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John F. Burnett, the veteran film editor who cut Grease, And Justice for All and Murder by Death and films for directors George Cukor, Blake Edwards and Sydney Pollack, has died. He was 90.

Burnett died Oct. 24 of natural causes in Lincoln, California, his son, cinematographer and producer John Earl Burnett, told The Hollywood Reporter. He said he chose not to disclose the news of his death until now for “personal family reasons.”

Burnett also worked with directors Robert Ellis Miller on The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), The Girl From Petrovka (1974) and Bed & Breakfast (1991) and with Herbert Ross on The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Sunshine Boys (1975) and The Goodbye Girl (1977).

He edited two sweeping ABC miniseries adapted from epic novels by Herman Wouk, 1983’s The Winds of War and 1990’s War and Remembrance, winning an Emmy (shared with Peter Zinner) for the latter.

Burnett got his start at Warner Bros.,...

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ infamous parties, known as “Freak Offs,” have recently come under intense scrutiny amid the rapper’s legal troubles. Following multiple allegations of s*xual assault and abuse, P Diddy was arrested in New York City on September 16 and subsequently charged with s*x trafficking and racketeering.

Diddy || Image by Shamsuddin Muhammad, licensed under Cc By 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Although several female celebrities had previously tried to sound the alarm about the three-time Grammy-winning rapper’s controversial gatherings, their warnings fell on deaf ears. Ergo, here are four female celebrities who raised their voices against Diddy, alerting Hollywood to his troubling behavior long before his current legal issues.

Wendy Williams Warned Diddy’s Ex About His Behavior

Wendy Williams has always been one to speak her mind without mincing words. Nearly a decade ago, she raised red flags about Sean “Diddy” Combs’ troubling behavior, cautioning his then-girlfriend about his potential for abuse.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today is Barbra Streisand day! And what a day it is. Just one day after Babs herself announced the start to production of her approved documentary film, in which she plans to unveil the creative contents of her quite famous vault, we here at The B-Side tackle some of the legend’s lesser-seen films. They include The Owl and the Pussycat, Up the Sandbox, For Pete’s Sake, Nuts, and The Guilt Trip. Our guest on this long-in-the-making journey is Chris Feil, co-host of the incredible This Had Oscar Buzz podcast.

We talk about the autobiography in all of its glory. We talk about Barbra’s early years, Barbra’s late years, her passion for design,...

Barbra Streisand is getting into the music documentary game.

The singer, actress, director, producer and Egot winner has started production on a multipart documentary about her life and career directed by Frank Marshall and produced by Alex Gibney, the project’s creative team announced Thursday. The project aims to be an “intimate and comprehensive exploration of every facet of the iconic multi-hyphenate” with access to the Streisand’s own archival materials as well as footage of her work on current projects, the announcement stated.

The film will follow Streisand from her Brooklyn upbringing through her early career in New York nightclubs and acclaimed performance in the original Broadway musical Funny Girl, which later was adapted into the 1968 William Wyler film starring Streisand. Following her Oscar-winning turn as Fanny Brice in that film, Streisand starred in Hello, Dolly!, The Owl and the Pussycat, What’s Up, Doc? and A Star Is Born...

Who do you think of when you hear the term "girl next door"? For the millions of people who grew up watching "Gilligan's Island," the answer is no doubt Dawn Wells. Wells played down-to-earth bombshell Mary Ann Summers for all three seasons of the 1960s sitcom, then continued to reprise the role in various projects for years to come.

Unlike some stars of classic TV shows, she never seemed to have a problem with being best-known for one role, and gave interviews about her time on "Gilligan's Island" for the rest of her life. According to series creator Sherwood Schwartz's book "Inside Gilligan's Island," young girls came to Wells for life advice even decades after the show had ended. "I'm still Mary Ann, I guess," he recalled her telling him.

Wells earned her role on "Gilligan's Island" around 1964, after a failed pilot the year before had conceived of a similar character named "Bunny.

