News

From ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ to ‘good night Los Angeles,’ Ricki Lake is paying tribute to her beloved longtime collaborator John Waters.

The Hairspray star will host ‘Let’s Talk w/ Ricki Lake‘ along with the curators of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures‘ ‘John Waters: Pope of Trash‘ to close out the exhibit on August 3.

The conversation with senior exhibitions curator Jenny He and associate curator Dara Jaffe will touch on Lake’s decades-spanning career of work with Waters, who directed her in such cult classics as Hairspray (1988), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Cecil B. Demented (2000) and A Dirty Shame (2004).

Launching last September, ‘John Waters: Pope of Trash’ is “the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the artist’s contributions to cinema. The exhibition delves into his filmmaking process, key themes, and unmatched style. Works on view include costumes, set decoration, props, handwritten scripts, posters, concept designs, correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, film clips, and more.

Woody Allen says that he intends to retire from directing after his next movie, "Wasp 22," which is set in Paris and will begin filming later this month. 

The news broke in an interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia (via Variety), where the 86-year-old Allen said that "my idea, in principle, is not to make more movies and focus on writing." The "in principle" suggests that these retirement plans are not entirely fixed, and may potentially be a "retirement" in the Hayao Miyazaki sense of the word. For now, though, Allen's intention is to finish his current film and then focus on writing a novel. 

This announcement isn't entirely out of the blue. In an interview with Alec Baldwin livestreamed on Instagram earlier this year, Allen indicated that his retirement from filmmaking was imminent, pointing to the decline of the theatrical experience as the reason: 

"I'll probably make at least one more movie.

Chicago – The legendary “Pope of Trash,” outrageous filmmaker John Waters, promoted his new novel “Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance” at the Chicago Humanities Festival (Chf) on May 7th, 2022, and HollywoodChicago.com was there.

Waters sat down for an interview with Chicago cinéaste Richard Knight Jr. at the Spring Chf, and signed his new novel afterward. Photographer Joe Arce got an Exclusive Portrait of the filmmaker, and Patrick McDonald got a bit of insight into his film film, “Hag in a Black Leather Jacket,” which Waters made on 8mm in 1964 at age 18 … see the 30 second documentary below.

John Waters at Chicago Humanities Festival, May 7th, 2022

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

John Waters was born in Baltimore, and his met his frequent collaborator Divine (Glenn Milstead) while growing up in nearby Lutherville. He absorbed the atmosphere of “Charm City” and used Baltimore as the early settings for his films,...

Tom Hanks was the first person to ever receive a leading actor award from the Screen Actors Guild back in 1995. And now you have voted him your top choice to receive the life achievement at the SAG Awards on February 27, 2022. He was far ahead with 33.58% in our recent poll asking which male actor should get this honor. Sir Anthony Hopkins is at 14.34% and Al Pacino gets 13.21% as the only other people in double digits.

The SAG-AFTRA selection committee will likely be announcing their recipient in the near future. Since three men in a row have been selected for 2018, 2019 and 2020, we fully expect a woman to be chosen this time. In fact, we already published an actress poll last week which was won by Barbra Streisand, closely followed by Meryl Streep (see full results here).

See SAG Life Achievement award: Full gallery of recipients since 1995

Just in case it is a male actor,...

Mark Tarlov, a producer on the John Waters-directed films Pecker, Serial Mom and Cecil B. Demented, died July 31 at his home in Manhattan after a battle with cancer, his family announced. He was 69.

Tarlov also worked with British novelist William Boyd to transform the 1977 Mario Vargas Llosa book Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter into the offbeat Tune in Tomorrow (1990), directed by Jon Amiel and starring Keanu Reeves, Peter Falk, Barbara Hershey, Patricia Clarkson and John Larroquette.

Tune in Tomorrow was the closing-night selection at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the audience and critics awards at the Deauville Film Festival.

The ...

True Detective actor Stephen Dorff took several swings at Hollywood in a candid interview published today in UK’s The Independent, blasting the 2021 Oscars broadcast, likening feature film Black Widow to “a bad video game” and expressing embarrassment for the Marvel movie’s star Scarlett Johansson.

“I still hunt out the good sh*t because I don’t want to be in Black Widow,” Dorff said in the interview. “It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I’m embarrassed for those people. I’m embarrassed for Scarlett! I’m sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I’m embarrassed for her. I don’t want to be in those movies. I really don’t. I’ll find that kid director that’s gonna be the next Kubrick and I’ll act for him instead.”

The Backbeat star, currently appearing in mixed martial arts film Embattled,...

John Waters has joined the cast of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Season 4 at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.

Waters will be appear in a guest starring role in the fourth season of the critically-acclaimed series, with the exact nature of the character he is playing being kept under wraps. Season 4 is currently in production in New York.

