Victor J. Kemper, the veteran cinematographer who shot more than 50 features, including Dog Day Afternoon, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Jerk and Slap Shot, has died. He was 96.
Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).
The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...
Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).
The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...
- 11/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products released each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Stranger Things: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book from Insight Editions
Insight Editions has released Stranger Things: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book, which will cost you 67.50. It’s illustrated by Stranger Things artist Kyle Lambert, while The Babadook book designer Simon Arizpe handled the paper engineering and Matthew Reinhart (Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy) served as creative director.
Happy Birthday to Me Blu-ray from Kino Lorber
Happy Birthday to Me will slash onto Blu-ray on October 18 via Kino Lorber. The 1981 film is presented in high definition with 5.1 Surround & 2.0 Lossless audio.
J. Lee Thompson (Cape Fear) directs from as script by John C.W. Saxton (Class of 1984), Peter Jobin, and Timothy Bond (Friday the 13th: The Series). Melissa Sue Anderson,...
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Stranger Things: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book from Insight Editions
Insight Editions has released Stranger Things: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book, which will cost you 67.50. It’s illustrated by Stranger Things artist Kyle Lambert, while The Babadook book designer Simon Arizpe handled the paper engineering and Matthew Reinhart (Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy) served as creative director.
Happy Birthday to Me Blu-ray from Kino Lorber
Happy Birthday to Me will slash onto Blu-ray on October 18 via Kino Lorber. The 1981 film is presented in high definition with 5.1 Surround & 2.0 Lossless audio.
J. Lee Thompson (Cape Fear) directs from as script by John C.W. Saxton (Class of 1984), Peter Jobin, and Timothy Bond (Friday the 13th: The Series). Melissa Sue Anderson,...
- 9/2/2022
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Anthony Hopkins made his film debut 1968’s “The Lion in Winter” and the 83-year-old actor has become a lion in winter. He’s received extraordinary reviews for his devastating and poignant performance as an elderly man descending into dementia in “The Father,” which opened in theaters on Feb. 26.
AARP Movie for Grownups’ Tim Appelo stated: “Anthony Hopkins scores the performance of a lifetime as a man afflicted with dementia in a film that takes you inside his disintegrating reality — and also inside the experience of his daughter Anne (“The Favourite” Oscar winner Olivia Colman), who looks after him and faces terrifying decisions about his treatment.” Hopkins has won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor, is nominated for a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Critics Choice honor and is a strong contender for an Oscar nomination.
Of course, he’s no stranger to Oscar. Hopkins won his only Academy...
AARP Movie for Grownups’ Tim Appelo stated: “Anthony Hopkins scores the performance of a lifetime as a man afflicted with dementia in a film that takes you inside his disintegrating reality — and also inside the experience of his daughter Anne (“The Favourite” Oscar winner Olivia Colman), who looks after him and faces terrifying decisions about his treatment.” Hopkins has won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor, is nominated for a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Critics Choice honor and is a strong contender for an Oscar nomination.
Of course, he’s no stranger to Oscar. Hopkins won his only Academy...
- 3/3/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Image Nation Abu Dhabi has inked a multi-picture deal with Los Angeles-based Spooky Pictures, and set up-and-coming director Chloe Okuno’s psychological thriller “Watcher” as the slate’s first title.
Spooky Pictures, which is the low-budget genre label recently formed by producers Roy Lee (“The Ring”) and Steven Schneider (“Pet Sematary”), and the Abu Dhabi outfit with deep pockets announced that “Watcher,” which involves a serial killer who prompts a citywide panic, is currently being cast in preparation for an April shoot.
In the pic, scripted by Zack Ford, a young woman moves into a new apartment with her fiancé only to be tormented by the feeling that she is being stalked by an unseen watcher in an adjacent building, according to promotional materials.
“The Watcher” will be produced by Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone, Mason Novick, and John Finemore, in addition to Lee and Schneider. Marc Bienstock, Derek Dauchy, and Stuart Manashil will executive produce.
