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Fans of "Gilligan's Island" are likely intimately familiar with the show's original pilot, which was shot in 1963, but not aired to the public until 1992. The pilot, called "Marooned," featured Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jim Backus, and Natalie Schafer, but also starred three rudimentary characters that didn't carry over into the completed series. The Professor was originally a high school teacher played by John Gabriel. The Mary Ann character was a secretary named Bunny (Nancy McCarthy), and Ginger was still named Ginger but was ... another secretary. She was played by Kit Smythe.

Eventually, the show was reworked, and creator Sherwood Schwartz wrote a tighter, better pilot with the Professor (Russell Johnson), Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), and Ginger (Tina Louise) that we all know and love today. 

In Schwartz's biography "Inside Gilligan's Island: From Creation to Syndication," he mentioned that Louise...

Marilyn Monroe‘s star burned brightly and briefly before her untimely death in 1962 at age 36. Yet she managed to enter the pop culture lexicon with just a handful of films, becoming Hollywood’s most memorable sex symbol. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1926, Monroe started off as a model before moving into acting with a series of bit parts, most notably in “All About Eve” and “The Asphalt Jungle,” both released in 1950. She became a leading lady with a trio of 1953 titles: the noir “Niagara,” the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and the romantic comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire.”

She became iconic thanks to Billy Wilder‘s “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), in which she played a young woman tantalizing her married neighbor (Tom Ewell). Her image was forever burned into our memories thanks to...

One may resist celebrity culture, but most people have at least a few actors from pop culture history that mean something to them, whether they're from the silver screen or the flickering box. 

Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.

It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...

Hollywood actor who was Oscar-nominated for his first role, playing opposite Marilyn Monroe, and later became a TV star

The actor Don Murray, who has died aged 94, made his big screen debut in 1956 opposite Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop. His performance as the gangling, wide-eyed cowboy who falls for a saloon bar singer earned him an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor and a Bafta nomination as most promising newcomer. Monroe was superb as Chérie and Murray as Beauregard, besotted and eager to marry, made the perfect foil.

His career continued strongly in 1957 with The Bachelor Party, in which he played a married man unhappy about the dubious happenings at a stag party, and A Hatful of Rain, as a Korean war veteran addicted to heroin. The director, Fred Zinnemann, described it as “the grimmest film I ever made”. Murray’s performance displayed the commitment that was to characterise much of his work.

Veteran actor Don Murray has passed away.

Per the New York Times, Don Murray has died with his son, Christopher, confirming the news. No additional details were provided concerning the nature of Murray's passing. He was 94 years old.

Donald Patrick Murray was born on July 31, 1929. He studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and was performing on-stage on Broadway by 1951. His acclaimed on-stage work led to his casting in the 1956 film Bus Stop when director Joshua Logan happened to catch one of Murray's performances. Bus Stop, an adaptation of the play by William Inge, featured Murray in a co-starring role alongside Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe.

Bus Stop was a big hit at the box office and garnered critical acclaim. Though the movie also marked Don Murray's very first film role, it earned the actor an Academy Award nomination. He was also nominated for a BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer.

Don Murray, known for his breakthrough role opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 film Bus Stop, has died at the age of 94. His son, Christopher, confirmed Murray’s death to The New York Times, providing no further details. He secured an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the movie, depicting a tale of a smitten cowboy (Murray) enamored with a saloon singer (Monroe) who harbors an aversion towards him. Murray was also one of Monroe’s last leading men still alive. Born in Hollywood on July 31, 1929, Murray debuted on Broadway in 1951 in Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo and returned to the stage in 1955’s The Skin of Our Teeth. This performance attracted director Joshua Logan’s attention and was one reason he scored Bus Stop. During the Korean War, Murray, a conscientious objector, fulfilled his service commitment by working in German and Italian refugee camps. Known for his contributions...

Don Murray, who rose to fame co-starring with Marilyn Monroe in 1956’s Bus Stop and enjoyed a prolific career that stretched into the 21st Century with Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017, has died. He was 94.

His death was announced by his son Christopher to The New York Times. No additional details were provided.

Murray was Oscar-nominated for his debut performance as Beauregard “Beau” Decker, the lovestruck cowboy who falls for Monroe’s saloon singer Cherie in Joshua Logan’s Bus Stop, an adaptation of the William Inge play.

A conscientious objector during the Korean War who fulfilled his service obligation by working in German and Italian refugee camps, Murray became known for building an acting career in what were once called “message” movies, films with socially responsible themes. In Fred Zinnemann’s A Hatful of Rain (1957), he played a morphine-addicted war veteran, and in 1962 starred as a closeted (and blackmailed...

