Mitzi Gaynor, star of 1950s big-screen musicals including “South Pacific” and “Les Girls” and a series of beloved variety specials in the 1970s, died on Thursday. She was 93.
Gaynor’s management team, Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda, confirmed to Variety that she died of natural causes.
“For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage. She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer,” Reyes and Rosamonda wrote in a statement on Gaynor’s X account. “Off stage, she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being.”
Gaynor starred as Navy nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 big-screen adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” together with Rossano Brazzi as French planter Emile De Becque and John Kerr as Lt. Cable. Gaynor sang...
Gaynor’s management team, Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda, confirmed to Variety that she died of natural causes.
“For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage. She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer,” Reyes and Rosamonda wrote in a statement on Gaynor’s X account. “Off stage, she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being.”
Gaynor starred as Navy nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 big-screen adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” together with Rossano Brazzi as French planter Emile De Becque and John Kerr as Lt. Cable. Gaynor sang...
- 10/17/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Mitzi Gaynor, the leggy entertainer whose saucy vitality and blond beauty graced the big screen in South Pacific and on Las Vegas stages and in spectacular TV specials, has died. She was 93.
Gaynor, who received top billing over The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 16, 1964, and was famed costume designer Bob Mackie’s first celebrity client, died Oct. 17 of natural causes, her team announced in a statement.
“As we celebrate her legacy, we offer our thanks to her friends and fans and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda of Gaynor’s Mgmt team said in a statement shared on the entertainer’s X (formerly known as Twitter.)
“Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life. She often noted that her audiences were ‘the sunshine of my life.’ You truly were.
Gaynor, who received top billing over The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 16, 1964, and was famed costume designer Bob Mackie’s first celebrity client, died Oct. 17 of natural causes, her team announced in a statement.
“As we celebrate her legacy, we offer our thanks to her friends and fans and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda of Gaynor’s Mgmt team said in a statement shared on the entertainer’s X (formerly known as Twitter.)
“Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life. She often noted that her audiences were ‘the sunshine of my life.’ You truly were.
- 10/17/2024
- by Mike Barnes and Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After coming up short on his first two Best Actor Oscar bids for “Walk the Line” and “The Master,” Joaquin Phoenix took the gold in 2020 for “Joker.” The film reaped a whopping 11 Oscar nominations and cracked the billion dollar mark at the box office. The sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which hits theaters October 4, makes Phoenix the 11th Best Actor victor to reprise his winning role in a feature film.
Only one of the first 10 fellows to pull off this double feature earned another Oscar nomination: Bing Crosby (he won for “Going My Way” in 1945 and was nominated for “The Bells of St. Mary’s” in 1946).
Those who preceded Crosby in reprising their winning roles without academy recognition are Warner Baxter, who went on to appear in both “The Cisco Kid” (1931) and “Return of the Cisco Kid” (1939), and Spencer Tracy, who starred in “Men of Boys Town” (1941).
Edward Flanagan portrayer Tracy...
Only one of the first 10 fellows to pull off this double feature earned another Oscar nomination: Bing Crosby (he won for “Going My Way” in 1945 and was nominated for “The Bells of St. Mary’s” in 1946).
Those who preceded Crosby in reprising their winning roles without academy recognition are Warner Baxter, who went on to appear in both “The Cisco Kid” (1931) and “Return of the Cisco Kid” (1939), and Spencer Tracy, who starred in “Men of Boys Town” (1941).
Edward Flanagan portrayer Tracy...
- 10/1/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Ron Howard's acting career was part of a family legacy, as his father, Rance, was already a prolific performer when he was born in 1954. Howard's first professional acting credit is for the 1959 feature "The Journey," with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. That same year, the five-year-old Ron infiltrated TV, appearing as precocious moppets in multiple hot shows.
More notably, beginning in 1960, Ron -- credited as Ronny -- began starring on "The Andy Griffith Show," playing Opie, the son of Griffith's character. Howard would appear in 243 of the show's 249 episodes, over the course of eight seasons. While appearing on "Andy Griffith," Howard would continue to be a TV presence, appearing in dozens of additional hot shows, as well as several notable B-pictures.
Even in his teen years, Howard continued to act, proving that he was no mere child prodigy. He appeared in George Lucas' nostalgia film "American Graffiti," and...
More notably, beginning in 1960, Ron -- credited as Ronny -- began starring on "The Andy Griffith Show," playing Opie, the son of Griffith's character. Howard would appear in 243 of the show's 249 episodes, over the course of eight seasons. While appearing on "Andy Griffith," Howard would continue to be a TV presence, appearing in dozens of additional hot shows, as well as several notable B-pictures.
Even in his teen years, Howard continued to act, proving that he was no mere child prodigy. He appeared in George Lucas' nostalgia film "American Graffiti," and...
- 9/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Exclusive: The widow of Michael Crichton – creator of ER, Jurassic Park, Westworld, Twister, The Andromeda Strain and many other hits that blended grounded science with propulsive pop culture narratives – filed a potentially explosive lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court this morning.
Led by Crichton’s widow Sherri Crichton on behalf of John Michael Crichton Trust’s Roadrunner Jmtc, the suit (read it here) names Warner Bros Television, John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill and others who are charged with breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Repping Crichton is Hueston Hennigan Llp, which has demanded a jury trial. The lead attorney, Robert Klieger, repped Peter Jackson in the filmmaker’s suit against Warner Bros over profit participation, which was settled.
The lawsuit alleges that after walking away from a yearlong negotiation to make a new version of the billion-dollar hit series ER,...
Led by Crichton’s widow Sherri Crichton on behalf of John Michael Crichton Trust’s Roadrunner Jmtc, the suit (read it here) names Warner Bros Television, John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill and others who are charged with breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Repping Crichton is Hueston Hennigan Llp, which has demanded a jury trial. The lead attorney, Robert Klieger, repped Peter Jackson in the filmmaker’s suit against Warner Bros over profit participation, which was settled.
The lawsuit alleges that after walking away from a yearlong negotiation to make a new version of the billion-dollar hit series ER,...
- 8/27/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
One could say it’s a “by-the-numbers” summer with “Despicable Me 4,” “Inside Out 2”” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” among the top box office films. But one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” is back in theaters for its 70th anniversary in a limited release in a new 4K restoration. The acclaimed, influential epic is set in a 16th century Japanese village of poor farmers who hire the seven samurai to protect them from invading bandits intent on stealing their barley crop.
The film stars two members of Japanese filmmaker’s stock company — Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. “Samurai” as noted in the press notes for the new restoration “virtually redefined Japanese cinema’s sword play and period genres, proving Kurosawa a master of both visually thrilling and dramatically complex storytelling.”
Though “Seven Samurai” was released in Japan on April 26, 1954, and was...
The film stars two members of Japanese filmmaker’s stock company — Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. “Samurai” as noted in the press notes for the new restoration “virtually redefined Japanese cinema’s sword play and period genres, proving Kurosawa a master of both visually thrilling and dramatically complex storytelling.”
Though “Seven Samurai” was released in Japan on April 26, 1954, and was...
- 7/17/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Robert Towne, who won an Oscar for his Chinatown original screenplay and was nominated for his Shampoo, The Last Detail and Greystoke scripts, died Monday at his home. He was 89.
