News

Arjun Kapoor Confessed Three Reasons To Not Wanting To Work With Parineeti Chopra! (Photo Credit – Instagram)

If there is one proverb that we all have literally experienced in our lives is ‘Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover!’ Clearly, even Arjun Kapoor also mistakenly judged the book by its cover right during his debut film Ishaqzaade, which starred Parineeti Chopra in the lead. However, while Arjun was cast much before, the team was still searching for Zoya!

Parineeti’s casting happened much later and during a recent interviews, Arjun confessed how he was not very keen on the actress of the film for not one, not two but three major reasons!

While it was Arjun’s first film and Parineeti had already made her debut in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, Arjun still had very strong reasons not to have Parineeti on board for the film. Scroll down to read...

Director Elia Kazan‘s “The Visitors” was barely noticed when it was released in 1972, and it hasn’t had many opportunities for reappraisal since. While several of Kazan’s other movies that were commercial failures during their initial runs — most notably “Baby Doll,” “A Face in the Crowd” and “Wild River” — have since been canonized as classics, “The Visitors” remains obscure. That’s a shame, because it’s a fascinating case of Kazan applying his talents to film that initially seems like a major departure, but on deeper examination reveals itself to be a personal and profound work.

A new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber provides the perfect opportunity to take a closer look after decades in which “The Visitors” was almost impossible to find (and almost never in watchable transfers — the long out-of-print MGM DVD reduces the entire movie to a murky blob). The story is stark and simple: Years...

Some films capture the "before" events that may have paved the way to a certain killer's horrific deed say, a mass shooting. Others put us right smack in the middle of the terror, with the mass killings playing out in immersive real time for the film's duration. And then, there are movies that opt to eloquently dissect the traumatic aftermath of any sort of violence. All these cinematic reference points have been captured effectively in movies in relation to high school shootings specifically. A "before" example might be We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lynne Ramsay. A captivating "during" film might be the Palme d'Or-winning Elephant by Gus Van Sant. And here, we're discussing an example of the "after" with The Graduates.

And if you've already seen The Fallout (2021) starring Jenna Ortega, this new debut feature by writer-director Hannah Peterson is certainly a good follow-up and also a thought-provoking standalone effort,...

This review was originally published on June 19, 2023, as a part of our Tribeca Film Festival coverage.

School shootings continue to happen. Its tragic, heartbreaking, and it often feels rather hopeless watching as things unfold, and the cycle of violence repeats. Far from being a film that capitalizes on the shock value of such a devastating event, The Graduates is an understated story that focuses on the aftermath healing, mourning, and attempting to move forward are at the center of this character-driven narrative.

The Graduates

Director Hannah PetersonRelease Date June 10, 2023Studio(s) Book of Shadows, Pinky PromiseWriters Hannah PetersonCast Alex Hibbert, Yasmeen Fletcher, John Cho, Mina Sundwall, Maria DizziaRuntime 87 MinutesGenres Drama

Writer-director Hannah Peterson quietly and tenderly explores the complicated feelings at the center as grief and a sense of loss, and being lost, punctuate every scene. If there was ever a film to watch about mourning and learning to adjust to a new normal,...

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a touching and emotional look into the life of a beloved actor. The film, directed by Davis Guggenheim, explores Fox’s childhood, rise to stardom, and shocking Parkinson’s diagnosis. As the actor officially retired from acting in 2021 in order to focus on his health Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie offers viewers more than a peek into Fox’s world; it’s also an opportunity to enjoy its subject’s spark and personality outside of re-watching the best Michael J. Fox movies.

To help successfully navigate the emotional nuances of the film, director Davis Guggenheim turned to composer John Powell. Powell has been a top-tier film composer for decades, with credits that include Don’t Worry Darling, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, and Face/Off. Screen Rant is excited to premiere two tracks from Powell’s work on Still: A Michael J.

Take a look at new footage from the DreamWorks Animation TV series "Animaniacs" Season Three, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnel and Maurice Lamarche, premiering with 10 new episodes, February 17, 2023 on Hulu:

"... 'Yakko', 'Wakko' and 'Dot' return with an all-new season of laughs, songs, pop culture parodies and enough zany antics to fill a water tower.  

"'Pinky' and the 'Brain', with their ever ending plans to take over the world journey to the ends of new lands, deserts, and even the space time continuum. 

"And while new friends, 'Starbox' and 'Cindy' continue their play date, the 'Warner' siblings must battle their way out of a video game, learn the secrets of being a teen influencer and escape a mad scientist's island..."