Spooky Pictures, which is the low-budget genre label recently formed by producers Roy Lee (“The Ring”) and Steven Schneider (“Pet Sematary”), and the Abu Dhabi outfit with deep pockets announced that “Watcher,” which involves a serial killer who prompts a citywide panic, is currently being cast in preparation for an April shoot.
In the pic, scripted by Zack Ford, a young woman moves into a new apartment with her fiancé only to be tormented by the feeling that she is being stalked by an unseen watcher in an adjacent building, according to promotional materials.
“The Watcher” will be produced by Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone, Mason Novick, and John Finemore, in addition to Lee and Schneider. Marc Bienstock, Derek Dauchy, and Stuart Manashil will executive produce.
- 3/2/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
It’s the eyes, isn’t it? Wide like saucers and twice as deep, they’re impenetrable. And the wooden leer of the wide open maw betrays them, separate and with its own agenda. Of course I’m referring to ventriloquist dummies, and the eerie spell they cast upon the viewer. The horror viewer, specifically; we’ll seek out anything that gives us a sense of unease. Which brings us to Richard Attenborough’s Magic (1978), a wryly creepy tale of encroaching madness and showbiz folly. (Aren’t they the same thing?)
Produced by 20th Century Fox and Joseph E. Levine (Carnal Knowledge) and released by 20th Century, Magic opened in November of ’78 in the U.S. and rolled out to the rest of the world in early ’79. Grossing nearly $24 million U.S. against a $7 million budget with positive reviews to boot, Magic was an unqualified success – with one of the...
Produced by 20th Century Fox and Joseph E. Levine (Carnal Knowledge) and released by 20th Century, Magic opened in November of ’78 in the U.S. and rolled out to the rest of the world in early ’79. Grossing nearly $24 million U.S. against a $7 million budget with positive reviews to boot, Magic was an unqualified success – with one of the...
- 5/14/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
TV is usually the first portal for horror when you’re a kid. At least it was for me; pre internet horror was found either: a) at the movies, b) in comic books, or c) the idiot box. And before we were allowed to see big screen horror, TV scratched that itch. Saturday mornings had Scooby Doo, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, and various other shows, animated or not, to quench our growing curiosity for the weird, creepy, and unusual. But if we were lucky enough to be able to watch after 9 pm, things got much more interesting.
Terrifying stories of miniature monsters, witchcraft, Satanism, and creepy cults awaited our bloodshot eyes. TV was absolutely inundated with horror, channels dripping with malicious behavior in the form of weekly shows or made for TV movies. Of course, the networks (the big – and only – three: ABC, NBC, and CBS) back then had...
Terrifying stories of miniature monsters, witchcraft, Satanism, and creepy cults awaited our bloodshot eyes. TV was absolutely inundated with horror, channels dripping with malicious behavior in the form of weekly shows or made for TV movies. Of course, the networks (the big – and only – three: ABC, NBC, and CBS) back then had...
- 5/8/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
It’s hump day but that doesn’t mean it needs to be slump day! Get your midweek jolt of pop-culture goodness here!
• Mystic Falls is losing its original resident witch. Kat Graham has announced she’s leaving The Vampire Diaries after Season 8 of the supernatural soap. We’re currently in Season 7, so don’t start weeping for Bonnie just yet. After suffering the loss of its female star, Nina Dobrev, on whom the entire series revolved, the show has struggled this season to find its balance. The CW has already renewed Tvd for next season, so we’re guaranteed at least one more year in Virginia with the hunky Salvatore brothers and friends. Hey, silver lining time: the characters on this show have died and come back so many times it’s almost comical, so maybe this is an opportunity for the show to really, honestly, seriously kill off one of the core ensemble!