Don Murray, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 film adaptation of William Inge’s play “Bus Stop,” has died. He was 94.

His son Christopher confirmed his death to the New York Times.

In the 2017 reboot of “Twin Peaks,” he played Bushnell Mullins, the chief executive of Lucky 7 Insurance.

Murray also starred in the fourth entry in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes”; played Brooke Shield’s father in “Endless Love”; and recurred on prime-time soap “Knots Landing” as Sid Fairgate.

Reviewing “Bus Stop,” directed by Joshua Logan, the New York Times said: “With a wondrous new actor named Don Murray playing the stupid, stubborn poke and with the clutter of broncos, blondes and busters beautifully tangled, Mr. Logan has a booming comedy going before he gets to the romance. A great deal is owed to Mr.

Don Murray, the venturesome actor who earned an Oscar nomination for playing a rodeo cowboy smitten by Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop, then spurned Hollywood’s attempts to mold him, has died. He was 94.

Murray’s son Christopher announced his dad’s death to The New York Times without providing details.

The actor was also known for the interesting parts he went after in such serious films as A Hatful of Rain (1957), The Hoodlum Priest (1961) and Advise & Consent (1962).

Fresh off a starring role in a 1955 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Murray was sought by director Joshua Logan to portray Bo Decker, the naive Montana man who falls for the chanteuse Chérie (Monroe), in Bus Stop (1956). It was his first movie, and he was 26 at the time.

“No one could have been less equipped for the job,” he once said. “I was a New...

Just in time for Succession‘s end, let’s look at method acting. The Criterion Channel are highlighting the controversial practice in a 27-film series centered on Brando, Newman, Nicholson, and many other’s embodiment of “an intensely personal, internalized, and naturalistic approach to performance.” That series makes mention of Marilyn Monroe, who gets her own, 11-title highlight––the iconic commingling with deeper cuts.

Pride Month offers “Masc,” a consideration of “trans men, butch lesbians, and gender-nonconforming heroes” onscreen; the Michael Koresky-curated Queersighted returning with a study of the gay best friend; and the 20-film “LGBTQ+ Favorites.” Louis Garrel’s delightful The Innocent (about which I talked to him here), the director’s cut of Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation, and Stanley Kwan’s hugely underseen Lan Yu make streaming premieres, while Araki’s Totally F***ed Up and Mysterious Skin also get a run. Criterion Editions include Five Easy Pieces,...

Elizabeth Banks is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in Pitch Perfect, Hunger Games and Cocaine Bear.

Elizabeth Banks Biography: Early Life, Age, Family, Education

Elizabeth Banks, originally named Elizabeth Mitchell, was born on February 10, 1974 (Elizabeth Banks: Age 49) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Ann and Mark Mitchell. She is the oldest of her three siblings. Banks tried out for the school play after breaking her leg in Little League, which is what started her acting career.

In 1992, Banks graduated from Pittsfield High School. She then went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966 with a major in communications and a minor in theater arts. Banks finished her schooling with an Mfa degree from the American Conservatory Theater in 1998.

Elizabeth Banks Biography: Career

When Banks joined the Screen Actors Guild, she changed her last name from Mitchell to Banks because of another actress was already named Elizabeth Mitchell.

What was the last film to have three of its stars all win Oscars? How long has it been since Steven Spielberg has won an Oscar? Who was the first posthumous nominee? These questions are answered, along with more fun facts, tidbits and trivia.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” would be just the third film to earn three Oscars in the acting categories. Michelle Yeoh is the favorite to win best actress, as is Ke Huy Quan in the supporting actor race. And Jamie Lee Curtis or Stephanie Hsu ould pull out a win as supporting actress. The first time that happened was at the 1952 ceremony when Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden and Kim Hunter won for “A Streetcar Named Desire,” followed 25 years later with Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight winning for “Network.”

Steven Spielberg has been nominated 22 times including three this year for “The Fabelmans”: best picture,...

Ed Fury, the Muscle Beach bodybuilder who starred as the mighty warrior Ursus in three Italian “sword and sandal” epics, has died. He was 94.

Fury died Feb. 24 at his home in Woodland Hills, his wife, Shelly, told The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1953 alone, Fury appeared uncredited in seven films, including Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Dangerous When Wet, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Island in the Sky and The Eddie Cantor Story.