Click the images to enlarge...

The Best Supporting Actor Oscar category is seeing double yet again. Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan received nominations as expected for their turns in Martin McDonagh‘s “The Banshees of Inisherin” on Tuesday, marking the fourth consecutive year a film has received double bids in the category.

“Banshees” is the 22nd film to achieve this, but most remarkably, five of them have occurred in the last six years after a 26-year dry spell. “Bugsy” (1991) produced noms for Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley, but the category went without co-star nominees until McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) yielded bids for Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson. After none the following year, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci garnered comeback noms for “The Irishman” (2019). Two years ago, Oscar voters shocked us all by nominating Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield — you know, they who played the title characters in that two-hander “Judas and the Black Messiah” — in supporting.

Contract talks have stalled and the Directors Guild of Canada BC has issued a 72-hour strike notice, the next and possibly final step before the guild launches a work stoppage in British Columbia. Barring a last minute settlement, a work stoppage could come any day.

The latest move comes in the wake of a strike mandate vote that was approved overwhelmingly by the guild’s members. Negotiations with the AMPTP and the Canadian Media Producers Association had been going on, on and off, for over a year.

A strike, if it comes to that, would be the first in the Dgc BC’s history, though most films and TV shows currently shooting in British Columbia would not be affected because they are protected by what’s known as “safe harbor” agreements. In 2008 the BC Labor Board imposed safe harbor agreements upon the industry to provide for labor stability during collective bargaining.

Negotiations to avert a threatened film and TV strike in British Columbia by the Directors Guild of Canada B.C. will resume April 25. The resumption of contract talks comes in the wake of the guild’s first-ever strike authorization vote, which was approved last week by an overwhelming majority – 92.2 of its 1,700 members.

“Our goal is to reach a fair agreement,” Dgc BC executive director Kendrie Upton told her members recently. “We all care about this industry, so let’s roll up our sleeves, get back to the table and find a solution.”

Guild leaders told their members before the vote that it “doesn’t mean we immediately go on strike. It gives our negotiating team a strong mandate and empowers us to serve strike notice if the negotiating producers refuse to respond to your legitimate concerns…Our ultimate goal has always been to get an agreement that the membership can ratify,...

Updated with DGA statement: Members of the Directors Guild of Canada British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against film and TV productions in the province. The vote on the union’s first-ever strike mandate was 92.2 in favor, with 86.2 of eligible voters casting ballots.

“We thank our members for the solidarity they have shown with this overwhelming mandate,” said Allan Harmon, Dgc BC’s district council chairman. “Their strength and resolve make it clear that respect, fairness and safety in the workplace are non-negotiable. We are fighting to achieve and maintain fundamental rights for everyone working under our collective agreement.”

B.C.’s largest city is the busy production hub of Vancouver.

Prior to the balloting, the guild told its members that a “yes” vote “does not mean we walk off the job the next day. Instead, it gives your negotiating team a strong mandate in its efforts...

Marc Sazer, a violinist and longtime union activist, has been elected vice president of L.A.’s American Federation of Musicians Local 47. He succeeds Rick Baptist, who resigned from the post in November after seven years on the job. The local gave no reason for his resignation.

In a special election, Sazer defeated Bonnie Janofsky and Kirstin Fife. Janofsky, who continues to serve on the union’s board as a trustee, had been appointed by the local’s executive board to serve as interim vice president until the special election could be held.

“I am both honored and thrilled to be able to serve our diverse and extraordinarily talented community of AFM musicians,” Sazer said. “Our musicians are both the backbone of our Southern California’s cultural equity and an integral part of the economic engine of our region.”

Sazar now serves as vice president alongside President Stephanie O’Keefe and Secretary/Treasurer Danita Ng‐Poss,...

Best Supporting Actress has always been the Oscar acting category that’s kindest to having multiple nominees from the same film. There have been 35 instances of one film scoring more than one bid in the category, compared to 20 in Best Supporting Actor, 12 in Best Actor and just five in Best Actress. The category is also the only one of the four that has ever featured two pairs of double bids in the same year — and that could just happen again this year.

A long 72 years ago, in the 1949-50 race, the Oscars nominated four women from two films: Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters from “Pinky,” and Celeste Holm and Elsa Lanchester from “Come to the Stable.” The fifth nominee was “All the King’s Men” star Mercedes McCambridge, who won the supporting actress award and whom you could argue benefited from the double vote-split (“All the King’s Men” also won Best...

