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Robert Watts, a production manager on George Lucas’ Star Wars and producer on its first two sequels along with Steven Spielberg’s first three blockbuster Indiana Jones movies and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, died Monday in his sleep at his home in West Sussex, England. He was 88.

His rep Julian Owen of Alliance Media confirmed the news to Deadline, writing: “Goodnight to my wonderful friend and client Robert Watts, Producer of some of the most famous films in cinema history. … Talking about his career was his favourite thing to do. We had some amazing adventures together which I will cherish forever.”

After working on Star Wars, Watts was an associate producer on smash 1980 sequel The Empire Strikes Back, which solidified and furthered the Star Wars galaxy as a cultural touchstone. The next year he served in the same role for Raiders of the Lost Ark, which introduced the world to...

Robert Watts, the British producer and production manager who collaborated with George Lucas on the first three Star Wars films and the first three Indiana Jones movies, has died. He was 86.

Watts died Monday in his sleep at his home in East Sussex, England, his rep, Julian Owen at Alliance Agents, told The Hollywood Reporter. “We were with him for a decade taking him to conventions all over the world, where he could connect with fans and talk about his career,” Owen said.

Watts also worked alongside Indiana Jones director Steven Spielberg on the Spielberg-produced Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991).

For the extremely challenging first Star Wars film, Watts served as production supervisor under production designer John Barry, and the two traveled to Morocco and Tunisia to scout locations. He then did some third-unit directing.

“We were under a great deal of pressure from 20th Century Fox,...

1964's "The Pink Panther" is not a complex film. There is little to suggest a full-fledged film series in its story of a jewel with the shape of a panther buried deep within. Somehow, that premise resulted in a series of films lasting decades, with eleven unique (or mostly unique) live-action entries. And the cartoon character who showed up in the title sequence, dancing to Henry Mancini's iconic theme music? There was a Saturday morning series starring him that ran in various incarnations from 1969 to 1980.

When writer Maurice Richlin pursued director Blake Edwards with an idea for a film about a jewel thief, neither man could have predicted the surprising longevity of that idea. Certainly, they couldn't have predicted that the extremely thin premise of "The Pink Panther" would result in a series of films running into the 1990s. Nor could they have predicted that the protagonist would be...

Norman Lear, the writer, producer and citizen activist who coalesced topical conflict and outrageous comedy in such wildly popular sitcoms as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and The Jeffersons, has died. He was 101.

Lear died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family who, according to a statement on his official Instagram account, sang songs until the very end.

“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music,” read the post. “But it was people — those he just met and those he knew for decades — who kept his mind and heart forever young. As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.

Alan Arkin, the legendary character actor, has died at age 89. The Arkin family confirmed his passing in a statement to People Magazine. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”

Indeed, the legendary Alan Arkin had an incredible, enduring career. He first made a name for himself on stage, but here’s an interesting tidbit – he was nominated for an Oscar for his first movie role: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. He was a Tony Award winner when he was cast but had yet to make a movie. He won the role because he was raised in a Russian-Jewish household, making him the ideal choice to play the film’s comic hero. Arkin’s performance was so lauded that he became a sensation playing ethnic roles.

The Pink Panther franchise is one of the most iconic and beloved series in film history. From its debut in 1963 with the original movie to its most recent installment in 2009, the Pink Panther has been a staple of comedy-mystery films for generations.

Related: 10 Best Comedies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

Inspector Clouseau’s misadventures have captivated audiences worldwide and left them laughing, guessing, and wanting more.

The films were mainly created by Blake Edwards and had theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Other forms of media, such as books, comic books, video games, and animated series, were later produced based on the elements and characters from the films.

With its unique blend of slapstick humor, witty dialogue, and clever mysteries, it’s no wonder why this franchise has become so popular over the years. In this blog post, we’ll look at all the Pink Panther movies in order...

Award-winning actor and comedian Eddie Murphy is circling the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau in a new Pink Panther film from MGM.

According to Deadline, a new Pink Panther reboot is currently in the works at the Amazon-owned MGM, with Murphy in talks to star. It is currently unknown who else is attached to the proposed film. However, one source close to Murphy has described the project as a natural fit for the actor. Murphy has long admired the work of Academy Award nominee Peter Sellers, who originated the role of Jacques Clouseau in the 1960s.