PR firm McClure & Associates announced the news on behalf of Towne’s family.
Towne also earned BAFTA, Golden Globe and WGA awards for Chinatown, the L.A.-set 1974 thriller starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. It was one of three Writers Guild Awards he won during his career, along with Shampoo and the drama series Mad Men, on which he was a consulting producer during the final seventh season. He also was nominated for The Last Detail (1973) and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1985). He was honored with the guild’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in 1997.
Thoughtful and soft spoken, Towne was a perfectionist who hated studio meetings and script notes and famously would disappear for...
PR firm McClure & Associates announced the news on behalf of Towne’s family.
Towne also earned BAFTA, Golden Globe and WGA awards for Chinatown, the L.A.-set 1974 thriller starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. It was one of three Writers Guild Awards he won during his career, along with Shampoo and the drama series Mad Men, on which he was a consulting producer during the final seventh season. He also was nominated for The Last Detail (1973) and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1985). He was honored with the guild’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in 1997.
Thoughtful and soft spoken, Towne was a perfectionist who hated studio meetings and script notes and famously would disappear for...
- 7/2/2024
- by Erik Pedersen and Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
John Sturges' "The Magnificent Seven" is one of the best Westerns of all time. We are bound by the Unspoken Rules of the Internet to acknowledge that the film is a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai," and Kurosawa himself found it "disappointing, but entertaining." With all due respect to the Japanese master, though, "The Magnificent Seven" is a banger. Led by a stalwart cast that serves as a who's who of 1960s manly men, including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter, and Charles Bronson, the plot follows a small Mexican village that's being terrorized by a gang of bandits led by a guy named Calvera, played Eli Wallach. With their backs against the wall, the villagers decide to hire a group of seven gunslingers to protect them, and the stage is set for an inevitable showdown.
Brynner and McQueen butted heads behind the scenes,...
Brynner and McQueen butted heads behind the scenes,...
- 6/22/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Armando Silvestre, a busy actor in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema who appeared with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, with Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun and with Burt Lancaster in The Scalphunters, has died. He was 98.
Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.
The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).
He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.
Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.
Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.
The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).
He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.
Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.
- 6/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The musical “Hell’s Kitchen” and the drama “Stereophonic” are leading the nominations with 13 followed closely by the musical “The Outsiders” with 12 for the 77th annual Tony Awards which will be telecast live from Lincoln Center June 16 on Pluto and CBS. The ceremony hosted for the third consecutive year by Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose will also hand out several special Tony Awards.
Two powerhouse directors (and previous Tony winners), George C. Wolfe and Jack O’Brien, are set to receive special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Other special honors will go to sound designer Abe Jacobs, Alex Edelman for his one-man show “Just for Us,” and Nikiya Mathis for her hair and wig design for the Tony nominated “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” Among those receiving Tonys for excellence in the theater are the Dramatist Guild Foundation, the Samuel J. Friedman Heath Center for the Performing Arts and the Wilma Theater.
Two powerhouse directors (and previous Tony winners), George C. Wolfe and Jack O’Brien, are set to receive special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Other special honors will go to sound designer Abe Jacobs, Alex Edelman for his one-man show “Just for Us,” and Nikiya Mathis for her hair and wig design for the Tony nominated “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” Among those receiving Tonys for excellence in the theater are the Dramatist Guild Foundation, the Samuel J. Friedman Heath Center for the Performing Arts and the Wilma Theater.
- 6/11/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most talked about and controversial topics of our time as it is quickly being developed by organizations like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. People are afraid that it will take their jobs and in some cases it already has, it was also a big part of the 2023 writers and actors strike but don’t forget that AI has also been the topic of some of the greatest films ever made more recently it became the main villain in Tom Cruise‘s action-adventure film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1. So, we compiled a list of the 10 best films featuring AI that show us artificial intelligence in different lights including villainous and sympathetic roles.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence Credit – Warner Bros.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a sci-fantasy film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. Based on a 1969 short story titled Supertoys Last All Summer Long by author Brian Aldiss,...
A.I. Artificial Intelligence Credit – Warner Bros.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a sci-fantasy film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. Based on a 1969 short story titled Supertoys Last All Summer Long by author Brian Aldiss,...
- 6/7/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
When Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni were writing the screenplay for their 1954 epic "Seven Samurai," they couldn't have predicted its lasting influence on cinema. Not only did Kurosawa's masterful direction alter and revolutionize the way action sequences would be shot, but the premise became a reliable and lasting template that multiple other filmmakers would employ in the ensuing decades. For those unlucky enough to have never seen "Seven Samurai," the setup is simple: a remote farming village is regularly looted by passing bandits, leaving them destitute. Unable to withstand another attack, the villagers gather up their modest means and hire seven rogue samurai to protect them. The samurai know that the job won't pay, but each one has their own reasons for joining the cause. Using their cunning and limited means, the samurai repel the bandit attack.
Most recently, the "Seven Samurai" premise was transposed onto Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon.
Most recently, the "Seven Samurai" premise was transposed onto Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon.
- 5/21/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
There wasn't a more capable director of massive, widescreen Westerns working in Hollywood during the 1950s and '60s than John Sturges. Whether classical ("Gunfight at the O.K. Corral") or somewhat unconventional ("Bad Day at Black Rock"), Sturges could frame a mountainous expanse or stage a gunfight with the best of them. He thrived when working with big casts and specialized in discovering stirring nuances in characters that would've been walking cliches in more typical genre flicks.
Sturges was also efficient, which came in handy when managing expensive studio productions populated with big egos. His biggest challenge in this department might've been "The Magnificent Seven," the 1960 remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "Seven Samurai." Yul Brynner, then a hugely popular movie star (largely on the strength of his Academy Award-winning performance in "The King and I" and his portrayal of Ramses in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments"), controlled...
Sturges was also efficient, which came in handy when managing expensive studio productions populated with big egos. His biggest challenge in this department might've been "The Magnificent Seven," the 1960 remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "Seven Samurai." Yul Brynner, then a hugely popular movie star (largely on the strength of his Academy Award-winning performance in "The King and I" and his portrayal of Ramses in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments"), controlled...
- 4/28/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Lynda Gravátt, the Harlem-born actress who starred on New York stages in such productions as 45 Seconds From Broadway, Doubt, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Old Settler and Intimate Apparel, has died. She was 76.
Gravátt died Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, her son David Gravátt told The Hollywood Reporter.
A founding member of Robert Alexander’s Living Stage at the famed Washington-based Arena Stage company, Gravátt received a 1999 Theatre World trophy for her performance as 1940s Harlem resident Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler and a Audelco prize in 2004 for her turn as the bossy landlady Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.
On Broadway in 2001, she stood by for Leslie Uggams as Ruby in August Wilson’s King Hedley II and portrayed Bessie James in Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds From Broadway, then appeared as Mrs. Muller in 2016 in the original Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
Gravátt died Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, her son David Gravátt told The Hollywood Reporter.
A founding member of Robert Alexander’s Living Stage at the famed Washington-based Arena Stage company, Gravátt received a 1999 Theatre World trophy for her performance as 1940s Harlem resident Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler and a Audelco prize in 2004 for her turn as the bossy landlady Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.