The original 1964 Broadway production of "Hello, Dolly!" was considered a showcase for its star, Carol Channing, and little else. At the time, critics were not entirely kind, saying the show had "unnecessary vulgar and frenzied touches," and that they "wouldn't say that Jerry Herman's score is memorable." Despite the middling reviews, "Hello, Dolly!" won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Leading Actress (for Channing), Best Direction, Best Choreography, and Best Original Score.

The mid-'60s were a weirdly fraught time for major Hollywood musicals, as the genre provided some of the era's biggest hits, but also some of its biggest bombs. In 1964, Disney had a big hit with "Mary Poppins" and Warner Bros. made bank with "My Fair Lady," so musicals were suddenly on the rise. In 1965, Fox released "The Sound of Music," adapted from the stage production by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and it proved to be one of...

Rose Gregorio, who received a Tony nomination for her performance as the browbeaten daughter of Geraldine Fitzgerald’s declining old woman in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Shadow Box, has died. She was 97.

Gregorio died Aug. 17 of natural causes in her Greenwich Village home, her nephew Robert Grosbard told The Hollywood Reporter.

Gregorio was married to Belgium-born stage and film director Ulu Grosbard from 1965 until his death in 2012, and she appeared for him as the ex-wife of Dustin Hoffman’s character in Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971); as a local madam in True Confessions (1981); and as the mother of Treat Williams’ character in The Deep End of the Ocean (1999).

On television, she had a recurring role on NBC’s ER as Nurse Carol Hathaway’s (Julianna Margulies) mom from 1996-99.

Gregorio also landed a Drama Desk nom and a Clarence Derwent...

Dick Halligan, who won two Grammys for his early work with the group Blood, Sweat and Tears and later turned to film and television work, died Jan. 18 in Rome, Italy at age 78. The family cited natural causes.

Halligan was a member of Blood, Sweat and Tears for the horn-driven rock band’s first four albums. He played trombone on the group’s heralded 1968 debut, “Child is Father to the Man,” then moved over to keyboards and flute for their second album, the self-titled, “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” after co-founder and keyboardist Al Kooper left the band. With David Clayton-Thomas coming in as the grittier new lead vocalist, the group had a major commercial breakthrough and went from the counterculture cult popularity of the debut to winning the 1969 album of the year Grammy for the sophomore release. Halligan remained on board for two more albums before taking his leave in 1971.

It...

The 2021 British Academy Film Awards are being presented on two nights, with eight categories handed out on Saturday, April 10, and the rest being presented on Sunday, April 11. Check out the complete list of BAFTA champs here.

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was the most awarded film on Saturday, winning both of its nominations there: Best Costume Design for Ann Roth and Best Makeup and Hair for the team of Matiki Anoff, Larry M. Cherry, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, and Mia Neal. The film has only one other nomination: Best Actor for the late Chadwick Boseman. He stands a good chance of winning that on Sunday, which would give the film a clean sweep, so it’s a little surprising that “Ma Rainey” didn’t get nominations in any other categories.

SEE2021 BAFTA winners list: British Academy Film Awards in all categories

The wealth was spread in other races. “Tenet” won Best Visual Effects for Scott Fisher,...

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “Rocks,” “Tenet” and “Sound of Metal” were among the winners at Saturday’s BAFTA Opening Night 2021 ceremony, the first of two ceremonies at which the Ee British Academy Film Awards will be handed out.

The Opening Night ceremony handed out awards in six below-the-line and two short-film categories. In the Btl categories, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” won for costume design and for makeup and hairstyling, “Rocks” for casting, “Mank” for production design, “Sound of Metal” for sound and “Tenet” for visual effects.

The short-film awards went to the Oscar-nominated film “The Present” as the best British short and “The Owl and the Pussycat” as the best British animated short.

The virtual ceremony was hosted by British radio and television presenter Clara Amfo and also included a performance of the Oscar-nominated song “Speak Now” by “One Night in Miami” and “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr.

Prince William...

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was the big winner on the opening night of the 2021 BAFTA Film Awards, taking home two golden masks from a possible two.

Night 1, hosted virtually by radio and TV presenter Clara Amfo, was a mostly craft-centered affair which also yielded wins for “Mank,” “Tenet” and “Sound of Metal.”

