Noticias

After his big break in a scene-stealing supporting role in I, Tonya, Paul Walter Hauser has become one of Hollywood’s most unlikely leading men. Working with such acclaimed filmmakers as Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods) and Clint Eastwood (Richard Jewell), and starring in franchises like Cobra Kai and the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Hauser is one of the most reliably great actors working today.

Hauser’s latest role is as the lead in The Luckiest Man in America, a thriller in which he plays an unemployed ice cream truck driver who beats the odds to rack up the record for highest winnings on the game show Press Your Luck. To the role, he brings not only his signature charm but also the depth and humility that makes his work so special.

We at FandomWire got to speak with Paul Walter Hauser about his gameshow fandom, playing...

Stephen Fry has hosted his own TV quiz show with the BBC’s long-running Qi, and he has wowed audiences with his own general knowledge while taking part in Celebrity Mastermind and a celebrity version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

With his return to the format, once again on hosting duties for ITV’s rebooted UK version of Jeopardy, the broadcaster has shared his own tip for securing success, whatever the TV quiz show.

Fry, who hosted Qi between 2003 and 2016, told the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper:

“It’s just that simple thing: stay calm. It’s easy to say because a lot of people haven’t been on television before.

“Even though there’s no audience, people are nervous because they’re on television, or worried about how they look and what they’re wearing and they’re nervous because they want to win.

“They’re very excited,...

[Editor’s Note: this list was originally published in August 2017. It has since been updated to include more of Soderbergh’s films, including “Black Bag.”]

Steven Soderbergh’s directing career started with “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” a massive breakout that not only launched his career — it changed the industry of independent filmmaking in America. While struggling to find his footing after becoming a household name at age 26, Soderbergh never let himself become frozen by his early success or some preconceived notion of what his career would be. Instead, he dogmatically followed any story that piqued his interest, regardless if it was building the slick “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise or an experimental film he shot in his hometown with friends (“Schizopolis”).

He has been careful to build a career that was commercially viable so as to maximize his ability to be constantly creating and experimenting with films that were sometimes aggressively uncommercial. Along the way, he has fought to be as efficient a filmmaker as possible — constantly trying different approaches and new technology to make...

Paul Attanasio is an accomplished film and TV writer-producer, nominated for two Oscars and four Emmy Awards, whose credits range from the movies Donnie Brasco, Quiz Show and The Sum of All Fears to the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street, which he created, House, which he executive produced, and Bull, which he co-created and executive produced.

And while Hollywood didn’t believe in him early on, one person always did — his longtime TV agent Tony Etz at CAA who died yesterday at the age of 64 after a long battle with Chordoma, a rare type of cancer.

“The world is very much diminished without Tony,” Attanasio said of the Illinois native. “He was really a beautiful soul.”

Here are the memories he shared of Etz:

A friend of ours talks about Tony’s essential Midwesternness: Midwestern decency and Midwestern grit. I don’t know if you have spent any time in the Midwest,...

Many directors are known for shooting a lot of takes. David Fincher's penchant for multiple takes led to a lot of demanding days on the "Mindhunter" set, while Stanley Kubrick's exhausting methods are infamous, such as when he made Tom Cruise walk through a door 95 times on the set of "Eyes Wide Shut." The question of whether the effort involved in this approach actually yields better results than something like Clint Eastwood's commitment to using the very first take remains unanswered at this point. But sometimes, shooting take after take results in something undeniably great. Case in point: one of Al Pacino's most memorable lines in Michael Mann's "Heat."

The 1995 crime thriller remains a touchstone of the genre, and not just because it finally saw Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro share a scene and featured one of the best gun fights ever put to screen.

One of our great character actors, John Turturro, is equally adept at at drama, comedy and tough-guy roles. A New York stage veteran, he made his way to Hollywood following a character actor’s path, but thanks to several influential mentors, his career soared as he appeared in film after film that would prove to become classics.

Although he continues to have a successful career in television — he is an Emmy winner from two nominations and has earned a Golden Globe nod and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his TV work — I suspect that it will be for his work in film for which he will be most remembered, from small indelible roles in “Do the Right Thing” and “The Big Lebowski” to great leading parts, such as in the Coens’ “Barton Fink,” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

So let’s raise a glass to Turturro by...

Exclusive: Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman have teamed with Eon Productions’ Barbara Broccoli to acquire screen rights for An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s. That is the book historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote that debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, about the epic story of the love of her life, Richard Goodwin, peppered with his experiences as a seminal figure in the most turbulent events of the ’60s.