Racial passing occurs when a member of one racial group is either believed to be or accepted as a member of another. In the U.S., it generally means someone who is Black or of multi-racial heritage, “passing” as a White person. It’s the subject of Rebecca Hall’s well-received directorial debut “Passing,” currently streaming on Netflix. Hall, who is the daughter of the late director Peter Hall and opera singer Maria Ewing is of Dutch, Native American, African American and Scottish heritage. She adapted Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel about two African American friends: one (Tessa Thompson) is married to a prominent doctor and the other (Ruth Negga) has passed for white for years and is married to a wealthy racist (Alexander Skarsgard). Hall was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize dramatic at Sundance; “Passing” currently is nominated for five Gotham Awards including Best Picture and Breakthrough Director.

Racial...

Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar; Cast Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta; Direction: Dibakar Banerjee; Rating: * * (two stars)

By Vinayak Chakravorty

Dark and quirky, sombre and amusing. Dibakar Banerjee's cinema is often typified by ironies. With "Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar", the filmmaker tries using the trademark idiom to narrate a story of the societal divide that erupts when a boorish heartland cop crosses path with an educated, refined bigtown girl who is a corporate bigshot.

The idea is to set up a battle of the sexes using the language of black comedy, even as the film attempts to draw focus on patriarchy, and towards two radically different Indias that have forever struggled to coexist.

Barring his debut directorial "Khosla Ka Ghosla", Banerjee's sense of cinematic humour has never been mainstream. With Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor toplining the cast of his latest, Banerjee has not surprisingly tried...

Mumbai, March 14 (Ians) Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra took to social media to talk about the recent incident involving a Bangalore-based model-turned-makeup artiste accusing a Zomato delivery executive of assault.

The actress urged the delivery service to look into the matter and find out the truth.

She wrote, "Zomato India - Please find and publicly report the truth.. If the gentleman is innocent (and I believe he is), Please help us penalise the woman in question. This is inhuman, shameful and heartbreaking .. Please let me know how I can help.. #ZomatoDeliveryGuy @zomatoin."

The model-turned-make up artiste posted a video on social media, in which she claimed that the delivery agent punched her. Zomato has temporarily suspended the delivery agent and is covering his legal costs. The company is also covering the medical expenses of the model-turned-make up artiste.

Meanwhile, Parineeti will be seen in the films Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar and Saina.

March may prove decisive for the movie-theatre business in India. There are as many as 9 Hindi films being released in movie theatres this month. These include the horror-comedy Roohi with Janhni Patel and Rajkummar Rao and the dance film Time To Dance On March 11 and 12 which launches Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabelle with Sooraj Pancholi.

The following week on March 12 Sharman Joshi plays a soldier in Fauji Calling. Since no one knows about this film it is most likely going to sink immediately. On March 19, Flight starring Mohit Chadda, Pavan Malhotra, Zakir Hussain, Viveck Vaswani, Shibani Bedi. As well as John Abraham turns gangster (again) in Sanjay Gupta’s Mumbai Saga.

March 26 will see the release of Ram Gopal Varma’s D Company, which is thematically very lose to Mumbai Saga.

March 26 will also see the release of two other films Haathi Mere Saathi featuring Pulkit Samrat and Rana Daggubatti...

Mumbai, Feb 25: Bollywood experienced a lull last year with hardly any film getting a theatrical release owing to the complete closure of cinemas. With business opening up, many films are ready to release and raring to go. The inevitable, of course, is happening with a slew of films announcing release dates. In an overcrowded market, multiple Fridays this year will see box office clash between two films.

"These sort of clashes should not happen, especially at this time. As it is, business is slow. People are not coming to the theatres in big numbers and the situation is not all that profitable. At this point of time, we cannot afford clashes," says trade analyst Atul Mohan.

He adds that if producers only keep eyeing festive or strategic dates for release, such clashes are bound to happen and, what's more, their films might not end up doing as well as...

ReviewThe four stories offer nothing new when it comes to exploring lust and sexuality, sticking to conventional ideas.Sowmya RajendranNetflix has launched its first Telugu anthology film, Pitta Kathalu, which loosely translates to ‘small stories’. The film was meant to be the Telugu version of Lust Stories, but though the four short films have the common theme of love and lust binding them, they are also marked by the bashfulness of the Telugu title that refuses to call a thing by its name. Ramula directed by Tharun Bhascker, who made a wonderful debut with Pelli Choopulu, is about a young woman (Saanve Megghana) with a good-for-nothing boyfriend (Abhay Bethiganti). The boyfriend refuses to proclaim his love for her before others and we’re never told what about this floppy-haired man made Ramula fall for him. A woman politician (Lakshmi Manchu) who is denied her due makes use of this unlikely...

