Peter Weller has been in some of the most acclaimed films of the 80s and 90s. He starred in Buckaroo Banzai, Mighty Aphrodite, The New Age, and Naked Lunch. In the 2000s and 2010s, he played Christopher Henderson and Stan Liddy in the fifth seasons of 24 and Dexter respectively. In film, he most popularly appeared as Alexander Marcus in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness.
Peter Weller in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
People over the years have mostly associated Weller with his iconic role of Alex Murphy in 1987’s RoboCop. The thrilling and thought-provoking sci-fi flick became a groundbreaking yet misunderstood film at the time, similar to Blade Runner. However, director Paul Verhoeven initially felt the script was too alien to him and far removed from his previous works.
Paul Verhoeven Initially Tossed Away RoboCop‘s Script Peter Weller played Alex Murphy/ RoboCop in Paul...
Peter Weller in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
People over the years have mostly associated Weller with his iconic role of Alex Murphy in 1987’s RoboCop. The thrilling and thought-provoking sci-fi flick became a groundbreaking yet misunderstood film at the time, similar to Blade Runner. However, director Paul Verhoeven initially felt the script was too alien to him and far removed from his previous works.
Paul Verhoeven Initially Tossed Away RoboCop‘s Script Peter Weller played Alex Murphy/ RoboCop in Paul...
- 4/17/2024
- by Rahul Thokchom
- FandomWire
In the 1980s, Hollywood didn’t quite know what to do with Rutger Hauer. The actor broke out in a pretty major way following his acclaimed turn in Paul Verhoeven’s Soldier of Orange, paving the way for his American debut in the Sylvester Stallone thriller Nighthawks, where he played the villain Wulfgar. His performance as Roy Batty in Blade Runner blew people away, and for a while, it looked like he might become the next big Hollywood heartthrob, especially when he signed on to star in the epic adventure film Ladyhawke opposite Michelle Pfeiffer for Richard Donner.
But major stardom didn’t happen? Why? Perhaps it was because the movies of Hauer’s that did best at the box office were the ones where he played the villain, such as The Hitcher. He was so unforgettable as a bad guy that when he played a hero, such as in...
But major stardom didn’t happen? Why? Perhaps it was because the movies of Hauer’s that did best at the box office were the ones where he played the villain, such as The Hitcher. He was so unforgettable as a bad guy that when he played a hero, such as in...
- 2/18/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Step out of your 6000 Sux, stop watching Tj Lazer re-runs, put down that flier from the Home Heart Centre, box up your game of Nukem. That’s right folks, we’re time-traveling to the not too distant future of 2043 Detroit in this episode of Revisited where Paul Verhoeven set his seminal, all time classic sci-fi action epic Robocop. The Dutch director showcases all of his trademark filmmaking skills and a penchant for graphic violence in the movie and it remains an often copied, but never bettered, example of visceral sci-fi filmmaking. Just think of entertainment empires that are now synonymous with the era in which they first emerged and have gained longevity in various forms – for example; Star Wars, Marvel, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and it’s hard to imagine a mid-budget movie such as Robocop having the same cultural appeal or influence. However, just like its hero,...
- 5/8/2023
- by Adam Walton
- JoBlo.com
Fans of Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers will be happy to know that a making-of book is on the way, with Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers announced for release on May 13! From Encyclopocalypse Publications, Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers was written by Janine Pipe, and you can pre-order your copy of the book […]
The post ‘Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers’ Releasing Friday, May 13th! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
The post ‘Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers’ Releasing Friday, May 13th! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
- 4/21/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
It may only be six months since 2021’s pandemic-delayed edition of Series Mania took place, but the annual Lille, France-based drama festival returns once again but this time in its traditional slot of March 18-25.
It’s been “challenging” for the Series Mania team to pull together 2022’s program so soon after last year’s event, says general director Laurence Herszberg.
However, it hasn’t been hard to attract projects to the festival. In a reflection of both Series Mania’s growing stature and the buoyant state of the scripted TV market, the event had 331 submissions from 46 different countries to the competition program. She says Series Mania, which was created in Paris in 2010 and moved to Lille in 2018, is very different from a giant TV sales market, which she reckons the industry is shifting away from. Rather it’s a place where scriptwriters, producers and platforms can build relationships and make connections,...
It’s been “challenging” for the Series Mania team to pull together 2022’s program so soon after last year’s event, says general director Laurence Herszberg.
However, it hasn’t been hard to attract projects to the festival. In a reflection of both Series Mania’s growing stature and the buoyant state of the scripted TV market, the event had 331 submissions from 46 different countries to the competition program. She says Series Mania, which was created in Paris in 2010 and moved to Lille in 2018, is very different from a giant TV sales market, which she reckons the industry is shifting away from. Rather it’s a place where scriptwriters, producers and platforms can build relationships and make connections,...
- 3/17/2022
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
French TV festival and industry meeting unveils 2022 selection
Michael Hirst’s Billy The Kid, Channel 4 drama The Birth Of Daniel F Harris and HBO’sThe Baby are among nine dramas selected for the international competition of Series Mania TV festival, running March 18-25 in the northern French city of Lille.
The Birth Of Daniel F Harris is produced by the UK’s Clerkenwell Films, the company behind The End Of The F**king World. Lewis Gribben plays a young man who was locked away as a child by his father following the death of his mother as a child.
Michael Hirst’s Billy The Kid, Channel 4 drama The Birth Of Daniel F Harris and HBO’sThe Baby are among nine dramas selected for the international competition of Series Mania TV festival, running March 18-25 in the northern French city of Lille.
The Birth Of Daniel F Harris is produced by the UK’s Clerkenwell Films, the company behind The End Of The F**king World. Lewis Gribben plays a young man who was locked away as a child by his father following the death of his mother as a child.
- 2/17/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Only six months after its 2021 edition, Series Mania will be back with a sprawling selection, including the world premieres of Michael Hirst’s “Billy The Kid” (pictured), the Israeli series “Fire Dance” and rap-music-themed French show “Le monde de demain.”
Underscoring the large presence of streamers within the roster, Series Mania will kick off with Netflix’s “Standing Up,” a new comedy series from “Call My Agent” creator and showrunner Fanny Herrero; while Disney Plus’ “Oussekine,” about a tragic case of police brutality in France, will close the festival.
The lineup boasts 58 series spanning from 21 countries. These were chosen from 331 series. The international jury, whose president will be announced later, will comprise of German actor Christian Berkel (“Downfall”), Franco-Belgian actor Cécile de France, Israeli actor Shira Haas (“The Unorthodox”), Turkish creator and director Berkun Oya (“Bir Baskadir”) and French singer-songwriter and model Yseult.
This year’s guests of honor are Michael Hirst,...
Underscoring the large presence of streamers within the roster, Series Mania will kick off with Netflix’s “Standing Up,” a new comedy series from “Call My Agent” creator and showrunner Fanny Herrero; while Disney Plus’ “Oussekine,” about a tragic case of police brutality in France, will close the festival.
The lineup boasts 58 series spanning from 21 countries. These were chosen from 331 series. The international jury, whose president will be announced later, will comprise of German actor Christian Berkel (“Downfall”), Franco-Belgian actor Cécile de France, Israeli actor Shira Haas (“The Unorthodox”), Turkish creator and director Berkun Oya (“Bir Baskadir”) and French singer-songwriter and model Yseult.
This year’s guests of honor are Michael Hirst,...
- 2/17/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
by Nathaniel R
Will The Netherlands submit "De Oost", currently streaming on Amazon?
For those of you who like to follow the admittedly super niche drama of the submission battles for Oscar's best International Feature Film race, we have another finalist list to report. The Netherlands will be announcing their submission in early October but we have their 14 wide finalist list. The first thing to note is that Paul Verhoeven's excellent lesbian nun drama Benedetta is not on it. Perhaps it's because the Dutch director who The Netherlands have submitted four times is now working in France mostly. Elle, his most recent previous picture, was a submission for France and perhaps Benedetta wasn't deemed Dutch enough? Only three of the fourteen possibilities from The Netherlands have anything like an international profile and all three are about young soldiers so we suspect the Dutch will be sending a war drama.
Will The Netherlands submit "De Oost", currently streaming on Amazon?
For those of you who like to follow the admittedly super niche drama of the submission battles for Oscar's best International Feature Film race, we have another finalist list to report. The Netherlands will be announcing their submission in early October but we have their 14 wide finalist list. The first thing to note is that Paul Verhoeven's excellent lesbian nun drama Benedetta is not on it. Perhaps it's because the Dutch director who The Netherlands have submitted four times is now working in France mostly. Elle, his most recent previous picture, was a submission for France and perhaps Benedetta wasn't deemed Dutch enough? Only three of the fourteen possibilities from The Netherlands have anything like an international profile and all three are about young soldiers so we suspect the Dutch will be sending a war drama.
- 9/21/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
A man of formidable ego, Samuel Goldwyn once confided that, while he’d basically invented Hollywood, he disliked the word “movie.” It sounded “dopey and made-up,” he told me.
I wonder what he would think about the word “streamer.” Dictionaries still describe “streamer” as a strip of material, but the word defines Hollywood today, just as “movie” once did. It’s a streamer town, and it’s now Steven Spielberg who’s been positioned to help drive the action.
Last week when Netflix revealed its new mega-deal with Spielberg, the town’s dealmakers (including rivals) agreed it was a “natural.” The filmmaker who gave us Schindler’s List and Jaws would help fulfill Netflix’s voracious appetite for content. Any content. After all, Spielberg had done it all before – that is, before streamers even happened.
When Netflix decided a decade ago that it would “create” product, rather than overpay to acquire it,...
I wonder what he would think about the word “streamer.” Dictionaries still describe “streamer” as a strip of material, but the word defines Hollywood today, just as “movie” once did. It’s a streamer town, and it’s now Steven Spielberg who’s been positioned to help drive the action.
Last week when Netflix revealed its new mega-deal with Spielberg, the town’s dealmakers (including rivals) agreed it was a “natural.” The filmmaker who gave us Schindler’s List and Jaws would help fulfill Netflix’s voracious appetite for content. Any content. After all, Spielberg had done it all before – that is, before streamers even happened.