On Broadway in 2001, she stood by for Leslie Uggams as Ruby in August Wilson’s King Hedley II and portrayed Bessie James in Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds From Broadway, then appeared as Mrs. Muller in 2016 in the original Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
- 2/27/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Steve McQueen is a name so cool that two famous people have to share it: the American actor and action film icon known for films like “The Great Escape” and “Bullitt” before he died in 1980, and the Oscar-winning British film director behind acclaimed dramas like “12 Years a Slave,” “Hunger,” and “Small Axe.” Now, McQueen the director has revealed that McQueen the actor was part of his formative filmgoing experiences.
In an interview with The Messenger to promote his documentary “Occupied City,” McQueen was asked about his favorite film starring the actor who shares his name. Although McQueen initially hesitated to share, he eventually revealed his favorite to be “The Magnificent Seven.” A western remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic “Seven Samurai” from director John Sturges, the 1960 film focuses on a group of seven American gunslingers hired to protect a Mexican village from terrorizing bandits. McQueen played drifting gambler Vin in the film,...
In an interview with The Messenger to promote his documentary “Occupied City,” McQueen was asked about his favorite film starring the actor who shares his name. Although McQueen initially hesitated to share, he eventually revealed his favorite to be “The Magnificent Seven.” A western remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic “Seven Samurai” from director John Sturges, the 1960 film focuses on a group of seven American gunslingers hired to protect a Mexican village from terrorizing bandits. McQueen played drifting gambler Vin in the film,...
- 12/29/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Shirley Anne Field, the British leading lady who starred alongside Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer, Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and Kenneth More in Man in the Moon — all in 1960 — has died. She was 87.
“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.
“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.
“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.
“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.
“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.
“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.
- 12/12/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress and twin sister of Pier Angeli who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the daughter of Anna Magnani’s seamstress in the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, has died. She was 91.
Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).
In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...
Pavan died Wednesday in her sleep at her home in Gassin, France, near Saint-Tropez, Margaux Soumoy, who wrote Pavan’s 2021 biography, Drop the Baby; Put a Veil on the Broad!, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pavan also portrayed the French queen Catherine de’ Medici in Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner; an Italian girl who had an affair years ago with a corporate exec (Gregory Peck) in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the love interest of a former cop (Tony Curtis) investigating the murder of a priest in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957).
In Paramount’s The Rose Tattoo (1955), an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play that won four Tony Awards, including best play,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In 1964 Barbra Streisand became a star when she opened the original Broadway production of “Funny Girl” as real-life actress, singer and comedian Fanny Brice. Despite rave reviews, she ended up losing the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical to Carol Channing for “Hello, Dolly!” But in 1968 Babs made her motion picture debut in a film adaptation of “Funny Girl” directed by William Wyler, reprising her role as Fanny. She went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress (famously in a tie with Katharine Hepburn for “The Lion in Winter”). In 1970 Eileen Heckart was Tony nominated for her featured performance as Mrs. Baker in “Butterflies are Free,” but lost to her co-star Blythe Danner. But in 1972 Heckart reprised her role in a film adaptation, which won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
SEERay Richmond: Oprah discusses taking her ‘The Color Purple’ journey full circle following Thursday night world...
SEERay Richmond: Oprah discusses taking her ‘The Color Purple’ journey full circle following Thursday night world...
- 11/29/2023
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
Rock Brynner, the son of legendary actor Yul Brynner, who cut his own path as a writer, historian, novelist, playwright, bodyguard, and more, has died. He was 76. According to the New York Times, Rock passed away on Friday, October 13, at a hospice in Salisbury, Connecticut. His close friend, Maria Cuomo Cole, said the cause of death was due to complications of multiple myeloma. Born on December 23, 1946, in Manhattan, New York City, Rock had big shoes to fill, given that his father, Yul, was one of the world’s most iconic and well-respected actors, best known for his Tony and Oscar-winning turns in the stage and screen versions of the musical The King and I. He also starred in The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, Westworld, and the CBS TV series Anna and the King. However, Rock carved his own niche, embarking on a fascinating and varied career throughout his lifetime.
- 10/26/2023
- TV Insider
Rock Brynner, who escaped the shadow of his iconic actor father Yul Brynner to launch a multifaceted career, died Oct. 13 in Salisbury, Connecticut. He was 76 and was in hospice battling complications of multiple myeloma, according to family friend Maria Cuomo Cole.
Like many children of major celebrities, Rock Brynner tried to carve his own path. That included time spent as a road manager for The Band, bodyguard for Muhammad Ali, farmer, pilot, street performer, novelist, and professor of constitutional history at several universities.
Rock Brynner attended Yale, Trinity College Dublin, and Columbia, where he received a doctorate in American history in 1993 before teaching for more than a decade at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
His life was filled with intriguing stints in various roles. He wrote a one-man play based on French playwright Jean Cocteau’s addiction memoir, “Opium,” which he performed briefly on Broadway in 1970. Cocteau was Brynner’s godfather.
Like many children of major celebrities, Rock Brynner tried to carve his own path. That included time spent as a road manager for The Band, bodyguard for Muhammad Ali, farmer, pilot, street performer, novelist, and professor of constitutional history at several universities.
Rock Brynner attended Yale, Trinity College Dublin, and Columbia, where he received a doctorate in American history in 1993 before teaching for more than a decade at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
His life was filled with intriguing stints in various roles. He wrote a one-man play based on French playwright Jean Cocteau’s addiction memoir, “Opium,” which he performed briefly on Broadway in 1970. Cocteau was Brynner’s godfather.
- 10/25/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
The Mill is a sci-fi mystery drama film directed by Sean King O’Grady from a screenplay by Jeffrey David Thomas. The Hulu film follows the story of a businessman who wakes up in an open-air prison cell with an old grist mill. He’s forced to work there but now he must find a way to escape before the birth of his child. The Mill stars Lil Rel Howrey in the lead role with Pat Healy and Karen Obilom starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved The Mill here are some similar movies you could watch next.
The Belko Experiment Credit – Orion Pictures
Synopsis: Welcome to Belko Industries, a normally calm workplace that’s about to devolve into a blood-soaked battle royale and a shocking case study of bone-crunching horror! When 80 Americans are suddenly locked in their office building in Bogotá, a mysterious voice on the intercom orders them...
The Belko Experiment Credit – Orion Pictures
Synopsis: Welcome to Belko Industries, a normally calm workplace that’s about to devolve into a blood-soaked battle royale and a shocking case study of bone-crunching horror! When 80 Americans are suddenly locked in their office building in Bogotá, a mysterious voice on the intercom orders them...
- 10/10/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
What’s the first thing you think of when you picture Patrick Stewart? You can say Poop from The Emoji Movie all you want but we all know you immediately saw his bald head. Like Yul Brynner, Telly Savalas and Bruce Willis, the cueball look is one of Patrick Stewart’s trademarks. As it turns out, the 83-year-old actor has been perfecting it since he was a teenager.
Patrick Stewart opened up about his premature baldness in his new book, “Making It So: A Memoir”, available from Simon & Schuster. “By the age of nineteen, I was as bald on top as I am now.” But Stewart remained hopeful – at least where his career was concerned. “What I cared about, though, was dating. Attractive young women, I assumed, were not going to want to go out with a young bald guy–not like what’s become socially acceptable, even desirable,...