Later, he showed up in The Country Girl (1954), Athena (1954), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Hell and High Water (1954), Female on the Beach (1955), I Died a Thousand Times (1955), Raw Edge (1956), Bus Stop (1956), South Pacific (1958) and The Wild Women of Wongo (1958).

After he auditioned for Joshua Logan and landed a role on Broadway in the 1954-56 musical Fanny, Italian film producers in the audience visited him backstage and signed him to a contract.

Fury appeared opposite Rod Taylor in the Italian comedy Colossus...

Welcome To Our Weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big new singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week stellar collabs from The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, Karol G and Shakira; a track from Yeat’s latest project; Halsey’s coveted B-side; and the first single from the Jonas Brothers’ forthcoming album.

Karol G & Shakira, “Tqg” (YouTube)

The Kid Laroi, “I Guess It’s Love?” (YouTube)

The Weeknd feat. Ariana Grande, “Die For You Remix” (YouTube)

Don Toliver feat Brent Faiyaz, “Bus Stop” (YouTube)

Halsey,...

Los Angeles – Stella Stevens had a prolific and adventurous career, especially considering all the famous co-stars and directors she encountered over her 60 year run. She began near end of the studio system in the late 1950s, and worked through the first decade of the post millennium. Stevens was 84 years old when she passed away February 17th, 2023, in her native Los Angeles.

Her leading men were as diverse as Glenn Ford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley, Jason Robards and Ernest Borgnine. The directors included Vincente Minnelli, Peter Bogdonovich, John Cassavetes, Sam Peckinpah and Jerry Lewis (he also directed “The Nutty Professor”).

Stella Stevens in Chicago circa 2011

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

Stella was born in Mississippi as Estelle Egglston, and her family moved to Memphis soon thereafter. After an early marriage and divorce, she became interested in acting and modeling while at Memphis State University.

Stella Stevens, the screen siren of the 1960s who brought sweet sexiness to such films as The Nutty Professor, Too Late Blues and The Ballad of Cable Hogue, has died. She was 84.

Stevens died Friday in Los Angeles, her son, actor-producer-director Andrew Stevens, told The Hollywood Reporter. “She had been in hospice for quite some time with Stage 7 Alzheimer’s,” he said.

Shining brightest in light comedies, the blond, blue-eyed actress appeared as a shy beauty contestant from Montana in Vincente Minnelli’s The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), portrayed a headstrong nun in Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (1968) opposite Rosalind Russell and frolicked with the fun-loving Dean Martin in two films: the Matt Helm spy spoof The Silencers (1966) and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968).

Stevens also starred opposite Elvis Presley in Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), a movie she said she detested.

Her signature role, however, came in The Nutty Professor (1963), produced,...

Stella Stevens, who starred with Elvis Presley in “Girls! Girls! Girls!” and with Jerry Lewis in “The Nutty Professor” as well as in disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure,” died Friday in Los Angeles. Her son, Andrew Stevens, said she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 84.

“Girls! Girls! Girls!” (1962) was one of the more generic Elvis films— there wasn’t all that much for Stevens to do — but Variety was keen on her performance in 1963’s “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” starring Glenn Ford and Shirley Jones in the story of a widower who’s romantically interested in one woman while his son wants him to marry another: “Stella Stevens comes on like gangbusters in her enactment of a brainy but inhibited doll from Montana. It’s a sizzling comedy performance of a kook.”

In “The Nutty Professor” (1963) or any other Jerry Lewis film, one might expect the...

Mark Miller, the prolific actor and screenwriter writer best known for Please Don’t Eat The Daisies and Guestward, Ho! has died. His daughter, actress Penelope Ann Miller, confirmed the news on Twitter. He was 97.

Miller portrayed college professor Jim Nash on Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which ran from 1965-1967 and then in syndication. The NBC-MGM sitcom, which ran for 58 half-hour episodes, was loosely based on the theatrical film of the same name starring Doris Day and David Niven. The series did well initially, but its ratings took a hit in Season 2 when it was moved opposite The Jackie Gleason Show.

Miller had substantial runs on other big shows, most notably Desilu’s Guestward Ho! on ABC in 1960. He played one half of a New York City couple, the Hootens, who relocate to a dude ranch in New Mexico. Guestward Ho! ran for one season alongside The Donna Reed Show on Thursday evenings.

By 1972, 20th Century Fox was no longer dithering over each movie in the Planet of the Apes franchise. Following the success of 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes, which the studio had been prepared to write off as a disaster, and 1971’s Escape from the Planet of the Apes, they had begun thinking about more than the current movie at hand. Thus the ending of the latter film expressly set up a fourth entry in the series: baby Milo, the offspring of the intelligent apes from the future, Cornelius (Rodney McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter), manages to survive his parents’ brutal murder when he is hidden away in a circus.