Related: How Eddie Murphy Was Convinced to Return to Beverly Hills Cop 4

Murphy is known for his time on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, as well as for his roles in '80s comedies like Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places and Coming to America. He carved out more iconic roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s,...

Amazon Studios has identified a batch of titles from its $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM that the company plans to develop into TV or film projects, including “Robocop,” “Stargate” “Legally Blonde,” “Fame,” Barbershop,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Pink Panther” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to TheWrap that the company is in active early conversations for a “Legally Blonde” movie and potential TV series. Additionally, Amazon has similar plans for “Stargate” under consideration, with a movie expected to go first. “Robocop” is also being discussed for film and TV, with a TV series potentially going first.

The source added that Amazon Studios is actively developing TV series based on “Fame,” “Barbershop” and “The Magnificent Seven,” as well as discussing “Thomas Crown Affair” movie and “Pink Panther” movie, which could be animated. A “Poltergeist” project is also under consideration.

The news was first reported by Deadline.

Also...

Ah, 1978. It was the year that Slashfilm writer Lee Adams entered the world, and two movies changed the course of comedy forever (those landmarks are unrelated; I'm not trying to claim any credit). Those movies were "National Lampoon's Animal House" and Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke" — two lowbrow hits whose influences are still felt to this day.

There was lowbrow stuff before 1978, of course. Slapstick — the age-old art of falling over, breaking things, and hitting people — was still doing the rounds in the increasingly weary adventures of Inspector Clouseau. But the class of '78 was different: wild, irreverent, raucous, bawdy, subversive, counterculture comedy that delighted the kids and antagonized the squares.

The two films had their roots in the '60s. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong developed their stand-up act in the latter part of the decade before making their break on the big screen with the granddaddy of stoner movies,...

Tony Sokol Jan 9, 2020

Buck Henry, who created classic comedy for big and small screens, dies at 89.

Genius comedy writer and actor Buck Henry died of a heart attack at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Health Center at the age of 89, according to Variety. Henry was a frequent host on Saturday Night Live, wrote the screenplays for such comedy classics as The Graduate and What’s Up, Doc? and co-created Get Smart with Mel Brooks.

Buck Henry, who was born Henry Zuckerman on Dec. 9, 1930, was the son of silent film actress Ruth Taylor, who was also the star of the original Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. His stockbroker father was a retired Air Force brigadier general named Paul Steinberg Zuckerman. Given Henry’s penchant for comic corruption, this may have informed the educational subterfuge he mined to adapt, along with collaborator Calder Willingham, Charles Webb's novel The Graduate for Mike Nichols' 1967 classic generational comedy. “I...

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...

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

Before we get started, let’s all share a brief moment of resentment that Judy Becker didn’t win a production design Emmy last night for Feud. Boo.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled episode of The Furniture. Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, the character actor otherwise known as Herbert Lom. He fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939 for Britain, where he would have a long career in both film and television. He appeared in three Best Production Design nominees: El Cid, Spartacus, and Gambit. I will be writing about none of them.

Instead, here’s some love for the design of the films for which he is remembered most widely. Lom played Police Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, the long-suffering boss of Inspector Clouseau,...

'The Pink Panther' with Peter Sellers: Blake Edwards' 1963 comedy hit and its many sequels revolve around one of the most iconic film characters of the 20th century: clueless, thick-accented Inspector Clouseau – in some quarters surely deemed politically incorrect, or 'insensitive,' despite the lack of brown face make-up à la Sellers' clueless Indian guest in Edwards' 'The Party.' 'The Pink Panther' movies [1] There were a total of eight big-screen Pink Panther movies co-written and directed by Blake Edwards, most of them starring Peter Sellers – even after his death in 1980. Edwards was also one of the producers of every (direct) Pink Panther sequel, from A Shot in the Dark to Curse of the Pink Panther. Despite its iconic lead character, the last three movies in the Pink Panther franchise were box office bombs. Two of these, The Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, were co-written by Edwards' son,...