Kearns Goodwin and her Pastimes Productions partner Beth Laski will produce with Broccoli, Hanks and Goetzman.

“Through the eyes of friends Dick and Doris Goodwin, it is our plan to bring an intimate story of the people and events of the sweeping decade of the 1960s to the screen — a time that despite its sorrows was filled with the widespread conviction that individuals could make a difference,” Broccoli told Deadline in a statement.

By the time Ralph Fiennes joined the Harry Potter film series in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the actor already had two Academy Award nominations. At the same time, by 2005, the franchise was already a major hit.

Voldemort is Harry Potter's biggest villain and his story casts a shadow over every installment. In the first film he was played by Richard Bremmer as he was stuck to the back of Professor Quirrell's head, and Christian Coulson played a younger Voldemort in Chamber of Secrets. However, he wasn't physically present in all of them and Fiennes joined the film in the fourth installment when Timothy Spall's Peter Pettigrew brought him back to a human form after killing off Robert Pattinson's Cedric Diggory during the Triwizard Tournament. In a new appearance at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Ralph Fiennes revealed he needed convincing to play Voldemort because of his "misplaced snobbery,...

Ralph Fiennes began a nearly two-hour conversation at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday by addressing the important thing first: the pronunciation of his first name.

“It’s one of those funky old English things; my parents dealt me this hand with this name,” the actor — whose name is produced “Rafe” — told the crowd inside Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre. “I can hear my father — [me] coming back from school, saying, ‘People keep saying it’s Ralph, it’s Ralph.’ And my father said, ‘No, they’re wrong.'”

Fiennes was honored with the festival’s outstanding performer of the year award, and sat down with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Feinberg for a look back at his long career. The conversation began with a discussion of Fiennes’ discovery of his love of acting and his big break in Wuthering Heights, which caught Steven Spielberg’s attention as he was casting 1993’s Schindler’s List.

The highly acclaimed 1990s American police drama Homicide: Life On The Street will finally be available to stream in the UK thanks to Sky.

While late and much missed Andre Braugher may have won legions of fans in recent years for his pitch-perfect comic performance as Sgt Raymond Holt in sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it is his towering performance as Detective Frank Pendleton in Homicide: Life On The Street that he made his name.

The show was created by Paul Attanasio, who went on to become Oscar nominated for writing the screenplays for Robert Redford’s Quiz Show and Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco. Attanasio based the show on the book Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets by journalist David Simon, who himself went on to have huge success in television after creating The Wire.

According to Deadline, fans in the UK will now be able to watch the show,...

You guys really seem to be digging on Michael Crichton huh? Well let’s look at what almost stopped his adaptations from happening. After a heck of a run from his adaptations both good and mediocre, Sphere would be a big enough bomb that it would follow with two straight sub-par adaptations before a quiet death of his worked being put on the big screen. The movie should have been a no doubt success with stars like Dustin Hoffman, Sam Jackson, Sharon Stone and a more than capable, Oscar winning, director in Barry Levinson. What we would end up with is one of the biggest bombs of the late 90s and a movie that is derided or outright forgotten from the annals of 90s cinema. Was it the cast, the story, or the general public being over Chricton things that didn’t have dinosaurs in it that was the culprit.

Quick Links 'Quiz Show' Is a Compelling Story Based on True Events 'Quiz Show' Was a True Masterclass in Directing 'Quiz Show' Featured a Brilliant Cast Before Their Time 'Quiz Show' Is an Exceptional Film Underscored by Its Acclaim

To many of today's younger generations, Ralph Fiennes may have become known solely as Voldemort, but older fans of the star know that his amazing career as an actor has encompassed far more than just being a dark lord. In fact, over a career that has now spanned more than three decades, Fiennes has established himself as one of the most versatile and accomplished actors of a generation. After his breakout role in Schindler's List, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, he went on to be nominated for a second Oscar for his outstanding role in The English Patient.

Despite never winning an Oscar yet,...

Ralph Fiennes has had an extremely varied career throughout the years. He made his debut on television in 1991, playing the role of Michael in the TV series Prime Suspect. A year later, he also played the key role of Heathcliff in the 1992 adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Since then, he has played in both dramatic and comedy roles, including parts in Schindler's List, Quiz Show, and the Wes Anderson movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fiennes has been nominated for two Oscars, the first for his supporting role in Schindler's List and the second for The English Patient.