Epic Pictures Sets ‘Avarice’ Cast

Exclusive: Viva Bianca (The Reckoning) and Luke Ford (The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor) will lead the cast of action-thriller Avarice from The Reckoning director John V. Soto. Epic Pictures is executive producing and handling world sales on the picture, which is being produced by Soto with Tim Maddocks of Madd Films. The film follows a woman who must confront her husband’s secretive double life amidst a vicious home invasion by two ruthless assailants. Filming will begin in Perth, Western Australia, on May 3. Epic Pictures’ EFM slate also includes The Cellar, starring Elisha Cuthbert and Eoin Macken, The Winter Lake, starring Emma Mackey and Anson Boon, and Doors, starring Josh Peck and Lina Esco.

Yash Raj Lines Up Theatrical Slate

India’s Yash Raj Films has dated its slate for films for 2021, with the company saying it has the intention of bringing its...

The presumed dead-and-buried practice of racial passing by light-skinned blacks in the United States decades ago is returned to center-stage in Passing, a delicate, sensitive, intentionally claustrophobic and not entirely limber directorial debut from the protean British stage performer Rebecca Hall. Based on the recently resurrected 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, which was a modest success in its time, the film is indisputably intriguing for its look at a very particular convention about which younger generations know very little. But the adaptation is also rather arch and aridly decorous, with a well-rehearsed rather than spontaneous feel that sometimes weighs things down. Still, this is something very different from the usual fare both in cinemas and on the tube and, given the subject matter, it will attract the intellectually curious and culturally informed.

The phenomenon of passing was familiar to the wide public during the last century due to a handful of popular entertainments,...

Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none

“The DTs In High Definition”

By Raymond Benson

In 1945, Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend was a big deal. If it wasn’t the first Hollywood movie to portray alcoholism as a serious problem, then it was certainly the most visible and influential one.

In the latter 1940s, Hollywood’s output changed from the sunshine-feel good-entertainments that the Golden Age had produced in the 30s and early 40s. American GIs came home from the war, and many were disillusioned and cynical. The war was the catalyst for Americans to “grow up.” They were ready to accept more serious, darker fare. Thus, we got film noir—crime pictures that were full of angst and betrayals—and we got the “social problem film.” The latter tackled subjects that Hollywood had previously never touched—alcoholism, racism, anti-Semitism, government corruption, and drug abuse. Titles like Gentleman’s Agreement,...

‘Passing’ by Rebecca Hall, 2021 and ‘Pinky’ directed by Elia Kazan, 20th Century Fox, 1949: What a Difference 72 Years Make

“Slave built, slave run, and run down ever since,” says Pinky, played by Jeanne Craine as a white-looking Negress, when she returns “home”…

Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...

The Animaniacs are back, and so are Pinky and the Brain! Hulu revealed our first look at the reboot of the classic 90s cartoon at the recent virtual New York Comic Con, with a hilarious Jurassic Park-themed promo, and now we’ve got this proper trailer that unveils some actual footage from the show, including a glimpse of those lab rats who are always trying to take over the world.

22 years after Animaniacs wrapped up its original run, the Warner Brothers Yakko and Wakko and their sister Dot are back for more of the series’ patented mix of cartoon mayhem and satirical humor that makes it still a great watch for adults. Of course, the reboot will also mine a lot of comedy from the characters interacting with the modern world – like Pinky getting catfished online by an actual catfish and Yakko swallowing the wrong kind of tablet. And hey,...

Black Americans saw very little representation of their lives and culture on TV during the 1950s. The only mainstay was Eddie Anderson, who played Jack Benny’s sardonic valet Rochester on CBS’ “The Jack Benny Program.” In 1937, he’d became the first Black performer to be a regular on the radio version of the beloved comedy series and played Rochester on television from 1950-65. Terry Carter played Pvt. Sugie Sugerman for 98 episodes of CBS’ Emmy Award-winning “The Phil Silvers Show.’ And Black singers and performers would occasionally appear on various musical-variety series.

Pianist Hazel Scott was given her own summer series “The Hazel Scott Show” on DuMont in 1950. But she was soon named as a Communist by “Red Channels”. Though she denied the charges, the series couldn’t attract a sponsor and was history after four episodes. Likewise, NBC’s 1957-58 “The Nat King Cole Show” couldn’t find a...

