram and thanked him for his work on the long-gestating epic.
Roos was instrumental in helping stars including Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Carrie Fisher and Richard Dreyfuss get their early notable roles.
His long collaboration with Coppola as producer or co-producer included “The Conversation,” “One From the Heart,” “The Outsiders,” “Rumble Fish,” “The Cotton Club,” “The Godfather Part III,” “Tetro,” “Youth Without Youth” and “Tucker: The Man and His Dream.”
Roos was not credited,...
Roos was both casting director and executive producer on Coppola’s most recent film “Megalopolis” which premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival. Last year, Coppola posted a photo of Roos with Adam Driver on Instagram and thanked him for his work on the long-gestating epic.
Roos was instrumental in helping stars including Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Carrie Fisher and Richard Dreyfuss get their early notable roles.
His long collaboration with Coppola as producer or co-producer included “The Conversation,” “One From the Heart,” “The Outsiders,” “Rumble Fish,” “The Cotton Club,” “The Godfather Part III,” “Tetro,” “Youth Without Youth” and “Tucker: The Man and His Dream.”
Roos was not credited,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Fred Roos, the Oscar-winning The Godfather Part II producer and longtime executive producer for Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola, died Saturday in Beverly Hills at 89, four days shy of his 90th birthday.
The news about Roos, who won his Godfather Part II Oscar and later was nominated for Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, comes as Francis Ford Coppola is here at the Cannes Film Festival, 45 years after winning the Palme d’Or for Apocalypse Now. Coppola is in town with his $120 million passion project Megalopolis, which had its world premiere last week. Roos is billed as producer on Megalopolis.
The news also comes after Coppola’s wife of 61 years, Eleanor, died April 12. Roos was an executive producer on Hearts of Darkness, her famed documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now that won them both an Emmy in 1992.
Roos was Francis Coppola’s co-producer on The Conversation, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now,...
The news about Roos, who won his Godfather Part II Oscar and later was nominated for Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, comes as Francis Ford Coppola is here at the Cannes Film Festival, 45 years after winning the Palme d’Or for Apocalypse Now. Coppola is in town with his $120 million passion project Megalopolis, which had its world premiere last week. Roos is billed as producer on Megalopolis.
The news also comes after Coppola’s wife of 61 years, Eleanor, died April 12. Roos was an executive producer on Hearts of Darkness, her famed documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now that won them both an Emmy in 1992.
Roos was Francis Coppola’s co-producer on The Conversation, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross’s Gasoline Rainbow is an unusually poetic road film, as it has less in common with cut-and-paste teen party flicks than it does with the existentially freighted sensibilities of The Endless Summer, Two-Lane Blacktop, and even The Outwaters. Blending documentary and fictional elements together as they have in films like Western and Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, the Ross brothers fashion an aesthetic that’s something like the best of both worlds. Gasoline Rainbow’s teenagers are rendered with unusual realism, while the imagery has the resonance and intensity that speaks of the resources and planning that’s typically associated with fictional films. It feels simultaneously “of the moment” and retrospective—a subtle yet formally extravagant teenage daydream.
For viewers who’re removed from their high school years, the realism of Gasoline Rainbow may require acclimation. The film’s teens—Tony (Tony Abuerto), Micah (Micah Bunch...
For viewers who’re removed from their high school years, the realism of Gasoline Rainbow may require acclimation. The film’s teens—Tony (Tony Abuerto), Micah (Micah Bunch...
- 5/5/2024
- by Chuck Bowen
- Slant Magazine
Ethan Hawke is flexing his cinephile status as the latest curator for film club platform Galerie, just in time for the collection to launch on streaming apps Apple TV and Roku.
Galerie was founded in November 2023 by production company Indian Paintbrush. Galerie is led by Andy Shapiro, chief innovation officer, who has been with Indian Paintbrush since 2018. The program has subscriptions for $10 per month, with filmmakers and artists like Wes Anderson, Mike Mills, Taylor Russell, Karyn Kusama, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, James Gray, Lukas Dhont, Reinaldo Marcus Green, and Kim Gordon serving as curators and film conversation panelists.
Hawke’s tenure as this month’s curator coincides with Galerie being unveiled on streaming platforms to host a variety of new interactive experiences for film lovers. With the release of its Apple TV and Roku apps (to be followed by Amazon Fire and Android TV), members can watch films and...
Galerie was founded in November 2023 by production company Indian Paintbrush. Galerie is led by Andy Shapiro, chief innovation officer, who has been with Indian Paintbrush since 2018. The program has subscriptions for $10 per month, with filmmakers and artists like Wes Anderson, Mike Mills, Taylor Russell, Karyn Kusama, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, James Gray, Lukas Dhont, Reinaldo Marcus Green, and Kim Gordon serving as curators and film conversation panelists.
Hawke’s tenure as this month’s curator coincides with Galerie being unveiled on streaming platforms to host a variety of new interactive experiences for film lovers. With the release of its Apple TV and Roku apps (to be followed by Amazon Fire and Android TV), members can watch films and...
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Cars, it’s often been observed, offer a sort of contradiction of motion: They allow us to move around while sitting still. It only makes sense, then, that the movies have for so long been attracted to the allure of the automobile, for surely the appeal of the cinema lies in its capacity to take us from the comfort of the theater or living room to adventures around the world. The greatest car movies—movies about cars, largely set in cars, or otherwise significantly concerned with them—understand that our affection for our vehicles has as much to do with the possible freedoms they promise as the routines they let us uphold. Cars drive us to and from work every day, keeping our lives precisely ordered. But they also suggest escape: We’re always aware, faintly, that we could drive away from it all at any moment, out and off...
- 8/23/2023
- by Calum Marsh
- Slant Magazine
Walter Coblenz, who was Oscar-nominated for producing “All the President’s Men” and also produced “The Candidate” and “The Onion Field,” died March 16. He was 93.
Coblenz also produced the Emmy-nominated Joseph Wambaugh TV mini-series adaptation “The Blue Knight.”
After serving as assistant director and production manager on Robert Redford’s “Downhill Racer,” he went on to work with Redford on “The Candidate” and “All the Presidents Men,” which racked up eight Oscar nominations and four wins.
Coblenz served as Sr. V.P. of production at both Tri-Star Pictures and Carolco Pictures, where he oversaw production on films including “The Natural.” “Places in the Heart,” “Terminator 2,” “The Doors” and “Rambling Rose.”
His other producing credits include “Money Talks,” “Her Majesty,” “The Babe” and “18 Again.”