The first show was originally scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. local time, but according to sources the BBC made a late decision to push the broadcast by an hour. Amfo opened the show by reading a tribute to Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, who died Friday at the age of 99.

“On behalf of BAFTA, we are extremely saddened by the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on Friday. The Duke was BAFTA’s very first president over 60 years ago and was the first of a line of royal patronage all...

‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, ‘Rocks’, ‘Sound Of Metal’ and ‘Tenet’ among winners.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom picked up two prizes at the opening night of the 2021 Bafta Film Awards in London, which focused on the craft categories.

The US film, directed by George C. Wolfe, won both the awards for which it was nominated: costume design for the work of Ann Roth; and make-up and hair, recognising Matiki Anoff, Larry M. Cherry, Sergio Lopez-Rivera and Mia Neal.

The music drama and Netflix title is up for one more prize at the main ceremony tomorrow, for late leading actor Chadwick Boseman.

The ceremony is underway at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The opening night of the 2021 Bafta Film Awards is taking place now at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Screen is posting all the winners, which are focused on the craft categories, on this page as they are announced. Despite being hosted from the Royal Albert Hall, an audience is not present and the winners are receiving their awards virtually due to ongoing pandemic restrictions. UK actor and filmmaker Noel Clarke will also be recognised with the outstanding British contribution to cinema award.

For the first time, the awards...

Jane Fonda felt the scene as written would be flat, and the camera was about to roll. “I’m going to play it while peeing on the toilet,” she suddenly told her co-star, George Segal. The surprised Segal paused for a moment, gulped, then promptly re-created his dialogue, embellishing the exchange and the scene moved forward and with greater energy.

The year was 1979, the movie Fun with Dick and Jane, and the studio later tried to kill the scene — until discovering that test audiences applauded it. The moment was classic Fonda but also classic Segal, an actor who, over a long career, always found ways to enhance the performances of his remarkable co-stars, from Barbra Streisand to Elizabeth Taylor, while also helping filmmakers deliver hits.

Segal, who died this week at age 87, was a gracious, thoughtful man, who, while a star for over 60 years, never resorted to bluster or name-dropping.

George Segal with Ben Gazzara and Robert Vaughn during the filming of "The Bridge at Remagen" in 1968.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actor George Segal has passed away at age 87. Segal became a rising young star in the 1960s and went on to enjoy success in both feature films and television. He made his big screen debut in "The Young Doctors" in 1961 and within a few years had appeared in "Ship of Fools" and his first starring role in "King Rat". The 1965 adaptation of James Clavell's novel found Segal as an American prisoner in a Japanese P.O.W. camp in WWII. He uses his guile and survival skills to not only stay alive but to thrive, much to disgust of British P.O.W.s who think his actions border on collaboration with the enemy. Segal's biggest break came the following year when he was cast in Mike Nichols' screen...

Following the announcement that George Segal had died at age 87, the Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated actor’s peers in Hollywood paid tribute on social media.

Segal, who died while recovering from bypass surgery, was nominated for five Golden Globes, an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA nomination and won two Golden Globes during the course of his career. Segal received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

“He was a great actor. Too many of these type of posts lately. Rip George!” Ed Asner wrote.

Barbra Streisand, who starred with Segal in the 1970 rom-com “The Owl and the Pussycat,” also paid tribute: “So sorry to hear about George Segal‘s passing. We had such fun making Owl and the Pussycat. May he Rest In Peace…”

“It was a true honor being a small part of George Segal’s amazing legacy. By pure fate,...

George Segal, whose decades-spanning acting career included earning an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to portraying Albert “Pops” Solomon on The Goldbergs, died on Tuesday, Variety reports. He was 87.

His wife, Sonia, confirmed the news. “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” she said in a statement.

Since 2013, Segal had portrayed family patriarch Albert “Pops” Solomon on ABC’s sitcom The Goldbergs. While he is known for his later-career TV roles...

George Segal, whose long career included playing Albert “Pops” Solomon on “The Goldbergs,” and garnering an Oscar nom for supporting actor for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” died Tuesday. He was 87.

His wife Sonia announced his death, saying, “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery.”