Coming to Film Forum in New York City is “Black Women,” a 70-film screening series that spotlights 81 years – 1920 to 2001 – of trailblazing African American actresses in American movies.

Scheduled to run from January 17 to February 13, the series is curated by film historian and professor Donald Bogle, author of six books concerning blacks in film and television, including the groundbreaking “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films” (1973).

“Last year, Bruce Goldstein, the repertory programmer at Film Forum, asked me if there was something I was interested in doing, and this was a topic that I had been thinking about, because I recently updated my book on the subject, ‘Brown Sugar,’ which dealt with African American women in entertainment from the early years of the late 19th century to the present,” said Bogle. “That’s really the way it came about, and it just developed from there.

Chicago – Who are the voices in our lives that really matter? If you were a cartoon fan in the 1980s and ‘90s then it was Rob Paulsen, the source for Pinky (“Pinky & the Brain”), Yakko (“Animaniacs”) and a myriad of others. Recently Paulsen beat cancer, which threatened his career, and he tells the story in the new book … “Voice Lessons.”

The subtitle of “Voice Lessons” is “How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky and an Animaniac Saved My Life” (written with Michael Fleeman) and to know Rob Paulsen is to realize his deep appreciation and love behind his creations. But beyond that passion, he also is endeared to the admirers of his work, the millions of children and now grown-ups who continue to embrace his characters and the voice behind them. Beating his cancer gave Paulsen a new purpose in his life, to use his gifts “…on the biggest scale I can.

Gordon Bressack, best known for his work on the animated Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs, has died. He passed on Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness, according to his son.

Bressack was nominated for five Daytime Emmys and won three awards, all shared with his colleagues. They included outstanding achievement in animation for Animaniacs in 1996; outstanding special class animated program for Pinky and the Brain in 1999; and outstanding children’s animated program for Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain in 2000.

He also was the first to receive the Writers Guild’s Animation Writers Caucus Animation Award.

Bressack’s credits include Tiny Toon Adventures, The Smurfs, Mighty Max, Darkwing Duck, Bionic Six and his own creation, Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys.

A native New Yorker, Bressack worked in theater in his early years, then returned to the craft in his later years, writing and directing plays in Los Angeles.

Gordon Bressack, a prolific Emmy-winning writer of animated television series, has died. He was 68.

Bressacks’s filmmaker son James Cullen Bressack confirmed the death in an Instagram post. He wrote, “Words can’t begin to describe how I am feeling right now. You were my mentor, my writing partner, my hero, my best friend, but most of all you were my Dad.”

View this post on Instagram

Words cant begin to describe how i am feeling right now. You were my mentor, my writing partner, my hero, my best friend, but most of all you were my Dad. I will miss you more than you will ever know. I knew this day would come but some how always thought that you would beat the odds and live forever, because thats what you did, you beat the odds. Thank you for everything you taught me. Thank you for being a story...

Emmy-winning writer Gordon Bressack, best known for his work on ’90s animated classics “Tiny Toon Adventures,” “Pinky and the Brain” and “Animaniacs,” died Friday following several health issues. He was 68.

His son, filmmaker James Cullen Bressack, announced the news in a statement posted to Instagram. A specific cause of death was not given.

“You were my mentor, my writing partner, my hero, my best friend, but most of all you were my Dad,” Bressack’s statement said in part. “Thank you for everything you taught me. Thank you for being a story teller and instilling a love of stories into me. Thank you for making me watch movie after movie when i was little and asking me questions about them. Thank you for telling me I was going to be a filmmaker before I ever even knew what that meant. You meant the world to me, you always have and you always will.

For a show concerned only with power and cruelty, Succession engendered a surprising amount of genuine affection during its first season. The HBO drama, which follows the Roys, a family-owned media dynasty worth billions and their constant jockeying for power, was one of the most critically acclaimed new shows to premiere in 2018. In its relentless documentation of what it’s like to be rich and utterly delusional it provides no audience surrogates; instead of rooting for a character to succeed or find happiness, you pick a favorite to simply see...

Nearly two decades after he helped bring back the movie musical with Best Picture Oscar winner “Chicago,” director Rob Marshall has made Hollywood history again. By casting 19-year-old singer Halle Bailey as Ariel in his upcoming remake of the 1989 animated film “The Little Mermaid,” he’s about to give the big-screen its first black live-action Disney princess.

