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As the format continues to gain traction, here’s our regularly-updated list of upcoming 4K Ultra HD disc releases in the UK.

Sitting alongside our list of upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases (that you can find here), we’re also keeping a calendar for those who support the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc format. As we learn of new UK releases, we’ll add them to this list.

We have started adding shopping links too. We’d be obliged if you clicked on them, as it really helps us in our quest to make the Film Stories project of magazines, website and podcast profitable. We’re a 100% independent publisher, and we quite like drinking coffee. It’d be lovely to afford some more.

Without further ado, here are the titles we know about…

Out now

24th February: Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 3 (Steelbook)

24th February: Crossing Delancey (Criterion)

24th February:...

Before he created Westworld and Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton first blurred the line between science fiction and science fact with his 1969 breakout success, The Andromeda Strain.

The 1971 film adaptation of the novel will infect 4K Ultra HD on May 15 from Arrow Video.

Robert Wise directs the sci-fi thriller from a script by Nelson Gidding (The Haunting).

Arrow previously restored the film in 4K from the original camera negative with original uncompressed mono audio. It’s presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible).

Special Features:

Audio commentary by critic Bryan Reesman A New Strain of Science Fiction – Video appreciation by critic Kim Newman The Andromeda Strain: Making the Film – 2001 featurette featuring interviews with director Robert Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding A Portrait of Michael Crichton – 2001 interview with author Michael Crichton Cinescript Gallery – Highlights from the annotated and illustrated shooting script by Nelson Gidding Theatrical trailer TV spots Radio spots Image gallery Booklet...

Do you like Stephen King's The Mist? What about Avatar, Aliens, The Andromeda Strain, or Manifest? Braveheart: thumbs up, or down? If you said "yes" to all of the above, then you're going to love the Prime Video series The Rig, a supernatural thriller about the strange happenings that befall a Scottish oil rig in the North Sea. You name it, The Rig has it: corporate greed, environmental impact, disaster, infection, worker's rights, and so on. It's a series that borrows liberally from these and other films and TV series to create something unique... and very good.

It's no secret that it took a lot of back and forths to get Star Trek: The Motion Picture greenlit. Originally, it was going to be a series [Phase II], but after Star Wars came out and was so successful at the box office, there was sudden interest in making a big screen Star Trek.

Academy Award winning director Robert Wise, who'd previously directed West Side Story and The Sound of Music, was chosen as the director, and this brought confusion to some of the parties involved. Although Jon Povill, the associate producer said "everyone was pretty much thrilled at the prospect of working with Robert Wise," Richard Taylor, who supervised the storyboarding for The Motion Picture, was also reported in The Fifty Year Mission The First Twenty-Five Years by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman as saying "I don't think he was ever very enthusiastic at all about directing this movie.

Quick Links What is Michael Crichton's Micro? Why Micro is Jurassic Park's More Terrifying Spiritual Successor Will Micro Become the Next Jurassic Park?

A master of sci-fi and technological terror, author Michael Crichton has crafted a story even scarier than Jurassic Park. As a novel, Jurassic Park was simultaneously a chilling read and the blueprint for one of the most beloved films in cinematic history. Crichton had a rare talent for making the most far-fetched concepts feel plausible and downright nightmarish, a gift Hollywood could use more of today. With HBO's Westworld seemingly at its end and another Jurassic World movie on the way, it begs the question: Is there room for a new sci-fi thriller, or will filmmakers, like the scientists in Jurassic Park, continue to dig up the past as they try to recreate it? While Jurassic Park will always be a classic, Crichton's other works...

Warner Bros. Television’s ER revival look-alike has sparked a lawsuit from the estate of Michael Crichton, holder of the rights to the medical drama created by the prolific writer of technological thrillers who spawned various Hollywood blockbusters.

Crichton’s estate, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Warners and a trio ER alums of repackaging plans for a series reboot as The Pitt after they couldn’t secure the rights due to a dispute over a credit acknowledging the writer as the creator of the show. It alleges a “pattern of conduct” by the studio designed to circumvent Crichton’s rights to franchises he spawned, including Westworld.