When Netflix decided a decade ago that it would “create” product, rather than overpay to acquire it,...
- 7/1/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Wtf Happened To This Celebrity? – The JoBlo series that examines the careers of stars and filmmakers who may have fallen out of the spotlight, and tells where they are now! After earning critical acclaim for his early foreign-language films like Soldier Of Orange (with Rutger Hauer), Dutch director Paul Verhoeven made a splash in Hollywood with the satire and carnage of Robocop (with the great Peter Weller), Starship Troopers and Total Recall (Arnold Schwarzenegger), along with more steamy…...
- 6/18/2021
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Welcome to another episode of the 2nd Opinion Podcast! In this episode, we talk about Elden Rings, Battlefield 2042, Back 4 Blood, Evil Dead The Game, Call of Duty 4, and more! We also have an exclusive interview with Brett Gow, Executive Producer on Toy Soldiers HD! Thanks for checking out the 2nd Opinion […]
The post Elden Rings, Battlefield 2042, Back 4 Blood, and Exclusive Toy Soldiers HD Interview!? | 2nd Opinion Podcast #327 | E3 2021 appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..
The post Elden Rings, Battlefield 2042, Back 4 Blood, and Exclusive Toy Soldiers HD Interview!? | 2nd Opinion Podcast #327 | E3 2021 appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..
- 6/12/2021
- by Caleb Gayle
- Cinelinx
German cinematographer Jost Vacano, who lensed Wolfgang Petersen’s 1981 film Das Boot, is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s EnergaCamerimage cinematography film festival, which is currently slated to be held Nov. 13-20 in Toruń, Poland.
Vacano was Oscar nominated for Das Boot, for which he developed a gyro-stabilized camera system to capture the claustrophobic space in a submarine. He reteamed with Petersen on 1984’s Neverending Story.
The Dp also enjoyed a two-decade collaboration with Paul Verhoeven, which included creating a futuristic colony on Mars in Total Recall, dystopian Detroit in RoboCop, as well as Soldier of Orange, Starship Troopers, Spetters, Hollow Man and Showgirls.
Camerimage notes that Vacano ...
Vacano was Oscar nominated for Das Boot, for which he developed a gyro-stabilized camera system to capture the claustrophobic space in a submarine. He reteamed with Petersen on 1984’s Neverending Story.
The Dp also enjoyed a two-decade collaboration with Paul Verhoeven, which included creating a futuristic colony on Mars in Total Recall, dystopian Detroit in RoboCop, as well as Soldier of Orange, Starship Troopers, Spetters, Hollow Man and Showgirls.
Camerimage notes that Vacano ...
German cinematographer Jost Vacano, who lensed Wolfgang Petersen’s 1981 film Das Boot, is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s EnergaCamerimage cinematography film festival, which is currently slated to be held Nov. 13-20 in Toruń, Poland.
Vacano was Oscar nominated for Das Boot, for which he developed a gyro-stabilized camera system to capture the claustrophobic space in a submarine. He reteamed with Petersen on 1984’s Neverending Story.
The Dp also enjoyed a two-decade collaboration with Paul Verhoeven, which included creating a futuristic colony on Mars in Total Recall, dystopian Detroit in RoboCop, as well as Soldier of Orange, Starship Troopers, Spetters, Hollow Man and Showgirls.
Camerimage notes that Vacano ...
Vacano was Oscar nominated for Das Boot, for which he developed a gyro-stabilized camera system to capture the claustrophobic space in a submarine. He reteamed with Petersen on 1984’s Neverending Story.
The Dp also enjoyed a two-decade collaboration with Paul Verhoeven, which included creating a futuristic colony on Mars in Total Recall, dystopian Detroit in RoboCop, as well as Soldier of Orange, Starship Troopers, Spetters, Hollow Man and Showgirls.
Camerimage notes that Vacano ...
Photo: ‘Operation Varsity Blues’/Netflix In a period where we have constant, unrestricted access to almost every major news story in real-time, documentary films can start to feel irrelevant. Especially in the case of the Lori Loughlin-Felicity Huffman college admissions scandal. I’ll be honest, the news reports were thorough on this story when it dropped back in 2019. I thought that there was no more left to learn, but then I watched ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ on Netflix. If you hadn’t already guessed by now, I had very low expectations of this film. I was suspicious as to how much new information it had on the admissions scandal. Netflix understood the way the case had been covered in the media, so they opted for a different angle: Rick Singer. Related article: The Complete List of 2021 Oscar Nominations – Celebrations, Surprises & Snubs | The Show Must Go On Related article: ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier...
- 3/22/2021
- by Caroline Adamec
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
This article contains Stargirl spoilers.
Think that you’ve got a handle on Stargirl and its ever growing roster of heroes and villains? Well, get ready to take a trip back in time to get familiar with a mysterious figure who has connections to Arthurian England. Oh, and he just so happens to be the janitor you might have seen skulking around Blue Valley High. It’s time to get to know Stargirl‘s Shining Knight!
Each week Stargirl has introduced new foes and friends for Courtney Whitmore and Pat Dugan, but in “Brainwave” they introduce a whole new team and it’s one that is sure to excite old school comic book readers. Though you might not have heard of them, the Seven Soldiers of Victory blazed a trail as one of DC Comics’ oldest teams, debuting in 1941’s Leading Comics #1. An interesting mix of pulp-era human heroes like...
Think that you’ve got a handle on Stargirl and its ever growing roster of heroes and villains? Well, get ready to take a trip back in time to get familiar with a mysterious figure who has connections to Arthurian England. Oh, and he just so happens to be the janitor you might have seen skulking around Blue Valley High. It’s time to get to know Stargirl‘s Shining Knight!
Each week Stargirl has introduced new foes and friends for Courtney Whitmore and Pat Dugan, but in “Brainwave” they introduce a whole new team and it’s one that is sure to excite old school comic book readers. Though you might not have heard of them, the Seven Soldiers of Victory blazed a trail as one of DC Comics’ oldest teams, debuting in 1941’s Leading Comics #1. An interesting mix of pulp-era human heroes like...
- 7/29/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Fresh from an earnings report that saw it add 10 million subscribers during the pandemic, Netflix has just set its most financially ambitious feature film so far. Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans are set to star in The Gray Man, with Agbo’s Joe & Anthony Russo directing their first blockbuster since setting the all-time global box office record with Avengers: Endgame two years ago. The intention here is to create a new franchise with a James Bond-level of scale and a budget upwards of $200 million.
The Russo’s Agbo is producing, and the script was written by Joe Russo, with a polish by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who scripted the Russo-directed Captain America and Avengers films and who are Co-Presidents of Story at Agbo. It is based on the 2009 Mark Greaney novel that introduced the Gray Man, a freelance assassin and former CIA operative named Court Gentry.
The film...
The Russo’s Agbo is producing, and the script was written by Joe Russo, with a polish by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who scripted the Russo-directed Captain America and Avengers films and who are Co-Presidents of Story at Agbo. It is based on the 2009 Mark Greaney novel that introduced the Gray Man, a freelance assassin and former CIA operative named Court Gentry.
The film...
- 7/17/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
This article contains Stargirl spoilers.
Stargirl continues to deliver some of the deepest cuts in DC Universe TV history to fans each week. Not only that, it does it with not a hint of irony about it, even when it’s presenting characters who, to modern eyes, might appear a little bit hokey if presented in their original form. The latest example of that comes with their revelation of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, a relatively obscure group of Golden Age superheroes who fought alongside the Justice Society of America back in the day.
The DC Comics version of the Seven Soldiers of Victory first appeared in 1941’s Leading Comics #1 by Mort Weisinger (who went on to become a legendary editor of the Superman titles during the Silver Age) and Mort Meskin. Having seen the success of the Justice Society in the pages of All-Star Comics, it was clear that...
Stargirl continues to deliver some of the deepest cuts in DC Universe TV history to fans each week. Not only that, it does it with not a hint of irony about it, even when it’s presenting characters who, to modern eyes, might appear a little bit hokey if presented in their original form. The latest example of that comes with their revelation of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, a relatively obscure group of Golden Age superheroes who fought alongside the Justice Society of America back in the day.
The DC Comics version of the Seven Soldiers of Victory first appeared in 1941’s Leading Comics #1 by Mort Weisinger (who went on to become a legendary editor of the Superman titles during the Silver Age) and Mort Meskin. Having seen the success of the Justice Society in the pages of All-Star Comics, it was clear that...
- 7/14/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
This article contains Stargirl spoilers.
The Injustice Society has been terrorizing the heroes of the DC Universe for over 70 years. Although they might not be as well known as their more famous counterparts, the Injustice League, and definitely aren’t as criminally insane as their predecessors, Shazam villains the Monster Society of Evil, the members of the Injustice Society have made their stamp on comics history. They’re also about to be discovered by a much wider audience as they’ve been revealed as the dangerous rogues in the new Stargirl TV series, which is airing on both DC Universe and The CW.
Created by Sheldon Mayer and Bob Kanigher, DC’s maniacal supervillain super-team debuted in 1947’s All Star Comics #37. This makes them one of the earliest supervillain teams in comicdom, though they were beaten out by Mister Mind’s Monster Society four years earlier. Seeing as we’re...
The Injustice Society has been terrorizing the heroes of the DC Universe for over 70 years. Although they might not be as well known as their more famous counterparts, the Injustice League, and definitely aren’t as criminally insane as their predecessors, Shazam villains the Monster Society of Evil, the members of the Injustice Society have made their stamp on comics history. They’re also about to be discovered by a much wider audience as they’ve been revealed as the dangerous rogues in the new Stargirl TV series, which is airing on both DC Universe and The CW.
Created by Sheldon Mayer and Bob Kanigher, DC’s maniacal supervillain super-team debuted in 1947’s All Star Comics #37. This makes them one of the earliest supervillain teams in comicdom, though they were beaten out by Mister Mind’s Monster Society four years earlier. Seeing as we’re...