• Mystic Falls is losing its original resident witch. Kat Graham has announced she’s leaving The Vampire Diaries after Season 8 of the supernatural soap. We’re currently in Season 7, so don’t start weeping for Bonnie just yet. After suffering the loss of its female star, Nina Dobrev, on whom the entire series revolved, the show has struggled this season to find its balance. The CW has already renewed Tvd for next season, so we’re guaranteed at least one more year in Virginia with the hunky Salvatore brothers and friends. Hey, silver lining time: the characters on this show have died and come back so many times it’s almost comical, so maybe this is an opportunity for the show to really, honestly, seriously kill off one of the core ensemble!
- 4/7/2016
- by Harker Jones
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Frank De Felitta, who adapted his own horror novel for 1977’s Audrey Rose, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 94. The death was confirmed by his son, Madoff director Raymond De Felitta. Audrey Rose, which along with The Exorcist and The Omen formed the decade’s unholy trinity of scary-child pics, starred Anthony Hopkins and Marsha Mason, with Robert Wise directing from De Felitta’s screenplay. Like the novel, the film told the eerie story of a little girl who might be the…...
- 4/3/2016
- Deadline TV
Frank De Felitta, who adapted his own horror novel for 1977’s Audrey Rose, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 94. The death was confirmed by his son, Madoff director Raymond De Felitta. Audrey Rose, which along with The Exorcist and The Omen formed the decade’s unholy trinity of scary-child pics, starred Anthony Hopkins and Marsha Mason, with Robert Wise directing from De Felitta’s screenplay. Like the novel, the film told the eerie story of a little girl who might be the…...
- 4/3/2016
- Deadline
Halloween is almost here, which means you've got an appetite for horror: Good thing there are so many vampire, zombie, and serial killer flicks you can watch right now on Netflix.
Whether it's a classic like "Carrie" you want to revisit, an old '80s B movie you never saw or that Jennifer Lawrence thriller you missed at the theater, here are 31 of the best horror movies on Netflix, streaming in all their bloody glory. (Streaming options are subject to change. Check Netflix for latest availability.)
1."Carrie" (1976) R
Forget the recent two remakes (although the latest, with Chloë Grace Moretz, is also available to stream): Brian De Palma's version of Stephen King's novel about a telekinetic high school outcast who wreaks havoc at the prom is the only one you need to see.
2. "World War Z" (2013) PG-13
Remember when everyone predicted what a disaster this Brad Pitt project would be?...
Whether it's a classic like "Carrie" you want to revisit, an old '80s B movie you never saw or that Jennifer Lawrence thriller you missed at the theater, here are 31 of the best horror movies on Netflix, streaming in all their bloody glory. (Streaming options are subject to change. Check Netflix for latest availability.)
1."Carrie" (1976) R
Forget the recent two remakes (although the latest, with Chloë Grace Moretz, is also available to stream): Brian De Palma's version of Stephen King's novel about a telekinetic high school outcast who wreaks havoc at the prom is the only one you need to see.
2. "World War Z" (2013) PG-13
Remember when everyone predicted what a disaster this Brad Pitt project would be?...
- 10/9/2014
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
What a busy busy month that was. We were overachievers here, really. I'm so exhausted I'm hoping to prick my finger on a cursed spindle for a little R&R. Traffic always picks up in the fall when the adult movies arrive so if you're just rejoining us we welcome you back with slighly chilled affection (this place is hopping all year round!) by pointing out what you may have missed.
Neo, Cheryl and Rocky hike the Pct
Index of Goodies
Toronto was a blast! - a handydandy guide (and prizes) for everything I saw there
Nyff - in progress but we've already talked about a bunch of foreign films as well as Maps to the Stars, Gone Girl & Whiplash
Best Shot S5 -highlights from Under the Skin, Eternal Sunshine, The Matrix, etc...
Robert Wise Centennial - the team had fun looking back at this versatile Oscar winner's filmography with 5 randomly selected offerings: Audrey Rose,...
Neo, Cheryl and Rocky hike the Pct
Index of Goodies
Toronto was a blast! - a handydandy guide (and prizes) for everything I saw there
Nyff - in progress but we've already talked about a bunch of foreign films as well as Maps to the Stars, Gone Girl & Whiplash
Best Shot S5 -highlights from Under the Skin, Eternal Sunshine, The Matrix, etc...