Earlier this year, Max issued a 15-episode, straight-to-series order for The Pitt, which stars Noah Wyle and comes from ER duo John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill — all of whom are named in the complaint. It described...

Exclusive: The widow of Michael Crichton – creator of ER, Jurassic Park, Westworld, Twister, The Andromeda Strain and many other hits that blended grounded science with propulsive pop culture narratives – filed a potentially explosive lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court this morning.

Led by Crichton’s widow Sherri Crichton on behalf of John Michael Crichton Trust’s Roadrunner Jmtc, the suit (read it here) names Warner Bros Television, John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill and others who are charged with breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Repping Crichton is Hueston Hennigan Llp, which has demanded a jury trial. The lead attorney, Robert Klieger, repped Peter Jackson in the filmmaker’s suit against Warner Bros over profit participation, which was settled.

The lawsuit alleges that after walking away from a yearlong negotiation to make a new version of the billion-dollar hit series ER,...

Michael Crichton was a master of sci-fi and techno-thrillers, responsible for bestsellers and blockbuster movies. He was the author of hits like The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, and Jurassic Park. He also wrote screenplays (like Twister), directed a few movies (including the original Westworld) and even created the TV show ER. In short, he was a genre fiction titan.

The Andromeda Strain provides a realistic portrayal of a deadly outbreak, accentuated by Douglas Trumbull's pioneering visual effects in a pre-cgi era. A collaboration between author Michael Crichton, legendary director Robert Wise and Trumbull, the film is creative, beautifully crafted and deeply tense in its scientific realism. The film holds modern resonance post-2020, offering a unique reflection on a government's response to a deadly crisis, but it's also a gorgeous time capsule of the sci-fi of the early 1970s.

Niche topics and an interest in film go hand-in-hand, and one such area of film history that often gets forgotten about in the modern era is that time when computers were already in regular use but CGI was not yet a thing. The birth of what people would recognize as a computer is generally traced back to the building of the Eniac (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) in 1945, and while...

This week sees the release of Twisters, the second entry in the Twister saga that no one really wanted or needed. I mean, the first movie came out so long ago that audiences were positively blown away at the sight of a CGI cow flying through the air, as if it were something from Avatar or a train pulling into a train station.

While the co-writer of Twister, the late Michael Crichton, may have gone to great lengths to create the plot lines for novels like Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain and The Great Train Robbery, for the tornado-based blockbuster he admitted that he borrowed heavily from a TV documentary and a classic screwball comedy.

Reportedly, Crichton became “fascinated” with tornadoes after seeing them discussed in an episode of Nova, the long-running PBS science show. But while he and his wife Anne-Marie Martin, who co-wrote Twister, discussed the possibility of...

Exclusive: Oscar-winning Free Solo directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi have come aboard as part of the package to direct Eruption, the novel by Michael Crichton and James Patterson that was just published atop every bestseller list.

The duo will be in the center of meetings to be held next week in which they’ll pitch the book, a large scale earth-threatening thriller about a volcano explosion in Hawaii. At the same time, Jim and Vasarhelyi might also be directing a documentary on the life of the late great Crichton.

Eruption is a big scale disaster novel tale that Crichton spent 20 years working on before his untimely death. The novel just went out to studios and other major buyers. It’s expected to be a big sale, continuing the legacy of the brilliant author behind everything from Jurassic Park, Westworld, Twister, ER and so many others.

The filmmakers made their narrative debut with Nyad,...

Sci-fi movies can be accurate by incorporating scientific principles and technologies currently possible or plausible in the near future. Films like The Andromeda Strain and Gattaca demonstrate a commitment to authenticity that sets them apart in the genre. The Martian and Interstellar showcase scientific accuracy in depicting space travel, technology, and the challenges faced by astronauts.