Segal’s longtime manager Abe Hoch said, “I am saddened by the fact that my close friend and client of many years has passed away. I will miss his warmth, humor, camaraderie and friendship. He was a wonderful human.”

Some of the top directors of the 1960s and ’70s, including Robert Altman, Mike Nichols, Paul Mazursky and Sidney Lumet cast Segal for his gently humorous everyman quality, and he often played an unlucky-in-love professional or a writer who gets in over his head.

In Nichols’ 1967 Edward Albee adaptation “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,...

George Segal, the engaging actor who during his 1970s prime generated great chemistry with his co-stars in such lighthearted classics as Where’s Poppa?, The Owl and the Pussycat, A Touch of Class, California Split and Fun With Dick and Jane, died Tuesday. He was 87.

Segal died of complications from bypass surgery, his wife, Sonia, announced. He died in Santa Rosa, California.

Although he was most associated with comedy and playing brainy, neurotic characters, Segal’s acting range was considerable.

His performance as a pusillanimous young professor in Mike Nichols’ best picture nominee Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton landed him a ...

George Segal, the engaging actor who during his 1970s prime generated great chemistry with his co-stars in such lighthearted classics as Where’s Poppa?, The Owl and the Pussycat, A Touch of Class, California Split and Fun With Dick and Jane, died Tuesday. He was 87.

Segal died of complications from bypass surgery, his wife, Sonia, announced. He died in Santa Rosa, California.

Although he was most associated with comedy and playing brainy, neurotic characters, Segal’s acting range was considerable.

His performance as a pusillanimous young professor in Mike Nichols’ best picture nominee Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton landed him a ...

Dawn Wells, who starred as “good girl” Mary Ann in popular 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” died Wednesday of causes related to Covid-19 in Los Angeles. She was 82.

Pig-tailed and attired in her ubiquitous dungarees or gingham dress, which is on display at the Hollywood Museum, the Mary Ann character was the girl-next-door to Tina Louise’s suggestive evening dress-clad Ginger, who was often subjected to leering comments from the male stars they were shipwrecked with on a tropical island after becoming stranded during a “three-hour tour.”

Louise, the last remaining member of the crew, said in a statement, “I was sad to learn of Dawn’s passing, I will always remember her kindness to me. We shared in creating a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time. I hope that people will remember her the way that I do – always with a smile on her face.

Allen Garfield, who appeared in such films as “The Conversation,” “Nashville” and “Irreconcilable Differences,” has passed away due to complications of Covid-19, according to one of his co-stars. He was 80.

The actor, who suffered strokes in 1998 and 2004, had been a long-term resident of the Motion Picture Retirement Home. It is not known if he was one of the two victims of coronavirus who died at the facility this week.

Garfield’s “Nashville” co-star Ronee Blakley shared the news on Facebook, writing, “Rip Allen Garfield, the great actor who played my husband in ‘Nashville’, has died today of Covid; I hang my head in tears; condolences to family and friends; I will post more later; cast and crew, sending love.”

Also Read: 2 Motion Picture & Television Fund Nursing Home Residents Die From Coronavirus

Born Allen Goorwitz in Newark, New Jersey in 1939, Garfield appeared in more than 100 television shows and films during his...

Buck Henry, a writer who with Mel Brooks created TV’s Get Smart and a frequent host during Saturday Night Live‘s early years, died on Wednesday from a heart attack. He was 89.

Henry’s early writing credits included TV’s The Garry Moore Show and This Was the Week That Was, before he and Brooks created 1965’s Get Smart, a five-season, Emmy-winning spy spoof starring Don Adams in the title role.

More from TVLineEddie Murphy's SNL Hits an 11-Year Audience High With DVR Playback, Best Since Sarah Palin's 2008 Visit2019's Biggest TV Controversies: SNL's Mis-Hire, Rookie Exit, Constance Wu Rues Renewal,...

Buck Henry, the actor-screenwriter-director who co-created “Get Smart,” co-wrote “The Graduate” and co-directed the hit 1978 Warren Beatty film “Heaven Can Wait,” died Wednesday night in Los Angeles. He was 89.

According to Deadline, which first reported the news, Henry died at Cedars-Sinai Health Center following a heart attack.