Sure enough, screenwriter Paul Dehn was asked to immediately get to work on a new story following Escape‘s release. The next one would follow Milo, renamed Caesar by circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalban), as he laid the groundwork...

Bo Hopkins, the actor who has appeared in classics like “American Graffiti,” “The Wild Bunch,” “Midnight Express” and “The Getaway,” died Friday. He was 80 years old.

Hopkins’ death was confirmed on the actor’s official website.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that Bo has passed away,” reads a statement on the website. “Bo loved hearing from his fans from around the world and although he was unable to respond to every email over the last few years, he appreciated hearing from each and every one of you.”

The actor was born William Hopkins in Greenville, S.C. on February 2, 1942.. He later changed his name to “Bo” in reference to the character he played in “Bus Stop,” his first off-Broadway play. After his father died when he was only nine years old, Hopkins was raised by his mother and grandmother. He later learned he was an adopted child...

Two decades ago Mary-Louise Parker won her first Tony Award for her enthralling performance in David Auburn’s “Proof.” Five Broadway appearances later, Parker is on the cusp of winning the second Tony of her career for her searing turn in Adam Rapp’s “The Sound Inside,” according to our exclusive Tony Awards predictions. “The Sound Inside” has six nominations, including Best Play.

Parker earned the best reviews of her stage career for “The Sound Inside,” topping even the rapturous notices she received for “Proof.” Back then, John Simon (New York Magazine) called Parker’s work in “Proof” “a performance of genius.” In his rave review of “The Sound Inside,” Jesse Green (New York Times) wrote, “Parker, never better in her 30-year stage career, has dug even deeper into Bella, treating each line as if it were an archaeological site; she builds her performance on artifacts, not theories.” Vinson Cunningham...

“As an actress, when I get a role that requires me to be quite tough and menacing, all those things that my face doesn’t look like, I thrive,” admits Melissa George about playing the elusive Margot Fox on Apple TV+ seven-episode dramatic thriller “The Mosquito Coast.” She adds, “It is so much fun to play because that’s not how I am in my own life.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

See Exclusive Video Interview: Neil Cross (‘The Mosquito Coast’ creator)

“The Mosquito Coast” is based on the 1981 novel by acclaimed author Paul Theroux, the uncle of the show’s star Justin Theroux (“The Leftovers”), who plays Allie Fox, an idealistic inventor who uproots his family on a dangerous quest through Mexico to flee the U.S. government. The ambitious action drama was developed by Neil Cross (“Luther”) and author Tom Bissell, who also executive produce the series alongside Rupert Wyatt,...

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Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most iconic figures in Hollywood history, and pop culture at large. The blonde bombshell, born Norma Jean Baker, became one of Tinsel Town’s biggest stars appearing in over 35 movies during her career and wracking up a collection of classic films such as “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “The Seven Year Itch,” “Niagara,” and “How to Marry a Millionaire.”

Monroe died by drug overdose in 1962, but the tragic passing further cemented her place as a cultural icon. To celebrate her birthday, we searched the web to dig up some of the coolest and unique merchandise inspired by the late actress and model. You’ll find everything from books to movie box sets,...

Whether it be conveying humor, heartbreak, heavy drama or a lofty song, Marilyn Monroe’s talent went far beyond her beauty.

The Asphalt Jungle

In her first important role, Monroe plays a young mistress who supplies her sugar daddy a fake alibi in this John Huston-directed film noir. TV director Michael Lehmann later went on to say, “Mm playing a bimbo so much better than anybody can these days.”

All About Eve

Monroe was a relative un-known when her agent went to get her the role in this classic Bette Davis film. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote of Monroe’s performance, “It has been observed that no matter how a scene was lighted, Monroe had the quality of drawing all the light to herself. In her brief scenes here, surrounded by actors much more experienced, she is all we can look at.”

Don’t Bother to Knock

This psychological...

Somewhere between a filmic exercise, an amateur video and a silent movie, “Bus Stop”, according to its two directors, is about stillness, infinite expectation and interwoven memories; that even with a loss of innocence, there is always hope.

The Bus Stop is screening at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

The 27-minute short interweaves just two settings. The first one is the titular bus stop, where a boy, a man, and an older man are waiting for a bus that never seems to arrive. The second one is across the bus stop, in a snowed area surrounded by trees, which seems to be in the outskirts of a city, as the road that is visible in the back is busy with cars and truck riding by. This second setting also functions as the medium for the coming of two more individuals to the bus stop, first a woman and then a drunken man,...