- 7/7/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
Images from this picture were burned into our Boomer childhood brains … we actually sat still for almost three hours to watch it. John Sturges’ epic show is like a fine-tuned watch — its unbreakable story is populated by ideal characters that become instant heroes, just for acting like normal men that want free of confinement. It’s really about freedom — after two hours in the Pow compound, the fugitives set loose in the wide, green beauty of Germany might as well be escaping into a wonderland of light and space. In its own way this show made our parents’ wartime experience come alive — it’s The picture to interest kids in events of the past.
The Great Escape
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1027
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...
The Great Escape
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1027
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...
- 5/2/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In a perfect world, the versatile and hard-working (172 acting credits on IMDb!) Dutch actor Rutger Hauer, who has died in the Netherlands from cancer, would have had a film or even a franchise that capitalized on his range and the blonde good looks of his early years. After early stardom in his home country, he ventured into Hollywood and international films, delivering outstanding, timeless work. Yet his charisma, depth, and daring never translated into a career as a major European leading man in the same way as earlier Euro icons like Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon and Marcello Mastroianni.
By the time Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” (2005) came along, the vibrant warrior prince of the 1980s had become a sturdy character player in his sixties.
But although younger film buffs may know him better for the outre genre fare of his later years with titles like “Hobo With Shotgun” and “Scorpion King 4,” in his heyday,...
By the time Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” (2005) came along, the vibrant warrior prince of the 1980s had become a sturdy character player in his sixties.
But although younger film buffs may know him better for the outre genre fare of his later years with titles like “Hobo With Shotgun” and “Scorpion King 4,” in his heyday,...
- 7/24/2019
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Rutger Hauer, the Dutch actor best known for portraying the tragic villain Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” died following a short illness. He was 75.
His website, the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, announced the news Wednesday. Hauer’s managers, as well as his agent Steve Kenis, also confirmed his passing to TheWrap and added that a funeral was held for Hauer on Wednesday morning.
Hauer starred opposite Harrison Ford as the ruthless replicant Roy Batty in “Blade Runner” in 1982 after making his American film debut in 1981 with Sylvester Stallone in “Nighthawks.” The actor subsequently appeared in several ’80s action and adventure hits like “Ladyhawke,” “Flesh+Blood,” “The Hitcher” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” He also won a Golden Globe for his work in the TV movie “Escape from Sobibor,” about a commandant at a death camp in World War II.
Also Read: Terry Rawlings, British Film Editor of 'Alien,...
His website, the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, announced the news Wednesday. Hauer’s managers, as well as his agent Steve Kenis, also confirmed his passing to TheWrap and added that a funeral was held for Hauer on Wednesday morning.
Hauer starred opposite Harrison Ford as the ruthless replicant Roy Batty in “Blade Runner” in 1982 after making his American film debut in 1981 with Sylvester Stallone in “Nighthawks.” The actor subsequently appeared in several ’80s action and adventure hits like “Ladyhawke,” “Flesh+Blood,” “The Hitcher” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” He also won a Golden Globe for his work in the TV movie “Escape from Sobibor,” about a commandant at a death camp in World War II.
Also Read: Terry Rawlings, British Film Editor of 'Alien,...
- 7/24/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Rutger Hauer, the versatile Dutch leading man of the ’70s who went on star in the 1982 “Blade Runner” as Roy Batty, died July 19 at his home in the Netherlands after a short illness. He was 75.
Hauer’s agent, Steve Kenis, confirmed the news and said that Hauer’s funeral was held Wednesday.
His most cherished performance came in a film that was a resounding flop on its original release. In 1982, he portrayed the murderous yet soulful Roy Batty, leader of a gang of outlaw replicants, opposite Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi noir opus “Blade Runner.” The picture became a widely influential cult favorite, and Batty proved to be Hauer’s most indelible role.
More recently, he appeared in a pair of 2005 films: as Cardinal Roark in “Sin City,” and as the corporate villain who Bruce Wayne discovers is running the Wayne Corp. in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins.
Hauer’s agent, Steve Kenis, confirmed the news and said that Hauer’s funeral was held Wednesday.
His most cherished performance came in a film that was a resounding flop on its original release. In 1982, he portrayed the murderous yet soulful Roy Batty, leader of a gang of outlaw replicants, opposite Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi noir opus “Blade Runner.” The picture became a widely influential cult favorite, and Batty proved to be Hauer’s most indelible role.
More recently, he appeared in a pair of 2005 films: as Cardinal Roark in “Sin City,” and as the corporate villain who Bruce Wayne discovers is running the Wayne Corp. in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins.
- 7/24/2019
- by Chris Morris
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a shame that “You Don’t Nomi,” a new documentary about the failure and reevaluation of Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 pulp film “Showgirls,” doesn’t live up to its truly inspired title. A play on the movie’s enigmatic, beguiling, and totally unhinged protagonist Nomi Malone, played by Elizabeth Berkeley in a career-defining (and -ending) role, the title calls to mind Lesley Gore’s 1963 classic “You Don’t Own Me” — a connection that amuses at first glance, but becomes quite tenuous once you think about it. The same could be said for “You Don’t Nomi.”
For the uninitiated, “Showgirls” follows a young Nomi Malone as she arrives in Las Vegas with dreams of becoming a dancer. Fresh off the success of “Basic Instinct,” Verhoeven attracted top-tier talent of the era like Kyle MacLachlan and Gina Gershon, both of whom thought they were signing onto a grittier, more daring “Basic Instinct.
For the uninitiated, “Showgirls” follows a young Nomi Malone as she arrives in Las Vegas with dreams of becoming a dancer. Fresh off the success of “Basic Instinct,” Verhoeven attracted top-tier talent of the era like Kyle MacLachlan and Gina Gershon, both of whom thought they were signing onto a grittier, more daring “Basic Instinct.
- 4/28/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Discovered by Paul Verhoeven, who launched his global career with performances in Turkish Delight (1973) and Soldier of Orange (1977), Dutch actor Rutger Hauer seared himself into cinema history with the “Tears in the Rain” speech (which he wrote himself) in Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner.
He is in Berlin to promote Pure Flix's biblical action drama Samson, in which he plays Manoah, the father of the legendary strongman (played by Taylor James).
Hauer, 74, spoke to THR about his favorite roles, why films today “lack balls” and his take on the Blade Runner sequel.
Have you...
He is in Berlin to promote Pure Flix's biblical action drama Samson, in which he plays Manoah, the father of the legendary strongman (played by Taylor James).
Hauer, 74, spoke to THR about his favorite roles, why films today “lack balls” and his take on the Blade Runner sequel.
Have you...
- 2/19/2018
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ryan Lambie Jun 1, 2019
Commercials and TV form an integral part in Paul Verhoeven's classic sci-fi films, RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
"I looked at American society in a kind of dazed way when I was doing RoboCop," director Paul Verhoeven told Den of Geek UK a few years ago. Back in the mid-80s, when he was better known for his Dutch films like Soldier Of Orange and The Fourth Man, Verhoeven was still getting used to the pace and tone of American culture - and his outsider status arguably fed into the wry, spikily satirical edge in all three sci-fi films he made while in Hollywood.
"It was all so different from living in Holland," Verhoeven recalled. "A lot of my, let's say, amazement, at American society is in RoboCop; in the commercials, in the news reels and so forth,...
Commercials and TV form an integral part in Paul Verhoeven's classic sci-fi films, RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
"I looked at American society in a kind of dazed way when I was doing RoboCop," director Paul Verhoeven told Den of Geek UK a few years ago. Back in the mid-80s, when he was better known for his Dutch films like Soldier Of Orange and The Fourth Man, Verhoeven was still getting used to the pace and tone of American culture - and his outsider status arguably fed into the wry, spikily satirical edge in all three sci-fi films he made while in Hollywood.
"It was all so different from living in Holland," Verhoeven recalled. "A lot of my, let's say, amazement, at American society is in RoboCop; in the commercials, in the news reels and so forth,...
- 4/6/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Apr 6, 2017
Adverts and TV form an integral part in Paul Verhoeven's classic sci-fi films, RoboCop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers...
"I looked at American society in a kind of dazed way when I was doing RoboCop," director Paul Verhoeven told us earlier this year. Back in the mid-80s, when he was better known for his Dutch films like Soldier Of Orange and The Fourth Man, Verhoeven was still getting used to the pace and tone of American culture - and his outsider status arguably fed into the wry, spikily satirical edge in all three sci-fi films he made while in Hollywood.
See related Deadpool: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick interview Deadpool: Ryan Reynolds on channeling the character
"It was all so different from living in Holland," Verhoeven recalled. "A lot of my, let's say, amazement, at American society is in RoboCop; in the commercials, in...
Adverts and TV form an integral part in Paul Verhoeven's classic sci-fi films, RoboCop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers...
"I looked at American society in a kind of dazed way when I was doing RoboCop," director Paul Verhoeven told us earlier this year. Back in the mid-80s, when he was better known for his Dutch films like Soldier Of Orange and The Fourth Man, Verhoeven was still getting used to the pace and tone of American culture - and his outsider status arguably fed into the wry, spikily satirical edge in all three sci-fi films he made while in Hollywood.
See related Deadpool: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick interview Deadpool: Ryan Reynolds on channeling the character
"It was all so different from living in Holland," Verhoeven recalled. "A lot of my, let's say, amazement, at American society is in RoboCop; in the commercials, in...
- 3/31/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Mar 7, 2017
Legendary director Paul Verhoeven talks to us about his unmissable new drama-thriller, Elle, and the relevance of his 80s classic, RoboCop.
For well over 40 years now, director Paul Verhoeven has thrilled and horrified audiences with his bold, confrontational films. Whether they’re war dramas (Soldier Of Orange, Black Book), sci-fi action movies (RoboCop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers) or thrillers (The Fourth Man, Basic Instinct), Verhoeven’s movies are smart, sometimes violent and frequently threaded with a sense of mischief.
See related Taboo: plans afoot for two more series Taboo episode 8 review Taboo episode 7 review Taboo episode 6 review
In Michele, the central character played by Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Verhoeven might have found his fictional muse. A Parisian businesswoman who plays by her own rules, Michele’s fearless, often bewildering approach to life is fascinating to watch. Nominally, Elle’s a thriller, but like Philippe Djian’s source novel,...