Born in Germany, Koblenz came to the U.S. as a child and graduated from the University of Houston. He began his career as a camera...
Coblenz also produced the Emmy-nominated Joseph Wambaugh TV mini-series adaptation “The Blue Knight.”
After serving as assistant director and production manager on Robert Redford’s “Downhill Racer,” he went on to work with Redford on “The Candidate” and “All the Presidents Men,” which racked up eight Oscar nominations and four wins.
Coblenz served as Sr. V.P. of production at both Tri-Star Pictures and Carolco Pictures, where he oversaw production on films including “The Natural.” “Places in the Heart,” “Terminator 2,” “The Doors” and “Rambling Rose.”
His other producing credits include “Money Talks,” “Her Majesty,” “The Babe” and “18 Again.”
Born in Germany, Koblenz came to the U.S. as a child and graduated from the University of Houston. He began his career as a camera...
- 4/2/2022
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Watching Ti West’s “X” (now in theaters from A24) feels like you are watching a classic horror film, one that was secreted away for decades because it’s just that extreme and scary.
It concerns a group of amateur pornographers, who travel to a backwoods Texas farmhouse to shoot their magnum opus “The Farmer’s Daughter.” Of course, while filming their cinematic triumph, they run afoul of the home’s elderly owners, including Pearl (also played by Goth), who longs to reclaim her youth by murdering everybody in the process. “X” is, in part, a throwback to old-school slasher films of the 1970s and ‘80s but it’s much more sophisticated and emotional than that; it’s a nuanced look at how the aging process can turn you into a monster. Youth is wasted on the young, indeed.
West had spent almost a decade making creepy horror movies that burrowed...
It concerns a group of amateur pornographers, who travel to a backwoods Texas farmhouse to shoot their magnum opus “The Farmer’s Daughter.” Of course, while filming their cinematic triumph, they run afoul of the home’s elderly owners, including Pearl (also played by Goth), who longs to reclaim her youth by murdering everybody in the process. “X” is, in part, a throwback to old-school slasher films of the 1970s and ‘80s but it’s much more sophisticated and emotional than that; it’s a nuanced look at how the aging process can turn you into a monster. Youth is wasted on the young, indeed.
West had spent almost a decade making creepy horror movies that burrowed...
- 4/1/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Hart, who founded the “Screen On” cinema chain and distribution company Mainline Pictures, died on December 28
Tributes have been paid to Romaine Hart OBE (1933-2021), one of the doyennes of UK independent arthouse exhibition and distribution, who died on December 28 aged 88.
Hart was the founder of the “Screen On” chain and distribution company Mainline Pictures. She gave a significant boost to the careers of several prominent current industry figures, among them Mia Bays, the new director of the BFI Film Fund, and producers Lucy Darwin (Match Point), Stephen Woolley (Number 9 Films) and John Battsek.
“It is an extraordinary legacy that she has left behind,...
Tributes have been paid to Romaine Hart OBE (1933-2021), one of the doyennes of UK independent arthouse exhibition and distribution, who died on December 28 aged 88.
Hart was the founder of the “Screen On” chain and distribution company Mainline Pictures. She gave a significant boost to the careers of several prominent current industry figures, among them Mia Bays, the new director of the BFI Film Fund, and producers Lucy Darwin (Match Point), Stephen Woolley (Number 9 Films) and John Battsek.
“It is an extraordinary legacy that she has left behind,...
- 1/4/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
This year’s Oscar contenders include Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” and it turns out there’s a bit of crossover between these two properties as Scott was once attached to direct the 1980s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic science-fiction novel. Scott intended to direct “Dune” in between his two other science-fiction classics “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” the director recently confirmed to Total Film magazine.
“It’s always been filmable,” Scott said about Herbert’s novel, long considered impossible to bring to the screen in a successful manner. “I had a writer called Rudy Wurlitzer, of the Wurlitzer family…He’d written two films: ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ with James Taylor and ‘Billy the Kid,’ which had Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson…We did a very good take on ‘Dune’ because early days, I’d work very, very closely with the writer. I was always...
“It’s always been filmable,” Scott said about Herbert’s novel, long considered impossible to bring to the screen in a successful manner. “I had a writer called Rudy Wurlitzer, of the Wurlitzer family…He’d written two films: ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ with James Taylor and ‘Billy the Kid,’ which had Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson…We did a very good take on ‘Dune’ because early days, I’d work very, very closely with the writer. I was always...
- 12/1/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Director, producer and screenwriter Michael Laughlin, whose credits include Two-Lane Blacktop, Town & Country and Strange Behavior, died on October 20th at the age of 82.
Laughlin succumbed to complications related to Covid-19 and passed in his residence in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Michael Stoddard Laughlin was born in 1938 and brought up in Minonk, Illinois. Laughlin played basketball at Stanford University, later graduating from Principia College in 1960.
Shortly after, he moved to London where he started his career as a film producer. He worked on projects like The Whispers and 1968’s Joanna directed by Michael Sarne. Laughlin married French actress Leslie Caron during his time in Europe. They divorced in 1980.
In the ’70s, Laughlin helped produce the Monte Hellman-directed cult classic Two-Lane Blacktop, starring James Taylor. In 2012, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Other credits include 1981’s Strange Behaviors,...
Laughlin succumbed to complications related to Covid-19 and passed in his residence in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Michael Stoddard Laughlin was born in 1938 and brought up in Minonk, Illinois. Laughlin played basketball at Stanford University, later graduating from Principia College in 1960.
Shortly after, he moved to London where he started his career as a film producer. He worked on projects like The Whispers and 1968’s Joanna directed by Michael Sarne. Laughlin married French actress Leslie Caron during his time in Europe. They divorced in 1980.
In the ’70s, Laughlin helped produce the Monte Hellman-directed cult classic Two-Lane Blacktop, starring James Taylor. In 2012, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Other credits include 1981’s Strange Behaviors,...
- 11/1/2021
- by Brandon Choe
- Deadline Film + TV
Michael Laughlin, a filmmaker and producer whose credits included the likes of 1971’s “Two-Lane Blacktop” and 1981’s “Strange Behavior,” died on Oct. 20 from complications related to Covid-19. He was 82 years old.
Laughlin’s death was confirmed to Variety by his friend Brooke Nasser. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, where had been living for many years.
Laughlin was born and raised in Illinois. He was recruited to play basketball at Stanford University and graduated from Principia College in 1960.
After moving to London, Laughlin began a career as a film producer, working on projects such as Bryan Forbes’ 1967 thriller “The Whispers” and the 1968 feature “Joanna,” director Michael Sarne’s precursor to “Myra Breckinridge.” He met and married French actress and ballerina Leslie Caron during his time abroad. The two separated in 1975.