Patrick Stewart opened up about his premature baldness in his new book, “Making It So: A Memoir”, available from Simon & Schuster. “By the age of nineteen, I was as bald on top as I am now.” But Stewart remained hopeful – at least where his career was concerned. “What I cared about, though, was dating. Attractive young women, I assumed, were not going to want to go out with a young bald guy–not like what’s become socially acceptable, even desirable,...
- 10/5/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
The late, great Paul Reubens didn't just bring his chipper, friendly, well-dressed character Pee-wee Herman to television with "Pee-wee's Playhouse." He also brought total anarchy. In a children's television landscape dominated by poorly disguised toy commercials and wholesome live-action hosts, "Pee-wee's Playhouse" was a loud, chaotic, unapologetically strange (and sometimes controversial) TV series where anything can and, usually, did happen.
Hosted by Reubens, every episode featured Pee-wee Herman — decked out in a (let's be honest here) pretty stylish grey tailored suit and a little red bowtie — interacting with his anthropomorphic furniture, getting his wishes granted by strange deities, and getting visited by a cavalcade of friends. But these friends weren't the normal human beings who lived next door to Pee-wee in the hit film "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," who loved him or hated him, but never shared his kookiness. "Pee-wee's Playhouse" was populated by lovable goofballs just like Pee-wee himself,...
Hosted by Reubens, every episode featured Pee-wee Herman — decked out in a (let's be honest here) pretty stylish grey tailored suit and a little red bowtie — interacting with his anthropomorphic furniture, getting his wishes granted by strange deities, and getting visited by a cavalcade of friends. But these friends weren't the normal human beings who lived next door to Pee-wee in the hit film "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," who loved him or hated him, but never shared his kookiness. "Pee-wee's Playhouse" was populated by lovable goofballs just like Pee-wee himself,...
- 7/31/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Rock Hudson was one of the biggest stars of the 1950’s and 60s: the most handsome leading man who romanced the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Jane Wyman, Barbara Rush, Julie Andrews and Gina Lollobrigida on the silver screen. But he was living a secret life off-screen — he was gay.
The new Max/HBO documentary “Rock Hudson All That Heaven Allowed” examines his double life and the lengths that were taken to ensure his LGBTQ+ identity wasn’t revealed It wasn’t until 1985 did the truth make the headlines when he became the first famous Hollywood star to die of AIDs.
Barbara Rush, who appeared in three films with Hudson including 1954’s “Magnificent Obsession,” told me in a 2019 L.A. Times interview that it was no secret in Tinseltown that he was gay. “His agent [Henry Willson] decided that there had been enough about the rumors about Rock being gay.
The new Max/HBO documentary “Rock Hudson All That Heaven Allowed” examines his double life and the lengths that were taken to ensure his LGBTQ+ identity wasn’t revealed It wasn’t until 1985 did the truth make the headlines when he became the first famous Hollywood star to die of AIDs.
Barbara Rush, who appeared in three films with Hudson including 1954’s “Magnificent Obsession,” told me in a 2019 L.A. Times interview that it was no secret in Tinseltown that he was gay. “His agent [Henry Willson] decided that there had been enough about the rumors about Rock being gay.
- 6/30/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
An action movie is created to excite and wow us, taking the audience on a rollercoaster ride to see if and how our protagonist — who may or may not be much of a hero — survives amid pure chaos. It’s also a genre that often strives to top itself. Many of our favorite films have found new ways to raise the bar, whether it be through the storytelling, cast, or sequences that completely change the game.
Den of Geek is celebrating 15 movies that looked forward, whether they were celebrated in their day as innovators or have been finally reevaluated years after release. All of these action movies were ahead of their time, whether it be through never-before-seen fight choreography and stunt work or advancements in special effects and storytelling.
Seven Samurai (1954)
Yeah, we all know that one film nerd who gets on your case about watching Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai at least once.
Den of Geek is celebrating 15 movies that looked forward, whether they were celebrated in their day as innovators or have been finally reevaluated years after release. All of these action movies were ahead of their time, whether it be through never-before-seen fight choreography and stunt work or advancements in special effects and storytelling.
Seven Samurai (1954)
Yeah, we all know that one film nerd who gets on your case about watching Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai at least once.
- 6/3/2023
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto is going from dark alleyways to purple mountains majesty to write and executive produce The Magnificent Seven series reboot at Amazon Studios. Earlier this month, Amazon announced it would reboot several MGM properties under the Amazon Studios banner, including Robocop, Legally Blonde, Barbershop, Stargate, and more. Another title on the list is The Magnificent Seven, which Pizzolatto is saddling up to ride.
Initially, Pizzolatto wanted to make an original Western drama series for Amazon Studios. The project would have followed a former outlaw on a mission, assembling a gang while confronting his past as he and his partners stumble into trouble along their odyssey. As talks evolved, The Magnificent Seven series reboot entered the discussion. Amazon wants top talent working on its well-known Western property, and Pizzolatto is well acquainted with the property after writing the 2016 reboot.
Mark Johnson, who agreed to partner with Pizzolatto for his original Western drama,...
Initially, Pizzolatto wanted to make an original Western drama series for Amazon Studios. The project would have followed a former outlaw on a mission, assembling a gang while confronting his past as he and his partners stumble into trouble along their odyssey. As talks evolved, The Magnificent Seven series reboot entered the discussion. Amazon wants top talent working on its well-known Western property, and Pizzolatto is well acquainted with the property after writing the 2016 reboot.
Mark Johnson, who agreed to partner with Pizzolatto for his original Western drama,...
- 4/24/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Actors John Wayne and Kirk Douglas had their fair share of disagreements over the course of their careers. However, that didn’t stop them from working together a few times. They represented entirely different political ideologies, which caused many of their fans to believe that they must have hated one another. Douglas once spoke about the respect that he had for Wayne, which was reciprocated by the Western movie star.
John Wayne and Kirk Douglas were in 3 movies together L-r: John Wayne and Kirk Douglas | FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
Wayne and Douglas starred in three movies over their long-running careers. The first was Otto Preminger’s In Harm’s Way, which hit theaters in 1965. The story takes place during World War II, following the lives of several naval officers in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor. One of them gets another opportunity to prove himself when he gets promoted to Rear Admiral.
John Wayne and Kirk Douglas were in 3 movies together L-r: John Wayne and Kirk Douglas | FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
Wayne and Douglas starred in three movies over their long-running careers. The first was Otto Preminger’s In Harm’s Way, which hit theaters in 1965. The story takes place during World War II, following the lives of several naval officers in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor. One of them gets another opportunity to prove himself when he gets promoted to Rear Admiral.
- 4/10/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Ten Commandments is one of those iconic movies that just about everyone has seen and many have made watching the epic film on TV a spring tradition every year. There have been other versions made over the years but none are anywhere near as popular as Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 classic.
Charlton Heston starred as Moses in The Ten Commandments but what some people don’t know is that wasn’t his only part in the movie or that his son was also in it.