What took Hollywood’s casting agents so long to appreciate what’s always been right in front of them? We’ve seen one animated black Disney princess before, but Tiana in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog” came only after other princesses of color — Chinese Mulan, Native American Pocahontas, and “Aladdin” Arabic heroine Jasmine — made their debuts.

Although black women have been a vital part of the American fabric since the first Independence Day, they continue to be far too under-represented and misrepresented on screen. For years, they were relegated to thankless maid and mammy roles,...

The Toyman Toy Show in St. Louis has been going strong for almost 30 years now and just keeps getting bigger and better! The fun now takes place nine times a year at The Machinists Hall 12365 St Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton, Mo 63044. There are over 120 vendors at the Toyman Toy Show spread out over 220 tables. all selling vintage toys, comics, dolls, diecast cars, movie memorabilia, and more as well as cosplayers and artists. It’s an unbelievable amount of fun for only $5!

The next Toyman Show is this Sunday, January 13th from 9:00am to 3:00p and Comic creator Charles D. Moisant and Comic Illustrator Douglas E. Rice (Animaniacs & Pinky and the Brain) will be there!

A Facebook invite for Sunday’s show can be found Here

Charles D. Moisant, is a comic book artist, writer, and the creative director of Silver Phoenix Entertainment (a 100% female owned company). Charles...

While we wait (impatiently) for the major Oscar contenders to show themselves to general audiences, why not check out an older Oscar nominees for kicks and to fill any gaps in your Oscar knowledge. Here are a few that iTunes is offering to rent for just 99¢... naturally I have to share the posters for the ones with exclamatory taglines.

• Sunrise (1927)/ Street Angel (1928) for Janet Gaynor, the very first Best Actress winner and the only Best Actress winner to win for multiple roles simultaneously (they changed the rule thereafter)

• In Old Chicago (1938) Tyrone Powers in a six-time nominated film which won Alice Brady supporting actress

• The Rains Came (1939) starring Myrna Loy and up for six Oscars

• Blood and Sand (1941) this torreador drama starring Tyrone Power won Best Cinematography

• This Above All (1942) a romantic drama starring Joan Fontaine and Tyrone Power received 4 nominations and a win for Art Direction

• The Snake Pit...

Elia Kazan would have celebrated his 109th birthday on September 7, 2018. Years after his death in 2003, the two-time Oscar-winning director remains both an influential and controversial figure, respected and reviled in equal measure. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Kazan started his career as a stage actor, soon transitioning into directing. He mounted several landmark productions, including the original run of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Throughout his career he received three Tony awards for Best Director of a Play: “All My Sons” in 1947, “Death of a Salesman” in 1949, and “J.B.” in 1959.

He transitioned into filmmaking with “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (1945). Two years later, he won his first Oscar for Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947), which also took home Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm). A taboo-shattering drama about antisemitism, the film established...

Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut is an adaptation of Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Passing, a theme little seen since the likes of Show Boat and Pinky

Hollywood once loved films about passing. The genre was popular in the 1940s and 50s, when segregation was rife and the “one-drop rule” – which deemed anybody with even a trace of African ancestry to be black – prevailed. Box-office hits included Elia Kazan’s Pinky (1949) and George Sidney’s musical Show Boat (1951), which featured light-skinned, mixed-race characters who passed for white in the hopes of enjoying the privileges whiteness confers. The secrets, the scandal and the sheer sensationalism of it all made for excellent melodrama.

Now Rebecca Hall, the star of Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Red Riding, is revisiting the genre with her directorial debut, an adaptation of Nella Larsen’s seminal 1929 novel Passing. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga will feature in the project, which...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “We have pay for play contracts…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Yesterday saw the unexpected, but not unwelcome announcement that beloved ’90s cartoon Animaniacs will be revived on Hulu in 2020.

The show’s original executive producer Steven Spielberg, his production company Amblin Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Animation are all back on board for two seasons of what will be Hulu’s first original series aimed at families. The deal also sees the original show and its companion series Tiny Toon Adventures, Pinky and the Brain and Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain move exclusively to Hulu. But what, exactly, can viewers expect from a new incarnation of the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister).

Animaniacs is back!

The '90s cartoon is getting the reboot treatment, thanks to Hulu. The streaming service is partnering with Amblin Television, and Warner Bros. Animation to bring Animaniacs back to life with a two-season, straight-to-series order.

Steven Spielberg will return as executive producer of the series, with Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series President Sam Register and Amblin Television Co-Presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank also serving as executive producers. Animaniacs, will which premiere new episodes on Hulu in 2020, marks the first Hulu Original made for families.