Legendary director Paul Verhoeven talks to us about his unmissable new drama-thriller, Elle, and the relevance of his 80s classic, RoboCop.
For well over 40 years now, director Paul Verhoeven has thrilled and horrified audiences with his bold, confrontational films. Whether they’re war dramas (Soldier Of Orange, Black Book), sci-fi action movies (RoboCop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers) or thrillers (The Fourth Man, Basic Instinct), Verhoeven’s movies are smart, sometimes violent and frequently threaded with a sense of mischief.
See related Taboo: plans afoot for two more series Taboo episode 8 review Taboo episode 7 review Taboo episode 6 review
In Michele, the central character played by Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Verhoeven might have found his fictional muse. A Parisian businesswoman who plays by her own rules, Michele’s fearless, often bewildering approach to life is fascinating to watch. Nominally, Elle’s a thriller, but like Philippe Djian’s source novel,...
- 3/6/2017
- Den of Geek
Sean Wilson Mar 16, 2017
From Total Recall and RoboCop through to Turkish Delight and Flesh+Blood, we look at the musical scores of Paul Verhoeven films...
The Netherlands' arch-provocateur and filmmaker extraordinaire Paul Verhoeven is back in cinemas right now with Elle. A characteristically confrontational and provocative thriller, it spins a rape-revenge storyline into a mordantly funny, blackly comic and off-kilter odyssey, and has garnered an Oscar nomination for extraordinary lead Isabelle Huppert in the process.
See related The Maze Runner 3: Dylan O’Brien seriously injured on set Maze Runner 3 release now delayed, Dylan O’Brien still not back
It's exactly what we've come to expect from a veteran director who's done it all, having made jaws drop in both Europe and Hollywood - but beneath Verhoeven's love of excess and shock tactics lurks real artistry, and nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable run of film scores...
From Total Recall and RoboCop through to Turkish Delight and Flesh+Blood, we look at the musical scores of Paul Verhoeven films...
The Netherlands' arch-provocateur and filmmaker extraordinaire Paul Verhoeven is back in cinemas right now with Elle. A characteristically confrontational and provocative thriller, it spins a rape-revenge storyline into a mordantly funny, blackly comic and off-kilter odyssey, and has garnered an Oscar nomination for extraordinary lead Isabelle Huppert in the process.
See related The Maze Runner 3: Dylan O’Brien seriously injured on set Maze Runner 3 release now delayed, Dylan O’Brien still not back
It's exactly what we've come to expect from a veteran director who's done it all, having made jaws drop in both Europe and Hollywood - but beneath Verhoeven's love of excess and shock tactics lurks real artistry, and nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable run of film scores...
- 2/9/2017
- Den of Geek
Dutch director of Elle and RoboCop will serve as jury president at the 67th Berlinale.
The Dutch director and screenwriter Paul Verhoeven will serve as jury president of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
“With Paul Verhoeven as jury president, we have a filmmaker who has worked in a variety of genres in Europe and Hollywood. His creative, multifaceted boldness and his willingness to experiment are reflected in the spectrum of his works,” said Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlinale.
After his feature film debut Business is Business in 1971, about two prostitutes who dream of a conventional middle-class life, Verhoeven directed the erotic thriller Turkish Delight in 1973, a big hit in the Netherlands that also garnered a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1974 Academy Awards.
Following his international breakthrough Soldier of Orange (1977) - which was nominated for a Golden Globe - and The Fourth Man (1983), Paul Verhoeven moved to Hollywood. There he made...
The Dutch director and screenwriter Paul Verhoeven will serve as jury president of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
“With Paul Verhoeven as jury president, we have a filmmaker who has worked in a variety of genres in Europe and Hollywood. His creative, multifaceted boldness and his willingness to experiment are reflected in the spectrum of his works,” said Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlinale.
After his feature film debut Business is Business in 1971, about two prostitutes who dream of a conventional middle-class life, Verhoeven directed the erotic thriller Turkish Delight in 1973, a big hit in the Netherlands that also garnered a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1974 Academy Awards.
Following his international breakthrough Soldier of Orange (1977) - which was nominated for a Golden Globe - and The Fourth Man (1983), Paul Verhoeven moved to Hollywood. There he made...
- 12/9/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
If you were alive in the ‘80s or ‘90s, it was impossible to avoid the ever-presence of Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, whether it was science fiction hits Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers or his erotic thriller Basic Instinct. His 1995 film Showgirls has alternately been cited as a campy classic and one of the worst films ever made.
After 2000’s Hollow Man, Verhoeven turned his back on Hollywood, in a sense, by returning to Holland to make the World War II film Black Book with Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones), but now Verhoeven is back with Elle, a French revenge thriller starring French femme fatale Isabelle Huppert as a woman raped in her home who decides to get revenge in a rather unconventional way.
Lrm sat down with the veteran filmmaker to talk about his new film—and there’s a mild Spoiler Warning here, since he does allude...
After 2000’s Hollow Man, Verhoeven turned his back on Hollywood, in a sense, by returning to Holland to make the World War II film Black Book with Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones), but now Verhoeven is back with Elle, a French revenge thriller starring French femme fatale Isabelle Huppert as a woman raped in her home who decides to get revenge in a rather unconventional way.
Lrm sat down with the veteran filmmaker to talk about his new film—and there’s a mild Spoiler Warning here, since he does allude...
- 11/28/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
These are challenging times for any filmmaker who doesn’t want to be told what to do. Chasing a slice of the Hollywood studio pie almost always brings compromise, and many foreign-born directors return to their home countries and assemble independent film and television projects.
That was the path of Dutch-born Paul Verhoeven, whose career began in his own language with “Soldier of Orange” and the Oscar-nominated “Turkish Delight.” From there he forged an A-list career that included “Basic Instinct” (which played competition in Cannes) “RoboCop,” “Total Recall,” “Starship Troopers,” and, yes, “Showgirls.” His last Hollywood movie was “Hollow Man” with Kevin Bacon in 2000.
When Verhoeven could no longer find material that suited him, he went back to Holland. His 2006 Dutch World War II drama “Black Book” (Sony Pictures Classics) starred Carice Van Houten, before she joined “Game of Thrones,” and was shortlisted for the foreign Oscar.
Now he has...
That was the path of Dutch-born Paul Verhoeven, whose career began in his own language with “Soldier of Orange” and the Oscar-nominated “Turkish Delight.” From there he forged an A-list career that included “Basic Instinct” (which played competition in Cannes) “RoboCop,” “Total Recall,” “Starship Troopers,” and, yes, “Showgirls.” His last Hollywood movie was “Hollow Man” with Kevin Bacon in 2000.
When Verhoeven could no longer find material that suited him, he went back to Holland. His 2006 Dutch World War II drama “Black Book” (Sony Pictures Classics) starred Carice Van Houten, before she joined “Game of Thrones,” and was shortlisted for the foreign Oscar.
Now he has...
- 11/18/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
These are challenging times for any filmmaker who doesn’t want to be told what to do. Chasing a slice of the Hollywood studio pie almost always brings compromise, and many foreign-born directors return to their home countries and assemble independent film and television projects.
That was the path of Dutch-born Paul Verhoeven, whose career began in his own language with “Soldier of Orange” and the Oscar-nominated “Turkish Delight.” From there he forged an A-list career that included “Basic Instinct” (which played competition in Cannes) “RoboCop,” “Total Recall,” “Starship Troopers,” and, yes, “Showgirls.” His last Hollywood movie was “Hollow Man” with Kevin Bacon in 2000.
When Verhoeven could no longer find material that suited him, he went back to Holland. His 2006 Dutch World War II drama “Black Book” (Sony Pictures Classics) starred Carice Van Houten, before she joined “Game of Thrones,” and was shortlisted for the foreign Oscar.
Now he has...
That was the path of Dutch-born Paul Verhoeven, whose career began in his own language with “Soldier of Orange” and the Oscar-nominated “Turkish Delight.” From there he forged an A-list career that included “Basic Instinct” (which played competition in Cannes) “RoboCop,” “Total Recall,” “Starship Troopers,” and, yes, “Showgirls.” His last Hollywood movie was “Hollow Man” with Kevin Bacon in 2000.
When Verhoeven could no longer find material that suited him, he went back to Holland. His 2006 Dutch World War II drama “Black Book” (Sony Pictures Classics) starred Carice Van Houten, before she joined “Game of Thrones,” and was shortlisted for the foreign Oscar.
Now he has...
- 11/18/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Equally celebrated as a sly subversive and a master craftsman, the Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has left an indelible mark on film with movies that combined over-the-top entertainment with dark wit, including Soldier Of Orange, RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. Elle, a French-language adaptation of Philippe Djian’s novel “Oh…”, qualifies as one of his most corrosive works: a feminist black comedy that kicks off with a wealthy woman (Isabelle Huppert) being raped by an intruder, and then takes a series of unpredictable turns, in the process skewering everything from bourgeois mores to sexual kinks.
Verhoeven spoke briefly with The A.V. Club about the film—his first in nearly a decade—by phone.
The A.V. Club: You first wanted to make this movie in America.
Paul Verhoeven: Yes, I did. I met with the producer, Saïd Ben Saïd. I had read the book, and we decided...
Verhoeven spoke briefly with The A.V. Club about the film—his first in nearly a decade—by phone.
The A.V. Club: You first wanted to make this movie in America.
Paul Verhoeven: Yes, I did. I met with the producer, Saïd Ben Saïd. I had read the book, and we decided...
- 11/10/2016
- by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
- avclub.com
Drawing Home screens Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here. Lead actors Juan Riedinger and Julie Lynn Mortenson will be in attendance as well as producers Allan Neuwirth and Margarethe Baillou.
In 1920s Boston, East Coast debutante Catharine Robb (newcomer Julie Lynn Mortensen) is dating the most eligible bachelor in the world, John D. Rockefeller III. Her future seems set: a dream life in the upper echelons of society. But Catherine finds her careful plans upended when she meets a young painter, Peter Whyte (Juan Riedinger), from one of the most beautiful places on Earth, the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Although their worlds are polar opposites, a mutual love of art draws them together. They soon face a universal question: Can you find “home” in another person? Inspired by the true story of the central couple,...