During the 1970s, Laughlin helped bring eight independent features to fruition, including the Monte Hellman-directed cult classic “Two-Lane Blacktop.” Interviews...
Laughlin’s death was confirmed to Variety by his friend Brooke Nasser. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, where had been living for many years.
Laughlin was born and raised in Illinois. He was recruited to play basketball at Stanford University and graduated from Principia College in 1960.
After moving to London, Laughlin began a career as a film producer, working on projects such as Bryan Forbes’ 1967 thriller “The Whispers” and the 1968 feature “Joanna,” director Michael Sarne’s precursor to “Myra Breckinridge.” He met and married French actress and ballerina Leslie Caron during his time abroad. The two separated in 1975.
During the 1970s, Laughlin helped bring eight independent features to fruition, including the Monte Hellman-directed cult classic “Two-Lane Blacktop.” Interviews...
- 10/31/2021
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
Michael Laughlin, who produced the cult-classic road trip movie Two-Lane Blacktop and co-wrote the Warren Beatty film Town & Country, has died. He was 82.
Laughlin died Wednesday in Honolulu from complications related to Covid-19, his close friend Brooke Nasser told The Hollywood Reporter.
During the 1970s, Laughlin produced eight independent films, including 1971’s Blacktop, starring Laurie Bird, Warren Oates, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. The movie, which has a 93 percent “fresh” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, was placed in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2012. Criterion also released an edition in 2007 ...
Laughlin died Wednesday in Honolulu from complications related to Covid-19, his close friend Brooke Nasser told The Hollywood Reporter.
During the 1970s, Laughlin produced eight independent films, including 1971’s Blacktop, starring Laurie Bird, Warren Oates, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. The movie, which has a 93 percent “fresh” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, was placed in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2012. Criterion also released an edition in 2007 ...
- 10/31/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Laughlin, who produced the cult-classic road trip movie Two-Lane Blacktop and co-wrote the Warren Beatty film Town & Country, has died. He was 82.
Laughlin died Wednesday in Honolulu from complications related to Covid-19, his close friend Brooke Nasser told The Hollywood Reporter.
During the 1970s, Laughlin produced eight independent films, including 1971’s Blacktop, starring Laurie Bird, Warren Oates, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. The movie, which has a 93 percent “fresh” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, was placed in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2012. Criterion also released an edition in 2007 ...
Laughlin died Wednesday in Honolulu from complications related to Covid-19, his close friend Brooke Nasser told The Hollywood Reporter.
During the 1970s, Laughlin produced eight independent films, including 1971’s Blacktop, starring Laurie Bird, Warren Oates, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. The movie, which has a 93 percent “fresh” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, was placed in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2012. Criterion also released an edition in 2007 ...
- 10/31/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The late American indie film auteur Monte Hellman was fond of a quote from Jean Cocteau that poetically summed up the fate of any real work of art: “A work of art should also be ‘an object difficult to pick up.’ It must protect itself from vulgar pawing, which tarnishes and disfigures it. It should be made of such a shape that people don’t know which way to hold it, which embarrasses and irritates the critics, incites them to be rude, but keeps it fresh. The less it’s understood, the slower it opens its petals, the later it will fade.”
Cocteau’s dictum certainly applies to Hellman’s 1971 film, “Two-Lane Blacktop.” It opened its petals 50 years ago today and still confounds not only the critics but its fans and friends, including the film’s unit publicist Beverly Walker, whose groundbreaking campaign for the film included getting Esquire magazine...
Cocteau’s dictum certainly applies to Hellman’s 1971 film, “Two-Lane Blacktop.” It opened its petals 50 years ago today and still confounds not only the critics but its fans and friends, including the film’s unit publicist Beverly Walker, whose groundbreaking campaign for the film included getting Esquire magazine...
- 7/7/2021
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
At the dawn of the Seventies, the Beach Boys had a lot to prove. Their pop success was a thing of the past — even artistic triumphs like Pet Sounds and Wild Honey were commercial flops. The boys of summer were pushing 30 by now, bearded dads reckoning with marriage, divorce, changing times. When they went to work at Brian Wilson’s home studio on Bellagio Road in Bel Air, they were struggling to find their place in a new world that had written them off as a nostalgia act. But the...
- 6/3/2021
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
After a hiatus as theaters in New York City and beyond closed their doors during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, there’s a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings taking place.
Paris Theater
The late Monte Hellman’s masterpiece Two-Lane Blacktop plays in 35mm on Saturday and Sunday.
IFC Center
The long-lost, newly restored George A. Romero feature The Amusement Park is now playing.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Fabulous Baker Boys plays in 35mm on Saturday. Read Matthew Eng on Michell Pfeiffer’s performance from his recent feature:
Pfeiffer egregiously lost an easy Oscar years earlier to Driving Miss Daisy’s sentimental favorite Jessica Tandy, despite claiming every major critics’ prize for playing escort-turned-lounge-singer Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989). Slinking on...
Paris Theater
The late Monte Hellman’s masterpiece Two-Lane Blacktop plays in 35mm on Saturday and Sunday.
IFC Center
The long-lost, newly restored George A. Romero feature The Amusement Park is now playing.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Fabulous Baker Boys plays in 35mm on Saturday. Read Matthew Eng on Michell Pfeiffer’s performance from his recent feature:
Pfeiffer egregiously lost an easy Oscar years earlier to Driving Miss Daisy’s sentimental favorite Jessica Tandy, despite claiming every major critics’ prize for playing escort-turned-lounge-singer Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989). Slinking on...
- 5/20/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Killers of the Flower Moon (2021)From Osage News, the first official image from Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, featuring Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio. Recommended VIEWINGFollowing the release of his series The Underground Railroad, Barry Jenkins has also released The Gaze, a 50-minute non-narrative video piece that captures the show's background actors in moments of stillness. The film challenges the notion of the "white gaze" by pursuing what Jenkins refers to as "the Black gaze; or the gaze distilled." Shudder has released an official trailer for George A. Romero's The Amusement Park, a restoration of the long-lost 1973 film. Originally a commissioned work by the Lutheran Society, The Amusement Park was shelved for its terrifying depiction of elder abuse. The film will premiere on Shudder on June 8. Over at Ecstatic Static,...