Sci-fi movies often stretch the boundaries of plausibility, leaning heavily into fiction. However, a few films take the "science" aspect seriously, highlighting some of the genre's more accurate elements. These films go beyond mere speculation and incorporate scientific principles, theories, and technologies that are either currently possible or plausible in the near future. By consulting with experts in various fields, conducting meticulous research, and paying attention to the details, filmmakers create captivating stories that not only entertain but also educate and inspire audiences.

While artistic liberties are still taken to enhance the narrative and visual impact,...

When television science fiction works, it can change us. However, lasting long enough to make an impact is a hell of a trick. "Star Trek," the keystone franchise for multiple generations of fans and scientists, fought for its survival more than once. In the end, the original, larger than life phenomena lasted only three seasons. In a similar vein, "Babylon 5" remains a quieter but no less impactful series for modern science fiction fans, with the "Lord of the Rings" inspired space opera struggling every year since the poorly reviews first season for more time to finish its planned five year arc -- and a reboot from its original creator is still going through similar trials.

The problem is that good science fiction is always experimental, almost always more expensive than dramas or safe sitcoms, and it relies on an audience hanging in long enough for the plot to really hit its stride.

When Gene Roddenberry began developing the screenplay for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1975, expectations for how a science fiction film could look and feel were rapidly shifting. "2001: A Space Odyssey" offered moviegoers a 70mm trip to outer space, while "The Omega Man," "Soylent Green," and the "Planet of the Apes" series fed off the sociopolitical tumult of the times to thrust audiences into dystopian futures of our own foolish making.

Where did a show that was, at its core, a dream of racially and ethnically inclusive space exploration fit in an era of consciousness-raising spectacle and pessimistic earthbound forecasting? Though the series had failed to enthrall a sizable enough viewership to survive more than three seasons during its initial run on NBC in the late 1960s, "Star Trek" had become popular in syndication with 1970s couch potatoes. There was clearly a hunger for more, and there weren't any...

Andre Braugher, a legendary actor known for both immense gravitas and a delightful sense of humor, has passed away at age 61 after a brief illness. Braugher excelled in authoritative roles on both film and television, garnering acclaim for his work in movies like The Mist and TV series like Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Despite his deep voice and serious demeanor, Braugher showcased his humor through voice work in BoJack Horseman and a guest spot on New Girl, and his final film role was in the #MeToo drama She Said.

Beginning your film career with the incredible Oscar-winning war film Glory is a pretty strong way to announce yourself in Hollywood, but that's emblematic of the kind of confidence that actor Andre Braugher had. The legendary actor, known for his immense gravitas despite the ability to surprise with a great sense of humor, passed away at the age of 61 on Monday.

Andre Braugher, a two-time Primetime Emmy winning actor who made two notable appearances in the Stephen King Universe, has passed away this week at the age of 61.

The actor passed away after a brief illness, CNN reported last night.

Horror fans will remember Andre Braugher as Brent Norton in Frank Darabont’s The Mist, the 2007 adaptation of a Stephen King horror story. Just three years prior, Braugher had entered the world of King by playing Matt Burke in the 2004 “Salem’s Lot” miniseries.

Braugher’s two Primetime Emmy wins came courtesy of “Homicide: Life on the Street” in 1998 and “Thief” in 2006, and he was also nominated four times for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” twice for “Men of a Certain Age,” once for “Gideon’s Crossing” and once for “The Tuskegee Airmen.”

Andre Braugher made his feature debut in the 1989 film Glory, and other notable film credits include Murder in Mississippi, Striking Distance, Primal Fear,...

Andre Braugher, a legendary actor known for both immense gravitas and a delightful sense of humor, has passed away at age 61 after a brief illness. Braugher excelled in authoritative roles on both film and television, garnering acclaim for his work in movies like The Mist and TV series like Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Despite his deep voice and serious demeanor, Braugher showcased his humor through voice work in BoJack Horseman and a guest spot on New Girl, and his final film role was in the #MeToo drama She Said.