This year, Fiennes seems likely to score an Oscar nomination again with his part in Conclave. Conclave is an Edward Berger-directed film about Cardinal Lawrence, who has to lead the Vatican's search for a new pope. The movie has been getting good reviews, and has spurred discussion of Fiennes...

There aren’t many actors whose filmographies can stack up against Ralph Fiennes. Think about it – Schindler’s List, Strange Days, Quiz Show, The English Patient, The Constant Gardener, The Grand Budapest Hotel, etc. Plus, he was M in the Daniel Craig James Bond movies and Voldemort. In recent years, Fiennes seems to be getting better and better, with The Menu an art-house smash, while he’s also appearing in Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later.

Add to that already impressive list of credits Edward Berger’s Conclave, in which he plays a Cardinal presiding over a Papal election who turns into a sleuth when he discovers backstabbing amongst the candidates. An adaption of the novel by Robert Harris, I absolutely loved this movie when I saw it at TIFF (read my review). I was excited to get the chance to briefly speak with Fiennes and Berger about the film,...

Wheel of Fortune’s new era with host Ryan Seacrest is going A-Okay according to fans, but even he has noticed an unfortunate on-air pattern: instead of big paydays, everyone seems to be going bankrupt. Late last week, a fan started a Reddit thread about the perceived uptick in players landing on Bankrupt wedges. They titled it: “The amount of Bankrupts,” elaborating: “There are so many now! Anyone else notice this? It’s almost like they are timed…” While “timing” bankrupt wedges or any sort of producer interference is unlikely other fans replied that they actually do want producers to step in. Namely, to remove one bankrupt wedge from the wheel. The game show’s centerpiece has two bankrupt wedges. “The wheel has one too many Bankrupts on it; pls remove one,” the top comment read. “I’ve noticed So many more,” wrote another. “This was what I came ...

The Sixth Sense may have been a monster hit, but it inadvertently killed its own studio brand! Here’s how Disney’s mega-hit ended Hollywood Pictures!

Twenty-five years after its debut, much has been written about The Sixth Sense and its impact. One thing overlooked is how almost no one in Hollywood expected this supernatural thriller to make an impact. Indeed, in their annual Summer Movie Preview issue in 1999, Entertainment Weekly didn’t even mention Sense.

Sure, it had a big-name star in Bruce Willis, but it was an odd film from a completely unknown writer/director being released in August, traditionally the dumping ground for bad movies. It debuted to $26.6 million, then the highest August release. Thanks to good reviews, strong word of mouth and, of course, that now-famous twist ending, Sense became the second highest-grossing movie of 1999, $672.8 million worldwide. It earned multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and director,...

It suffered at the box office and failed to win any Oscars, but the 1994 prison drama is still seen by many as greater than The Godfather

The Shawshank Redemption is not the greatest film ever made. Heck, it’s not even one of best films of 1994 – the year of Pulp Fiction, Hoop Dreams, Chungking Express, Exotica, Quiz Show and the last two entries in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy. And yet it continues to sit at or near the top of IMDb’s top 250, currently a shade above The Godfather and The Dark Knight, despite opening to polite reviews, middling box office and a resurgent Oscar campaign that nonetheless yielded zero awards. That’s an incredible comeback story, a video-and-cable-fueled long game as steady and methodical as, say, spending two decades chipping a hole in the prison walls with a rock hammer.

Much of the film’s standing in...

Bad Bunny needs a pair of stylish golf shoes and a visor for his latest acting gig! According to The Hollywood Reporter, the musician and actor will star alongside Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2. Benito Martínez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, joins Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald, who reprise their roles as Virginia Venit and Shooter McGavin, respectively. NFL star (and Taylor Swift’s arm candy) Travis Kelce and Benny Safdie appear in the comedic sequel, with Nick Swarsdon playing a caddy.

Kyle Newacheck directs Happy Gilmore 2 from a script by Sandler and his trusty collaborator Tim Herlihy. Yesterday, Netflix announced a production start for Happy Gilmore 2 alongside a photo of Happy’s iconic Boston Bruins jersey hanging on a wardrobe rack. Sandler also posted the image on Instagram, saying, “It ain’t over. The way I see it… we’ve only just begun,” paying homage to a...

The Oscars will surely knock on Pedro Almodóvar’s door this awards season.

Pedro Almodóvar’s expansive filmography has shaped international cinema for over four decades. With his English-language directorial debut, “The Room Next Door,” fresh off winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, the Spanish auteur and distributor Sony Pictures Classics are setting their sights on landing Almodóvar’s first best picture nomination.