- 5/12/2021
- MUBI
Monte Hellman, the filmmaker behind movies like Two-Lane Blacktop, The Shooting, and Cockfighter, has died. He suffered a fall in his home on April 19, and died the next day. He was 93 years old. Variety brought word of Hellman’s death, and the outlet described the filmmaker as a “maverick” and a “cult” director. He was […]
The post ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ Director Monte Hellman Dies at Age 91 appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ Director Monte Hellman Dies at Age 91 appeared first on /Film.
- 4/21/2021
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Influential instead of famous, brilliant in a way for which his medium has little remaining use, Monte Hellman died yesterday at 91. It was heartening, if not a bit surprising all the same, to see my Twitter feed instantly and unanimously alight with praise for the director, whose filmography is often distilled to one sui generis classic and considered an object of intense interest for true believers otherwise.
Whatever that implies, it’s hard to recommend a filmography with less reservation—Hellman’s cinema is immediately identifiable for its vision of rugged, roughshod masculinity, accessible with its use of iconic figures, and (at the risk of underlining this point too sharply) always invigorates in its sense of discovering some well-kept secret.
Some cursory searches reveal a good number readily streaming. So long as you don’t mind the occasional ad break, your first step is Tubi, which hosts his Jack Nicholson...
Whatever that implies, it’s hard to recommend a filmography with less reservation—Hellman’s cinema is immediately identifiable for its vision of rugged, roughshod masculinity, accessible with its use of iconic figures, and (at the risk of underlining this point too sharply) always invigorates in its sense of discovering some well-kept secret.
Some cursory searches reveal a good number readily streaming. So long as you don’t mind the occasional ad break, your first step is Tubi, which hosts his Jack Nicholson...
- 4/21/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Monte Hellman and his dog Kona. Monte Hellman, cult director of The Shooting (1966), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) and Road to Nowhere (2010) has died. Hellman spoke with Notebook on several occasions about his films, decrying the committee-designed quality of new films while staying true to his own long-held principles: "I am aware of continually breaking rules." Léos Carax's first English-language film, the musical Annette, will be opening the 74th Cannes Film Festival on July 6th. The film will simultaneously be released in French cinemas. Two other Cannes titles have also been announced, having been selected for last year's postponed edition of the festival: Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch and Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta. Steven Soderbergh is undertaking the overwhelming creative task of staging this year's Oscars ceremony. As Soderbergh says, the project is "the walking...
- 4/21/2021
- MUBI
Influential director Monte Hellman, whose 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop starring musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson became a counterculture cult classic, died Tuesday. He was 91.
His death at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert followed a fall at his home, his daughter, producer Melissa Hellman, told The New York Times.
While not as well known as other directors of the New Hollywood of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Hellman was nonetheless influential. His sparse Two-Lane Blacktop , a post-Easy Rider character study about two street racers became a cornerstone among American existentialist road movies.
Hellman worked with the best actors of that New Hollywood generation, including Jack Nicolson and Warren Oates. He made his feature debut like so many other filmmakers of his generation – on a Roger Corman film, in his case called Beast From Haunted Cave.
His death at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert followed a fall at his home, his daughter, producer Melissa Hellman, told The New York Times.
While not as well known as other directors of the New Hollywood of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Hellman was nonetheless influential. His sparse Two-Lane Blacktop , a post-Easy Rider character study about two street racers became a cornerstone among American existentialist road movies.
Hellman worked with the best actors of that New Hollywood generation, including Jack Nicolson and Warren Oates. He made his feature debut like so many other filmmakers of his generation – on a Roger Corman film, in his case called Beast From Haunted Cave.
- 4/21/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Director of cult classics Two-Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter also directed Jack Nicholson and helped Quentin Tarantino with his feature debut
Monte Hellman, the director behind 1970s cult classics Two Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter, as well as being instrumental in getting Quentin Tarantino’s directorial debut Reservoir Dogs off the ground, has died aged 91. His daughter Melissa, who produced his 2010 film Road to Nowhere, confirmed the news to the Hollywood Reporter, saying Hellman had died in hospital after a fall at his home.
Hellman was born Monte Himmelman in 1929, and after studying theatre at Stanford University set up a theatre company in Los Angeles. Like many directors of his generation, Hellman gained early experience working for Roger Corman’s low-budget exploitation-movie factory. Corman hired him to make Beast from Haunted Cave, shot simultaneously with the same cast and crew as another Corman film, Ski Troop Attack. Along with contemporaries such as...
Monte Hellman, the director behind 1970s cult classics Two Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter, as well as being instrumental in getting Quentin Tarantino’s directorial debut Reservoir Dogs off the ground, has died aged 91. His daughter Melissa, who produced his 2010 film Road to Nowhere, confirmed the news to the Hollywood Reporter, saying Hellman had died in hospital after a fall at his home.
Hellman was born Monte Himmelman in 1929, and after studying theatre at Stanford University set up a theatre company in Los Angeles. Like many directors of his generation, Hellman gained early experience working for Roger Corman’s low-budget exploitation-movie factory. Corman hired him to make Beast from Haunted Cave, shot simultaneously with the same cast and crew as another Corman film, Ski Troop Attack. Along with contemporaries such as...
- 4/21/2021
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Monte Hellman, the film director who earned a cult following with movies like Two-Lane Blacktop and Ride in the Whirlwind, died Tuesday at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs, California, after a fall in his home. His daughter, Melissa Hellman, confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 91.
Hellman was well regarded for his genre films, such as his 1964 war drama Back Door to Hell, 1966’s pair of Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (both starring Jack Nicholson), and the acclaimed road movie Two-Lane Blacktop starring James Taylor and Dennis Wilson.
Hellman was well regarded for his genre films, such as his 1964 war drama Back Door to Hell, 1966’s pair of Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (both starring Jack Nicholson), and the acclaimed road movie Two-Lane Blacktop starring James Taylor and Dennis Wilson.
- 4/21/2021
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Monte Hellman, the maverick director of such films as “Two-Lane Blacktop,” “The Shooting” and “Road to Nowhere,” died April 20 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., following a fall in his home on April 19. He was 91.
Hellman was a cult director who was widely admired within the industry, earning such fans as Quentin Tarantino; they liked his down-and-dirty storytelling, which featured poetic flourishes amid his genre films.
After working as an editor’s apprentice at ABC, he made his directing debut with the 1959 “Beast From Haunted Cave,” produced by Roger Corman. He became part of the Corman stable of veterans who learned how to get maximum impact on minimum budget. Other Corman alumni include Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.
Hellman worked with Jack Nicholson in the 1960s, including two films shot back-to-back in the Philippines, “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury.” Hellman and Nicholson reteamed on two Westerns,...