Animaniacs made its TV debut in 1993, becoming one of the most successful and beloved animated series for kids and launching several spinoffs. All 99 episodes of the original series, as well as Pinky and the Brain, Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain and the Tiny Toon Adventures collection will be available for streaming on Hulu starting Thursday.

“I am so pleased and proud that Animaniacs will have a home at...

“Animaniacs” is saying “hellloooo” to Hulu.

Hulu has given a two-season straight-to-series order to a brand-new version of the hit 1990s cartoon, set to premiere in 2020. “Animaniacs” is the first original series produced at Hulu for families.

Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation are behind the show, with Steven Spielberg back as executive producer. As part of the deal, Hulu has also signed on as the exclusive streaming home to all 99 episodes of the original “Animaniacs,” as well as spin-off series “Pinky and the Brain,” and “Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain.” Precursor series “Tiny Toon Adventures” is also part of the deal, which is effective immediately.

“I am so pleased and proud that Animaniacs will have a home at Hulu,” said Executive Producer Steven Spielberg. “Together with Warner Bros., we look to bring new audiences and longtime fans into this wild world of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. I am also...

Steven Spielberg’s classic Warner Bros. animated series Animaniacs will return in 2020 thanks to a two-season order from streaming service Hulu. Spielberg will executive produce the series’ revival for Hulu, Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Television.

Not only will the Emmy Award-winning animated series debut new episodes, the entire back catalog of Animaniacs series will make Hulu its home. This includes the original Animaniacs cartoon, Pinky and the Brain, Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain and Tiny Toon Adventures.

by Nathaniel R

Saoirse Ronan hosting SNLTimothée Chalamet (about to turn 22) and Saoirse Ronan (23) are only a year apart in age and both are looking like major Oscar contenders in Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. In other words, it Might be a really young Oscar year. Despite their close ages they're miles apart in terms of Oscar statistics. If Timothée is nominated he'll be a first time nominee and become the 3rd youngest man ever up for Best Actor while Saoirse, if nominated, would be on nomination #3 and would just barely crack the youngest 20 contenders in her category. 

So, who are the youngest female leads ever nominated?  We're about to tell you but one thing is for sure: this list is Much younger than the corresponding leading man list.

Disclaimer: The male list was comparatively easier to order as there were significant gaps in ages. With so many women...

Nostalgia just ain’t what it used to be.

When the poster for American Graffiti (1973) asked the question “Where were you in ’62?” it was marketing a trend, spiked by the increasing popularity of the theatrical musical Grease, for audiences of a certain age to look backward to a time when life wasn’t ostensibly so complicated, when your life was still out there waiting to be lived, to a time when America hadn’t yet “lost its innocence.” The demarcation point for that alleged loss is often assigned to the upheaval of grief and national confusion experienced in the wake of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963, so it was no accident that the setting for American Graffiti’s night of cruising, romancing and soul-searching was placed a little over a year before that cataclysmic event. The interesting thing about Graffiti was the aggressiveness with which that...

Elia Kazan's third picture is a hard-hitting noir, a true story that honors the efforts of a noble States' Attorney when confronted with a murder case that was a little too open-and-shut. But a close read of the movie uncovers a miasma of social criticism, hiding behind the self-congratulating official narration. A great show. Boomerang! Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 88 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Sam Levene, Arthur Kennedy, Cara Williams, Ed Begley, Taylor Holmes, Robert Keith. Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Richard Day, Chester Gore Film Editor Harmon Jones Original Music David Buttolph Written by Richard Murphy from an article in The Reader's Digest by Anthony Abbot (Fulton Oursier) Produced by Louis De Rochemont, Darryl F. Zanuck Directed by Elia Kazan

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

In just his second movie, director...

Starting in the late 1940’s, and continuing through to the end of the ‘50’s, Hollywood seemed to be obsessed with the concept of “passing” - light skinned black people passing for white. Though it wasn’t new, of course, somehow it caught Tinseltown’s attention and a slew of films were made, almost all them dealing with women in particular, who passed for white, and the tragedies and sorrow that they encountered. Elia Kazan’s "Pinky," "Lost Boundaries," "Imitation Of Life," "Band of Angels," "The Night of the Quarter Moon," "I Passed for White," and the would-be "Gone with the Wind" rip-off, "Raintree...