Charlton Heston as Moses holding the tablets in ‘The Ten Commandments’ movie | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images Who Charlton Heston’s son played in the movie
DeMille chose Heston to play the part of Moses because the director believed he resembled Michelangelo’s statue of Moses in Rome, Italy. He also decided to cast Heston’s son in the movie before the child was even born.
Charlton Heston starred as Moses in The Ten Commandments but what some people don’t know is that wasn’t his only part in the movie or that his son was also in it.
Charlton Heston as Moses holding the tablets in ‘The Ten Commandments’ movie | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images Who Charlton Heston’s son played in the movie
DeMille chose Heston to play the part of Moses because the director believed he resembled Michelangelo’s statue of Moses in Rome, Italy. He also decided to cast Heston’s son in the movie before the child was even born.
- 4/1/2023
- by Michelle Kapusta
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
A year ago, this sentence would have felt impossible: As predicted, Ke Huy Quan won an Oscar on Sunday night for his supporting actor performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
For many, Quan’s appearance in the Daniels-directed, genre-breaking, sci-fi action-comedy — an unlikely awards contender in its own right — was the sudden reintroduction of a child star who had disappeared into pop culture history after a promising debut in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies a year later.
But on the strength of his role — or make that roles, given Eeaao’s multiversal nature — as the alternately sweet/badass/debonair Waymond Wang, Quan became virtually the only lock this season, picking up Critics Choice, Indie Spirit, Golden Globe, SAG, Gotham, National Society of Film Critics, L.A. Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle awards on the way to the Dolby Theatre.
For many, Quan’s appearance in the Daniels-directed, genre-breaking, sci-fi action-comedy — an unlikely awards contender in its own right — was the sudden reintroduction of a child star who had disappeared into pop culture history after a promising debut in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies a year later.
But on the strength of his role — or make that roles, given Eeaao’s multiversal nature — as the alternately sweet/badass/debonair Waymond Wang, Quan became virtually the only lock this season, picking up Critics Choice, Indie Spirit, Golden Globe, SAG, Gotham, National Society of Film Critics, L.A. Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle awards on the way to the Dolby Theatre.
- 3/13/2023
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2023 Oscar nominees for Best Actress are Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”), and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”). Our current odds indicate that Yeoh (82/25) will take the prize, followed in order by Blanchett (18/5), Williams (9/2), Riseborough (9/2), and de Armas (9/2).
Blanchett, who triumphed here in 2014 for “Blue Jasmine,” is the only past Oscar winner in this lineup. She now belongs to a group of 20 women with at least five Best Actress nominations apiece, with her previous unsuccessful bids having come for “Elizabeth” (1999), “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2008), and “Carol” (2016). She also has a supporting victory to her name for “The Aviator” (2005) as well as two more notices in that category for “Notes on a Scandal” (2007) and “I’m Not There” (2008). Her overall nomination total of eight is the one of the highest for an actress, behind Meryl Streep (21), Katharine Hepburn (12), and Bette Davis...
Blanchett, who triumphed here in 2014 for “Blue Jasmine,” is the only past Oscar winner in this lineup. She now belongs to a group of 20 women with at least five Best Actress nominations apiece, with her previous unsuccessful bids having come for “Elizabeth” (1999), “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2008), and “Carol” (2016). She also has a supporting victory to her name for “The Aviator” (2005) as well as two more notices in that category for “Notes on a Scandal” (2007) and “I’m Not There” (2008). Her overall nomination total of eight is the one of the highest for an actress, behind Meryl Streep (21), Katharine Hepburn (12), and Bette Davis...
- 3/10/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
In 1966, Montreal-born William Shatner was cast in the role that would change his life, Capt. James Tiberius Kirk in NBC's sci-fi drama "Star Trek." Shatner would go on to play the starship captain for three seasons before reprising Kirk in a Saturday morning cartoon and then in several "Trek" movies throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s until Kirk's demise in 1994's "Star Trek Generations." There's no argument that Shatner — who celebrated his 91st birthday in March 2022 — will forever be associated with his "Trek" character. And while Kirk will always be his signature role, the truth is that it's one of many for an actor who first made his way to Hollywood in the 1950s after performing Shakespeare with the famed Stratford Festival in his native Canada.
In fact, Shatner has amassed a whopping 250 screen credits over the years. His roles have run the gamut, ranging from Ranger...
In fact, Shatner has amassed a whopping 250 screen credits over the years. His roles have run the gamut, ranging from Ranger...
- 2/15/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- Slash Film
The first time Cecil B. DeMille parted the waters of the Red Sea, to film the 1923 version of The Ten Commandments, he did it at Seal Beach, CA, just 30 miles down the Pacific coast from Santa Monica. Three decades later, when Paramount Pictures decided to remake the Old Testament tale in Technicolor and VistaVision, the same director returned to do it again, only this time on location on the Sinai Peninsula with thousands of extras provided by the Egyptian army — no matter that the country’s military was rather busy with urgent geopolitical matters at the time. Both versions were massive hits, with the remake serving as the capper to DeMille’s illustrious career.
Related Story Take Two: Hammond And McCarthy Talk The Highs And Lows Of A Sundance That Was A Welcome Return To Normal Related Story Sphinx Head From Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Ten Commandments' Unearthed Related Story 'A.
Related Story Take Two: Hammond And McCarthy Talk The Highs And Lows Of A Sundance That Was A Welcome Return To Normal Related Story Sphinx Head From Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Ten Commandments' Unearthed Related Story 'A.
- 2/2/2023
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Movie robots are inherently cool. They're brought to life by the best special effects available, like Phil Tippett's amazing stop-motion, or puppeteers inside detailed suits. From Kenny Baker within Lucasfilm's famous R2-D2 bucket to the pair of stuntmen, Frankie Carpenter and Frankie Darro, who brought Robby the Robot to life, there are a bunch of ways to pull it off.
But most movie robots require bearing a couple of things in mind. One is if the audience is supposed to empathize with them, which means comforting, funny voices — Tars, for example — or human-ish eyes, like Optimus Prime. The other is how close are they to falling into the uncanny valley. We're wired to notice when something doesn't look quite right, and some movie robots benefit from using that to scare the hell out of us. There's another level of robot movie power to discuss, and that's how...
But most movie robots require bearing a couple of things in mind. One is if the audience is supposed to empathize with them, which means comforting, funny voices — Tars, for example — or human-ish eyes, like Optimus Prime. The other is how close are they to falling into the uncanny valley. We're wired to notice when something doesn't look quite right, and some movie robots benefit from using that to scare the hell out of us. There's another level of robot movie power to discuss, and that's how...
- 1/27/2023
- by Margaret David
- Slash Film
Killer machines are a narrative trope about as old as machinery itself, but there’s something especially creepy about metallic killers when they’re roughly human-shaped. And as we’ve seen with the success of Blumhouse’s insanely popular M3GAN, the uncanny valley can still go a long way when it comes to attracting modern audiences.
With that in mind, we’ve decided to celebrate the home release of M3GAN with a list of six other memorable killer androids in horror movies. After all, these man-made movie monsters evolved alongside Hollywood’s understanding of technology, so we’ve seen some pretty interesting homicidal automatons over the years.
Obviously, this list is based on personal opinion, but we’ll still be following a couple of rules. First of all, we’ll be excluding cyborgs from the list, as their human bits make them a completely different kind of character. Second, we...