Born Henry Zuckerman in 1930 in New York City, Henry was the son of silent film star Ruth Taylor. He began his entertainment career in the early 1960s as a cast member on TV shows like the “The New Steve Allen Show” and “That Was the Week That Was.” Soon after, he co-created the spy thriller parody “Get Smart” with Mel Brooks, also co-writing several episodes.

Though his first film script was for the 1964 movie “The Troublemaker,” in which he also had a minor role, Henry made his name as a screenwriter with “The Graduate,...

Buck Henry, the legendary screenwriter behind The Graduate and What’s Up, Doc? who also co-created Get Smart and was a regular presence in the early years of Saturday Night Live, died tonight of a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Health Center in Los Angeles. He was 89.

A family member confirmed the news to Deadline.

Henry scored a pair of Oscar nominations — one for his and Calder Willingham’s adapted screenplay for The Graduate and another for directing with Warren Beatty the 1978 movie Heaven Can Wait. He also won a writing Emmy in 1967 for Get Smart, the spy spoof he created with Mel Brooks, among many other accolades.

He became a familiar face to a new generation of TV viewers by hosting Saturday Night Live several times during its first five seasons. He might be best remembered as John Belushi’s foil in the classic “Samurai” skits.

Henry also had more...

Elton John is one of the biggest names in music, but of course, Elton John’s name wasn’t always Elton John. He was born Reginald Dwight, and the biopic “Rocketman” suggests that Dwight got his stage name from his bandmate Elton Dean and Beatles singer John Lennon.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite the case. In an interview for his CD box set “To Be Continued…” (1990), John explained where he got the idea for his stage name.

“I was in Bluesology, and we were coming back from a Long John Baldry gig somewhere, and we got a bus from London airport to London and someone said, ‘We’ve made it now, so what are you going to call yourself?'” he explained. “The saxophone player in the band was called Elton Dean, a very good jazz sax player, and the only other Elton I could think of was Elton Hayes,...

To reduce it all to three syllables: We’re with her!

Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the best thing about the swampy Batman v Superman, and now her solo outing is the far superior film: Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, elevates her from third wheel to real deal.

Like Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, Wonder Woman had a peculiar childhood. She was carved from clay by her mother, Amazon queen Hippolyta, and had the breath of life puffed into her tiny lungs by Zeus. Christened Diana, she was raised on a mystical, off-the-map island where you’d be...

By Todd Garbarini

The Royale Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles will be presenting a 50th anniversary screening of Mike Nichols’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? based upon Edward Albee’s play. The 131-minute film, which stars Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis, will be screened on Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm.

Actor George Segal, who appears in the film as Nick (Honey’s Husband), is scheduled to appear at a Q&A session after the film to discuss his role and career.

From the press release:

Who’S Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966) 50th Anniversary Screening

Tribute to Oscar-winning Cinematographer Haskell Wexler

Oscar Nominee George Segal In Person for post-screening Q&A with Lafca President Stephen Farber

Tuesday, February 23, at 7:00 Pm at the Royal Theatre

Skeptics said Edward Albee’s scathing dissection of marriage could never be turned into a movie. But when the Production...

Sean Back is back on TV in TNT’s Legends (premieres Aug. 13, 9 p.m. Et). Based on the book by spy novelist Robert Littell, Legends centers on Martin Odum (Bean), an undercover agent working for the FBI’s Deep Cover Operations division who begins to question his own identity when a stranger suggests that Martin isn’t the man he believes himself to be.

We did a little digging of our own when Bean visited EW for our “Firsts & Worsts” video series. Watch his installment and read a full transcript below.

EW: What was your first role?

Sean Bean:...

Joseph Ruskin, a film and television icon who starred in everything from ‘The Twilight Zone’ to ‘Prizzi’s Honor,’ died on Dec. 28 in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 89 years old.

Joseph Ruskin, 89, undoubtedly lived a long and celebrated life. By the time the actor passed from natural causes on Dec. 28, he had starred in 25 films and 124 television shows. Read all about the actor’s life below.

Joseph Ruskin Dies At 89

Joseph was a well-known character actor back in his day. SAG-AFTRA — of which Joseph was a longtime officer — released a statement celebrating the actor’s life.