Waters is best known for his work behind the camera, having written and directed films like “Pink Flamingos,” “Hairspray,” “Cry-Baby,” and “Cecil B. Demented.” He is also the author of the book “Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder.” Waters is no stranger to acting, though. He has appeared in small roles in a number of his own films as well as others like “Seed of Chucky,” “Mangus!,” “Excision,” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.” On the TV side, he has been on shows like “Law & Order: Svu,...

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for upcoming awards. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective

Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season

2021 Golden Globe Predictions:

Best Actress In A Limited Series Or TV Movie

Updated: Jan. 14, 2021

Awards Commentary:

Superstars Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett will face off with up-and-comers like Anya Taylor-Joy, Shira Haas and Michaela Coel in an extremely competitive category for best actress in a limited series or TV movie. Kidman is an HFPA favorite, having won four Globes as a performer — including this category for “Big Little Lies.” But last year, HFPA made...

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for upcoming awards. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective

Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season

2021 Golden Globe Predictions:

Best Actor In A TV Series (Comedy Or Musical)

Updated: Jan. 12, 2021

Awards Commentary:

It’s a bit of a shock that neither Eugene Levy nor Catherine O’Hara have even been nominated for a Golden Globe Award during their amazing four-decade career span, going all the way back to “Sctv.” The HFPA will hopefully rectify that this year, even if they’re super late to the party, as the Emmy Awards already...

Our recent Gold Derby poll results show that either Meryl Streep or Cicely Tyson should be the next actress to receive the life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.

Since it’s been three men in a row for the most recent ceremonies, we only offered 10 actresses in our poll. Streep and Tyson were the only two ladies with double digit support. All of them have two things in common with typical decisions by this committee: at least 70 years old with a history of charitable and/or humanitarian works.

Seesag Life Achievement award: Full gallery of recipients since 1995

Here are the final poll results with awards info about each actress:

Meryl Streep (30%)

Three-time Oscar winner in 21 nominations; three-time Emmy winner in five nominations; Kennedy Center Honors; AFI life achievement; Cecil B. DeMille Award.

See Meryl Streep movies: 25 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Cicely Tyson (22%)

One-time Oscar nominee...

It will come as a surprise to no one that John Waters, as a wayward youth, once got arrested at the since-shuttered Carlin’s Drive-In in Baltimore. He used to spend lots of time at the local drive-ins, including Bengie’s Drive-In in Maryland, which is still open. Waters seems so synonymous with drive-ins, he even shot the final scene of 2000’s “Cecil B. Demented” at a local one.

“I spent a week in the drive-in filming that finale, so that almost cured me ever wanting to go back to the drive-in again,” Waters said during a recent in-person interview. The filmmaker donned an understated brown cloth mask, having just stepped out from his car after introducing the first in a double feature he programmed for the Provincetown International Film Festival over the weekend. We spoke in the fading dusk as ketchup-soaked killer bunnies appeared onscreen, our conversation occasionally interrupted...

Exclusive: Actor Stephen Dorff has signed with ICM Partners, returning to the agency he has had a long association with.

Dorff is coming off starring turns on the most recent installment of HBO’s True Detective opposite Mahershala Ali and as the title character in the drama series Deputy, which aired on Fox for one season, with Dorff cast in one of the biggest talent deals of the 2019 pilot season.

Dorff’s feature credits include Blade, Public Enemies, World Trade Center, Cold Creek Manor, The Power Of One, Cecil B. Demented, I Shot Andy Warhol and Somewhere. He will next star as Mma fighter Cash Boykins in the David McKenna-penned Embattled, which is finalizing a distribution deal.

Multiple projects are in various stages of development through his La Costa Productions including a Twa Flight 800 miniseries in the works at eOne TV from David McKenna, with Dorff executive producing.

Dorff,...

Happy (Good) Friday, everyone! Even though time isn’t much of a construct these days, the weekend is officially here and if you’re like me, you’re looking for ways to entertain yourself at home during this whole pandemic mess. And with the economy being what it is right now, I know it’s helpful for many folks out there to save money wherever you can, so I thought I would dive into all the great films over at Tubi TV to compile a list of more than 50 different cult films you can currently stream for free.

Just a note: there are a lot of definitions of “cult film,” so I did my best to not include a bunch of titles that horror fans throw around ad nauseam here, and I even opened up my search parameters a bit to include horror, sci-fi, and genre-adjacent titles that I feel...

April 9

– Exclusive: Organizers have today announced plans for the first annual Northwoods Film Festival, to be hosted on August 16 and 17, 2019 at the Lakeland Cinema 6 in Woodruff, Wisconsin. Over the course of two days, the non-for-profit festival will bring groundbreaking and dynamic programming to local audiences, aiming to create conversation and appreciation for film in Northern Wisconsin. The lineup for the festival, which will be announced in the coming months, will bring independent films showcasing thoughtful topics and engaging stories not normally available to audiences in the area.