With that in mind, we’ve decided to celebrate the home release of M3GAN with a list of six other memorable killer androids in horror movies. After all, these man-made movie monsters evolved alongside Hollywood’s understanding of technology, so we’ve seen some pretty interesting homicidal automatons over the years.
Obviously, this list is based on personal opinion, but we’ll still be following a couple of rules. First of all, we’ll be excluding cyborgs from the list, as their human bits make them a completely different kind of character. Second, we...
- 1/26/2023
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
Luigina “Gina” Lollobrigida, The Italian film actor who became one of the most famous stars in European cinema during the 1950s and ’60s, has died, Italian news outlet Lapresse reported Monday. She was 95.
According to Lapresse (via Variety), Lollobrigida died while in a clinic in Rome. No cause of death has been confirmed. Italy’s Minister of Agriculture and Lollobrigida’s grandnewphew Francesco Lollobrigida tweeted about her passing on Monday, calling her “one of the brightest stars of Italian cinematography and culture.”
Oggi è scomparsa #GinaLollobrigida, una delle stelle più luminose della cinematografia e della cultura italiana. Ineguagliabile fuoriclasse, icona di bellezza e versatilità, donna e professionista straordinaria. Continuerà a vivere e ispirare attraverso le sue opere. pic.twitter.com/fEW9gVFuEi
— Francesco Lollobrigida (@FrancescoLollo1) January 16, 2023
Born in 1927 as the daughter of a furniture manufacturer, Lollobrigida studied sculpture at Rome’s Academy of Fine Arts, and started her career with...
According to Lapresse (via Variety), Lollobrigida died while in a clinic in Rome. No cause of death has been confirmed. Italy’s Minister of Agriculture and Lollobrigida’s grandnewphew Francesco Lollobrigida tweeted about her passing on Monday, calling her “one of the brightest stars of Italian cinematography and culture.”
Oggi è scomparsa #GinaLollobrigida, una delle stelle più luminose della cinematografia e della cultura italiana. Ineguagliabile fuoriclasse, icona di bellezza e versatilità, donna e professionista straordinaria. Continuerà a vivere e ispirare attraverso le sue opere. pic.twitter.com/fEW9gVFuEi
— Francesco Lollobrigida (@FrancescoLollo1) January 16, 2023
Born in 1927 as the daughter of a furniture manufacturer, Lollobrigida studied sculpture at Rome’s Academy of Fine Arts, and started her career with...
- 1/16/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95.
The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had surgery in September to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall. She returned home and said she had quickly resumed walking.
A drawn portrait of the diva graced a 1954 cover of Time magazine, which likened her to a “goddess” in an article about Italian movie-making. More than a half-century later, Lollobrigida still turned heads with her brown, curly hair and statuesque figure, and preferred to be called an actress instead of the gender-neutral term actor.
Read More: Evel Knievel’s Son Robbie Dies At Age 60 After Pancreatic Cancer Battle
“Lollo,” as she was lovingly nicknamed by Italians, began making...
The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had surgery in September to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall. She returned home and said she had quickly resumed walking.
A drawn portrait of the diva graced a 1954 cover of Time magazine, which likened her to a “goddess” in an article about Italian movie-making. More than a half-century later, Lollobrigida still turned heads with her brown, curly hair and statuesque figure, and preferred to be called an actress instead of the gender-neutral term actor.
Read More: Evel Knievel’s Son Robbie Dies At Age 60 After Pancreatic Cancer Battle
“Lollo,” as she was lovingly nicknamed by Italians, began making...
- 1/16/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
With her large, limpid brown eyes, statuesque figure, and seductively deep voice, she was one of the world’s best-known actresses and sex symbols in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in evergreen classics like “Come September” – but Gina Lollobrigida, who passed away at 95 on Monday, made waves beyond her onscreen prowess in other fields too, and figured in the headlines long after she walked off-stage.
And she had an Indian connection too.
Termed the “Mona Lisa of the 20th Century” and “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World”, Gina Lollobrigida was also more informally called “La Lollo” – a nickname also later adopted by Indian actress Karisma Kapoor.
And while the theme of one of her most famous films continues to strike a chord with Indians of the right age and can still be heard at weddings, Gina nearly became part of Bollywood’s first attempt at an international hit.
Tipped...
And she had an Indian connection too.
Termed the “Mona Lisa of the 20th Century” and “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World”, Gina Lollobrigida was also more informally called “La Lollo” – a nickname also later adopted by Indian actress Karisma Kapoor.
And while the theme of one of her most famous films continues to strike a chord with Indians of the right age and can still be heard at weddings, Gina nearly became part of Bollywood’s first attempt at an international hit.
Tipped...
- 1/16/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
And she had an Indian connection too.
Termed the "Mona Lisa of the 20th Century" and "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", Gina Lollobrigida was also more informally called "La Lollo" – a nickname also later adopted by Indian actress Karisma Kapoor.
And while the theme of one of her most famous films continues to strike a chord with Indians of the right age and can still be heard at weddings, Gina nearly became part of Bollywood’s first attempt at an international hit.
Tipped for the role of an aristocratic, acrobatic thief in Krishna Shah’s "Shalimar" (1977), she walked out, after being royally upstaged by a younger and more daring Zeenat Aman at the "muhurat" in Bombay’s Turf Club.. Replaced by American actress Sylvia Miles, she missed being part of a colossal financial and critical flop.
But there were other, better films she can be seen in. Gina...
Termed the "Mona Lisa of the 20th Century" and "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World", Gina Lollobrigida was also more informally called "La Lollo" – a nickname also later adopted by Indian actress Karisma Kapoor.
And while the theme of one of her most famous films continues to strike a chord with Indians of the right age and can still be heard at weddings, Gina nearly became part of Bollywood’s first attempt at an international hit.
Tipped for the role of an aristocratic, acrobatic thief in Krishna Shah’s "Shalimar" (1977), she walked out, after being royally upstaged by a younger and more daring Zeenat Aman at the "muhurat" in Bombay’s Turf Club.. Replaced by American actress Sylvia Miles, she missed being part of a colossal financial and critical flop.
But there were other, better films she can be seen in. Gina...
- 1/16/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Los Angeles, Jan 16 (Ians) Gina Lollobrigida, the 1950s Italian bombshell who starred in films including ‘Fanfan la Tulipe’, ‘Beat the Devil’, ‘Trapeze’ and ‘Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell’, has died. She was 95.
A generation of Indians will remember Lollobrigida from her sensational appearance at the 1978 International Film Festival of India (Iffi), where her flirty exchanges with Kabir Bedi were grist for the gossip magazine mill as well as politically incorrect comparisons between her physical attributes and those of Zeenat Aman.
Kabir Bedi, in his autobiography ‘Stories I Must Tell’, recalls a famous face-off Praveen Babi had with Lollobrigida at a party the Italian actress hosted in his honour for playing Sandokan in the famous Italian television series. The temperamental Indian actress was upset with Lollobrigida because she was apparently getting too comfortable with Bedi.
Lollobrigida also provided fodder for film magazines when it was rumoured that she was being cast by...