Blake Edwards: Director of the 'Pink Panther' movies – and Julie Andrews' husband for more than four decades – was at his best handling polished comedies and a couple of dead serious dramas. Blake Edwards movies: Best known for slapstick fare, but at his best handling polished comedies and dramas The Pink Panther and its sequels[1] are the movies most closely associated with screenwriter-director-producer Blake Edwards, whose film and television career spanned more than half a century.[2] But unless you're a fan of Keystone Kops-style slapstick, they're the filmmaker's least interesting efforts. In fact, Edwards (born William Blake Crump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 26, 1922) was at his best (co-)writing and/or directing polished comedies (e.g., Operation Petticoat, Victor Victoria) and, less frequently, dramas (Days of Wine and Roses, the romantic comedy-drama Breakfast at Tiffany's). The article below and follow-up posts offer a brief look at some of Blake Edwards' non-Pink Panther comedies,...

Sir Roger Moore, who became an international star as the third actor to officially play James Bond, has died at age 89.

Moore's family confirmed the news on Twitter. "It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer," the statement read. "The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone."

Sir Paul McCartney said that he felt "lucky...

Ever since Warner Brothers released their 30th Anniversary edition Blu-ray of Being There back in 2009, I’ve been tempted to add the disc to my home library. I can recall several occasions where I actually had the case in my hand, and at least one where I took what I would normally consider that first decisive step toward the checkout line, ready to finalize the purchase. But lingering suspicions that this film would eventually find its way into the Criterion Collection always managed to pry the item out of my fingers and back onto the shelf. A few months ago, my reluctance was vindicated by the announcement that Being There would sure enough soon bear a Cc spine number, and this past week, it finally became available to take home for the contemplation of all of us who “like to watch.”

Even for viewers who haven’t seen the film...

William Peter Blatty, author of the famed horror novel “The Exorcist,” died Thursday at the of age 89. His death was confirmed Friday on Twitter by William Friedkin, the director of the film adaptation of Blatty’s book. Released in 1971, “The Exorcist” is regarded as one of the seminal works in horror fiction. Prior to writing “The Exorcist,” Blatty started his career in Hollywood as the writing partner of comedy auteur Blake Edwards, working on scripts for films such as the 1964 film “A Shot In The Dark,” which featured Inspector Clouseau in the sequel to “The Pink Panther.” After his...

Is this a genuine classic? I think so. Sure, it’s the old story of the blind girl in jeopardy, but it’s been worked out so well. Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna and Jack Weston shine in a keen adaptation of Frederick Knott’s play, which could be titled, Dial C for Can’t See Nuthin’.

Wait Until Dark

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1967 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date January 24, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Jack Weston, Julie Herrod, Samantha Jones.

Cinematography Charles Lang

Art Direction George Jenkins

Film Editor Gene Milford

Original Music Henry Mancini

Written by Robert Howard-Carrington & Jane Howard-Carrington

from the play by Frederick Knott

Produced by Mel Ferrer

Directed by Terence Young

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

This old-fashioned, semi- stage bound thriller is a real keeper: I must have seen it six times...

After decades of being looked down upon as movie’s ugly step sister, TV is the haven for all the cool kids these days. The latest to join this group is Woody Allen with his upcoming Amazon series Crisis in Six Scenes. The show, which stars Allen, Miley Cyrus, and Rachel Brosnahan, centers on a middle class family whose life becomes slightly chaotic after a guest arrives. We at HitFix have just received some promotional photos for the program, but rather than simply post them, we decided to add some captions of what we think is really going on in these shots. Crisis in Six Scenes premieres on Amazon Prime on September 30. "Of course there’s something wrong with drinking white wine before noon. Anyone with any sense of decorum drinks red." Alternate caption: Woody doesn’t grasp how musical chairs works. "Add a mustache and dump the headphones and...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Character actor Burt Kwouk has passed away at the age of 85. Although primarily known for his work in comedy in film and television, Kwouk was equally adept at playing dramatic roles. In fact in the year 2011, he was awarded an OBE in honor of his  accomplishments in drama.  However, Kwouk will always be immortalized as Cato, the long-suffering but fanatically devoted man servant to  Peter Sellers' bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series. A common theme throughout the series was having Cato follow Clouseau's orders to keep him on guard by ambushing him at the most inopportune moments. Their raucous battles were the stuff of inspired lunacy. He and Sellers first appeared together in 1964 and he would continue to play the same character in new installments of the series after Sellers death up until 1992. Kwouk was also a popular presence in British television and reinforced...