“Joe Ruskin was the epitome of the actor who takes care of all the other actors while keeping one foot firmly planted on the stage or the set,” said National President Ken Howard. “He gave so much for so long it’s hard to believe he’s gone. But he lived to see...

Bill and Hillary Clinton among guests at gala dinner in New York

"Ever since I can remember, people have been calling me bossy and opinionated," Barbra Streisand told a crowd at Lincoln Centre on Monday night. "Maybe that's because I am. Three cheers for bossy women!"

The crowd, which included Bill and Hillary Clinton, cheered for pretty much anything connected to Streisand all evening as the star of song and screen was honoured for her film career with the 40th annual Chaplin award from the Film Society of Lincoln Centre.

Fans enjoyed highlights from Funny Girl, The Way We Were, The Owl and the Pussycat, What's Up, Doc? and Meet the Fockers. And then there was Yentl, the first Hollywood movie directed, produced and written by and starring a woman, as the crowd was reminded.

Streisand spoke of how hard it was to get funding to make the film. Producers...

The legend that is Barbra Streisand is not often compared to a bus, I'm sure.

However, bear with me. The enduring screen and stage icon (with Grammys, Oscars, Emmys and Tonys all to her name) doesn't appear on the screen these days with anything like the same frequency she used to.

Inventor Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen) is caught in the car with his mother (Barbra Streisand) for 'The Guilt Trip'

But this week, like the proverbial Number 94, after not turning up for ages (this only her third film in a decade), she's making a double offering. Not content with (arguably) stealing the show at the Oscars with her mournful rendition of 'The Way We Were' in tribute to her friend and composer Marvin Hamlisch, she's turning up at the UK box office in a clowny caper that reminds us of her primetime era - What's Up Doc?...

One thing's for sure: The frosting on her birthday cake will be like buttah. As Barbra Streisand turns 70 on Tuesday, you'd think her reputation would be secure. She's conquered every medium, she's one of only a dozen or so members of the Egot club (people who've won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), and she's one of the most popular and best-selling singers of all time. Still, despite her two Oscars, her Hollywood career has never gotten its due. In part, that's because, in 44 years of screen acting, she's made just 18 movies. Young audiences who know her only as Ben Stiller's exuberant mother from the "Fockers" movies can't be blamed for not knowing that she was once a groundbreaking dramatic and comic star, a reliably funny and sexy leading lady, a pioneering jill-of-all-trades filmmaker, or a celebrated (and reviled) movie diva. She's made just six movies in the last 30 years,...

What made this time right for the cinematic coming-together of the Monty Python comedy troupe for the first time in 16 years? “I just like having friends around,” says Terry Jones, the Python vet who is directing John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, and presumably Eric Idle (though that deal has not been inked yet) for the upcoming Absolutely Anything. EW spoke with Jones and producer Chris Chesser about the film, which centers on a pack of aliens who grant absolute power to an unwitting Englishman then sit back and watch what havoc he wreaks.

The Python guys will lend their...

The surviving members of the Monty Python troupe --  John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin -- have very rarely appeared as Monty Python since the death of Graham Chapman in 1989. But the five actors have shown up together in various configurations in a few projects over the years. Now a new one is brewing: Absolutely Anything, a hybrid live-action/CG sci-fi farce that is planning to feature the living Pythons as "a group of aliens who endow an earthling with the power to do "absolutely anything" to see what a mess he'll make of things." Variety reports that the film will be directed by Terry Jones, who last made The Wind in the Willows in 1996, itself a sort of minor Python reunion. (Jones also co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and directed Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.) He told the trade,...

Marion Dougherty, a former Bergdorf-Goodman window dresser who rose to become one of Hollywood’s most influential casting directors, died December 4 in Manhattan of natural causes. She was 88. Once called “the father of casting as we know it” by Paul Newman, Dougherty was responsible for giving Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Ed Asner, Anne Bancroft, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken and numerous others their first breaks. She also was instrumental in the early careers of James Dean and Robert Duvall. Dougherty entered the business casting the TV series Kraft Television Theater, Naked City and Route 66 during the late 1940s and into the early 1960s. At that time, the end of the studio system meant actors were free agents to be discovered in regional theaters, off-Broadway and at local playhouses, and the demands of TV meant they had to be found fast. She eventually moved into film casting,...