The 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival goes online and presents the best documentaries from all over the world, an exciting feature and the most thrilling documentaries for children and young people. 50 documentaries in total will be presented from Thursday March 4 to Sunday March 14, 2021, through the Festival’s digital platform Here.

The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival will be held this year in a hybrid way. From March 4 – 14, 2021 it will take place online through the Festival platform for viewers in Greece and from June 24 until July 4, 2021 it will take place in physical spaces and online. The Festival’s three competition sections and the Greek documentary production will be presented during the summer.

Here are the Asian Titles of the Festival:

“The Train Stop”

by Sergei Loznitsa

Destination: Journey

This section explores the modern experience of travelling and our relationship with it through the fascinating tribute Destination: Journey that includes a total of 22 films; 20 documentaries and two fiction films.

This mid-‘sixties black comedy from the mischievous George Axelrod defines and dissects ‘crazy California culture’ just as West Coasters were being slandered as godless weird-oh hedonists. It’s partly a sarcastic put-down, citing anecdotal extremes like drive-in churches (how 2020 can you get?), perverse youth encounter groups and mindless beach party movies. But Axelrod’s paints indelible images of maladjusted women of three age groups: Tuesday Weld, Lola Albright and Ruth Gordon. Where Roddy McDowall fits in is anybody’s guess — he’s meant to glue the satire together and instead turns it into a big Question Mark.

Lord Love a Duck

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1966 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date September 22, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Roddy McDowall, Tuesday Weld, Lola Albright, Martin West, Ruth Gordon, Harvey Korman, Sarah Marshall, Lynn Carey, Donald Murphy, Max Showalter, Joseph Mell, Dan Frazer, Martine Bartlett, Jo Collins, Judith Loomis, Gay Gordon,...

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features guitarist Shane Fontayne.

Bruce Springsteen just happened to be in the market for a new guitarist when he tuned in to Saturday Night Live on December 28th,...

By Mike Bloomfield

A YouTube documentary film about one of Britain’s foremost movie poster artists Tom Chantrell (1916-2001) has just been released. The 51-minute film, "Tom Chantrell- The Man Behind the 'Star Wars' Poster (!977)", details Chantrell’s life and career spanning seven decades. There are interviews with family, friends and poster experts and Chantrell’s poster imagery is displayed throughout.

Director Simon Henry came to the project after unexpectedly discovering a photograph of Tom Chantrell holding up the unfinished “Star Wars” (1977) poster. “The image simply blew me away, seeing the amazing poster in its uncompleted form being held up by its creator... I couldn't get the image out of my head and the more I read about Tom's work and its significance within British film history the more I realised that someone had to put this under a spotlight. I decided to contact Tom's family. We've tried to tell...

Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse will star in a 2020 Broadway production of Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning How I Learned to Drive, reprising roles they originated Off Broadway in 1997.

The Manhattan Theater Club production of How I Learned to Drive will begin previews on Friday, March 27, 2020, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with an opening night of Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

The announcement was made today by producers Manhattan Theatre Club and Daryl Roth, Cody Lassen, The Dodgers in association with the Vineyard Theatre.

Mark Brokaw will direct. Additional casting and the design team will be announced at a later date.

Vogel’s 1998 Pulitzer winner tells the story, as Mtc describes it, of a woman coming to terms with a charismatic uncle who impacts her past, present and future life. The play, with it’s frank depiction of pedophilia and its lifelong impact on the victim, was acclaimed by critics in...

Marilyn Monroe would’ve celebrated her 93rd birthday on June 1, 2019. Her star burned brightly and briefly before her untimely death in 1962 at age 36. Yet she managed to enter the pop culture lexicon with just a handful of films, becoming Hollywood’s most memorable sex symbol. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1926, Monroe started off as a model before moving into acting with a series of bit parts, most notably in “All About Eve” and “The Asphalt Jungle,” both released in 1950. She became a leading lady with a trio of 1953 titles: the noir “Niagara,” the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and the romantic comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire.”

SEE25 best couples in film history – Romantic movies in time for Valentine’s Day [Photos]

She became iconic thanks to Billy Wilder‘s “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), in...