Beginning your film career with the incredible Oscar-winning war film Glory is a pretty strong way to announce yourself in Hollywood, but that's emblematic of the kind of confidence that actor Andre Braugher had. The legendary actor, known for his immense gravitas despite the ability to surprise with a great sense of humor, has passed away at...

Andre Braugher, the dynamic actor known for his outstanding work on such shows as Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has died. He was 61.

Braugher died Monday after a brief illness, his longtime rep Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of death turned out to be lung cancer.

Braugher starred as master interrogator Det. Frank Pembleton on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street for the first six seasons of the show’s acclaimed 1993-99 run, then played another cop, Capt. Raymond Holt — this time against type and for laughs — on the 2013-21 Fox-nbc sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

He won his first Emmy in 1998 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Homicide after a season that featured one of its most memorable episodes, “Subway.” That was a two-hander in which Pembleton tries to unearth whether a man (Vincent D’Onofrio) pinned between a Baltimore subway train...

André Braugher had a rich and diverse filmography that included roles in Homicide: Life on the Street, Men of a Certain Age and as Captain Raymond Holt in the comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

The actor died December 12 at 61 but has left a legacy for generations with his film and television work. Braugher was nominated 11 times for the Primetime Emmy Awards and won twice.

Related: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Cast & Producers Mourn André Braugher: “This Hurts. You Left Us Too Soon”

The first Emmy the actor received was in 1998 for his work as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street. His second trophy would come in 2006 for his leading role in the FX mini-series Thief.

Related: André Braugher Remembered As “Megawatt Talent” & “Incredible Human Being”

Braugher’s other television credits included Gideon’s Crossing, The Practice, The Andromeda Strain, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Last Resort, New Girl, American Experience,...

Actor Andre Braugher, known for his roles on TV shows like Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has passed away.

Per Deadline, Braugher died on Monday, Dec. 11, after suffering a "brief illness." No other details have yet been revealed about Braugher's passing. The actor was 61 years old.

Braugher was a veteran actor with many roles he could be recognized for by fans. His most popular roles include playing Detective Frank Pembleton in the 90s crime drama series Homicide: Life on the Street, and more recently Captain Raymond Holt in the hit sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He won Primetime Emmy Awards for his roles in Homicide as well as the FX miniseries Thief. He had also been nominated four times for his Brooklyn Nine-Nine role, and he scored another two of his 11 total nominations with his role in the sitcom Men of a Certain Age.

The actor's other acclaimed roles...

André Braugher has died. The two-time Emmy-winning star of series including Homicide: Life on the Street, Men of a Certain Age and Brooklyn Nine-Nine was 61.

Braugher, whose first film role came alongside Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington in the Ed Zwick-directed Glory, died Monday after a brief illness.

While Braugher peppered his résumé with comedies, many will remember him for his ferocious portrayal of Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street. Put him in “the box,” sweating out and outsmarting crime suspects in the interrogation room, and you were looking at a weekly dose of tour de force acting, as good as it got on television during that time. He won an Emmy for that show he starred in from 1992-98. His wife, Ami Brabson, recurred as Pembleton’s wife on Homicide.

Related: André Braugher Remembered As “Megawatt Talent” & “Incredible Human Being”

He won...

These last few years the Criterion Channel have made October viewing much easier to prioritize, and in the spirit of their ’70s and ’80s horror series we’ve graduated to––you guessed it––”’90s Horror.” A couple of obvious classics stand with cult favorites and more unknown entities (When a Stranger Calls Back and Def By Temptation are new to me). Three more series continue the trend: “Technothrillers” does what it says on the tin, courtesy the likes of eXistenZ and Demonlover; “Art-House Horror” is precisely the kind of place to host Cure, Suspiria, Onibaba; and “Pre-Code Horror” is a black-and-white dream. Phantom of the Paradise, Unfriended, and John Brahm’s The Lodger are added elsewhere.

James Gray is the latest with an “Adventures in Moviegoing” series populated by deep cuts and straight classics. Stonewalling and restorations of Trouble Every Day and The Devil, Probably make streaming debuts, while Flesh for Frankenstein,...