Hellman was a cult director who was widely admired within the industry, earning such fans as Quentin Tarantino; they liked his down-and-dirty storytelling, which featured poetic flourishes amid his genre films.
After working as an editor’s apprentice at ABC, he made his directing debut with the 1959 “Beast From Haunted Cave,” produced by Roger Corman. He became part of the Corman stable of veterans who learned how to get maximum impact on minimum budget. Other Corman alumni include Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.
Hellman worked with Jack Nicholson in the 1960s, including two films shot back-to-back in the Philippines, “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury.” Hellman and Nicholson reteamed on two Westerns,...
- 4/20/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Monte Hellman, the maverick director and protege of Roger Corman who helmed the existential cult classics The Shooting and Two-Lane Blacktop, died Tuesday. He was 91.
Hellman died at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert a week after he had fallen in his home, his daughter, Melissa Hellman, a producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was my best friend,” she said.
Cahiers du Cinema, the influential French magazine, once called Hellman the most gifted American filmmaker of his generation, and critics likened the idiosyncratic director to Michelangelo Antonioni and Sam Fuller.
Hellman collaborated several times with Jack Nicholson and made four films ...
Hellman died at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert a week after he had fallen in his home, his daughter, Melissa Hellman, a producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was my best friend,” she said.
Cahiers du Cinema, the influential French magazine, once called Hellman the most gifted American filmmaker of his generation, and critics likened the idiosyncratic director to Michelangelo Antonioni and Sam Fuller.
Hellman collaborated several times with Jack Nicholson and made four films ...
- 4/20/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Monte Hellman, the maverick director and protege of Roger Corman who helmed the existential cult classics The Shooting and Two-Lane Blacktop, died Tuesday. He was 91.
Hellman died at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert a week after he had fallen in his home, his daughter, Melissa Hellman, a producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was my best friend,” she said.
Cahiers du Cinema, the influential French magazine, once called Hellman the most gifted American filmmaker of his generation, and critics likened the idiosyncratic director to Michelangelo Antonioni and Sam Fuller.
Hellman collaborated several times with Jack Nicholson and made four films ...
Hellman died at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert a week after he had fallen in his home, his daughter, Melissa Hellman, a producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was my best friend,” she said.
Cahiers du Cinema, the influential French magazine, once called Hellman the most gifted American filmmaker of his generation, and critics likened the idiosyncratic director to Michelangelo Antonioni and Sam Fuller.
Hellman collaborated several times with Jack Nicholson and made four films ...
- 4/20/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
From Batman to Vin Diesel, the muscle car is the go-to ride for macho stars. Couldn’t they drive something greener?
Like hemlines or facial hair, the Batmobile has always been a barometer of fashion – from Adam West’s extravagantly finned 60s version to Tim Burton’s 80s stretch limo to Christopher Nolan’s urban battle machine. Judging by early images, Robert Pattinson’s ride in the forthcoming reboot resembles none of these so much as a 1970s muscle car. This is bang on trend, because if you want to be taken seriously in the movies these days, a muscle car is what you need to be driving.
The definition is vague but the term broadly applies to a handful of souped-up Us models of the late 60s and early 70s, whose mean lines and outsized horsepower made them the coolest cars on screen. None of your fancy European sports cars,...
Like hemlines or facial hair, the Batmobile has always been a barometer of fashion – from Adam West’s extravagantly finned 60s version to Tim Burton’s 80s stretch limo to Christopher Nolan’s urban battle machine. Judging by early images, Robert Pattinson’s ride in the forthcoming reboot resembles none of these so much as a 1970s muscle car. This is bang on trend, because if you want to be taken seriously in the movies these days, a muscle car is what you need to be driving.
The definition is vague but the term broadly applies to a handful of souped-up Us models of the late 60s and early 70s, whose mean lines and outsized horsepower made them the coolest cars on screen. None of your fancy European sports cars,...
- 3/16/2020
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Bruce Springsteen’s career has always been intertwined with his love of the movies, from noir thrillers like “The Postman Always Rings Twice” to dramas following tough-talking American anti-heroes like “Two-Lane Blacktop.” The Boss’ affection for ’70s gems and ’40s classics hasn’t kept him from crafting original songs for contemporary movies either, including his Oscar-winning title track “Philadelphia,” and other lauded compositions for “Dead Man Walking” and “The Wrestler.”
Springsteen has even headlined a few of his own films, including documentaries like “Bruce Springsteen: In His Own Words,” “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and “The Ties That Bind,” along with a recent Netflix special chronicling his history-making turn on Broadway. Later this month, Springsteen moves into the director’s chair himself, when he and frequent collaborator Thom Zimny debut their “Western Stars” at the Toronto International Film Festival.
First, however, there’s Gurinder Chadha...
Springsteen has even headlined a few of his own films, including documentaries like “Bruce Springsteen: In His Own Words,” “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and “The Ties That Bind,” along with a recent Netflix special chronicling his history-making turn on Broadway. Later this month, Springsteen moves into the director’s chair himself, when he and frequent collaborator Thom Zimny debut their “Western Stars” at the Toronto International Film Festival.
First, however, there’s Gurinder Chadha...
- 8/6/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
John Saavedra Sep 24, 2018
Gary Kurtz, the producer who helped bring the original Star Wars to the big screen, has passed away.
Hollywood has lost one of the pioneers who helped bring Star Wars to the big screen. Longtime producer Gary Kurtz passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer. The news was confirmed by Kurtz's official Facebook page.
“Gary Kurtz was considered by many as a pioneer in the film industry and a master of the art of filmmaking,” the Facebook post reads. “He found any opportunity to share his expansive knowledge of the film industry with budding filmmakers and those seeking knowledge. He was a real humanitarian and a gentleman; some have said that he is one of the gentlest souls in the film profession, modest and humble, and a very unique man.”
Kurtz is best known as the producer of the original Star Wars and The Empire...
Gary Kurtz, the producer who helped bring the original Star Wars to the big screen, has passed away.
Hollywood has lost one of the pioneers who helped bring Star Wars to the big screen. Longtime producer Gary Kurtz passed away on Sunday after a battle with cancer. The news was confirmed by Kurtz's official Facebook page.
“Gary Kurtz was considered by many as a pioneer in the film industry and a master of the art of filmmaking,” the Facebook post reads. “He found any opportunity to share his expansive knowledge of the film industry with budding filmmakers and those seeking knowledge. He was a real humanitarian and a gentleman; some have said that he is one of the gentlest souls in the film profession, modest and humble, and a very unique man.”
Kurtz is best known as the producer of the original Star Wars and The Empire...