Adapted from Sigrid Nunez’s novel “What Are You Going Through,” the film follows two women — war correspondent Martha (Tilda Swinton) and author Ingrid (Julianne Moore) — who reunite after years apart under challenging circumstances.

Read: You can see all Academy Award predictions in all 23 categories on one page on the Variety Awards Circuit: Oscars

Almodóvar’s body of work has garnered widespread acclaim within the Academy. “All About My Mother” (1999) won the Oscar for international feature, while “Talk to Her” (2002) earned him two noms for directing and original screenplay,...

Since breaking through (at least to me) as the loose cannon nutso friend Shawn Eckardt in I, Tonya, Paul Walter Hauser has had a series of celebrated roles playing guys on the outskirts, including the bumbling Horace in Cruella, “Stingray” in Cobra Kai, the title character of the accused Atlanta Olympics bomber in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell, hopeless criminal Booch in the current The Instigators, and his Emmy-winning role as creepy killer Larry Hall in Black Bird.

Well, chalk up another one as Hauser knocks it out of the park on the weirdo scale as legendary game show contestant Michael Larson in The Luckiest Man in America, which just had its world premiere as one of the 2024 Toronto Film Festival’s opening-night attractions. Larson became infamous in 1984 as a nerdy unemployed guy with three ex-wives, who travels across country in his beat-up ice cream truck to audition for the...

Demi Moore is getting her due thanks to Metrograph.

The “Substance” actress and Hollywood icon is being honored by Metrograph with a five-film series of Moore’s most beloved features, as curated by the theater. Titled “We Want Moore,” the mini festival begins September 13.

“The rapturous reception of Demi Moore’s performance in Coralie Fargeat’s ‘The Substance’ at this year’s Cannes Film Festival seems to have reminded many people that the New Mexico-born actress is a bona fide movie star — not just in terms of box office receipts and magazine cover shoots, but in her seemingly effortless ability to command the screen every time she walks into frame,” the Metrograph press statement reads. “In ‘We Want Moore,’ we’ve brought together some other timely reminders.”

Selected films screening in 35mm include Moore’s iconic turns in “Ghost,” “Indecent Proposal,” and “Striptease,” which Moore recently told Variety was one of her most under-appreciated performances.

Exclusive: Golden Globe nominee Griffin Dunne (After Hours) has been tapped for a supporting role in Darren Aronofsky’s Sony crime thriller Caught Stealing, starring Austin Butler.

No word on the part he’s playing. Based on the books by Charlie Huston, who adapted the screenplay, the film follows Hank Thompson (Butler), a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ’90s NYC.

As previously announced, Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Will Brill and Bad Bunny will also star, with Aronofsky’s Protozoa producing.

Known for turns in iconic films like An American Werewolf in London and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, Dunne has also over the years been seen in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Ocean’s Eight, War Machine, Dallas Buyers Club, Quiz Show and more. In television, he’s most recently...

In keeping with annual tradition, The Hollywood Reporter’s executive editor (awards) Scott Feinberg and senior editor (film) Rebecca Keegan huddled at the end of this year’s Telluride Film Festival to discuss their Labor Day weekend in the Rockies. (Please note: THR will now be posting a written back-and-forth of this sort every month under the banner of ‘The Awards Pundits,’ with Feinberg, Keegan, deputy awards editor Beatrice Verhoeven and senior awards editor Steven Zeitchik all participating.)

Feinberg Not to sound like Saturday Night Live’s Stefon, but the 2024 edition of Telluride seemingly had everything — or, at least, everyone. There was fake Donald Trump (The Apprentice’s Sebastian Stan) and real Jack Smith (flanked by three Secret Service agents, the special counsel investigating Trump was here to support wife Katy Chevigny’s film The Easy Kind); a guy who made a movie about SNL (Saturday Night’s director Jason Reitman...

Conclave, the German filmmaker Edward Berger’s follow-up to his Oscar-celebrated interpretation of All Quiet on the Western Front, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival’s Herzog Theatre on Friday night. And if my gut reaction to the film, and that of industry insiders with whom I consulted after it ended, are any indication, then an Oscar race that has heretofore looked awfully thin may well have found a new top-tier, across-the-board contender.

The film, which Peter Straughan adapted from Robert Harris’s 2016 novel about the aftermath of a pope’s sudden death and the chaotic succession process that followed it, is hard to describe. I suppose “dramatic thriller” is apt, although there are also moments of comedy and horror, with multiple crazy twists that should not be spoiled. Some are likening it to Dangerous Liaisons, others to the quirky films of Yorgos Lanthimos.

What is easy...