InterviewIn an interview to Tnm, Allu Sirish talks about how he interpreted Malayalam film ‘Abcd’ differently for Telugu remake and his thoughts on the representation of women in the films.Priyanka RichiActor and producer Allu Sirish is all excited about his upcoming release Abcd- American Born Confused Desi, the remake of the 2013 Malayalam film that goes by the same name. After a couple of releases that failed to make a mark at the Tollywood box-office, Allu Sirish is hopeful that Abcd, which is releasing on May 17, will be a game changer in his career. Coming from a family of successful actors and producers, Allu Sirish is still struggling to carve a niche for himself in the industry. The actor was last seen in Okka Kshanam, which tanked at the box-office despite good reviews. The actor, in an interview to Tnm, talks about his upcoming release, why he thinks he hasn...

How many screenwriters in Hollywood can claim to have written a popular film that connects with a new generation each decade for half a century? Alvin Sargent — who passed away on May 9 at the age of 92 — began writing for television in the mid-1950s; was off to the races from his first produced feature script, 1966’s “Gambit”; and went on to deliver so many movies that have stood and will continue to endure the test of time.

Consider these titles: “Ordinary People” … Actually, to have written “Ordinary People” alone would be enough to land any living writer on a very short list of masters. But in Sargent’s case, that devastating autopsy of the middle-class American dream — an adaptation of Judith Christ’s novel addressing how the façade of domestic perfection masks the difficult work of maintaining a family and marriage — followed such already impressive credits as “The Sterile Cuckoo,...

“First Reformed” last year provided Ethan Hawke with an actor’s dream role in terms of character depth and meaningful conflicts — even if the Academy was practically the only awards-nominating body that failed to notice what he did with it. “Adopt a Highway” provides a different kind of challenge, the hopeless uphill struggle type, in which there’s no substance whatsoever to the blank-slate protagonist or the few, underdeveloped situations he gets into.

“Upgrade” actor Logan Marshall-Green’s debut feature as writer-director is one of those baffling cases in which a project somehow made it to completion without anyone daring to mention that the script barely qualified as a narrative outline, let alone as camera-ready. Not every talented actor is also a born writer. All evidence here suggests that Marshall-Green needs a strong collaborator — or maybe just someone else’s screenplay — the next time he gets behind the camera. Hawke...

Fifty-six years after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains one of Hollywood’s most intriguing and glamorous figures.

Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary Marilyn Monroe for Sale, airing Dec. 23, goes inside the icon’s private world and personal possessions, looking back on Julien’s 2016 auction of her most personal belongings, including handwritten notes and rare photos.

“Pillboxes, make-up, prescriptions and love letters combine to show Monroe as she truly was — her habits, her challenges, her fierce intelligence,” executive producer Nick Kent tells People. “Some of the most revealing items on sale in this auction are the words Marilyn wrote.”

Everything from...

Just like how her Game of Thrones character defied her highborn status in favor of knighthood, Gwendoline Christie hopes her 6’3″ stature breaks the mold of traditional beauty standards in Hollywood.

“I hope it helps change people’s perceptions of what beauty is,” she tells People in this week’s issue. “I think my size, or the roles that I’ve been lucky enough to play, have helped people see a broader definition of femininity. It’s important that all kinds of people are represented onscreen.”

The English star admits her height is “not something I think too much about” and...

Twin Peaks Recap is a weekly column by Keith Uhlich covering David Lynch and Mark Frost's limited, 18-episode continuation of the Twin Peaks television series.The key image in Part 5 of the revived Twin Peaks is of a woman in ecstasy. Recall, however, the subtitle that series co-creator/director David Lynch appended to his thorny 2006 masterpiece Inland Empire: "A Woman in Trouble." The line separating rapture and anguish is a blurry one, especially for Lynch's ladies, who are as likely to end up exquisitely chiseled corpses (the ubiquitous Laura Palmer; Part 2's doomed henchwoman Darya) as they are world-weary survivors. For the moment, let's focus on Rebecca "Becky" Burnett (Amanda Seyfried), daughter of Rr Diner waitress Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick), though Becky's last name—taken from ne'er-do-well husband Steven Burnett (Caleb Landry Jones)—obscures the identity of her father. (Dana Ashbrook's now-law-abiding Bobby Briggs is the most likely candidate,...

The actress is mostly remembered for her good looks, but what about her impressive performances?

In Richard Dyer’s book Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society, he writes that Marilyn Monroe was “the most visible star”: an actress whose life was put on display, and remains so over 50 years after her death. She is one of the most iconic Hollywood stars of all time, her face instantly recognizable to even those who have never seen any of her movies. She is a symbol of beauty, glamor, cinema, femininity, blondness, sexuality, and tragedy. While the world speculates about her personal life — who was she romantically involved with? How did she die? What was she really like? — her career as an actress is overshadowed by her fame.