- 9/24/2018
- Den of Geek
Gary Kurtz, a producer on “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” has died. He was 78.
According to a statement by The Kurtz/Joiner Archive, the producer died from cancer on Sunday in North London, England.
“Gary Kurtz, Star Wars producer passed away on Sunday the 23rd of September at 4.47 p.m. after living with Cancer for the last year,” read the statement. “We have him to thank for these wonderful memories that he made for us all. Gary Kurtz helped to create the force and it is with us always. Gary Kurtz left behind Clare Gabriel, Tiffany Kurtz, Melissa Kurtz, and Dylan Kurtz. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Also Read: Gary Kurtz, 'Star Wars' and 'The Empire Strikes Back' Producer, Dies at 78
Actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in various “Star Wars” films, tweeted Monday: “Rip Gary Kurtz. A great filmmaker and man has just passed. Without him...
According to a statement by The Kurtz/Joiner Archive, the producer died from cancer on Sunday in North London, England.
“Gary Kurtz, Star Wars producer passed away on Sunday the 23rd of September at 4.47 p.m. after living with Cancer for the last year,” read the statement. “We have him to thank for these wonderful memories that he made for us all. Gary Kurtz helped to create the force and it is with us always. Gary Kurtz left behind Clare Gabriel, Tiffany Kurtz, Melissa Kurtz, and Dylan Kurtz. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Also Read: Gary Kurtz, 'Star Wars' and 'The Empire Strikes Back' Producer, Dies at 78
Actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in various “Star Wars” films, tweeted Monday: “Rip Gary Kurtz. A great filmmaker and man has just passed. Without him...
- 9/24/2018
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Monte Hellman and Kona. Photo courtesy of Monte Hellman.Two years back, Monte Hellman invited me up to his house to sip vodka tonics in the dark and watch the new restoration of Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), one of a pair of earnest Westerns he made in collaboration with his longtime friend Jack Nicholson. He didn’t know it at the time, but that day was my birthday—and there was no other way I would have preferred to spend it.On a Saturday morning this July, I went up yet again to the Hollywood Hills to pay another visit to Hellman. Best known as the director of Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), a reaction to Easy Rider (1969) and the mother of all existential road movies, Hellman now lives a rather quiet life in a sweet, sequestered hillside bungalow; maybe he’s always preferred solitude and solemnity, but most of the time he...
- 10/22/2017
- MUBI
Los Angeles – He was often categorized as the ultimate male character actor, but Harry Dean Stanton stood out on his own, with a persona that added immediate recognition in any supporting performance, and was unforgettable when he stepped into a lead role. Stanton died on September 15, 2017, at age 91.
With his hang dog demeanor and distinctive voice, Stanton made his mark over a 60 year career, and appeared in character roles in notable films such as “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), “The Godfather Part II” (1974), “Escape From New York” (1981), “Pretty in Pink” (1986) and “Last Temptation of Christ” (1988). He had bigger and more up front roles in “Repo Man” (1984), “Paris, Texas” (1984), “Wild at Heart” (1990), “The Straight Story” (1999), “The Green Mile” (1999) and the upcoming “Lucky” (2017).
Harry Dean Stanton in a Recent Photo
Photo credit: File Photo
Harry Dean Stanton was born in Kentucky, and was a World War II veteran in the Navy,...
With his hang dog demeanor and distinctive voice, Stanton made his mark over a 60 year career, and appeared in character roles in notable films such as “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), “The Godfather Part II” (1974), “Escape From New York” (1981), “Pretty in Pink” (1986) and “Last Temptation of Christ” (1988). He had bigger and more up front roles in “Repo Man” (1984), “Paris, Texas” (1984), “Wild at Heart” (1990), “The Straight Story” (1999), “The Green Mile” (1999) and the upcoming “Lucky” (2017).
Harry Dean Stanton in a Recent Photo
Photo credit: File Photo
Harry Dean Stanton was born in Kentucky, and was a World War II veteran in the Navy,...
- 9/16/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Tony Sokol Sep 18, 2017
Harry Dean Stanton has died at the age of 91, it was confirmed over the weekend.
Actor Harry Dean Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Friday September 15th, his agent John Kelly announced. He was 91.
Stanton, who made his breakthrough in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas, submerged himself in over 250 movies since he began acting in the 1950s. That didn’t make him any less unforgettable, putting his subtle stamp on such films as Cool Hand Luke (1967), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Godfather II (1974), Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and John Carpenter’s Escape From New York (1981). Plus he taught Emilio Estevez how to boost cars in the cult classic Repo Man.
Stanton hit the mainstream in John Hughes’ Pretty In Pink (1986), he played Molly Ringwald’s unemployed father.
He played against Jack Nicholson, a lifelong friend, in The Missouri Breaks and Bob Rafelson’s Man Trouble. He also appeared in The Mighty,...
Harry Dean Stanton has died at the age of 91, it was confirmed over the weekend.
Actor Harry Dean Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Friday September 15th, his agent John Kelly announced. He was 91.
Stanton, who made his breakthrough in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas, submerged himself in over 250 movies since he began acting in the 1950s. That didn’t make him any less unforgettable, putting his subtle stamp on such films as Cool Hand Luke (1967), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Godfather II (1974), Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and John Carpenter’s Escape From New York (1981). Plus he taught Emilio Estevez how to boost cars in the cult classic Repo Man.
Stanton hit the mainstream in John Hughes’ Pretty In Pink (1986), he played Molly Ringwald’s unemployed father.
He played against Jack Nicholson, a lifelong friend, in The Missouri Breaks and Bob Rafelson’s Man Trouble. He also appeared in The Mighty,...
- 9/16/2017
- Den of Geek
Harry Dean Stanton, the legendary character actor and offbeat leading man who starred in Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Big Love in a career that spanned over seven decades, has died at the age of 91.
Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles, Variety reports, with TMZ adding that the actor died peacefully Friday afternoon at the city's Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
Director David Lynch, who cast Stanton in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story and the recent Twin Peaks: The Return,...
Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles, Variety reports, with TMZ adding that the actor died peacefully Friday afternoon at the city's Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
Director David Lynch, who cast Stanton in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story and the recent Twin Peaks: The Return,...