Whenever I went to Memphis with my parents, my time was divided between staying with my two grandmothers. How I thought about that time with them was defined, not surprisingly, by what sort of movie experiences I had with each. My dad’s mom was the one who had cable, and she liked to go to bed early, meaning I learned all sorts of things at night. My mom’s mom was the one who took me to the theater more often, and she’d take me to see pretty much anything as long as the rating was okay. One afternoon, she told me to get in the car because there was something special playing. I was ten years old, and I only knew The Pink Panther as a cartoon character. That afternoon, though, I saw The Return Of The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, and Revenge Of The Pink Panther...

Burt Kwouk, the actor who played martial arts expert Cato in the original Peter Sellers "Pink Panther" films, has died at the age of 85. He "passed peacefully" according to his agent Jean Diamond, with no specific cause of death mentioned.

Born in northwest England in 1930 and raised in Shanghai, Kwouk had his first major role in 1958's "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness". He also appeared in two James Bond classics - "Goldfinger" and "You Only Live Twice" - along with the original "Rollerball" and Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun". He also had guest spots on popular 1960s shows like "The Avengers," "Secret Agent" and "The Saint" and a regular role on 1980s British sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine'.

But it's his work in a half dozen "Pink Panther" films as Cato Fong that he'll always be remembered for. The character, a manservant to Sellers' bumbling Inspector Clouseau,...

Actor best known for his roles in the Pink Panther films and the BBC’s Last of the Summer Wine

Anna May Wong, the first of the few Chinese actors to gain Hollywood stardom, explained why she retired from the screen: “I was so tired of the parts I had to play. Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain? And so crude a villain – murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass. We are not like that. How should we be, with a civilisation that is so many times older than that of the west?” Burt Kwouk, who has died aged 85, felt the same way but, as he remarked: “I look at it this way – if I don’t do it, someone else will. So why don’t I go in, get some money and try to elevate it a bit, if I can?”

Kwouk, mostly...

Burt Kwouk, who played Inspector Clouseau's nimble manservant in seven Pink Panther films opposite Peter Sellers has died, the BBC reports. "Beloved actor Burt Kwouk has sadly passed peacefully away. The family will be having a private funeral but there will be a memorial at a later date," his agent told the British news agency. Kwouk rose to fame playing Cato Fong opposite Sellers, who regularly assaulted the bumbling detective to keep him vigilant. After seven films with Sellers, he revived his character in later films that featured Roger Moore and Roberto Benigni as the French detective. Born in England but raised in China,...

Burt Kwouk, who played Inspector Clouseau's nimble manservant in seven Pink Panther films opposite Peter Sellers has died, the BBC reports. "Beloved actor Burt Kwouk has sadly passed peacefully away. The family will be having a private funeral but there will be a memorial at a later date," his agent told the British news agency. Kwouk rose to fame playing Cato Fong opposite Sellers, who regularly assaulted the bumbling detective to keep him vigilant. After seven films with Sellers, he revived his character in later films that featured Roger Moore Roberto Benigni as the French detective. Born in England but raised in China,...

British-born actor who grew up in China starred in three James Bond movies and Last of the Summer Wine as well as his celebrated role alongside Peter Sellers

Pink Panther star Burt Kwouk, best known for playing Inspector Clouseau’s manservant Cato opposite Peter Sellers, has died aged 85.

A statement from the Warrington-born actor’s agent to the BBC revealed the news. No further details were given as to cause of death.

Continue reading...