Robert Wise Centennial - the team had fun looking back at this versatile Oscar winner's filmography with 5 randomly selected offerings: Audrey Rose,...
- 10/1/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
We've been celebrating 100 years of director Robert Wise all week by looking at some of his lesser known efforts. Previously: Tim on "Curse of the Cat People", Nathaniel on "Somebody Up There...", David on "I Want To Live!", and Manuel on "Star!" -- now here's Jason wrapping it up with "Audrey Rose"
It says a lot about the breadth of Robert Wise's filmography that the team of writers that tackled his Centennial this week here at The Film Experience have had such a gigantic stage to play upon. I mean here I am an avowed musical-agnostic taking on the director of two of the biggest movie musicals of all time, and even with the tossing aside The Sound of Music and West Side Story (although strangely I did write that movie up at Tfe back in the day) I had multiple films which I could've tackled with glee. His...
It says a lot about the breadth of Robert Wise's filmography that the team of writers that tackled his Centennial this week here at The Film Experience have had such a gigantic stage to play upon. I mean here I am an avowed musical-agnostic taking on the director of two of the biggest movie musicals of all time, and even with the tossing aside The Sound of Music and West Side Story (although strangely I did write that movie up at Tfe back in the day) I had multiple films which I could've tackled with glee. His...
- 9/10/2014
- by JA
- FilmExperience
Blu-ray Release Date: Oct. 14, 2014
Price: Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Twilight Time
The 1977 psychological horror film Audrey Rose makes its Blu-ray debut from Twilight Time.
Married couple Janice and Bill Templeton (Chapter Two‘s Marsha Mason and Rollerball’s John Beck) live happily in New York with their 11-year-old daughter Ivy (Susan Swift). All is going well until they care contacted one day by a man named Elliott (Anthony Hopkins, Thor) who tells that his them that his daughter Audrey Rose died in a car crash eleven years earlier and that her soul has been reincarnated in the Ivy’s body. Ivy’s recurring nightmares don’t help the situation, nor does the fact Elliott appears to be the one capable of calming her down.
Directed by Robert Wise (West Side Story), Audrey Rose is based on the novel of the same title by Frank De Felitta.
As Twilight Time prints up only 3,000 copies of each title,...
Price: Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Twilight Time
The 1977 psychological horror film Audrey Rose makes its Blu-ray debut from Twilight Time.
Married couple Janice and Bill Templeton (Chapter Two‘s Marsha Mason and Rollerball’s John Beck) live happily in New York with their 11-year-old daughter Ivy (Susan Swift). All is going well until they care contacted one day by a man named Elliott (Anthony Hopkins, Thor) who tells that his them that his daughter Audrey Rose died in a car crash eleven years earlier and that her soul has been reincarnated in the Ivy’s body. Ivy’s recurring nightmares don’t help the situation, nor does the fact Elliott appears to be the one capable of calming her down.
Directed by Robert Wise (West Side Story), Audrey Rose is based on the novel of the same title by Frank De Felitta.
As Twilight Time prints up only 3,000 copies of each title,...
- 9/9/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Valancourt Books is a small publisher that takes on important task of reviving rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction. Many of their titles have been made into cult horror films and we wanted to share with Daily Dead readers an excerpt from The Entity. Released by Frank De Felitta in 1978, it’s probably better known as the 1982 film that starred Barbara Hershey. Here’s a look at an excerpt novel, along with the new cover art, and the movie trailer:
“Based on documented real-life events that happened to a California woman in 1974, Frank De Felitta’s provocative and disturbing novel The Entity (1978) is a classic of occult literature. Like De Felitta’s Audrey Rose (1975), which sold more than 2.5 million copies, The Entity was a worldwide bestseller, and was also adapted for a 1982 film starring Barbara Hershey. This edition features a new introduction by Gemma Files.”
Excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Entity...