In 1920s Boston, East Coast debutante Catharine Robb (newcomer Julie Lynn Mortensen) is dating the most eligible bachelor in the world, John D. Rockefeller III. Her future seems set: a dream life in the upper echelons of society. But Catherine finds her careful plans upended when she meets a young painter, Peter Whyte (Juan Riedinger), from one of the most beautiful places on Earth, the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Although their worlds are polar opposites, a mutual love of art draws them together. They soon face a universal question: Can you find “home” in another person? Inspired by the true story of the central couple,...
- 11/9/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exclusive: Verohoeven’s next film will be a Second World War French resistance movie.
Maverick Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, whose Elle starring Isabelle Huppert screens in Competition at Cannes, is planning a Second World War French resistance movie.
Lyon 1943 (working title) will be set over a period of several months during 1943. Verhoeven is developing the project, still in its early stages, with Said Ben Said, his producer on Elle.
“(Gestapo officer) Klaus Barbie will be there, (resistance leader) Jean Moulin will be there but the movie is not a biopic of Jean Moulin,” said the director of RoboCop and Black Book, whose erotic thriller Basic Instinct opened the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.
Barbie, head of the Gestapo in Lyon, oversaw the torture of Moulin, who died in very murky circumstances in French captivity in July 1943. Verhoeven said he was working with a French historian to try to establish what happened during this “very complicated and confused” period...
Maverick Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, whose Elle starring Isabelle Huppert screens in Competition at Cannes, is planning a Second World War French resistance movie.
Lyon 1943 (working title) will be set over a period of several months during 1943. Verhoeven is developing the project, still in its early stages, with Said Ben Said, his producer on Elle.
“(Gestapo officer) Klaus Barbie will be there, (resistance leader) Jean Moulin will be there but the movie is not a biopic of Jean Moulin,” said the director of RoboCop and Black Book, whose erotic thriller Basic Instinct opened the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.
Barbie, head of the Gestapo in Lyon, oversaw the torture of Moulin, who died in very murky circumstances in French captivity in July 1943. Verhoeven said he was working with a French historian to try to establish what happened during this “very complicated and confused” period...
- 5/11/2016
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
By Rod Barnett
There have been entire books dedicated to the cinema of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and with good reason. Known for pushing the envelope of what is acceptable onscreen in both sexuality and violence, his movies have been celebrated and condemned - often by the same critic at different times! To one degree or another I have enjoyed every Verhoeven film I've seen all the way back to the brilliant Soldier of Orange (1977) but it was RoboCop (1987) that stomped across the world and made it possible for the madman to make nearly anything he wanted. I wonder what would have happened if this film - his first English language effort- had not been a huge financial success. Would we have had a series of progressively worse sequels with Rutger Hauer ravishing maidens and slaying nobles for gold? Maybe in a better world.....
Flesh + Blood (1985) takes place in Western...
There have been entire books dedicated to the cinema of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and with good reason. Known for pushing the envelope of what is acceptable onscreen in both sexuality and violence, his movies have been celebrated and condemned - often by the same critic at different times! To one degree or another I have enjoyed every Verhoeven film I've seen all the way back to the brilliant Soldier of Orange (1977) but it was RoboCop (1987) that stomped across the world and made it possible for the madman to make nearly anything he wanted. I wonder what would have happened if this film - his first English language effort- had not been a huge financial success. Would we have had a series of progressively worse sequels with Rutger Hauer ravishing maidens and slaying nobles for gold? Maybe in a better world.....
Flesh + Blood (1985) takes place in Western...
- 11/19/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Continuing the expansion of its global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise into new businesses, Lionsgate, a premier next generation global content leader, is teaming with Dutch media company Imagine Nation and U.S. based Triangular Entertainment to bring The Hunger Games to the stage using innovative and immersive staging techniques, the companies announced today. The Hunger Games theatrical experience will launch in summer 2016 in a brand new purpose-built theater next to Wembley Stadium in London, UK.
The Hunger Games theatrical experience will be produced by award-winning Broadway producer Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, along with legendary UK promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Triangular Entertainment's Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon of WalkRunFly Productions and entertainment executives Robert Harris and R&R Media's Gary Ricci.
De Levita has recently created groundbreaking presentation formats for two productions in Holland. Soldier of Orange, the hit Dutch musical, has been sold out since it opened four years ago.
The Hunger Games theatrical experience will be produced by award-winning Broadway producer Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, along with legendary UK promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Triangular Entertainment's Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon of WalkRunFly Productions and entertainment executives Robert Harris and R&R Media's Gary Ricci.
De Levita has recently created groundbreaking presentation formats for two productions in Holland. Soldier of Orange, the hit Dutch musical, has been sold out since it opened four years ago.
- 11/7/2014
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
Lionsgate is teaming with Dutch media company Imagine Nation and U.S. based Triangular Entertainment to bring The Hunger Games to the stage using innovative and immersive staging techniques, the companies announced today.
The Hunger Games theatrical experience will launch in summer 2016 in a brand new purpose-built theater next to Wembley Stadium in London, UK.
The Hunger Games theatrical experience will be produced by award-winning Broadway producer Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, along with legendary UK promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Triangular Entertainment’s Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon of WalkRunFly Productions and entertainment executives Robert Harris and R&R Media’s Gary Ricci.
De Levita has recently created groundbreaking presentation formats for two productions in Holland. Soldier of Orange, the hit Dutch musical, has been sold out since it opened four years ago. The audience sits in a 360-degree rotating auditorium that turns from set to set creating an unforgettable experience.
The Hunger Games theatrical experience will launch in summer 2016 in a brand new purpose-built theater next to Wembley Stadium in London, UK.
The Hunger Games theatrical experience will be produced by award-winning Broadway producer Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, along with legendary UK promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Triangular Entertainment’s Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon of WalkRunFly Productions and entertainment executives Robert Harris and R&R Media’s Gary Ricci.
De Levita has recently created groundbreaking presentation formats for two productions in Holland. Soldier of Orange, the hit Dutch musical, has been sold out since it opened four years ago. The audience sits in a 360-degree rotating auditorium that turns from set to set creating an unforgettable experience.
- 11/7/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A Hunger Games "theatrical experience" will open in the U.K. in summer 2016 in London, just in case the experience of reading The Hunger Games series or seeing the movie adaptations of Suzanne Collins' books wasn't visceral enough. Lionsgate, which produces the Hunger Games films, is working with production companies Imagine Nation and Triangular Entertainment to translate Collins' stories about kids being forced to fight to the death by their government to the stage, according to an announcement made today. Producer and co-founder of Imagine Nation Robin de Levita is known for out-of-the-box staging techniques; for instance, for his...
- 11/7/2014
- by Esther Zuckerman
- EW.com - PopWatch
Lionsgate to launch The Hunger Games theatrical experience in a new theatre next to London’s Wembley Stadium.
The Hunger Games is to hit the stage in summer 2016 as a “theatrical experience”.
Lionsgate has teamed with with Dutch media company Imagine Nation and Us-based Triangular Entertainment to bring the young adult franchise to the stage using “innovative and immersive staging techniques”, the companies announced today.
The production will launch in a new purpose-built theatre in Wembley Park next to Wembley Stadium and Arena in London.
It will be produced by Broadway producer Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, along with UK promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Triangular Entertainment’s Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon of WalkRunFly Productions and entertainment executives Robert Harris and R&R Media’s Gary Ricci.
De Levita recently created innovative presentation formats for two productions in Holland including Dutch musical Soldier of Orange, in which the audience sits in a 360-degree rotating auditorium...
The Hunger Games is to hit the stage in summer 2016 as a “theatrical experience”.
Lionsgate has teamed with with Dutch media company Imagine Nation and Us-based Triangular Entertainment to bring the young adult franchise to the stage using “innovative and immersive staging techniques”, the companies announced today.
The production will launch in a new purpose-built theatre in Wembley Park next to Wembley Stadium and Arena in London.
It will be produced by Broadway producer Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, along with UK promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Triangular Entertainment’s Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon of WalkRunFly Productions and entertainment executives Robert Harris and R&R Media’s Gary Ricci.
De Levita recently created innovative presentation formats for two productions in Holland including Dutch musical Soldier of Orange, in which the audience sits in a 360-degree rotating auditorium...
- 11/7/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
"The Hunger Games" will come to a close in 2015 when the second part of "Mockingjay" flies into theaters, but it's never too late to plan ahead. In addition to plans for a traveling "Hunger Games" exhibit, Lionsgate is building a special theater next to Wembley Stadium in London for its very own "Hunger Games" stage production. The play will debut in the summer of 2016, which is just about when Katniss fans will begin jonesing for another fix.
Producer Robin de Levita won Tony awards for "Titanic," "42nd Street," and "Into the Woods." His production of "Anne," based on "The Diary of Anne Frank," used rotating sets to make the experience more immersive; similarly, during his production of "Soldier of Orange," the audience itself is rotated from set to set for a complete 360 degrees. It sounds pretty intense, to say the least, especially once you throw in some muttations, tracker jackers,...
Producer Robin de Levita won Tony awards for "Titanic," "42nd Street," and "Into the Woods." His production of "Anne," based on "The Diary of Anne Frank," used rotating sets to make the experience more immersive; similarly, during his production of "Soldier of Orange," the audience itself is rotated from set to set for a complete 360 degrees. It sounds pretty intense, to say the least, especially once you throw in some muttations, tracker jackers,...
- 11/7/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
“The Hunger Games” is coming to a stage near you. Or, maybe not so near, unless you live in London. Lionsgate has joined forces with Dutch media company Imagine Nation and U.S.-based Triangular Entertainment to take the franchise to a new purpose-built theater next to Wembley Stadium in 2016. The show and house will utilize “innovative and immersive staging techniques,” the companies said on Friday. See photos: Jennifer Lawrence Prepares for Battle in First ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay’ Still (Photo) “The Hunger Games” theatrical experience will be produced by Robin de Levita, co-founder of Imagine Nation, whose “Soldier of Orange” musical sees the.