A generation of Indians will remember Lollobrigida from her sensational appearance at the 1978 International Film Festival of India (Iffi), where her flirty exchanges with Kabir Bedi were grist for the gossip magazine mill as well as politically incorrect comparisons between her physical attributes and those of Zeenat Aman.
Kabir Bedi, in his autobiography ‘Stories I Must Tell’, recalls a famous face-off Praveen Babi had with Lollobrigida at a party the Italian actress hosted in his honour for playing Sandokan in the famous Italian television series. The temperamental Indian actress was upset with Lollobrigida because she was apparently getting too comfortable with Bedi.
Lollobrigida also provided fodder for film magazines when it was rumoured that she was being cast by...
- 1/16/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Gina Lollobrigida, the 1950s Italian bombshell who starred in films including ‘Fanfan la Tulipe’, ‘Beat the Devil’, ‘Trapeze’ and ‘Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell’, has died. She was 95. A generation of Indians will remember Lollobrigida from her sensational appearance at the 1978 International Film Festival of India (Iffi), where her flirty exchanges with Kabir Bedi were grist for the gossip magazine mill as well as politically incorrect comparisons between her physical attributes and those of Zeenat Aman.
Kabir Bedi, in his autobiography ‘Stories I Must Tell’, recalls a famous face-off Praveen Babi had with Lollobrigida at a party the Italian actress hosted in his honour for playing Sandokan in the famous Italian television series. The temperamental Indian actress was upset with Lollobrigida because she was apparently getting too comfortable with Bedi.
Lollobrigida also provided fodder for film magazines when it was rumoured that she was being cast by Krishna Shah in his Indo-American movie,...
Kabir Bedi, in his autobiography ‘Stories I Must Tell’, recalls a famous face-off Praveen Babi had with Lollobrigida at a party the Italian actress hosted in his honour for playing Sandokan in the famous Italian television series. The temperamental Indian actress was upset with Lollobrigida because she was apparently getting too comfortable with Bedi.
Lollobrigida also provided fodder for film magazines when it was rumoured that she was being cast by Krishna Shah in his Indo-American movie,...
- 1/16/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Tributes are pouring in for Gina Lollobrigida, one of Europe’s biggest movie stars, who died on Monday at the age of 95.
A global sex symbol during the 1950s and ’60s, Lollobrigida worked with Hollywood heavyweights such as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn and Rock Hudson.
Sophia Loren was one of the first people to pay tribute to “La Lollo,” as the Italians called her. Loren said in a statement she “is deeply shaken and saddened” by the news of Lollobrigida’s death.
The two divas had parallel careers in Italy and Hollywood and were often considered rivals.
Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano tweeted: “Adieu to a diva of the big screen, protagonist of half a century of Italian cinema. Your charm will remain eternal. Ciao Lollo.”
“Ciao Gina. With You the last diva has left us,” Tweeted actor director Giulio Base, whose wife, Filming Italy festival chief Tiziana Rocca,...
A global sex symbol during the 1950s and ’60s, Lollobrigida worked with Hollywood heavyweights such as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn and Rock Hudson.
Sophia Loren was one of the first people to pay tribute to “La Lollo,” as the Italians called her. Loren said in a statement she “is deeply shaken and saddened” by the news of Lollobrigida’s death.
The two divas had parallel careers in Italy and Hollywood and were often considered rivals.
Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano tweeted: “Adieu to a diva of the big screen, protagonist of half a century of Italian cinema. Your charm will remain eternal. Ciao Lollo.”
“Ciao Gina. With You the last diva has left us,” Tweeted actor director Giulio Base, whose wife, Filming Italy festival chief Tiziana Rocca,...
- 1/16/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Gina Lollobrigida, the 1950s Italian bombshell who starred in films including “Fanfan la Tulipe,” “Beat the Devil,” “Trapeze” and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell,” has died. She was 95.
According to Italian news agency Lapresse, Lollobrigida died in a clinic in Rome. No cause of death has been cited. In September she had had surgery to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall, but she recovered and competed for a Senate seat in Italy’s elections held last year in September, though she did not win.
After resisting Howard Hughes’ offer to make movies in Hollywood in 1950, Lollobrigida starred with Gerard Philipe in the 1952 French swashbuckler “Fanfan la Tulipe,” a fest winner and popular favorite.
Her first American movie, shot in Italy, was John Huston’s 1953 film noir spoof “Beat the Devil,” in which she starred with Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones. The same year she starred with Vittorio De Sica in Luigi Comencini’s “Bread,...
According to Italian news agency Lapresse, Lollobrigida died in a clinic in Rome. No cause of death has been cited. In September she had had surgery to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall, but she recovered and competed for a Senate seat in Italy’s elections held last year in September, though she did not win.
After resisting Howard Hughes’ offer to make movies in Hollywood in 1950, Lollobrigida starred with Gerard Philipe in the 1952 French swashbuckler “Fanfan la Tulipe,” a fest winner and popular favorite.
Her first American movie, shot in Italy, was John Huston’s 1953 film noir spoof “Beat the Devil,” in which she starred with Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones. The same year she starred with Vittorio De Sica in Luigi Comencini’s “Bread,...
- 1/16/2023
- by Carmel Dagan and Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Gina Lollobrigida, the Italian film sensation whose exotic charms made her an international sex symbol of postwar cinema, has died, Italian news agency Ansa reported Monday. She was 95.
The dark-haired, independent beauty, of whom Humphrey Bogart once quipped, “She makes Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple,” died in a clinic in Rome, her former lawyer Giulia Citani told Reuters.
For her first well-known English-speaking role, Lollobrigida appeared as Bogart’s wife in John Huston’s Beat the Devil (1953), shot on location in Italy. She starred as the glamorous queen in Solomon and Sheba (1959) and was there when Tyrone Power collapsed and died during production (Power was replaced by Yul Brynner).
Perhaps most famously, Lollobrigida stood out in Carol Reed’s Trapeze (1956) as Lola, a high-wire artist caught in a love triangle with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. The movie achieved a high degree of realism by having the actors perform most of their own stunts.
The dark-haired, independent beauty, of whom Humphrey Bogart once quipped, “She makes Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple,” died in a clinic in Rome, her former lawyer Giulia Citani told Reuters.
For her first well-known English-speaking role, Lollobrigida appeared as Bogart’s wife in John Huston’s Beat the Devil (1953), shot on location in Italy. She starred as the glamorous queen in Solomon and Sheba (1959) and was there when Tyrone Power collapsed and died during production (Power was replaced by Yul Brynner).
Perhaps most famously, Lollobrigida stood out in Carol Reed’s Trapeze (1956) as Lola, a high-wire artist caught in a love triangle with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. The movie achieved a high degree of realism by having the actors perform most of their own stunts.
- 1/16/2023
- by Maureen Lee Lenker
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Italian actor Gina Lollobrigida has died aged 95.
The film star, who was a high profile figure in cinema throughout the 1950s and 1960s, died on Monday (16 January) in Rome. Her death was confirmed by Italian news agency Ansa.
Lollobrigida, whose biggest films included The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beautiful But Dangerous, appeared on screen opposite stars such as Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart and Rock Hudson.
She was often described as “the most beautiful woman in the world” and, before her death, was considered to be one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of cinema.