"Smile for the Camera"As GeekTyrant walked the exhibition floor on the last day of San Diego Comic Con we came across this amazing artwork on a giant canvas bag. The bag rested on the shoulder of Brianna Garcia, who turned out to be the artist behind the funny picture. Everyone in our group loved the picture, especially Venkman (the proud father of 3 princess-loving girls). Brianna was extremely nice and after we returned to Los Angeles I've been showing the picture to anyone interested in anything Disney, plus many of Brianna's other cool illustrations. Everybody's loved it. Not only does she have cool artwork, she has put that talent onto shoes. Artwork on white canvas shoes has been done for quite some time, but this isn't your average shoe-doodling-with-Sharpies. Brianna's work is easily some of the best I've ever seen.

Brianna graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Animation and...

Director Peter Bogdanovich.

Interviewing Peter Bogdanovich for the April 2002 issue of Venice Magazine was a thrill for me. Like Francis Coppola, John Frankenheimer, and William Friedkin before him, Bogdanovich was one of those filmmakers whose one-sheets hung on my bedroom walls growing up. Plus the fact that he himself had a renowned career as a film historian and interviewer of his own childhood heroes, such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, and dozens of others, made our talk a real feast.

Not long after the article was printed, I received a letter with a New York City postmark. The note enclosed said simply: “Dear Alex, thanks for doing your homework so well, and thanks for the good vibes. All the best to you of love and luck, Peter Bogdanovich.”

Our chat remains one of my favorites during my 15 year tenure as a film writer. --A.S.

Peter Bogdanovich’S...

"Hello Gorgeous!"

Barbra Streisand turned 68 yesterday. I thought we'd celebrate with posters for every movie she ever made. Because we're crazy like that. And it's fun to see someone's complete cinematic history all displayed like so.

Funny Girl (1968) | Hello Dolly (1969) | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

The Owl and the Pussycat (1970) | What's Up Doc? (1972) | Up the Sandbox (1972)

The Way We Were (1973) | For Pete's Sake (1974) | Funny Lady (1975)

A Star is Born (1976) | The Main Event (1979) | All Night Long (1981)

Yentl (1983) | Nuts (1987) | The Prince of Tides (1991)

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) | Meet the Fockers (2004) | Fockers Sequel (2010)

Babs is still one of the most famous people on the planet but I'm guessing that younger generations have quite the incomplete picture of her career. I'm guessing that that picture hangs in an old fashioned frame and shows the diva in a turtleneck sweater. Somehow her expression conveys stifling self regard, political activism and mega-wealth all at once.

Broadway, television and film star Jack Manning has died, aged 93.

Manning died on 31 August at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

The star made his Broadway debut in the 1941 hit comedy Junior Miss, before opening in Broadway's Harriet in 1943 and later taking on roles as Roderigo in Othello and as Tweedledee in Eva Le Gallienne’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

Manning also appeared in the original Broadway cast of the 1965 musical Do I Hear a Waltz? by Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents.

He enjoyed small screen success performing in a critically acclaimed TV adaptation of Hamlet and with a starring role in The Paper Chase.

He also racked up a number of guest appearances on TV programmes Studio One, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Here’s Lucy, Kojak and The Waltons, among others.

His film credits include Walk East on Beacon, Where’s Poppa?, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and The Great Waldo Pepper.

Manning went on to teach acting at his own studios in New York and Los Angeles.

He is survived by his wife, Frances Ann Smith, a son, two daughters, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Marilyn Chambers was the first porn star I knew by name. My mom's boyfriend had an autographed copy of "My Story," her 'erotobiography,' which wasn't shielded from my young eyes, and I recall being told that she lived in my neighborhood. The latter part was probably false (and/or remembered incorrectly), though she was apparently born in my hometown, so who knows? In any event, I never did see any of her films (I swear!), not even her early non-porn titles, which include Herbert Ross' The Owl and the Pussycat and David Cronenberg's Rabid. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia. ...