- 11/7/2014
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
Listening to Hollywood producer Michael Gruskoff talk about his experiences with some of the most legendary directors is an awe-inspiring learning experience. In a business so reluctant to taking chances that might represent financial loss, Gruskoff has placed it all on the line in order to support original voices and talent outside the norm. Although he admits that some of his projects were more successful than others, he remains certain that he always went with his gut in pursuit of talent. In that regard, he has undoubtedly overachieved.
The list of people he has worked with includes acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog , Jean-Jacques Annaud , Mel Brooks , and Stanley Donen. Gruskoff has always had an international taste and is unafraid of searching for stories abroad. Not surprisingly, he is a member of the Academy’s Foreign Language Film branch, to which he returned, invited by Mark Johnson, the head of the Foreign Language Committee, after serving there in the past. Once again he brings his expertise and eclectic global influences to support the Academy in its efforts to highlight World Cinema as a crucial element of the film industry.
Winner of a Cesar Award for the film Quest for Fire , and an outspoken defendant of the filmmaking craft over the cult of celebrity, Mr. Gruskoff is a humble creative person. Still fully in love with cinema despite the ups and downs the industry throws at anyone who attempts to make a living out of its unstable magic, it is incredible to see that passion for a great story is still Michael Gruskoff’s prime motivation. This writer had the privilege to talk to Mr. Gruskoff’s a couple weeks ago in Beverly Hills. Here is what he shared with us.
Carlos Aguilar: Could you tell us how you got started in the film industry?
Michael Gruskoff: I started in the N.Y. mailroom of the William Morris Agency and ended my agency career at Creative Management Associates. While at Cma I was representing Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda during Easy Rider, as well as Robert Redford, Natalie Wood ,Faye Dunaway, amongst others. I started getting the producing "bug" while representing Albert Ruddy and Irwin Winkler, having been instrumental in the packaging of some of their films. It was an exciting time in the industry, with the success of Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, and The Graduate, the studios were open to taking chances with new talent and ideas. Ned Tanen at Universal set up an independent division and asked me to run it but I opted to make an overall three picture production deal. I went into business with Douglas Trumbull, Michael Cimino, Sam Shepard and Steven Bochco and independently developed low budget scripts off the studio lot. It kicked off with Dennie Hopper's The Last Movie and Silent Running, a science fiction film dealing with environmental issues. I also developed a script called Conquering Horse with Cimino, which we were going to do in the Sioux language, a predecessor to Dances With Wolves, but it was tabled because of budget issues.
Aguilar: How did your interest in foreign cinema developed?
Gruskoff: Seeing Luis Buñuel , Ingmar Bergman , Vittorio De Sica, and Akira Kurosawa's films got me interested in foreign cinema. Another filmmaker that impressed me was Gillo Pontecorvo the director of The Battle of Algiers, which is one of the great anti-war movies. I was an agent at the time, and asked him if I could represent him. He said "Michael, I don't make that many movies, and you are not going to make any money with me because I'm not interested in working in the Hollywood system" I said, "It’s Ok, you can come to me if you're having trouble raising money for a project/" He said "That could work, but please do not send me any scripts." I was also Anouk Aimée's agent when she did A Man and a Woman with Claude Lelouch. She was responsible for me meeting many people in French and Italian cinema. She's a great lady.
Aguilar : What were your thoughts on the batch of films submitted this past year for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film? Were there any you consider highlights?
Gruskoff : You always look for a diamond that might be there. You have to see films from some 70 countries and many do not work, but being part of the industry I feel it's my way of supporting the Academy. You have to see four films a week, and with the addition of seeing new films. the internet, plus cable, and family etc. It's an overload of information. I did see a jewel of a film from Iceland called Of Horses and Men directed by Benedikt Erlingsson. We have been in touch and are in the process of discussing a project he is writing. He's a bold new voice.
Aguilar: How do you think this category benefits the industry and foreign filmmakers?
Gruskoff: Foreign filmmakers want us to see their films. They have stories they want to tell and we have the ability to make their dreams come through. It benefits us to see what's being made around the world because we are all part of the film community.
It's interesting talking to Bernardo Bertolucci about Italian realism and how those great Italian films and directors came together in the late 40s, 50s and 60s with Rossellini and Fellini , Visconti, etc. After Mussolini and the end of Ww 2 there was such exuberance that filmmakers ran into streets and started making movies. It was a great period in Italian Cinema.
Aguilar: Do you believe this nostalgia for those filmmakers influenced voters to choose The Great Beauty as the winner?
Gruskoff: Sorrentino is s very talented director and he carries the torch of Fellini. I liked The Great Beauty and I also loved his Il Divo
Aguilar: When watching these or any other film, as a producer do you look for something different in them from what a director or an actor might?
Gruskoff: I'm just hoping that when the lights go down I'll see a good film. I want to be entertained and have it not be a waste my time. When I saw 12 Years a Slave it blew me away. Steve McQueen is a great filmmaker because he puts all his passion on the screen and he doesn't cop out. It was real. I like movies that don't pander to the audience.
Aguilar: Would you say all of the 76 films submitted were on a level playing field, despite some of them being obscure titles and not having a festival run?
Gruskoff : I saw a real voice in Benedikt Erlingsson, Sebastian Lelio with Gloria , The Hunt , Omar , The Past , The Missing Picture , or The Broken Circle Breakdown.The directors have something to say and they know how to say it. An interesting thing is when you are seeing that many movies in an environment where the people like films, you really start getting into it. Like being at a Festival.
Aguilar: Now that you mention the Academy wants to promote foreign films, how do you perceive the role of world cinema in Hollywood today? Is it more influential?
Gruskoff: Definitely. 2/3 of the box-office comes from foreign markets. More films will be made with Asian and European talent to bolster their international box-office. Moviegoers in those countries like to see a character they can relate to as long as it's realistically part of the story.
Aguilar: On that note, can you talk about the international filmmakers you've work with throughout your career?
Gruskoff: I met Paul Verhoeven after seeing Soldier Of Orange, one of his earlier films. We developed a screenplay called Harry’s Tale. Unfortunately, it was ahead of its time and the budget was too high.
After seeing The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser by Werner Herzog , I called him. He mentioned Nosferatu the Vampyre , and said he wanted to remake it and it would be a film that "the likes of which the world has never seen before", and I told him "Please be my guest" [Laughs]. I got the financing from Fox and we made it for $900,000 starring Isabelle Adjani , Klaus Kinski and Bruno Ganz. . Werner is a tremendously innovative film director.
I briefly worked with Russian director, Andrey Konchalovskiy , we developed a story that never got to be a screenplay.
Following that, Jean-Jacques Annaud gave me the English translation of a book called “La guerre de feu”, which is Quest for Fire . The film became an international hit and it earned us 5 Cesar Awards including Best Picture. It was a great moment when Orson Welles handed me the award.
Aguilar: One of the great American directors you worked with was Mel Brooks, how did that relationship begin?
Gruskoff: I had briefly met Mel Brooks when I was working in the mail room at William Morris Agency in New York. At the time I was 22 and he was 32, and he had already achieved success in television.
Mike Medavoy worked as an agent at Cma during the early 70s and wanted me to come back and work with him. I wanted to continue producing, and he gave me the treatment for a movie called Young Frankenstein.written by Gene Wilder. I said I wanted to produce it , but Gene said that it was up to Mel Brooks to decide. Having met Mel Brooks earlier and since he actually remembered and liked me, he said "Let's do it ...get the deal." At that point in Mel's career, he made two terrific films, The Twelve Chairs and The Producers, both films did not make money and he was just starting to reignite his career with pre-production on Blazing Saddles.
I set Young Frankensteinn up at Columbia but they passed because the budget was too high and Mel, rightfully so, wanted to make it in Black & White. They were insisting that it should be in color. I gave it to my friend Alan Ladd Jr. at Fox and he said yes with an even bigger budget than we had. Seven years later Mel and I did My Favorite Year based on an idea I had. The original script was written by Norman Steinberg and Mel helped develop and executive produce it.. Peter O'Toole was a dream to work with and I learned a lot about filmmaking working with him.
Aguilar: Going back to the Foreign Language Academy Award, back when the shortlist and eventually the nominees were announced, there was much talk about several films being snubbed, including Gloria and The Past. Why do you think these weren't included?
Gruskoff: Gloria probably didn’t get nominated because it wasn’t as serious as some of the other films. We will be hearing a lot from its director Sebastian Lelio. On the other hand, it's about preferential viewing, Farhadi makes very specific movies. He is a serious filmmaker, and he is a very good storyteller. He is another director that tells it how it is. His films are like reading a book with great characters, It was one of my favorite films but it was a tough movie for some people. He is what he is, take it or leave it. He just does his thing.
Aguilar: Are there any filmmakers you would like to work with in the future? Anyone who has caught your eye?
Gruskoff: Sure, David O. Russell would be great. [Laughs]. Other great directors whom I would love to work with are Steve McQueen, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan , David Fincher, or Kathryn Bigelow ....who wouldn't!
Aguilar: Where do you think the industry is going, with all the awards campaigns and the more glamorous, less artistic, side of the business becoming so prominent?
Gruskoff: The industry has become more about celebrity. After seeing 12 Years a Slave at the Pacific Designer Center early on, I knew McQueen's work was just beginning. He was going to have to live between L.A. and N.Y.C. to attend press events and Q&As for the next six months....longer than it took to shoot the film. Fashion has also joined the fray to cross-promote films.
Just a few years ago when Sydney Pollack made a movie and the distribution people received the print, the filmmakers promotion schedule was not as arduous. Going to 2 or 3 major cities with the actors before the film opened. Now it has become so celebrity-driven with all the different outlets fighting for space, it has gotten out of hand. If you have Brad Pitt producing or Ben Affleck starring, you have an opportunity to promote your film on every talk show. It cuts your marketing costs, which are very expensive and getting even more expensive, even with the help of the internet.
Aguilar: What are your future plans? Looking back your career are there any regrets?