By Lee Pfeiffer

The seemingly promising teaming of Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale, both at their most glamorous back in 1968, goes hopelessly astray in the comedy/crime caper film "A Fine Pair". The movie is the kind of lazy effort that makes one suspect the only motives for the stars' participation were quick, sizable paychecks and the opportunity to enjoy some exotic locations at the studio's expense. (Think "Donovan's Reef" without the fun.) The film opens in New York City and we find Hudson as NYPD Captain Mike Harmon, a conservative, no-nonsense career police officer who runs his precinct with the same strong-arm tactics that General George S. Patton employed to keep his troops in line. Out of nowhere pops Esmeralda Marini  (Cardinale), a glamorous and almost annoyingly perky young woman who has arrived unannounced from her native Italy. Turns out she has known Harmon most of her life as...

By John M. Whalen

“A Bullet for Joey” (1955) with Edward G. Robinson, George Raft and Audrey Totter is one of those “Red scare” movies from the mid-fifties that combines elements of a crime plot with espionage and the evils of communism. It was the Cold War era and people were digging bomb shelters and practicing “duck and cover” air raid drills, while at the same time, congressional committees hauled in suspected Communist Party members, including actors, writers and directors, to testify and name names. Hollywood did its part, in turn, by black listing suspected commies and turning out anti-communism films like John Wayne’s “Big Jim McClain” “The Woman on Pier 13 (“I Married a Communist”), and “I Was a Communist for the FBI.” “A Bullet for Joey”, despite having two of Hollywood’s toughest tough guy actors in the cast, is one of the weaker examples of this sub-genre.

Our series on remakes continues, but there’s a twist this time. For a change, we’ll be looking at a good remake of a bad old movie. This week, Cinelinx looks at Casino Royale (2006).

Normally in these articles, we examine remakes of good movies to see if they’re worthy of their predecessor. Today, however, the original film is a dud while the remake is a winner. James Bond movies are generally hit-and-miss. Some are excellent and some are weak. The two adaptations of Casino Royale represent one of each. The 2006 remake with Daniel Craig is great. The original however…ugh!

The original version of Casino Royale (1967) bore very little relation to the actual book. While it started out as a straight adaptation (the first draft was written by Ben Hecht) it underwent a metamorphosis into a comedy/parody on the Bond films, and spy movies in general. Columbia Pictures...

We recently saw the release of the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane, which started life as an independent film unrelated to Cloverfield but was rewritten as a sequel (of sorts). This got us thinking about other films that were conceived as original projects but were altered by studios to become sequels to existing franchises.

When 10 Cloverfield Lane started out, it was an independent film called The Cellar, about a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who wakes up injured and locked in the bunker-like cellar of a man (John Goodman) she’s never met before. The strange man tells her that he found after an accident and brought her there to minister to her wounds but then a cataclysmic disaster ravaged the surface world and she has to stay there. She doesn’t believe him and spends the rest of the film trying to escape, while her memories of the night of her accident slowly return.

Paramount Pictures

In order to have a successful Christmas you need to make the right choices. The presents should be personal and heart-felt, the food should be fresh and well-cooked, and who you spend your time with should be the ones you love the most.

If that’s not your in-laws, parents, cousins or even siblings, Netflix has got you covered. To help you decide which TV shows and films are worthy of your attention over the holidays, here are six of the best, featuring some of the most popular characters around.

This week, settle in for adventures from detectives both tiny and idiotic, the show critics are calling the next Family Guy, an award-winning drama on race in America and the latest box office blockbuster in the Jack Ryan series.

There’s even an animated Christmas movie, if you’re not sick of that kind of thing yet.

6. The Pink Panther...

Batman Is The World’S Greatest Defective

For a man billed as “the world’s greatest detective,” Batman really sucks at his job.

Understand, by detective I don’t mean the guy who sneaks through the bushes to snap photographs of the secret meetings of some modern day Tryst-an and Isolde. I mean a guy who investigates, seeks out clues, and uses deductive reasoning to arrest criminals. A police detective.

The New 52 Batman does precious little clue seeking and thinks deductions are best left to H & R Block. Mostly he beats information out of lowlifes or threatens to drop them off buildings unless they tell him what he wants to know. He’s not so much Dick Tracy as he is Dick Cheney.

In the pre-New 52 continuity Batman had two great mysteries, who killed his parents and Joker’s real name. However, in Batman: The Dark Knight v 2 #0, Bruce Wayne...