Frank Darabont's 1994 prison drama "The Shawshank Redemption," based on a novella by Stephen King, experienced a type of slow success that films don't seem capable of achieving anymore. Released in theaters in late September, "Shawshank" didn't open to huge numbers, and it didn't cause much of a stir in the culture. Reviews were generally quite positive, with many critics praising the film's central performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and others liking the tenderness of the screenplay. The film currently boasts an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film was ultimately nominated for seven Academy Awards, but it won zero, crowded out in a year that included "Forrest Gump," "Pulp Fiction," "Quiz Show," and Krzysztof Kieślowski's "Red." It wasn't until "Shawshank" was released on VHS that it began to find an audience. Indeed, audiences grew by leaps and bounds, with some coming to consider it one of...

John Turturro with his Heart of Sarajevo award Photo: Courtesy of Sarajevo Film Festival John Turturro received a Heart of Sarajevo award at the Sarajevo Film Festival last night for his career.

The actor, known for films including Barton Fink and Quiz Show, took part in a conversation event at the festival yesterday to talk about his work in front of and behind the camera.

He partially credits his love of film to his parents who were big film lovers. He also says that as they didn’t travel around much as a family films were “emotional transportation for me”.

He said his big inspiration was when he saw a clip of Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy when he was about aged 12.

He recalls: “I couldn’t see it because it was rated X at the time.”

He adds: “I was shocked because I was thinking, well, that guy looks like someone in our family.

In the 1950s, audiences glued to their still-nascent television sets were shocked to learn that one of their favorite game shows, Twenty-One, had been rigging results by providing answers to the winners. Although the ensuing Congressional investigation was wide-ranging, the national focus centered on Charles Van Doren, the dashing son of a prominent literary family who became an overnight celebrity when the producers of Twenty-One conspired to keep him on air as their star contestant. In 1994, Robert Redford dramatized this scandal in his Oscar-nominated film Quiz Show, using a real life incident to examine how America's obsession with fame and fortune destroys all those who chase it.

Robert Redford has had a highly successful 50-year career as an actor dating back to early appearances on television (most famously as “Death” in an episode of The Twilight Zone”), then successfully on Broadway and finally as one of the biggest movie stars of all time.

His acting career has included two outstanding films with Paul Newman, Oscar Best Picture nominee “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and Best Picture champ “The Sting.” He has explored politics with “The Candidate” and “All the President’s Men.” And he starred in Best Picture winner “Out of Africa” with Meryl Streep among his many roles. All of these movies and more are now featured in our photo gallery of his 15 best films (view above).

In addition to his acclaimed work as an actor Redford has been a major force behind-the-scenes in the film industry with his directorial and producing efforts as well as...

Given that the Sundance Kid — aka Robert Redford — has been acting since he was 21, racking up 78 credits in film and on TV along the way (according to IMDb), no one can say he hasn’t paid his dues and then some. That Redford received just one acting Oscar nomination for his con man in 1972’s “The Sting” seems, well, a little stingy. However, the Academy voters have a habit of shunning so-called “pretty boys” – just look at what Leonardo DiCaprio suffered through in “The Revenant” to deserve winning the gold on his fifth try.

However, what this Electric Cowboy did Not say is that he is quitting directing. In fact, Redford has impressed Oscar most when he goes behind the camera and calls the shots – even if a few of his movies possess dubious reputations. Tour our photo gallery above for a ranking of all nine of his film-making efforts,...

John Turturro is to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia, which runs from Aug. 16 to 23. The award is in recognition of his contribution to the film industry and his talent as an actor, director and screenwriter.

Jovan Marjanović, director of Sarajevo Film Festival, said: “With a career spanning over four decades, he has delivered unforgettable performances in a diverse range of roles. His dedication to his craft, versatility, and ability to bring depth and authenticity to every character he embodies have made him a joy to look at every time he enters the scene.”

Turturro studied at Suny New Paltz and the Yale School of Drama. He has worked with a number of acclaimed filmmakers, appearing in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and “Jungle Fever,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Color of Money,” Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show,” Francesco Rosi’s “La Tregua,...

Before David Simon debuted his groundbreaking socio-political tapestry “The Wire” to audiences and helped garner the prestige HBO now only reserves for “Game of Thrones” and superhero spinoffs, he wrote the book on the world of crime and law enforcement in Baltimore. Published in 1991, his non-fiction book “Homicide: A Year of Killing Streets” pools two years of research from Simon’s time spent observing the Baltimore Police Department, which itself followed four years spent on the police beat for The Baltimore Sun newspaper.