Through its programming, “the festival aims to attract audiences from the local community of varying ages, backgrounds, and a mix of local residents and seasonal guests. The festival will showcase the warmth and hospitality of the Northern Wisconsin area to bring audiences together in a shared space to enjoy independent film.”

“We are thrilled to channel our passion for the arts and cinema...

John Waters is set to receive the Pardo d’onore Manor lifetime achievement award at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, the first under new artistic director Lili Hinstin. The cult U.S. filmmaker will receive the festival’s highest distinction in Locarno’s Piazza Grande on Aug. 16.

Hinstin said Waters’ “playful” work, which was “full of boldness and joy,” offered “a symbol of freedom far removed from the political correctness ruling today.”

“For my first edition, offering John Waters the highest distinction of the festival is a perfect manifesto,” said Hinstin. “His political and aesthetic commitment is vital in these times, and I am extremely happy and honored to share his incredible work with the audience of Locarno.”

Waters’ appearance in the Piazza Grande will be followed by a ‘Crazy Midnight’ screening – the festival’s new strand introduced to the program this year – of his 2000 film “Cecil B. DeMented.

Chicago – Yep, “Eric Roberts is the F**king Man”! That is the name of the podcast, and the mercurial actor recorded it live in front of an audience at Music Box Theatre in Chicago, as part of their Cinepocalypse Film Festival. Roberts’ filmography includes “The Pope of Greenwich Village” (1984), “Cecil B. Demented” (2000), “The Dark Knight” (2008) and “Inherent Vice” (2014).

Eric Roberts is The Man at the Music Box Theatre, Chicago

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Eric Roberts was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and his younger sibling is Julia Roberts. He began his career on the soap opera “Another World” in 1977, and made his film debut – garnering a Golden Globe nomination – with “King of the Gypsies” (1978). He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1985 for “Runaway Train,’ and starred on Broadway in 1987 in “Burn This!” He is known for his intensity… his catchphrase is “Charlie,...

Hulu has announced the new titles that will be available to stream on the platform in May. Next month will see the streaming release of Oscar-nominated films such as Debra Granik’s 2010 drama “Winter’s Bone,” starring Jennifer Lawrence, and Tim Burton’s 2003 fantasy drama “Big Fish.”

Read More: Hulu and Annapurna Announce Streaming Partnership, With Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit Project First in Line

Hulu’s origial series “Casual” returns for a third season on May 23. The original documentary “Becoming Bond,” about the life of George Lazenby, who played James Bond in the 1969 film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” will debut on May 20. Find the list of all titles coming to Hulu in May below.

May 1

Line of Duty: Complete Season 4 (BBC One)

South Park en Español: Complete Season 20 (Comedy Central)

48 Hrs. (1982)

Another 48 Hrs. (1990)

Arrowhead (1952)

A View to a Kill (1985)

The Bad News Bears (1976)

Bad Influence (1990)

Bait Shop...

Pink Flamingos. Hairspray. Cecil B. Demented. Crybaby. Serial Mom. Say what you will about cult filmmaker John Waters, but his work definitely has a unique style and point of view, with an eye for both the grotesque (Divine eating dogshit in Pink Flamingos) and for biting satire (battling the need to conform in Hairspray, the sensationalism of murder trials in Serial Mom). Now Waters is going to be giving... Read More...

Ever wanted to see a John Waters movie scored by Gene Belcher? That’s The Greasy Strangler. Chaos and perversion reign in premium fashion, almost challenging audiences to walk out on Jim Hosking’s “daring” feature debut. Non-continuity purists should throw their hands in the air and praise their new god. Life as you know it, does not relate to The Greasy Strangler, yet somehow all the dick-waving and throat-collapsing works (against all odds). Each line of ludicrous lingo and disgusting act of deprivation. All the vulgar descriptions of cum-drenched partners and atrocities against morality. No single scene is suitable for general audiences, so strap in for the weirdest cinematic watch of 2016 – or ever.

Sky Elobar plays Big Brayden, a walking disco tour guide who lives and works with his father, Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels). There’s a murderer on the loose dubbed The Greasy Strangler (because he covers...

Exclusive: Actor Stephen Dorff has signed with Paradigm. Last year he moved to Resolution from Gersh to return to longtime agent David Unger, but the agency folded in October. Dorff started his career with films like The Power Of One, Judgment Night, and Backbeat in the ’90s — around the time he famously had Alicia Silverstone cryin’ in an Aerosmith music video. He has appeared steadily onscreen since, with credits ranging from vampire actioner Blade to John Waters’ Cecil B. DeMented, Lee Daniels’ Shadowboxer, Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, and Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center.