Gruskoff: As a producer you are always looking for a good story. I did Quest for Fire and my friends said “Don’t you have something better to do with your time? You will never get it made.” Miraculously it did get made. I’d like to do dark comedies in the vein of American Beauty or Fargo. It's about what turns you on, what gives you a rush, because it is such a difficult journey. You never know what's around the corner.
The list of people he has worked with includes acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog , Jean-Jacques Annaud , Mel Brooks , and Stanley Donen. Gruskoff has always had an international taste and is unafraid of searching for stories abroad. Not surprisingly, he is a member of the Academy’s Foreign Language Film branch, to which he returned, invited by Mark Johnson, the head of the Foreign Language Committee, after serving there in the past. Once again he brings his expertise and eclectic global influences to support the Academy in its efforts to highlight World Cinema as a crucial element of the film industry.
Winner of a Cesar Award for the film Quest for Fire , and an outspoken defendant of the filmmaking craft over the cult of celebrity, Mr. Gruskoff is a humble creative person. Still fully in love with cinema despite the ups and downs the industry throws at anyone who attempts to make a living out of its unstable magic, it is incredible to see that passion for a great story is still Michael Gruskoff’s prime motivation. This writer had the privilege to talk to Mr. Gruskoff’s a couple weeks ago in Beverly Hills. Here is what he shared with us.
Carlos Aguilar: Could you tell us how you got started in the film industry?
Michael Gruskoff: I started in the N.Y. mailroom of the William Morris Agency and ended my agency career at Creative Management Associates. While at Cma I was representing Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda during Easy Rider, as well as Robert Redford, Natalie Wood ,Faye Dunaway, amongst others. I started getting the producing "bug" while representing Albert Ruddy and Irwin Winkler, having been instrumental in the packaging of some of their films. It was an exciting time in the industry, with the success of Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, and The Graduate, the studios were open to taking chances with new talent and ideas. Ned Tanen at Universal set up an independent division and asked me to run it but I opted to make an overall three picture production deal. I went into business with Douglas Trumbull, Michael Cimino, Sam Shepard and Steven Bochco and independently developed low budget scripts off the studio lot. It kicked off with Dennie Hopper's The Last Movie and Silent Running, a science fiction film dealing with environmental issues. I also developed a script called Conquering Horse with Cimino, which we were going to do in the Sioux language, a predecessor to Dances With Wolves, but it was tabled because of budget issues.
Aguilar: How did your interest in foreign cinema developed?
Gruskoff: Seeing Luis Buñuel , Ingmar Bergman , Vittorio De Sica, and Akira Kurosawa's films got me interested in foreign cinema. Another filmmaker that impressed me was Gillo Pontecorvo the director of The Battle of Algiers, which is one of the great anti-war movies. I was an agent at the time, and asked him if I could represent him. He said "Michael, I don't make that many movies, and you are not going to make any money with me because I'm not interested in working in the Hollywood system" I said, "It’s Ok, you can come to me if you're having trouble raising money for a project/" He said "That could work, but please do not send me any scripts." I was also Anouk Aimée's agent when she did A Man and a Woman with Claude Lelouch. She was responsible for me meeting many people in French and Italian cinema. She's a great lady.
Aguilar : What were your thoughts on the batch of films submitted this past year for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film? Were there any you consider highlights?
Gruskoff : You always look for a diamond that might be there. You have to see films from some 70 countries and many do not work, but being part of the industry I feel it's my way of supporting the Academy. You have to see four films a week, and with the addition of seeing new films. the internet, plus cable, and family etc. It's an overload of information. I did see a jewel of a film from Iceland called Of Horses and Men directed by Benedikt Erlingsson. We have been in touch and are in the process of discussing a project he is writing. He's a bold new voice.
Aguilar: How do you think this category benefits the industry and foreign filmmakers?
Gruskoff: Foreign filmmakers want us to see their films. They have stories they want to tell and we have the ability to make their dreams come through. It benefits us to see what's being made around the world because we are all part of the film community.
It's interesting talking to Bernardo Bertolucci about Italian realism and how those great Italian films and directors came together in the late 40s, 50s and 60s with Rossellini and Fellini , Visconti, etc. After Mussolini and the end of Ww 2 there was such exuberance that filmmakers ran into streets and started making movies. It was a great period in Italian Cinema.
Aguilar: Do you believe this nostalgia for those filmmakers influenced voters to choose The Great Beauty as the winner?
Gruskoff: Sorrentino is s very talented director and he carries the torch of Fellini. I liked The Great Beauty and I also loved his Il Divo
Aguilar: When watching these or any other film, as a producer do you look for something different in them from what a director or an actor might?
Gruskoff: I'm just hoping that when the lights go down I'll see a good film. I want to be entertained and have it not be a waste my time. When I saw 12 Years a Slave it blew me away. Steve McQueen is a great filmmaker because he puts all his passion on the screen and he doesn't cop out. It was real. I like movies that don't pander to the audience.
Aguilar: Would you say all of the 76 films submitted were on a level playing field, despite some of them being obscure titles and not having a festival run?
Gruskoff : I saw a real voice in Benedikt Erlingsson, Sebastian Lelio with Gloria , The Hunt , Omar , The Past , The Missing Picture , or The Broken Circle Breakdown.The directors have something to say and they know how to say it. An interesting thing is when you are seeing that many movies in an environment where the people like films, you really start getting into it. Like being at a Festival.
Aguilar: Now that you mention the Academy wants to promote foreign films, how do you perceive the role of world cinema in Hollywood today? Is it more influential?
Gruskoff: Definitely. 2/3 of the box-office comes from foreign markets. More films will be made with Asian and European talent to bolster their international box-office. Moviegoers in those countries like to see a character they can relate to as long as it's realistically part of the story.
Aguilar: On that note, can you talk about the international filmmakers you've work with throughout your career?
Gruskoff: I met Paul Verhoeven after seeing Soldier Of Orange, one of his earlier films. We developed a screenplay called Harry’s Tale. Unfortunately, it was ahead of its time and the budget was too high.
After seeing The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser by Werner Herzog , I called him. He mentioned Nosferatu the Vampyre , and said he wanted to remake it and it would be a film that "the likes of which the world has never seen before", and I told him "Please be my guest" [Laughs]. I got the financing from Fox and we made it for $900,000 starring Isabelle Adjani , Klaus Kinski and Bruno Ganz. . Werner is a tremendously innovative film director.
I briefly worked with Russian director, Andrey Konchalovskiy , we developed a story that never got to be a screenplay.
Following that, Jean-Jacques Annaud gave me the English translation of a book called “La guerre de feu”, which is Quest for Fire . The film became an international hit and it earned us 5 Cesar Awards including Best Picture. It was a great moment when Orson Welles handed me the award.
Aguilar: One of the great American directors you worked with was Mel Brooks, how did that relationship begin?
Gruskoff: I had briefly met Mel Brooks when I was working in the mail room at William Morris Agency in New York. At the time I was 22 and he was 32, and he had already achieved success in television.
Mike Medavoy worked as an agent at Cma during the early 70s and wanted me to come back and work with him. I wanted to continue producing, and he gave me the treatment for a movie called Young Frankenstein.written by Gene Wilder. I said I wanted to produce it , but Gene said that it was up to Mel Brooks to decide. Having met Mel Brooks earlier and since he actually remembered and liked me, he said "Let's do it ...get the deal." At that point in Mel's career, he made two terrific films, The Twelve Chairs and The Producers, both films did not make money and he was just starting to reignite his career with pre-production on Blazing Saddles.
I set Young Frankensteinn up at Columbia but they passed because the budget was too high and Mel, rightfully so, wanted to make it in Black & White. They were insisting that it should be in color. I gave it to my friend Alan Ladd Jr. at Fox and he said yes with an even bigger budget than we had. Seven years later Mel and I did My Favorite Year based on an idea I had. The original script was written by Norman Steinberg and Mel helped develop and executive produce it.. Peter O'Toole was a dream to work with and I learned a lot about filmmaking working with him.
Aguilar: Going back to the Foreign Language Academy Award, back when the shortlist and eventually the nominees were announced, there was much talk about several films being snubbed, including Gloria and The Past. Why do you think these weren't included?
Gruskoff: Gloria probably didn’t get nominated because it wasn’t as serious as some of the other films. We will be hearing a lot from its director Sebastian Lelio. On the other hand, it's about preferential viewing, Farhadi makes very specific movies. He is a serious filmmaker, and he is a very good storyteller. He is another director that tells it how it is. His films are like reading a book with great characters, It was one of my favorite films but it was a tough movie for some people. He is what he is, take it or leave it. He just does his thing.
Aguilar: Are there any filmmakers you would like to work with in the future? Anyone who has caught your eye?
Gruskoff: Sure, David O. Russell would be great. [Laughs]. Other great directors whom I would love to work with are Steve McQueen, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan , David Fincher, or Kathryn Bigelow ....who wouldn't!
Aguilar: Where do you think the industry is going, with all the awards campaigns and the more glamorous, less artistic, side of the business becoming so prominent?
Gruskoff: The industry has become more about celebrity. After seeing 12 Years a Slave at the Pacific Designer Center early on, I knew McQueen's work was just beginning. He was going to have to live between L.A. and N.Y.C. to attend press events and Q&As for the next six months....longer than it took to shoot the film. Fashion has also joined the fray to cross-promote films.
Just a few years ago when Sydney Pollack made a movie and the distribution people received the print, the filmmakers promotion schedule was not as arduous. Going to 2 or 3 major cities with the actors before the film opened. Now it has become so celebrity-driven with all the different outlets fighting for space, it has gotten out of hand. If you have Brad Pitt producing or Ben Affleck starring, you have an opportunity to promote your film on every talk show. It cuts your marketing costs, which are very expensive and getting even more expensive, even with the help of the internet.
Aguilar: What are your future plans? Looking back your career are there any regrets?
Gruskoff: As a producer you are always looking for a good story. I did Quest for Fire and my friends said “Don’t you have something better to do with your time? You will never get it made.” Miraculously it did get made. I’d like to do dark comedies in the vein of American Beauty or Fargo. It's about what turns you on, what gives you a rush, because it is such a difficult journey. You never know what's around the corner.