“Based on documented real-life events that happened to a California woman in 1974, Frank De Felitta’s provocative and disturbing novel The Entity (1978) is a classic of occult literature. Like De Felitta’s Audrey Rose (1975), which sold more than 2.5 million copies, The Entity was a worldwide bestseller, and was also adapted for a 1982 film starring Barbara Hershey. This edition features a new introduction by Gemma Files.”
Excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Entity...
- 3/10/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Alfred Hitchcock is yet again the subject of new filmmaking with The Making of Psycho: a film about the making of a film.
Anthony Hopkins is Alfred Hitchcock, Helen Mirren is wife Alma, Scarlett Johansson is Janet Leigh, and James D'Arcy is Anthony Perkins.
John McLaughlin wrote the script (he also wrote Black Swan, good sign) from the book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello.
First of all: Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh? I'm not sure that sits right. Leigh was sharp-eyed, intense, and possessed of a quickness only small, cunning foxes have. Johansson, on the other hand, is slow, languid, bleary-eyed, like some kind of drugged turtle. Rachel McAdams wouldn't have been a bad choice; not sure why they're going with the too-young (Leigh was 30 at the time of the film, Johansson stopped aging at 11) Scarlett except that they're trying to make shittons of...
Anthony Hopkins is Alfred Hitchcock, Helen Mirren is wife Alma, Scarlett Johansson is Janet Leigh, and James D'Arcy is Anthony Perkins.
John McLaughlin wrote the script (he also wrote Black Swan, good sign) from the book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello.
First of all: Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh? I'm not sure that sits right. Leigh was sharp-eyed, intense, and possessed of a quickness only small, cunning foxes have. Johansson, on the other hand, is slow, languid, bleary-eyed, like some kind of drugged turtle. Rachel McAdams wouldn't have been a bad choice; not sure why they're going with the too-young (Leigh was 30 at the time of the film, Johansson stopped aging at 11) Scarlett except that they're trying to make shittons of...
- 3/2/2012
- by Superheidi
- Planet Fury
Hollywood producer Joe Wizan has passed away at the age of 76.
Wizan died of natural causes after a long illness on Monday in Westlake Village, California.
He began his career at top talent agency William Morris and helped to guide the careers of actor/director Sydney Pollack and moviemaker Robert Altman, before moving into film production.
His movie credits include 1970s pictures Junior Bonner with Steve McQueen, Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford, and Robert Wise thriller Audrey Rose.
Wizan also worked on 1984's Romancing the Stone and 1992 action comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!, as well as the film adaptations of James Patterson's Alex Cross book Kiss the Girls (1997) and its 2001 sequel Along Came a Spider - the producer's final shoot.
He is survived by his wife Melanie, a son and a daughter, and two step-sons.
Wizan died of natural causes after a long illness on Monday in Westlake Village, California.
He began his career at top talent agency William Morris and helped to guide the careers of actor/director Sydney Pollack and moviemaker Robert Altman, before moving into film production.
His movie credits include 1970s pictures Junior Bonner with Steve McQueen, Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford, and Robert Wise thriller Audrey Rose.
Wizan also worked on 1984's Romancing the Stone and 1992 action comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!, as well as the film adaptations of James Patterson's Alex Cross book Kiss the Girls (1997) and its 2001 sequel Along Came a Spider - the producer's final shoot.
He is survived by his wife Melanie, a son and a daughter, and two step-sons.
- 3/25/2011
- WENN
One is a nephew of Francis Ford Coppola who changed his name and forged his own reputation with a slew of diverse roles equal parts insane and respectable. One is a Scientologist who was a lupine star in the early 80′s, suffered a decade-long career death only to return to the A-list as a Tarantino hitman-junkie. They united for the first time in John Woo‘s 1997 over the top actioner Face/Off. I’m talking about Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, for those of you just in from distant lands, and they could re-unite for two new films. /Film, Vulture]
Shrapnel, a 2008 Black List script by Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) follows the deadly circumstances which arise when an American veteran goes on a friendly hunting trip with a former Bosnian soldier, only to find himself hunted prey in a revenge scheme. The project had Die Hard director John McTiernan...