While she may not have been the greatest actress of all time, she certainly had her fair share of talent and intelligence, and always worked incredibly hard to bring her...

How British actor Joe Alwyn went from drama-school student to star of 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.' Matt Hollyoak

One week, Joe Alwyn was just another young man in drama classes at London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, running scenes with his classmates, preparing a showcase for a potential agent ... doing what any 25-year-old who'd dreamed of becoming the next Laurence Olivier (or at the very least, the next Tom Hiddleston) ever since he was a kid. The next, he was auditioning for director Ang Lee in Atlanta,...

On this day in showbiz history...

Still undersung: the great Glynis Johns in "The Ref"

1902 Ray A Kroc, who popularized the McDonald's empire is born. The Founder which is about his business shenanigans/success opens this December (it was already supposed to have opened but we can't have movies for adults in the summer for some reason).

1908 Joshua Logan is born. He later makes famous movies like Bus Stop, Picnic, Camelot and South Pacific.

1923 Happy 93rd birthday to Glynis Johns, one of the greats! Her classics include: Mary Poppins, While You Were Sleeping, The Court Jester, The Ref, and Miranda. Why she doesn't have an Honorary Oscar is simply beyond our understanding. She was nominated only once for fine supporting work in The Sundowners

1945 A strike by set decorators turns into a riot "Blood Friday" at Warner Brothers studios. Are you still enjoying our series "The Furniture" on the work...

The recent box office success of The Boss firmly establishes Melissa McCarthy as the current queen of movie comedies (Amy Schumer could be a new contender after an impressive debut last Summer with Trainwreck), but let us think back about those other funny ladies of filmdom. So while we’re enjoying the female reboot/re-imagining of Ghostbusters and those Bad Moms, here’s a top ten list that will hopefully inspire lots of laughter and cause you to search out some classic comedies. It’s tough to narrow them down to ten, but we’ll do our best, beginning with… 10. Eve Arden The droll Ms. Arden represents the comic sidekicks who will attempt to puncture the pomposity of the leading ladies with a well-placed wisecrack (see also the great Thelma Ritter in Rear Window). Her career began in the early 1930’s with great bit roles in Stage Door and Dancing Lady.

Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away.

"Blade Runner: The Theatrical Cut" was just added to Netflix streaming, but now it's facing a harsh expiration date of May 16. (We'll be up on the roof, holding a dove and crying.)

And dude! So bogus: Unless you have a time machine, you only have until May 1st to stream "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989).

Also leaving in May 2016: "Election," "Clerks," and "Black Hawk Dawn" as well as classic Marilyn Monroe movie "Bus Stop."

Here are all the movies and TV series leaving Netflix in May 2016. As always, all titles and dates are subject to change.

Leaving May 1

"The Animatrix" (2003)

"Anna Karenina" (1948)

"Author! Author!" (1982)

"Beware of Mr. Baker" (2012)

"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989)

"Broadway Idiot" (2013)

"Bus Stop" (1956)

"Election" (1999)

"The Good Life" (2012)

"Holiday Engagement" (2011)

"Kiss of Death" (1995)

"Mad Hot Ballroom" (2005)

"Mona Lisa Is Missing" (2012)

"Ralphie May: Austin-tatious" (2008)

"Terms And Conditions May Apply" (2013)

"That's What I Am...

Sale of world’s biggest private collection includes costumes from Some Like It Hot and Bus Stop and will be exhibited on Queen Mary 2

A British man’s collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, including costumes worn by the Hollywood star in Some Like It Hot and There’s No Business Like Show Business, could fetch £2m when it goes under the hammer at a Los Angeles auction this year.

One outfit alone, a sheer black-and-nude beaded cocktail dress worn by Monroe as she sang I’m Through With Love on top of a grand piano in the 1959 Billy Wilder comedy Some Like It Hot, is expected to sell for between £140,000 and £280,000, auctioneers Julien’s said.

Continue reading...

Theodore Bikel. Theodore Bikel dead at 91: Oscar-nominated actor and folk singer best known for stage musicals 'The Sound of Music,' 'Fiddler on the Roof' Folk singer, social and union activist, and stage, film, and television actor Theodore Bikel, best remembered for starring in the Broadway musical The Sound of Music and, throughout the U.S., in Fiddler on the Roof, died Monday morning (July 20, '15) of "natural causes" at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. The Austrian-born Bikel – as Theodore Meir Bikel on May 2, 1924, in Vienna, to Yiddish-speaking Eastern European parents – was 91. Fled Hitler Thanks to his well-connected Zionist father, six months after the German annexation of Austria in March 1938 ("they were greeted with jubilation by the local populace," he would recall in 2012), the 14-year-old Bikel and his family fled to Palestine, at the time a British protectorate. While there, the teenager began acting on stage,...