Imitation of Life

Written by William Hurlbut

Directed by John M. Stahl

USA, 1934

Written by Eleanore Griffin and Allan Scott

Directed by Douglas Sirk

USA, 1959

The debate about the necessity and worth of continual remakes rages on every year. Will the new version be as good as the original? Or even better? Should it have even been made to begin with? While we do seem to hear more about this recently, the concept of a remark is, of course, nothing new. Examples go back to the very dawn of cinema. What makes a remake particularly worthwhile, however, is when the films involved are dissimilar in certain aspects yet notably congruent in other areas: just enough to keep the basic premise or theme consistent, but varied enough to keep it up to date and original in one way or another. If both versions have their merits, a considerate comparison and contrast...

Robert Montgomery’s 1947 sophomore film, Ride the Pink Horse is an exciting film noir gem ripe for rediscovery, available on Blu-ray for the first time courtesy of Criterion’s digital restoration. Best known as a comedic actor and Oscar nominated for roles in Night Must Fall (1937) and Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Montgomery would eventually direct a handful of titles mostly neglected by the passage of time with the exception of his first directorial credit, the experimental noir Lady in the Lake (as the film is presented entirely from the point of view of its protagonist, as if we’re looking directly through his eyes), an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel. Lady premiered earlier in the very same year, and though it is often referenced for its structural technique, it’s his follow-up title that’s more impressive, as unique and off kilter as its enigmatic title.

Former GI Lucky...

Oscar 2015 winners (photo: Chris Pratt during Oscar 2015 rehearsals) The complete list of Oscar 2015 winners and nominees can be found below. See also: Oscar 2015 presenters and performers. Now, a little Oscar 2015 trivia. If you know a bit about the history of the Academy Awards, you'll have noticed several little curiosities about this year's nominations. For instance, there are quite a few first-time nominees in the acting and directing categories. In fact, nine of the nominated actors and three of the nominated directors are Oscar newcomers. Here's the list in the acting categories: Eddie Redmayne. Michael Keaton. Steve Carell. Benedict Cumberbatch. Felicity Jones. Rosamund Pike. J.K. Simmons. Emma Stone. Patricia Arquette. The three directors are: Morten Tyldum. Richard Linklater. Wes Anderson. Oscar 2015 comebacks Oscar 2015 also marks the Academy Awards' "comeback" of several performers and directors last nominated years ago. Marion Cotillard and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress Oscars for, respectively, Olivier Dahan...

Veterans Day movies on TCM: From 'The Sullivans' to 'Patton' (photo: George C. Scott in 'Patton') This evening, Turner Classic Movies is presenting five war or war-related films in celebration of Veterans Day. For those outside the United States, Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which takes place in late May. (Scroll down to check out TCM's Veterans Day movie schedule.) It's good to be aware that in the last century alone, the U.S. has been involved in more than a dozen armed conflicts, from World War I to the invasion of Iraq, not including direct or indirect military interventions in countries as disparate as Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. As to be expected in a society that reveres people in uniform, American war movies have almost invariably glorified American soldiers even in those rare instances when they have dared to criticize the military establishment.

Drew Barrymore half-sister Jessica Barrymore found dead near San Diego (photo: Jessica Barrymore) Drew Barrymore’s half-sister Jessica Barrymore was found dead in her car early Tuesday, July 29, 2014, in National City, located between San Diego and Chula Vista in Southern California. Jessica Barrymore (née Brahma [Jessica] Blyth Barrymore) would have turned 48 on Thursday, July 31. According to a witness, Jessica Barrymore, who worked at a Petco store, was found reclined in the driver’s seat, with a drink between her legs. White pills were seen scattered on the passenger seat. Despite online rags reporting either that Drew Barrymore’s half-sister committed suicide or died from a drug overdose, the official cause of death hasn’t been announced. As per the Los Angeles Times, an autopsy will be performed in the next few days. In a statement published in the gossip magazine People, Drew Barrymore, 39, said she had "only met her [sister Jessica] briefly." Their father was John Drew Barrymore,...

Starting in the late 1940’s, and continuing through to the end of the ‘50’s, Hollywood seemed to be obsessed with the concept of “passing” - light skinned black people passing for white. Though it wasn’t new, of course, somehow it caught Tinseltown’s attentionm and a slew of films were made, almost all them dealing with women in particular, who passed for white and the tragedies and sorrow that they encountered. Elia Kazan’s "Pinky," "Lost Boundaries," "Imitation Of Life," "Band of Angels," "The Night of the Quarter Moon," "I Passed for White," and the would-be "Gone with the Wind" rip-off, "Raintree...