- 6/2/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
The Paul Verhoeven filmography screens at the Tiff Bell Lightbox through April 4th, culminating in a screening of his new “crowdsourced” film, Tricked.
Common wisdom dictates that cynicism and sentimentality are carefully linked, if not outright synonymous. In filmic terms, the most comfortable formulation of that argument is to align, for instance, romantic comedies with socially-acceptable (and, often, utterly noxious) notions of gender politics. Through the deployment of relationships and character profiles that support popular notions of how women and men behave, these movies are able to exploit comfortable mores in order to mainline easy pathos. What’s less common is to consider how that relationship between affect and effect can be subverted, perhaps because it’s relatively rare for truly subversive artists to be handed the proverbial keys to the kingdom.
Enter Paul Verhoeven. From his early Dutch features, including Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight) and Soldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange...
Common wisdom dictates that cynicism and sentimentality are carefully linked, if not outright synonymous. In filmic terms, the most comfortable formulation of that argument is to align, for instance, romantic comedies with socially-acceptable (and, often, utterly noxious) notions of gender politics. Through the deployment of relationships and character profiles that support popular notions of how women and men behave, these movies are able to exploit comfortable mores in order to mainline easy pathos. What’s less common is to consider how that relationship between affect and effect can be subverted, perhaps because it’s relatively rare for truly subversive artists to be handed the proverbial keys to the kingdom.
Enter Paul Verhoeven. From his early Dutch features, including Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight) and Soldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange...
- 3/2/2014
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Should we run the risk of remaking this record Razzie winner?
Although he’s not directed a film since Black Book six years ago, Paul Verhoeven’s name has been bouncing around the internet as a result of two of his best-known films being remade. This year we had the remake of Total Recall starring Colin Farrell, which was by all accounts deeply disappointing, and in 2014 we will be treated to a rebooted RoboCop (if “treated” is the right word).
Assuming that it takes money, as Total Recall did, which other of Verhoeven’s films should the Hollywood remake machine be targeting next? Anything from Starship Troopers onwards is in far too recent memory, while his early and highly-regarded Dutch-language work isn’t well-known enough for American audiences to be pulled in: there are few out there who would be hyped just from hearing the words The Fourth Man, Spetters or Soldier of Orange.
Although he’s not directed a film since Black Book six years ago, Paul Verhoeven’s name has been bouncing around the internet as a result of two of his best-known films being remade. This year we had the remake of Total Recall starring Colin Farrell, which was by all accounts deeply disappointing, and in 2014 we will be treated to a rebooted RoboCop (if “treated” is the right word).
Assuming that it takes money, as Total Recall did, which other of Verhoeven’s films should the Hollywood remake machine be targeting next? Anything from Starship Troopers onwards is in far too recent memory, while his early and highly-regarded Dutch-language work isn’t well-known enough for American audiences to be pulled in: there are few out there who would be hyped just from hearing the words The Fourth Man, Spetters or Soldier of Orange.
- 11/29/2012
- by Daniel Mumby
- Obsessed with Film
"Starship Troopers" just might be Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece. The Dutch helmer has several films that might run close to that title -- "Flesh & Blood," "Soldier Of Orange," "Black Book" and his Hollywood debut "Robocop." But it's his epic, slyly satirical adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's sci-fi novel about the war on a bug-like alien race that we keep coming back to rewatch and rewatch, and feels like the culmination of everything he worked towards across his career. Which is why of all the remakes circulating out there, the one we're most puzzled by is "Starship Troopers."
After all, it's just under fifteen years since the release of Verhoeven's film, which is still on heavy rotation on TV, and the original was strong enough that we don't feel the need for a different take, and successful enough that it spawned a couple of direct-to-video sequels. But apparently that's not...
After all, it's just under fifteen years since the release of Verhoeven's film, which is still on heavy rotation on TV, and the original was strong enough that we don't feel the need for a different take, and successful enough that it spawned a couple of direct-to-video sequels. But apparently that's not...
- 6/27/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
From the 70s to the present, we look back through the sterling work of Rutger Hauer to bring you the actor’s 10 finest films that aren't Blade Runner...
For some, Dutch actor Rutger Hauer will forever be associated with a certain rooftop speech about tears in rain. But although his turn as doomed replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner was a classic one, Hauer’s output before and since has been stunningly prolific. This list, therefore, is designed to highlight 10 of Hauer’s finest non-Blade Runner movies, with a particular emphasis on those that are lesser known – which is why we've gone for some older pictures rather than the more recent and mainstream, such as Batman Begins. And since this is Den of Geek, expect to find lots of action movies, horror, and low-budget sci-fi in the entries below.
One thing they all have in common, though, irrespective of...
For some, Dutch actor Rutger Hauer will forever be associated with a certain rooftop speech about tears in rain. But although his turn as doomed replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner was a classic one, Hauer’s output before and since has been stunningly prolific. This list, therefore, is designed to highlight 10 of Hauer’s finest non-Blade Runner movies, with a particular emphasis on those that are lesser known – which is why we've gone for some older pictures rather than the more recent and mainstream, such as Batman Begins. And since this is Den of Geek, expect to find lots of action movies, horror, and low-budget sci-fi in the entries below.
One thing they all have in common, though, irrespective of...
- 2/22/2012
- Den of Geek
The contest is over. Chosen by Random.org, the winners are Justin W., Bill Norris and Jason Fiske. Congratulations! Please email your mailing address to lhlerman@gmail.com to claim your prize.
And make sure you enter our other contests.
Bride Flight, the sumptuous post-World War II romantic saga directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ben Sombogaart (Twin Sisters), arrived on Blu-ray on Sept. 20, and Music Box Films Home Entertainment has given Disc Dish three copies of the Blu-ray to give away to three lucky Dd readers!
Bride Flight, the most expensive Dutch film production of all time, is the tale of three Dutch beauties (Elise Schaap, Karina Smulders and Anna Drijver) who meet on an airplane in the aftermath of the war as they’re emigrating to New Zealand to meet their husbands-to-be. The movie has it all: love, loss, faith, betrayal and, of course, triumph.
On Blu-ray, the movie is...
And make sure you enter our other contests.
Bride Flight, the sumptuous post-World War II romantic saga directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ben Sombogaart (Twin Sisters), arrived on Blu-ray on Sept. 20, and Music Box Films Home Entertainment has given Disc Dish three copies of the Blu-ray to give away to three lucky Dd readers!
Bride Flight, the most expensive Dutch film production of all time, is the tale of three Dutch beauties (Elise Schaap, Karina Smulders and Anna Drijver) who meet on an airplane in the aftermath of the war as they’re emigrating to New Zealand to meet their husbands-to-be. The movie has it all: love, loss, faith, betrayal and, of course, triumph.
On Blu-ray, the movie is...
- 9/22/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Hobo With A Shotgun has all the hallmarks of an unapologetically sleazy vigilante thriller that is akin to the likes of Street Trash and Death Wish. But instead of Vic Noto or Charles Bronson at the helm we have cult favourite nutcase Rutger Hauer. The esteemed Dutchman has had an interesting, if somewhat unfulfilled, career giving nevertheless memorably menacing performances in the likes of Blade Runner and The Hitcher, not forgetting early credits which harkens back to pre-Hollywood Paul Verhoeven (Turkish Delight, Soldier of Orange) and forward to appearances in big budget blockbuster fare such as Batman Begins and Sin City.
In the lead role of a homeless grunt with a grudge to bare, Hauer is splendidly re-affirmed – riding into Hope Town on a freight train, his weather-beaten features dominating the Technicolor widescreen in close up as he chomps on a harmonica and manically screws his face up,...
Hobo With A Shotgun has all the hallmarks of an unapologetically sleazy vigilante thriller that is akin to the likes of Street Trash and Death Wish. But instead of Vic Noto or Charles Bronson at the helm we have cult favourite nutcase Rutger Hauer. The esteemed Dutchman has had an interesting, if somewhat unfulfilled, career giving nevertheless memorably menacing performances in the likes of Blade Runner and The Hitcher, not forgetting early credits which harkens back to pre-Hollywood Paul Verhoeven (Turkish Delight, Soldier of Orange) and forward to appearances in big budget blockbuster fare such as Batman Begins and Sin City.
In the lead role of a homeless grunt with a grudge to bare, Hauer is splendidly re-affirmed – riding into Hope Town on a freight train, his weather-beaten features dominating the Technicolor widescreen in close up as he chomps on a harmonica and manically screws his face up,...
- 6/13/2011
- by Oliver Pfeiffer
- Obsessed with Film
Alliance VivaFilm is joining forces with the Fantasia Film Festival to give Hobo With A Shotgun the spectacular Cdn launch it deserves, and thanks to them we are giving away 10 double passes.
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On March 21st, Montreal will play host to the Canadian premiere of Jason Eisener’s epic feature debut Hobo With a Shotgun, starring the inimitable Rutger Hauer, and we’ve got ten (10!) double passes to give away! The screening, which will be hosted by Eisener along with producer Robert Cotterill, will also feature a bonus second feature: a glorious 35mm print of Ngai Kai Lam’s infamous 1991 cult flick Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, along with a host of vintage grindhouse/exploitation trailers. Here is a caption from our review from Sundance…
“Hobo With a Shotgun delivers what it promises and will satisfy midnight movie gore-hounds. There is a blithe stream-of-self-awareness at play here, similar to what...
-
On March 21st, Montreal will play host to the Canadian premiere of Jason Eisener’s epic feature debut Hobo With a Shotgun, starring the inimitable Rutger Hauer, and we’ve got ten (10!) double passes to give away! The screening, which will be hosted by Eisener along with producer Robert Cotterill, will also feature a bonus second feature: a glorious 35mm print of Ngai Kai Lam’s infamous 1991 cult flick Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, along with a host of vintage grindhouse/exploitation trailers. Here is a caption from our review from Sundance…
“Hobo With a Shotgun delivers what it promises and will satisfy midnight movie gore-hounds. There is a blithe stream-of-self-awareness at play here, similar to what...
- 3/10/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
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