Olivia de Havilland picture U.S. labor history-making 'Gone with the Wind' star and two-time Best Actress winner Olivia de Havilland turns 99 (This Olivia de Havilland article is currently being revised and expanded.) Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland, the only surviving major Gone with the Wind cast member and oldest surviving Oscar winner, is turning 99 years old today, July 1.[1] Also known for her widely publicized feud with sister Joan Fontaine and for her eight movies with Errol Flynn, de Havilland should be remembered as well for having made Hollywood labor history. This particular history has nothing to do with de Havilland's films, her two Oscars, Gone with the Wind, Joan Fontaine, or Errol Flynn. Instead, history was made as a result of a legal fight: after winning a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in the mid-'40s, Olivia de Havilland put an end to treacherous...

Lifetime's mini-series "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" debuts on May 30, prompting the question: What possible secrets can there still be about Marilyn Monroe?

Quite a few, apparently, from the identity of her birth father, to the nature of her fatal overdose at age 36 -- was it suicide, accident, or murder? In 2012, on the 50th anniversary of her death, Moviefone previously published "25 Things You Didn't Know About Marilyn Monroe." Turns out that list barely scratched the surface. Here, then, are 25 more.

1. Monroe's birth certificate from 1926 lists her birth name as Norma Jeane Mortenson. The last name was a misspelling of the surname of her mother's second husband, Martin Mortensen, who separated from Gladys before she became pregnant. Soon after, she reverted to her first married name, Baker, and gave that name to her daughter.

2. Gladys later told Norma Jeane that her father was Gladys' boss, Charles Gifford, who looked like...

'A Hatful of Rain' with Lloyd Nolan, Anthony Franciosa and Don Murray 'A Hatful of Rain' script fails to find cinematic voice as most of the cast hams it up Based on a play by Michael V. Gazzo, A Hatful of Rain is an interesting attempt at injecting "adult" subject matters – in this case, the evils of drug addiction – into Hollywood movies. "Interesting," however, does not mean either successful or compelling. Despite real, unromantic New York City locations and Joseph MacDonald's beautifully realistic black-and-white camera work (and the pointless use of CinemaScope), this Fred Zinnemann-directed melodrama feels anachronistically stagy as a result of its artificial dialogue and the hammy theatricality of its performers – with Eva Marie Saint as the sole naturalistic exception. 'A Hatful of Rain' synopsis Somewhat revolutionary in its day (Otto Preminger's The Man with a Golden Arm,* also about drug addiction,...

Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.

Taking public transportation on the bus in everyday life is essential for workers worldwide as we need to make that daily grinding trek to the workplace, shopping malls, school, doctor’s appointment or whatever our destination may be at the moment. In particular, there is a love/hate relationship with buses as it presents all sort of social challenges: anxiety, chattiness, impatience, friendliness, kindness, anti-socialism, invasive behavior, alienation, nervousness, sense of unity, etc.

Well in the world of movies the bus-related experience can be more colorful and adventurous for the imagination at heart. Thus, it brings up this prolonged thought: what is your favorite or memorable moments dealing with buses on the big screen? Does it compare adequately to the triumphs or tragedies that overshadow or downplay your dealings with real-life bus-related interaction?

In “All Aboard”: Top Ten Bus-Related Moments in the Movies we will look at a handful of selected scenes,...

Amazon has a number of great DVD/Blu-ray deals and I’ve grabbed the highlights and linked them below. As always, only limited quantities available so act fast. Details below. Marilyn Monroe: Classic 9 Film Collection [Blu-Ray] - $34.99 (83% off) - The eight film collection includes Bus Stop, Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, River of No Return, There's No Business Like Show Business, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot and The Misfits. Up to 70% Off Ken Burns Documentaries like Prohibition, The War, Jazz, The Central Park Five, Baseball, and many more Up to 60% Off HBO Gift Sets like Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and more Get Smart - The Complete Series Gift Set - $49.99 (60% off) Breaking Bad: The Complete Series – $70.99 (56% off) Seinfeld: The Complete Series – $59.49 (60% off) Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled (10-Disc Limited Edition Six-Movie Collector’s Set) [Blu-ray] – $119.99 (45% off) The Godfather Collection...