Fox

Fantastic Four doesn’t quite deserve all the hatred it seems to be attracting. Was it flawed? Of course it was. Was it terrible? No. Is it irredeemable? Not in the slightest.

There’s actually a good chance Fantastic Four wouldn’t be so roundly hated if it didn’t release on the back of a tidal wave of negative buzz. Because of the context of Josh Trank’s reported behaviour and the issue of studio medalling, it was inevitable that there would be some negativity around its release, but the reaction was grotesque and pantomimey for a film that was no less than mediocre.

It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the clownish idiocy of Rise Of The Silver Surfer, and it could well be appreciated more in future when everyone calms down about the director reportedly being difficult to work with. Stanley Kubrick didn’t get all this sh*t.

The film and television director, producer and writer died of natural causes at his Bel Air Home. He was 89.

Yorkin was born in the coal mining town of Washington, Pennsylvania on February 22 1926 and after serving in the Navy embarked on a career as a camera engineer for NBC.

He became a stage manager and then writer, working on NBC’s variety showcase The Colgate Comedy Hour. He moved into directing that show and then directed stints on programmes such as The Spike Jones Show and Light’s Diamond Jubilee.

Film director credits include Love Hurts, Twice In A Lifetime, Arthur 2: On The Rocks, The Thief Who Came To Dinner, Start The Revolution Without Me, Inspector Clouseau, Divorce American Style and Come Blow Your Horn.

He also served as executive producer on Blade Runner and played a role as producer in bringing to fruition the sequel, which is set to begin shooting next summer.

His credits...

Chicago – He’s not a household name, but he has certainly rocked a few houses…with laughter. Writer/director Paul Feig has a new film called “Spy,” in which he re-teams with two of the supporting cast of his “Bridesmaids” romp, Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne. “Spy” opens on Friday, June 5th.

“Spy” is a perfect tonic to today’s super serious movies depicting undercover chicanery. McCarthy portrays Susan, a ex-teacher-turned CIA desk jockey, who often is paired with superspy Bradley Fine (Jude Law). When Fine is disposed of, it is up to Susan to complete his international mission, under the disguises of cat lady and unmarried tourist. Like Feig has done in his previous films, “Spy” loves the juxtaposition of having the unlikely Melissa McCarthy as the world’s greatest operative.

Director Paul Feig (background) Prepares Melissa McCarthy in a Scene from ‘Spy’

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

Paul Feig...

Paul Feig chats to us about Spy, working with female comedy stars, and the genius of Jason Statham...

Paul Feig will always, always, always have a special place in our heart for creating the immortal TV series Freaks & Geeks. Now, however, he's given Jason Statham his straight comedy debut in Spy, which arrives in cinemas this coming Friday.

Ahead of the film's release, he spared us some time for a chat. It didn't take long for Statham's name to crop up either...

I was watching Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do the other day, oddly enough. It's you in that, isn't it?

[Laughs] Yes! The DJ!

I finally watched the extended cut. Have you seen that version?

No, no!

I've always liked the movie. And Tom Hanks, of course, directed the film, having come from an acting background like yourself. What kind of tips do you pick up from someone like him?...

Big Brother pulled out a great task last night - it was impossible not to snigger at the housemates screaming their heads off at everything from teddy bears to non-existent bumps in the night. And it was such a good one that it got us thinking about some of our other favourite challenges across Big Brother history.

We've left out Celebrity Big Brother, but below we picked just some of our favourite ever tasks. It turned out to be quite a tough ask to narrow it down, given how many there have been over the years. Read on to see what we picked, and let us know what you loved in the comments...

1. Boogie Nights (Big Brother 2)

We loved the old style tasks which lasted a few days - including overnight. And this early task from Big Brother 2 was a great example of that. It was simple enough,...