Shrapnel, a 2008 Black List script by Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) follows the deadly circumstances which arise when an American veteran goes on a friendly hunting trip with a former Bosnian soldier, only to find himself hunted prey in a revenge scheme. The project had Die Hard director John McTiernan...
- 3/25/2011
- by Anthony Vieira
- The Film Stage
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical, Best and Worst
Anthony Hopkins, who turned 73 this past New Year's Eve, has enjoyed a diverse and enviable acting career, a testament to his exceptional talent. Equally effective playing a contemporary serial killer or the perfect English gentleman in period films, Hopkins is always compelling, without, it often seems, breaking a sweat. His natural elegance and smooth, commanding delivery have served him very well, whether they're employed for sophistication or for chills.
Most moviegoers, of course, know him as Dr. Hannibal Lecter -- one of the all-time great movie villains. The role won him a Best Actor Oscar in 1992 for 'The Silence of the Lambs' (though he was only on screen for 16 minutes), and he'd later reprise Lecter for 'Hannibal' (2001) and 'Red Dragon' (2002).
This Friday he stars in Mikael Håfström's 'The Rite' as an American priest who...
Anthony Hopkins, who turned 73 this past New Year's Eve, has enjoyed a diverse and enviable acting career, a testament to his exceptional talent. Equally effective playing a contemporary serial killer or the perfect English gentleman in period films, Hopkins is always compelling, without, it often seems, breaking a sweat. His natural elegance and smooth, commanding delivery have served him very well, whether they're employed for sophistication or for chills.
Most moviegoers, of course, know him as Dr. Hannibal Lecter -- one of the all-time great movie villains. The role won him a Best Actor Oscar in 1992 for 'The Silence of the Lambs' (though he was only on screen for 16 minutes), and he'd later reprise Lecter for 'Hannibal' (2001) and 'Red Dragon' (2002).
This Friday he stars in Mikael Håfström's 'The Rite' as an American priest who...
- 1/25/2011
- by Marina Zogbi
- Moviefone
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical, Best and Worst
Anthony Hopkins, who turned 73 this past New Year's Eve, has enjoyed a diverse and enviable acting career, a testament to his exceptional talent. Equally effective playing a contemporary serial killer or the perfect English gentleman in period films, Hopkins is always compelling, without, it often seems, breaking a sweat. His natural elegance and smooth, commanding delivery have served him very well, whether they're employed for sophistication or for chills.
Most moviegoers, of course, know him as Dr. Hannibal Lecter -- one of the all-time great movie villains. The role won him a Best Actor Oscar in 1992 for 'The Silence of the Lambs' (though he was only on screen for 16 minutes), and he'd later reprise Lecter for 'Hannibal' (2001) and 'Red Dragon' (2002).
This Friday he stars in Mikael Håfström's 'The Rite' as an American priest who...
Anthony Hopkins, who turned 73 this past New Year's Eve, has enjoyed a diverse and enviable acting career, a testament to his exceptional talent. Equally effective playing a contemporary serial killer or the perfect English gentleman in period films, Hopkins is always compelling, without, it often seems, breaking a sweat. His natural elegance and smooth, commanding delivery have served him very well, whether they're employed for sophistication or for chills.
Most moviegoers, of course, know him as Dr. Hannibal Lecter -- one of the all-time great movie villains. The role won him a Best Actor Oscar in 1992 for 'The Silence of the Lambs' (though he was only on screen for 16 minutes), and he'd later reprise Lecter for 'Hannibal' (2001) and 'Red Dragon' (2002).
This Friday he stars in Mikael Håfström's 'The Rite' as an American priest who...
- 1/25/2011
- by Marina Zogbi
- Cinematical
One of the best mixes of home video releases we've seen so far this year hits store shelves on May 11th. What with a vampire movie geared toward adults that has actual adults starring in it, an end-of-the-world saga that pits the Archangel Michael against his winged brethren, and a couple of nature-run-amok entries, we have a little something for everyone.