Wishing to adapt the book into a feature film, Simon got a copy to filmmaker and Baltimore native Barry Levinson, who felt the material was better suited to a TV series. Levinson shared with Paul Attansio, a former Washington Post film critic whose would go on to write the Oscar-nominated “Quiz Show,” as well as “Donnie Brasco,” and together the team brought the project to NBC, where...

The peak television renaissance didn't happen overnight. A decade prior to the epochal debut of "The Sopranos" on HBO, series as disparate in their aims as "The Simpsons," "Twin Peaks" and "The Larry Sanders Show" were challenging the industry's notions of what the broadcast medium could accomplish. Dramatic story arcs began to stretch out over a season or longer, while sitcoms got edgier and less hidebound to the multi-camera format. These successes emboldened major filmmakers to try their hand at episodic TV, which didn't always pan out. But it was always thrilling to see great artists romp about in a medium Hollywood once considered beneath them.

Of these efforts, it's possible none had a greater influence on the peak era than NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street." When Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon began shopping his book "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," an account of his time...

Peter Finch won a posthumous Oscar for his uproarious performance as a swivel-eyed news anchor – a cross between Billy Graham and Donald Trump

‘The time has come to say … is ‘dehumanisation’ such a bad word?” The speaker is Howard Beale, the sweat-drenched, swivel-eyed TV news anchor in this classic 1976 satire from screenwriter Paddy Chayevsky and director Sidney Lumet, now on rerelease. Depressed by the loss of his wife and by getting fired due to dwindling audiences, Beale proclaims he will kill himself live on air and is then re-hired as a colossal popular and then populist success, his celebrity delirium turning him into a crazy prophet, telling millions of Americans to scream out of the window that they are as mad as hell and not going to take it any more. Beale is a mixture of Billy Graham, radio star Orson Welles telling America the Martians are coming, and that notorious ratings-obsessive Donald Trump.

New ad formats will help Disney+ boost revenues from its streaming service even higher.

On-demand streaming offers viewers a way to consume video using features they never had watching linear TV. It also gives providers ways to reach customers with ads using methods they’ve never used before, and now Disney is getting in on that evolution by introducing new advertising formats on its streaming services. Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ subscribers will soon find the new interactive ads on their interface, if they haven’t noticed them already, as Disney tries to boost engagement —and by extension, revenues — on its on-demand platforms.

Key Details: Disney is rolling out shoppable ads, as well as advergames on its streaming services. The goal is to make ads “impactful” for Disney streaming customers, according to executives. Amazon, Roku, and Fubo are among other companies that have launched interactive ads in recent months. Sign Up Now $7.99+ / month disneyplus.

Sam Mercer, producer on several M. Night Shyamalan movies and former head of Ilm, died Feb. 12 of younger onset Alzheimer’s in South Pasadena. He was 69.

Raised in Weston, Mass., he attended Occidental College and then started working as a location manager on 1980s classics including “Stripes,” “The Escape Artist,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Swing Shift,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”

He joined the Walt Disney Company as a production executive, supervising films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Three Fugitives” and “Dead Poets Society.” He then became VP of motion picture production at Hollywood Pictures, where he oversaw releases including “Quiz Show,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Born Yesterday,” “Swing Kids,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Arachnophobia.”

Mercer then worked as an independent producer, starting with “Congo,” “The Relic” and “Mission to Mars.” After working with Shyamalan on “The Sixth Sense,” then went on...

Sam Mercer, who produced eight M. Night Shyamalan films starting with the spooky blockbuster The Sixth Sense, has died. He was 69.

Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, his wife, Tegan Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Mercer was seen as an out-of-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities of the VFX giant’s studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the next year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including Stripes (1981), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).

He joined Disney and was a production executive on such features as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as a production vp at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films...

Sam Mercer, who produced seven M. Night Shyamalan films including The Sixth Sense, headed Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic and was location manager on several classic 1980s pics, has died. He was 69.

His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.

“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”

Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, Ma, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.

Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985)

There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society,...

Films made by the likes of Netflix seem to have one chance to get noticed – and then they’re falling away, almost forgotten. A few thoughts.

You might just have noticed, but we’ve just had the Academy Awards come and go, with a traditional studio taking home the top prize. Snapping at their heels, streaming services spending a lot of money to promote their wares, but not winning a lot of gold.

Among this year’s streaming contenders: Maestro, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Nyad, Society Of The Snow and Rustin. Some smashing films there: my fear is, in some cases, that’s going to be pretty much the last we’ve heard of them.