'Munich' movie cover 'Munich' movie review: Steven Spielberg tackles political time-space continuum in wildly uneven but ultimately satisfying thriller Alternately intriguing and irritating, thought-provoking and banal, subtle and patronizing, the biggest surprise about Steven Spielberg's Munich is that it – however grudgingly – works. The film, which Spielberg himself has referred to as a "prayer for peace," follows five men contracted by the Israeli government to avenge the massacre of that country's athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Sizable chunks of this political thriller with a Message (capital "M") are simplistically written, clumsily acted, and handled with the director's notoriously heavy touch, but the old adage – blood begets blood – even if somewhat muddled, is too timely not to make an impact. Complex 'Munich' movie plot Based on George Jonas' 1984 book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, whose veracity has been questioned in some quarters, Munich begins as...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Although he was regarded as a comedy genius, the sad truth is that Peter Sellers was more often than not misused in big screen comedies. After making it big on British TV  and in feature films in the late 1950s, Sellers became an international sensation with his acclaimed work in big studio feature films such as "Lolita", "Dr. Strangelove", "The World of Henry Orient" and the first entries in the "Pink Panther" series. Through the mid-Sixties, he did impressive work in films like "After the Fox", "The Wrong Box" and "What's New Pussycat?" If the films weren't classics, at least they presented some of Sellers' off-the-wall ability to deliver innovative characters and comedic situations. By the late Sixties, however, his own personal demons began to get the better of him. Sellers was the epitome of the classic clown: laughing on the outside but crying on the inside.

Some of the greatest (or at least heavily favored) American television shows got the big screen treatment when they were selected to have their small screen following turn into a cinematic experience. Unfortunately, for every beloved nostalgic television show that translated successfully in movie theaters (The Brady Bunch Movie, Star Trek, Batman, etc.) there are boob tube stinkers that overtake the good crop. Sure, there are middle-of-the-road movie adaptations of television programs that have a mixed bag reception (1997’s Leave It To Beaver, 1987’s Dragnet, 2012’s Dark Shadows, etc.). Nevertheless, it is always the unflattering fare that receive the bulk of the attention (do you register, 1999’s The Wild, Wild West ?).

In Boob on the Tube: Top Ten Worst Movie Adaptations of TV Shows we will take a look at the top ten televised offenders that dared to venture into cinema’s stratosphere only to end up floating down shamefully...

Johnny Depp is the moustachioed star of Mortdecai, the art heist comedy caper set to hit theatres in January. And when better to debut a trailer featuring a pretty impressive 'stache than in the heart of moustache season?

Lord Charlie Mortdecai is a renowned European art dealer whose expertise is called upon by the British government in an investigation to retrieve a stolen painting, headed up by Inspector Martland (Ewan McGregor). Together with his wife Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his trusty manservant Jock Strapp (Paul Bettany), Charlie Mortdecai embarks on a mission to recover the stolen art while devising a scheme of his own. Facing bankruptcy and not wanting to change his high-living ways, Mortdecai decides to steal the painting himself.

Based on a series of comic-thriller novels from 1970s, Mortdecai is a throwback to the Pink Panther movies with Charlie Mortdecai himself taking facial inspiration from the moustache of Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau.

While director Blake Edwards and star Peter Sellers are best known for their several Pink Panther efforts, they also collaborated on one additional wholly unrelated title, The Party (1968). It was their third time working together, with only two of the Panther films preceding it, and arriving the same year that Bud Yorkin attempted an unsuccessful Us version of the Clouseau character starring Alan Arkin with Inspector Clouseau. For the most part, this is a film that allows Sellers free reign with his fake persona, though by today’s standards this might play something like an SNL extended skit feature. Though Sellers was a top tier performer, many may likely find his appearance here in ‘brown face’ as a bumbling Indian actor to be off-putting, even if it isn’t pointedly demeaning.

The story is about as simple as the unassuming title. Hrundi V. Bakshi (Sellers) is an Indian actor in Hollywood,...

The character Charles Mortdecai was created by the late author Kyril Bonfiglioli, and is the latest eccentric protagonist to be brought to life onscreen by Johnny Depp, in the upcoming film Mortdecai. A teaser trailer has been released for the film, ahead of its theatrical debut in early 2015 – and while the footage does include brief appearances from a number of notable supporting cast members, this clip is foremost Depp’s show.

Judging by the movie’s first preview, Depp’s performance can be best summarized as part Depp getting up to his usual oddball antics, part Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau – going by how Mortdecai’s obliviousness and general stupidity often results in some kind of physical comedy gag or slapstick ensuing. Indeed, Mortedecai director David Koepp (Premium Rush) appears to have, in essence, made a modern-day Pink Panther movie under a different name (and with ...