Born in Subiaco in 1927, the young Lollobrigida modelled and participated in a number of beauty contests before taking small roles in Italian cinema.
Despite being prevented from working in American films shot in the US until 1959 by a contract signed with film producer Howard Hughes, she went on to find success in European cinema throughout the 1950s.
The film star, who was a high profile figure in cinema throughout the 1950s and 1960s, died on Monday (16 January) in Rome. Her death was confirmed by Italian news agency Ansa.
Lollobrigida, whose biggest films included The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beautiful But Dangerous, appeared on screen opposite stars such as Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart and Rock Hudson.
She was often described as “the most beautiful woman in the world” and, before her death, was considered to be one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of cinema.
Born in Subiaco in 1927, the young Lollobrigida modelled and participated in a number of beauty contests before taking small roles in Italian cinema.
Despite being prevented from working in American films shot in the US until 1959 by a contract signed with film producer Howard Hughes, she went on to find success in European cinema throughout the 1950s.
- 1/16/2023
- by Isobel Lewis
- The Independent - Film
This writer remembers Easter Sunday mornings of childhood when all the candy-filled eggs were collected, sitting before the TV and devouring Cadbury treats as the sweeping fanfare of Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" filled the family room. Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner made big impressions with their booming voices, but what I remembered most was the swell of strings that would arise anytime Yvonne De Carlo's saintly Sephora would grace the screen. Years beyond that childhood, Elmer Bernstein's epic score is what remains in the memory.
Responsible for the oom-pah horns accompanying the "Ghostbusters" on their paranormal escapades and for the militant pomp of Ivan Reitman's "Stripes," Bernstein is as much associated with comedies as the more serious dramas, though you might not know that the guy who scored "The Man With the Golden Gun" is the same who worked on "Animal House." In short,...
Responsible for the oom-pah horns accompanying the "Ghostbusters" on their paranormal escapades and for the militant pomp of Ivan Reitman's "Stripes," Bernstein is as much associated with comedies as the more serious dramas, though you might not know that the guy who scored "The Man With the Golden Gun" is the same who worked on "Animal House." In short,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
Despite the cultural differences, there has been a long and fascinating dialog between Japanese and western cinema. Just take "Yurusarezaru Mono," or "Unforgiven" as it is known by its English title, a remake of Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winner focusing on a former samurai instead of a former gunslinger. "Unforgiven" was Eastwood's rumination on his "Man With No Name" persona, which he first established in "A Fistful of Dollars," Sergio Leone's unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" where Eastwood played a gunslinger instead of a samurai. Kurosawa was a big western fan and an admirer of John Ford; you can see elements of this in his seminal "Seven Samurai," not least the small band of protagonists steeling themselves against overwhelming odds.
That's before you get into the American remakes of Japanese films. You have Roland Emmerich's godawful "Godzilla" and the surge in J-horror rehashes after the success...
That's before you get into the American remakes of Japanese films. You have Roland Emmerich's godawful "Godzilla" and the surge in J-horror rehashes after the success...
- 11/15/2022
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
At this point, it would be hard not to know the story of "The Magnificent Seven," even if you've never seen the original 1960 Western classic. Of course, that's in large part due to the fact that the film itself was a remake of another classic, "Seven Samurai."
It's a story that's been told time and again, decade after decade: a small town is in trouble, being threatened by villains, and the townsfolk need to recruit hardened fighters to help them defend their land. Enter a group of misfit hired guns who protect the village, while at the same time helping the villagers learn how to protect themselves. You've seen the story repeated in "A Bug's Life," and "The Three Amigos," and even in an episode of "The Mandalorian."
But when it comes to Americanized versions of "Seven Samurai," it's hard to argue that anyone has done it better than director...
It's a story that's been told time and again, decade after decade: a small town is in trouble, being threatened by villains, and the townsfolk need to recruit hardened fighters to help them defend their land. Enter a group of misfit hired guns who protect the village, while at the same time helping the villagers learn how to protect themselves. You've seen the story repeated in "A Bug's Life," and "The Three Amigos," and even in an episode of "The Mandalorian."
But when it comes to Americanized versions of "Seven Samurai," it's hard to argue that anyone has done it better than director...
- 11/11/2022
- by Jeff Kelly
- Slash Film
John Sturges' 1960 western "The Magnificent Seven" was a Yul Brynner vehicle from the jump -- it was he and actor Anthony Quinn who had acquired the rights to remake Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" epic as a western. To fill out the rest of the hired guns tasked to protect a Mexican village, the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" filmmaker would reunite "Never So Few" stars Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson as, respectively, a drifter and a broke mercenary. Robert Vaughn would play a traumatized war veteran, while Brad Dexter and "German James Dean" Horst Buchholz would round out the crew. James Coburn was last to come aboard.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2001, Coburn revealed that he was one of the few cast members who had caught the original Kurosawa film beforehand. He would subsequently spend "a week straight" taking friends to see it:
"Cut to a year later,...
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2001, Coburn revealed that he was one of the few cast members who had caught the original Kurosawa film beforehand. He would subsequently spend "a week straight" taking friends to see it:
"Cut to a year later,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
Steve McQueen is unimpeachably one of cinema history's coolest leading men. An actor known for awesome stunts and hard living, McQueen was seen as coolness personified during his heyday in the '60s. With roles in "The Great Escape," "The Cincinnati Kid," and "The Thomas Crown Affair" under his belt, he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
But before McQueen was a certified megastar, he was a television actor waiting for his big break in movies. In his show, "Wanted Dead or Alive," he starred as a bounty hunter, which is properly cool on its own, but he sought movie stardom as the next step in his career.
Opportunity came to him in the shape of "The Magnificent Seven," a Western based off of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece, "Seven Samurai." McQueen was offered a spot in the titular seven, a gang of gunslingers tasked with protecting a Mexican...
But before McQueen was a certified megastar, he was a television actor waiting for his big break in movies. In his show, "Wanted Dead or Alive," he starred as a bounty hunter, which is properly cool on its own, but he sought movie stardom as the next step in his career.
Opportunity came to him in the shape of "The Magnificent Seven," a Western based off of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece, "Seven Samurai." McQueen was offered a spot in the titular seven, a gang of gunslingers tasked with protecting a Mexican...
- 11/1/2022
- by Matt Rainis
- Slash Film
As the old saying goes, "success has many fathers, failure is an orphan." John Carpenter's 1978 classic, "Halloween," is the very definition of a successful film: it made so much money that it held the record for the highest-grossing independent movie of all time for numerous years, and it became so influential that it not only kickstarted a boom of horror movies in the late '70s and early '80s, but solidified the subgenre known as the slasher film, creating a template that other successful movies like "Friday the 13th" and "Scream" utilized and riffed on.
All this success means that a number of folks over the decades have attempted to precisely define what made "Halloween" so special. Of course, like any work of art, "Halloween" was not cut from whole cloth, drawing as it did upon the storied history of other horror movies and media in general for inspiration.
All this success means that a number of folks over the decades have attempted to precisely define what made "Halloween" so special. Of course, like any work of art, "Halloween" was not cut from whole cloth, drawing as it did upon the storied history of other horror movies and media in general for inspiration.
- 10/23/2022
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.