- 9/15/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Harry Dean Stanton has died at 91, reports TMZ. The actor, a screen legend who endeared himself to moviegoers for his performances in everything from “Pretty in Pink” and “The Godfather Part II” to “Alien” and “Repo Man,” passed away peacefully at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
Read More:‘Lucky’ Review: 90-Year-Old Harry Dean Stanton Gives a Performance for the Ages in Wry Comedy Co-Starring David Lynch — SXSW 2017
Best known as a character actor, Stanton had his share of leading roles as well. None was more moving than Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas,” in which he plays a grief-stricken drifter who attempts to reconnect with his former life. Stanton frequently collaborated with David Lynch, appearing in “Wild at Heart,” “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” “The Straight Story,” “Inland Empire,” and the just-concluded “Twin Peaks” revival.
Read More:‘Lucky’ Trailer: Harry Dean Stanton and David Lynch Reunite For This Wise Meditation on...
Read More:‘Lucky’ Review: 90-Year-Old Harry Dean Stanton Gives a Performance for the Ages in Wry Comedy Co-Starring David Lynch — SXSW 2017
Best known as a character actor, Stanton had his share of leading roles as well. None was more moving than Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas,” in which he plays a grief-stricken drifter who attempts to reconnect with his former life. Stanton frequently collaborated with David Lynch, appearing in “Wild at Heart,” “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” “The Straight Story,” “Inland Empire,” and the just-concluded “Twin Peaks” revival.
Read More:‘Lucky’ Trailer: Harry Dean Stanton and David Lynch Reunite For This Wise Meditation on...
- 9/15/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
“All the films in this book share an air of disreputability… I have tried to avoid using the word art about the movies in this book, not just because I didn’t want to inflate my claims for them, but because the word is used far too often to shut down discussion rather than open it up. If something has been acclaimed as art, it’s not just beyond criticism but often seen as above the mere mortals for whom its presumably been made. It’s a sealed artifact that offers no way in. It is as much a lie to claim we can be moved only by what has been given the imprimatur of art as it would be to deny that there are, in these scruffy movies, the very things we expect from art: avenues into human emotion and psychology, or into the character and texture of the time the films were made,...
- 8/6/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
We are knee-deep into a summer of dreary sequels, kids’ fare, and a few whip-smart outliers. If you’ve already seen the likes of The Beguiled and Baby Driver, perhaps staying home with a book is a better idea than trekking to the cinema. Let’s dive into some worthy film-centric reads.
Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film by Sharon Gosling (Titan Books)
Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is one of the biggest superhero success stories, and it deserves that designation. The classification makes reading a book like Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film feel like a celebratory affair. After a brief account of the character’s comics history, we delve into designs for Themyscira, concept art of Dr. Maru’s laboratory, and somber depictions of battle. What stands out, however, are drawings and photographs showing the film’s winning costume designs. It is illuminating,...
Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film by Sharon Gosling (Titan Books)
Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is one of the biggest superhero success stories, and it deserves that designation. The classification makes reading a book like Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film feel like a celebratory affair. After a brief account of the character’s comics history, we delve into designs for Themyscira, concept art of Dr. Maru’s laboratory, and somber depictions of battle. What stands out, however, are drawings and photographs showing the film’s winning costume designs. It is illuminating,...
- 7/10/2017
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
The United States is “my country, right or wrong,” of course, and I consider myself a patriotic person, but I’ve never felt that patriotism meant blind fealty to the idea of America’s rightful dominance over global politics or culture, and certainly not to its alleged preferred status on God’s short list of favored nations, or that allegiance to said country was a license to justify or rationalize every instance of misguided, foolish, narrow-minded domestic or foreign policy.
In 2012, when this piece was first posted, it seemed like a good moment to throw the country’s history and contradictions into some sort of quick relief, and the most expedient way of doing that for me was to look at the way the United States (and the philosophies at its core) were reflected in the movies, and not just the ones which approached the country head-on as a subject.
In 2012, when this piece was first posted, it seemed like a good moment to throw the country’s history and contradictions into some sort of quick relief, and the most expedient way of doing that for me was to look at the way the United States (and the philosophies at its core) were reflected in the movies, and not just the ones which approached the country head-on as a subject.
- 7/2/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
How Today’s ‘Nonsensical’ Blockbuster Filmmaking Can Learn a Lesson From American Movies of the ’70s
Film critic Charles Taylor’s first collection of essays, “Opening Wednesday at a Theater or Drive-in Near You: The Shadow Cinema of the American ’70s,” explores the rich history of ’70s-era American filmmaking through a unique lens, opting to highlight some of the period’s underseen and often underappreciated gems. As one of the most fruitful times in American filmmaking, Taylor understands why certain features — including offerings from such respected filmmakers as Jonathan Demme, Walter Hill, and Irvin Kershner — didn’t quite make it big at a crowded box office, but he’s also eager to give them their due.
Told with an eye towards the current state of cinema — a blockbuster-driven machine that Taylor calls “nonsensical” and contributing to “the destruction of the idea of content” — the book is a loving look at some forgotten gems and the power of moviemaking that can often be ignored. In our excerpt from the book,...
Told with an eye towards the current state of cinema — a blockbuster-driven machine that Taylor calls “nonsensical” and contributing to “the destruction of the idea of content” — the book is a loving look at some forgotten gems and the power of moviemaking that can often be ignored. In our excerpt from the book,...
- 6/7/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
This past year, Cinelicious Pics has restored and distributed two unique films tragically underseen or never received U.S. distribution: Eiichi Yamamoto’s 1973 animated masterpiece “Belladonna of Sadness,” and Leslie Stevens’ long-missing 1960’s thriller “Private Property,” about two homicidal Southern California drifters (Warren Oates and Corey Allen) who wander off the beach into the Beverly Hills home of unhappy housewife Anne (Kate Manx) and slowly worm their way into her life.
Read More: Cinelicious Pics to Release 4k Restoration of Lost Noir ‘Private Property’
Cinelicious gave it a brief theatrical distribution this year in New York, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, and other cities, and it will be released on Blu-ray this week. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below featuring Allen’s character finally alone with Anne. The scene was one of the reasons why the film was rejected by the Motion Picture Association for failure to comply with the code,...
Read More: Cinelicious Pics to Release 4k Restoration of Lost Noir ‘Private Property’
Cinelicious gave it a brief theatrical distribution this year in New York, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, and other cities, and it will be released on Blu-ray this week. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below featuring Allen’s character finally alone with Anne. The scene was one of the reasons why the film was rejected by the Motion Picture Association for failure to comply with the code,...
- 10/24/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
If you were to meet Australia-born, Arizona-raised musician Gregg Turkington, you'd find a somewhat shy, easygoing 47-year-old guy, the kind of person who seems more comfortable doing voiceover work for shows like Adventure Time than baiting a paying audience. But if you were to encounter his alter-ego in the indie cringe-comedy Entertainment — a sweaty, Borscht Belt-style stand-up with a penchant for phlegmy throat-clearing and telling rancid, rat-a-tat-tat one-liners like "Why did God create Domino's Pizza? To punish humanity for their complacency in letting the Holocaust happen" — you might be tempted...