Dorff starred in recent indie Zaytoun and The Motel Life opposite Emile Hirsch and Dakota Fanning, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Film. Forthcoming films include the recently-wrapped American Hero opposite Eddie Griffin for director Nick Love, drama Oliver’s Deal from exec producer Christine Vachon,...

Back in 2004, Britney Spears dropped the third single from her third album In the Zone. To accompany the track (a ballad that may or may not be about the end of her relationship with Justin Timberlake), Spears hired David Lachapelle (who had made such classic clips as the Dandy Warhols' "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" and Mariah Carey's "Loverboy") to create a music video for it. Lachappelle crafted a dark, cinematic clip that expresses the sort of intense claustrophobia that Spears felt as a celebrity (paparazzi are everywhere in the video). On top of all that, Spears is faced with the apathy of a man played by actor Stephen Dorff (from films like "Blade," "Cecil B. Demented" and the recently released critical darling "Somewhere"), who recently sat down with MTV News' Josh Horowitz to break down the creation of "Everytime."

The video for "Everytime...

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend about 90 minutes — 45 of them recorded — at New York’s Bowery hotel with the actor Stephen Dorff, 37, who is earning the best reviews of his career for his performance as a movie star in quiet crisis at Hollywood’s fabled Chateau Marmont hotel in Sofia Coppola’s meditative film “Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, R, trailer). Dorff and I had planned to chat in the lobby, but when the hotel staff blocked me from filming him there he graciously invited me up to his room to have a couple of beers and shoot it there. Suffice it to say that it was more than a little surreal to walk in and find a scene very much like the one his character inhabits throughout Coppola’s picture — sans stripper poles, sadly.

Over the course of our conversation, Dorff and I discussed a wide-range of topics:

his...

A while back we announced a contest in which you could win 52 DVD’s courtesy of yours truly. All you had to do was either follow us on Twitter of become a fan of us on Facebook. I was pleased to announce the winner after our 250th episode of Sound On Sight Radio. Congratulations to “Fivedollardare” who won, simply by following us on Twitter. Be sure to do the same and join us on facebook to receive details on our upcoming contests. Here is just some of the DVD’s and Blu-rays that he won:

1- 13 Tzameti

2- Inglourious Basterds

3-a Nos Amours (Criterion)

4- Cecil B. Demented

5- Jules and Jim

6- Do The Right Thing

7- Dr. Seuss’ – How the Grinch Stole Christmas

8- Delicatessen

9- Event Horizon

10- Armageddon (Criterion DVD)

11- Reservoir Dogs

12- Suspiria

13- Paranormal Activity

14- Drag Me To Hell

15- Watchmen

16-...

Controversial director John Waters is puzzled by gay fashion designer Gianni Versace's death - because he wasn't important enough to be assassinated. The homosexual movie-maker confesses that he thinks Andrew Cunanan must have been mad - because there are much more interesting people he could have shot. The Cecil B. DeMented (2000) director says, "The one I didn't get was Cunanan, who shot Versace. There's a lot of good people they could shoot, but Versace, why would you pick him. "I mean, I guess some designers might not like his clothes, but that's not a reason to die."...

Wacky John Waters has a new crush - on Melanie Griffith. The controversial director has been raving about Griffith since working with her on Cecil B. DeMented (2000) - and he doesn't object to her hunky husband either. He says, "She's a really good comedienne and her best roles have been comedies. She's a real movie star - she certainly lives like one, what with her being married to Antonio Banderas. Actually, I thought she was brave to do this movie, because she makes a lot of jokes about herself." Turning his appreciative eye to her husband, Waters gushes, "He was lovely and supportive." The experimental film-maker is now considering some surprising potential leading-ladies for his next project. Waters would love to work with Barbra Streisand because it would be "alarming", while his number one choice would be Meryl Streep. He explains, "I love Meryl Streep. She's a great actress. I doubt whether she'd do it, but in the old days I didn't expect to be working with Kathleen Turner or Melanie Griffith."...

Actress Alicia Witt loves watching porn films- because they're hilarious. The star of upcoming movie Cecil B. DeMented (2000), in which she plays a former porn star has watched her share of x-rated flicks but doesn't find them sexy - just funny. She explains, "I have always been interested in that world just because it's so strange to me. And I've certainly seen a lot of random pornos. I find them very hilarious. They're so unsexy to me. "And I love the porno scene that I have in this movie because I loved getting to spoof the bad acting and the over the top dramatic supposed sexiness that's just to me not sexy in any sense of the word." Alicia, a former sitcom star, recalls her favourite porn movie was one she saw in the Czech Republic. She laughs, "These two women going at with a guy. It was not only this horrible fluorescent lighting, it was so sterile it was like they were doing it in some hospital basement. They had a vocal track laid in that didn't belong to the actresses and they were screaming, `Yah, yah, yah!' It was absolutely absurd."...