The unsuccessful Oscar campaign is nothing fresh of course. In recent years though, streaming services – Netflix in particular – have allowed hard cash to flow into their attempt to earn Academy Awards. Of those streamers,...

"Three Days of the Condor" is one of the most suspenseful crime thrillers that came out of '70s cinema. The New Hollywood movement was in full effect with audiences turning to gritty, low-budget films for thrills outside of the failing studio system. Sydney Pollack was one of the foremost leaders of the cinematic era, and "Three Days of the Condor" was one of the final entries into its canon. The filmmaker's 1970 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" earned him his first Academy Award nomination, so "Three Days" was a highly anticipated follow-up.

Robert Redford stars as Joe Turner, a code-breaker for the CIA who shows up to work one morning and finds his entire department has been killed. When he tries to find solace in his superiors, he quickly learns that the agency is in on the job. Joe is left to discover why the CIA wants him and his colleagues dead,...

On June 17, 1972, thieves acting on behalf of Richard Nixon's presidential campaign broke into the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC, the location of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. The group was looking for papers and secrets that would have given Nixon an unfair advantage in the election. Nixon was bafflingly still elected during this kerfuffle and served as president for two more years before enough details about the break-in emerged to warrant his infamous resignation from office. The many, many details of the Watergate scandal have been recorded in innumerable books, documentaries, and Hollywood dramas in the ensuing decades, and Watergate shows are being made to this day; the miniseries "Gaslit" aired in 2022 and "White House Plumbers" in 2023.

The Watergate scandal represented a loss of American innocence for many. It was positive proof that the Republican party was openly corrupt. The scandal was bad enough, but then Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon of all his recorded,...

Jim Carrey once called himself the “Tom Hanks of the Golden Globes” after his second straight victory with the Hollywood Foreign Press in 2000 (for “Man on the Moon” following “The Truman Show”). He could win with that group but somehow couldn’t impress Oscar voters. And he’s not the only actor in that situation. Our photo gallery features Carrey among the 20 actors who’ve never been nominated for an Oscar.

Even Academy Awards hosts such as Billy Crystal and Steve Martin haven’t been noticed by Oscar voters other than seeing them perform on the ceremony stage. They have both received critics awards and Golden Globe nominations in their long careers. Martin has at least received an honorary Oscar, but alas no individual nomination for either one throughout their careers.

Other Golden Globe film winners have included Richard Gere (“Chicago”) and Hugh Grant (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”). Our...

Not everyone knows this, but Jason Alexander and Robert Redford have a lot in common. They are both actors, for example. They have both won a lot of awards for acting, just none of the same awards. They were both born in the United States of America. They both directed the 1993 movie "Quiz Show." Oh, wait, no they didn't. That was just Redford, never mind.

Okay, so maybe Jason Alexander and Robert Redford don't have a whole lot in common. But there is one unusual bit of trivia that connects. They both played completely against type as the Grim Reaper in an excellent episode of "The Twilight Zone," and they both knocked it out of the park. Robert Redford played Death as an unexpectedly kind and angelic specter of death in the 1962 episode "Nothing in the Dark," and Jason Alexander played Death as an overwhelmingly depressed burnout who wants to...

Mayim Bialik has faced her final “Jeopardy!” Two years after stepping in as a permanent host for the beloved game show following the death of its long-running emcee Alex Trebek, Bialik is exiting her regular role on the series. In a statement posted to Instagram on Friday afternoon, Bialik shared that producer Sony Pictures Television had informed her that she will no longer have hosting duties on the series beginning in 2024.

“As the holiday break begins in Hollywood, I have some ‘Jeopardy!’ news. Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of ‘Jeopardy!'” Bialik wrote in the post. “I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a pat of the ‘Jeopardy!’ family.”

“For all of you who have supported me through this incredible journey and to the fans,...

A show with a cast of Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, Jason Schwartzman, Tony Hale, and Will Ferrell should bring the laughs and then some, right? Find out when “Quiz Show” premieres on Friday, Nov. 3 on Hulu. The show centers on a pair of sisters who begin an epic cross-country quest to win quick cash by becoming game show champions! You can watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu.

How to Watch 'Quiz Lady' When: Friday, November 3, 2023 Where: Hulu Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu. 30-Day Free Trial$7.99+ / month hulu.com About 'Quiz Lady'

“Quiz Lady” centers on two sisters. Anne (Awkwafina) is thoroughly obsessed with gameshows, rarely missing an episode of her favorites. Her sister Jenny (Oh) is the exact opposite; loud, messy, and inarguably a trouble-maker. The two are estranged, but when their mother racks up a truly heroic amount of gambling debt,...