- 11/13/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Taken as a straight-faced, just-the-facts account of one great man’s amazing achievements, Steve Jobs is a bit daft. For as much as the structure of Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin‘s biopic — divided into three sections, each set backstage right before a product’s announcement (those being the Apple Lisa in 1984, the NeXTcube in 1988, and the iMac in 1998) — is receiving attention, that bit of pre-release hype, like all pre-release hype, should be questioned. To my mind, this is all a reductive bit of enthusiasm: what happens when anyone does anything different with the format, thus saving us from having to (gasp!) sit through “yet another biopic.” The reaction is premature, surely, but none too surprising. There’s a vocal and too-large section of viewers for whom the genre indicates that what they’re seeing — no matter the talent of its creators or the fascination that comes with its subject — is unquestionably an inferior product,...
- 10/4/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Iconic indie filmmaker Alex Cox, best known for his cult hits "Repo Man," "Sid and Nancy" and "Straight to Hell," has turned to Indiegogo to raise money for his latest project, "Tombstone Rashomon," a re-telling of the Gunfight at the Ok Corral in "Rashomon"- style. Veteran special effects supervisor Phil Tippett ("The Twilight Saga") and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer ("Two-Lane Blacktop") have also signed onboard for the project. Read More: Attention, Filmmakers: 4 Tips to Help you Connect with Your Audience and Build Your Brand Cox is aiming to raise $200,000 to produce the project, which will be released as a five episode-long web series which will form a complete film. "I was thinking it would be a conventional western, but Rudy [Wurlitzer] wants to give it a science fiction angle -- from the perspective of time-traveling women historians from the future. They'll time-travel back in time to film at...
- 8/31/2015
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
A while back, when we released the 400th episode of the Sound On Sight podcast, a few close friends and longtime listeners requested we compile a list of our favorite shows we recorded over the years. Now that the podcast has officially come to an end, I decided to finally set aside some time in my schedule and give them what they want. Initially, I set out to pick ten, but after 500 recordings and 8 long years, it was simply too hard to choose so few, so I opted for 20 instead. In selecting these episodes, I tried to show the wide range of genres we covered over the years, including Spaghetti Westerns, Italian Horror, Southern Gothic, underground cult, family friendly, foreign language and even Hollywood classics. We’ve been blessed with several guest hosts and interviews with many filmmakers including genre legends George A. Romero and John Landis, to name a few.
- 8/23/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Despite transparent light and searing heat, all seems frozen. Something clings to the landscape. Amidst Joshua trees and sagebrush, an ineffable presence surrounding even the stinkbugs. This is where George Stevens—who once said that Utah’s western desert ranges “look more like the Holy Land than the Holy Land”—filmed The Greatest Story Ever Told. Soon thereafter, a younger man breathing that same numinous air made a very different kind of movie. In fact, Monte Hellman made two: The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind, displaced and gritty, eternally unblessed, a diptych belonging to the Western, yet standing at a slight angle to it in the same breath. Monte Hellman entertains a few questions on this perennial state of unblessedness, and the peculiar tone of what are, in my opinion, misnomered movies—his “Existential Westerns.” And here, I’m after the concrete processes that actually drive Hellman’s characters,...
- 7/13/2015
- by Daniel Riccuito
- MUBI
By Alex Simon
Cars have been a staple of motion pictures since the earliest Keystone Kops two-reel comedies a century ago, usually providing fodder for chase scenes and general mayhem. Whether they’re breaking land-speed records, flying through the air defying laws of aerodynamics, or driven by intrepid heroes pursuing bad guys, cars and movies go together like…well, like movies and popcorn.Like movies and tickets. Like cars and tickets. Wait…let’s just get on with the list, shall we?
Here are the ten coolest cars in movie history, in no particular order:
1. Rendezvous: 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450Sel 6.9
Director Claude Lelouch mounted a camera on his 1976 Mercedes and tore through the early morning streets of Paris at breakneck speeds, cheating only slightly in post-production by overdubbing the sound of a Ferrari 275 Gtb engine with that of his Benz’s. Three people were in the car, with Lelouch at the wheel,...
Cars have been a staple of motion pictures since the earliest Keystone Kops two-reel comedies a century ago, usually providing fodder for chase scenes and general mayhem. Whether they’re breaking land-speed records, flying through the air defying laws of aerodynamics, or driven by intrepid heroes pursuing bad guys, cars and movies go together like…well, like movies and popcorn.Like movies and tickets. Like cars and tickets. Wait…let’s just get on with the list, shall we?
Here are the ten coolest cars in movie history, in no particular order:
1. Rendezvous: 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450Sel 6.9
Director Claude Lelouch mounted a camera on his 1976 Mercedes and tore through the early morning streets of Paris at breakneck speeds, cheating only slightly in post-production by overdubbing the sound of a Ferrari 275 Gtb engine with that of his Benz’s. Three people were in the car, with Lelouch at the wheel,...
- 7/8/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
As anyone who reads this site probably knows, there's something infectious about seeing one's love of film. It's a little hard to explain, but simply watching one talking affectionately about how various strips of celluloid affected them over the years is a fantastic way to get the blood flowing and your fingers itching to type in Netflix in the next browser tab. So if you haven't already, I highly recommend you check out the Criterion Collection's closet visit series. Whether it's Robert Downey Sr. reminiscing about past conversations with Jack Nicholson, Rudy Wurlitzer and Robert Downey Jr. while looking at copies of Two-Lane Blacktop and Easy Rider, Guillermo Del Toro gushing over their various Blu-Rays, Nicolas Winding Refn getting his day made with a copy of William Cameron Menzies' Things to Come or Bill Hader deep admiration of Nobuhiko Obayashi's House, each of these videos are fun little...
- 6/24/2015
- by Will Ashton
- Rope of Silicon
While David Cairns is spending the week with the work of René Clément, it's Errol Morris Week at Grantland. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Early television work by Tim Burton and David Cronenberg. D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation at 100. Erich Kuersten argues that The Terror (1963), begun on a whim by Roger Corman and completed by Francis Ford Coppola and Monte Hellman, "is part one of a very strange textural existential genre meltdown Hellman trilogy" that would be followed by The Shooting (1966) and Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). Charles Mudede writes about spending a week in a hotel room with Michael Pitt. And more. » - David Hudson...
- 3/4/2015
- Keyframe
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