The pack includes Legion (if you missed its theatrical run, be sure to pick it up now to get in on the debate of whether it's so bad it's good or just so bad), the ghostly Tsunami Beach Club, and our pick of the week - Daybreakers, which went a long way toward putting the bite back into vampire flicks.
A couple of compilations also bow this week. No doubt in honor of Survival of the Dead's debut, the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake and Romero's Land of the Dead...
The pack includes Legion (if you missed its theatrical run, be sure to pick it up now to get in on the debate of whether it's so bad it's good or just so bad), the ghostly Tsunami Beach Club, and our pick of the week - Daybreakers, which went a long way toward putting the bite back into vampire flicks.
A couple of compilations also bow this week. No doubt in honor of Survival of the Dead's debut, the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake and Romero's Land of the Dead...
- 5/10/2010
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Director Robert Wise, who won two Academy Awards for directing two of the most successful movie musicals of all time, West Side Story and The Sound of Music, died of heart failure yesterday; he was 91. Wise, who had just celebrated his birthday on Saturday, was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center after suddenly falling ill. Recently, the filmmaker had reportedly been in good health, and his wife, Millicent, was out of the country at the San Sebastian Film Festival, participating in a retrospective of her husband's work. An extremely versatile director whose films ranged from drama to horror to sci-fi to musicals, Wise got his start at RKO Studios as an assistant editor, a job he got thanks to his brother, who was in the studio's accounting department. Working his way up the ladder to full editor, Wise edited such films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and My Favorite Wife before nabbing an Academy Award nomination for editing the legendary Citizen Kane. He also worked with filmmaker Orson Welles on The Magnificent Ambersons, and was involved in that movie's drastic re-editing, which was requested by RKO while Welles was out of the country; the missing footage from Ambersons, and Wise's falling-out with Welles over the final product, later became the stuff of legend. Two years after Ambersons, Wise was given his first job directing The Curse of the Cat People, which he co-directed with Gunther von Fritsch. Working on B pictures for RKO through the 40s, including the Boris Karloff vehicle The Body Snatcher, Wise came to the attention of critics with his prizefighter film The Set-Up (1949), which took place in real time. His films in the 50s were notably more high profile, starting with the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still; he also helmed So Big, Somebody Up There Likes Me, and I Want to Live, which won him his first Oscar nomination and a Best Actress award for Susan Hayward. In 1961, Wise attempted his first musical, an adaptation of the Broadway hit West Side Story, on which he worked (and reportedly clashed) with choreographer and co-director Jerome Robbins. The film, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer (neither of whom did their own singing), was a massive hit and won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture and directing honors for Wise and Robbins - neither thanked the other in their acceptance speeches. After making the creepily effective black-and-white thriller The Haunting (1963), Wise went back to musical territory with The Sound of Music (1965), the small story of a governess (Julie Andrews) in Austria that turned into a very, very big hit. Critically lambasted but a fervent, almost rabid favorite with audiences, it went on to become the highest-grossing movie ever released at that time, saved 20th Century Fox from imminent bankruptcy in the wake of Cleopatra, and won Wise his second Oscar in addition to Best Picture. Wise's output after The Sound of Music was scattershot in quality, and as he grew older he worked less frequently, but he helmed a number of notable pictures in the 60s and 70s: The Sand Pebbles, his last Best Picture nominee; the ill-fated Julie Andrews vehicle Star!; modernistic sci-fi thriller The Andromeda Strain; possession horror flick Audrey Rose; and the first Star Trek movie, appropriately titled Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The director's last feature film was Rooftops (1989), an attempt at a contemporary urban musical. Wise went on to become the president of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Directors Guild of America, and found a devoted fan in filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who was said to be instrumental in getting Wise the American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award in 1998. Wise is survived by his wife, Millicent, and a son from a previous marriage. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 9/15/2005
- IMDb News
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