Chicago – On September 13th, the celebrity participants of the 32nd Season of “Dancing with the Stars” was revealed, and among those taking on the challenge is Mira Sorvino, the Oscar-winning actor and activist. Ms. Sorvino was recently photographed by Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com at Chicago’s Fan Expo in August.

Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in New York City, and is the daughter of actors Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Ruth Davis. Despite many directions in her young life, including a study of East Asian studies at Harvard University and fluent Mandarin, she chose to follow the path of her parents and made her TV debut with the syndicated “Swans Crossing” in 1992. A year later she made her film debut with “Amongst Friends” and followed that up with 1994 roles in “Quiz Show” and “Barcelona.” “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995), directed by Woody Allen, put her in the spotlight for the Oscar win, and...

In the realm of road movies, family ties, and the complexities of sisterhood, the Hulu/20th Century Studio offers up Quiz Lady, a film that charts a familiar course. Directed by Jessica Yu and penned by Jen D’Angelo, the film boasts an ensemble cast led by the undeniable talent of Sandra Oh and Awkwafina, supported by the comedic prowess of Will Ferrell, Holland Taylor and Jason Schwartzman.

Young Anne loves Can’t Stop the Quiz game show and its host Terry McTeer (Ferrell). She enjoys watching it on evening television while her older sister slacks off on the phone all day, and her parents argue over her mother’s gambling addiction. In adulthood, Anne (Awkwafina) is still obsessed with quiz shows, works at a dull 9-to-5 and gets yelled at by her neighbor Francine (Taylor) on a daily basis. One day she finds her mother escaped from the senior living facility with her boyfriend Jeff.

TIFF 2023 kicks off today, and this weekend is flush with all sorts of intriguing world premieres. On the comedy front, one such debut is “Quiz Show,” a comedy from director Jessica Yu which hits Hulu later this Fall.

Awakfina and Sandra Oh star in the hilarious and heartfelt comedy, about a dysfunctional family and the game show that might be the key to their salvation.

Continue reading ‘Quiz Lady’ Trailer: Comedy With Awkwafina & Sandra Oh Has Its World Premiere At TIFF On September 9 at The Playlist.

Chicago – The celebrity line-up at the upcoming Fan Expo Chicago is top of the pops, and making a prime appearance is actor Mira Sorvino, who made a big splash by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Mighty Aphrodite” in the 1990s. The Fan Expo takes place from August 10-13, 2023. For tickets and information, click Fan Expo Chicago.

Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in New York City, and is the daughter of actors Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Ruth Davis. Despite many directions in her young life, including a study of East Asian studies at Harvard University and fluent Mandarin, she chose to follow the path of her parents and made her TV debut with the syndicated “Swans Crossing” in 1992. A year later she made her film debut with “Amongst Friends” and followed that up with 1994 roles in “Quiz Show” and “Barcelona.” “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995), directed by Woody Allen, put her in...

Game shows have been a staple of the world's television-viewing diet since the medium's infancy. "Spelling Bee" first hit the British telly in 1938, while "Truth or Consequences" made a one-off debut on New York City's Wnbt in 1941. Our fascination with smarty pants contestants flaunting their vast trivia knowledge brought us the high-stakes duo of NBC's "Twenty-One" and CBS' "The 64,000 Question," which led to the 1950s quiz show scandals.

Over a half-century later, we're still hooked on programs like "Jeopardy," "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Price Is Right." Some of these shows require contestants to be genuinely well-read; others ask people to be semi-knowledgeable about retail value and physically capable of spinning a big wheel. Regardless of the skill (or utter lack thereof) involved, there is something undeniably thrilling about watching a regular working stiff go on live television and win a decent chunk of change. Depending on the show,...

*Please note: This interview was conducted before SAG-AFTRA’s decision to take strike action.

So rarely do modern audiences get to experience a “cult classic” film or television show anymore. The internet has seen to that. Even independent films that 20-30 years ago would have to rely on word of mouth or for the local Blockbuster to run out of copies to create any kind of buzz now get thousands of people sharing their thoughts about it within online forums.

It is with no sense of irony that The Venture Bros. is perhaps one of the last cult classics. The animated series is one of the veterans of Cartoon Network’s original Adult Swim line of shows, and throughout the last two decades has clawed its way to survive seven seasons and stave off cancellation. That’s largely in part to its cult-like following. The show has been a refuge...