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Out of all the actors working today, perhaps none are more skilled at diving into larger-than-life personalities than Johnny Depp. Over the past few years, he’s played a swaggering pirate, an upper-class vampire, the Mad Hatter and a fierce Native American badass, among other nutty creations. And in next spring’s Mortdecai, he’ll be adding “debonair art dealer” to that lineup of delightfully outsized characters.

The first trailer for the film has landed today, putting the focus squarely on Depp’s mutachioed protagonist, who resembles a slick cross between Ralph Fiennes’ Gustave H. in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Steve Martin’s Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther. It’s a little hard to tell whether Mortdecai is more of a bumbling fool or a smooth operator from this early look, but the film looks to blend action and comedy elements. There’s not much by way of plot here,...

Italian comedy hero Roberto 'Life Is Beautiful' Benigni steps into Peter Sellers' two left shoes as Inspector Clouseau's equally accident-prone son in this chip off the slapstick block. Clouseau is sadly no more, but there's no rest for poor Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) when he sees that one of his officers bears more than a passing resemblance to his bumbling bete noire. The ensuing search for a missing princess ensures that Clouseau's madcap legacy continues.

When Inspector Clouseau and the Pink Panther diamond go missing, sneaky police chief Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) ensures that the world's worst detective - American dimwit Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass) - is put on the case. Needless to say, the buffoon always manages to stumble in the right direction. Original diamond thief David Niven makes his final screen appearance in this knockabout fifth instalment of director Blake Edwards' much-loved comedy series.

The fifth in the chaotic comedy series sees Peter Sellers take his last bow as the ludicrously unkillable Inspector Clouseau. Once again, there's a plot to assassinate the crimefighting buffoon, and once again Clouseau's former boss Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is determined to be part of it - despite being stark raving mad. Dyan Cannon provides the glamour while Sellers upholds his legacy with more disguises, more linguistic misunderstandings and more punishment for man-servant Cato (Burt Kwouk).

Chaos reigns as director Blake Edwards and comic genius Peter Sellers spring bungling detective Inspector Clouseau on an unsuspecting world. Charged with protecting the famous Pink Panther jewel and its glamorous owner (Claudia Cardinale), Clouseau must pit his limited wits against the world's smoothest master thief (David Niven). A side-splitting riot of perfectly timed slapstick and bemusement, carried along by Henry Mancini's unmistakable theme.

Grimy, bleak, extremely violent and stupidly funny, Wil salutes the genius of Ade Edmondson and Rik Mayall's sitcom, Bottom...

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The recent passing of Rik Mayall led to legions of fans hitting up Netflix and Youtube to relive the late comedian’s greatest moments. And while the ground-breaking 80s alternative comedy opus The Young Ones and his turn as Lord Flashheart in Blackadder seemed to be the most quoted on social media, it felt like Bottom, the grisly, profane flatshare comedy Mayall and long time collaborator Ade Edmondson made in the early 90s, was left out of the conversation. Which is a shame, because it might just be their masterpiece.

It’s kind of easy to see how Bottom got forgotten. The Young Ones was capital-i Important, not only in terms of breaking alternative comedy into the mainstream, but also as being as much a time capsule of the...

Like a long-lost childhood friend returning after years in the wilderness, Kurt Russell is finally back on leading man duties in new heist caper The Art of the Steal. To celebrate the perennially-mulleted icon's return to the big screen, here's a look at five of his classic roles...

Elvis Presley - Elvis (1979)

Made just two years after the American icon's tragic demise and therefore placed under intense scrutiny by a still-devastated public, John Carpenter's TV movie Elvis managed to win over those suspicious minds with a terrific portrayal of the hip-shaking star by the Emmy-nominated Russell.

Such an iconic, identifiable, and effectively deified figure was never going to be a simple task to imitate - just look at the casting issues over Freddie Mercury in the planned biopic. It speaks volumes for Russell's versatility that he donned the blue suede shoes with such assurance to deliver a rousing performance...