In 1977, a movie you might have heard of called Star Wars came out and thoroughly shifted the kind of movies Hollywood considered blockbusters. Until then, the idea of an epic sci-fi fantasy grossing hundreds of millions of dollars was considered laughable, and the genre was regarded as B-movie material at best. Star Wars changed that thinking, and suddenly studios were bending over backwards flooding theaters with their own sci-fi epics. This led to Star Trek getting a crack at the big screen, with the original crew headlining a movie that, at the time, was one of the most expensive movies ever made. In this episode of Revisited, we dig into Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Flashback to 1978. Star Wars was still making a mint, and Universal took the pilot episode for a Star Wars-knock-off series they developed, Battlestar Galactica, and released it in theaters. It made a stunning $41.8 million internationally,...

From The Video Archives Podcast, writer/director Roger Avary and writer/producer Gala Avary discuss a few of their favorite movies with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Taxi Driver (1976)

Star Wars (1977)

Matinee (1993)

Dune (1984)

Terror On A Train a.k.a. Time Bomb (1953)

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Batman (1989)

Yentl (1983)

Nuts (1987)

Spaceballs (1987)

Die Hard (1988)

Top Gun (1986)

Cocksucker Blues (1972)

Mijn nachten met Susan, Olga, Albert, Julie, Piet & Sandra (1975)

Straw Dogs (1971)

The Godfather (1972)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Day Of The Dolphin (1973)

Babylon (2022)

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)

Carrie (1976)

Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)

Blow Out (1981)

The Matrix (1999)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Killing Zoe (1993)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The Tenant (1976)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Bugsy Malone (1976)

Phantom Of The Paradise (1974)

The Muppet Movie (1979)

The Rules Of Attraction (2002)

The Sound Of Music (1965)

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Giant (1956)

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

Babe (1995)

Time Bandits...

Before Michael Crichton was known as the bestselling author of works like The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Congo, Sphere, Rising Sun, and Disclosure, and before he directed movies like Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery, Looker, Runaway, and Physical Evidence, he was a medical school student who was publishing novels under the pseudonym John Lange because he didn’t want his future patients to worry that he would use their stories in his writing. Now Deadline has broken the news that CrichtonSun, which is run by the author’s widow Sherri Crichton, has secured a deal with Blackstone Publishing to get the eight John Lange novels re-published.

According to Deadline, Blackstone Publishing has made a seven-figure deal with CrichtonSun to acquire the worldwide print, eBook and audiobook rights to Crichton’s first series of novels, which he wrote under the pseudonym John Lange. The eight books comprise unconnected tales of...

Michael Crichton is arguably one of his generation's most beloved authors. After seguing from medical school to writing, his literary career took off with 1969's The Andromeda Strain and continued for 40 years with one bestseller after another. Particularly revered for techno-thrillers like Sphere, Jurassic Park, and Timeline, Crichton also dabbled in non-fiction and historically-based epics. A thrilling example of latter is the 17th-century adventure, Pirate Latitudes. Discovered on the author's computer after his passing in 2008, the novel would be Crichton's first to receive a posthumous publication the following year.

Exclusive: Michael Crichton’s brilliant mix of science and narrative resulted in north of $10 billion in film and TV revenue and 250 million books sold. Now, the estate of the author who died in 2008 has made another major deal to bring his work back to new audiences.

Blackstone Publishing has made a seven-figure deal with CrichtonSun to acquire the worldwide print, eBook and audiobook rights to Crichton’s first series of novels, which he wrote under the pseudonym John Lange. This was long before Jurassic Park, ER and such, and he wrote the first three titles while matriculating at Harvard Medical School. This side pursuit also came prior to his first breakout novel done under the Crichton name, 1971’s The Andromeda Strain.

The eight books comprise unconnected tales of fiction in numerous genres and will be shopped to studios and streamers for potential film/television adaptations. Perhaps Crichton didn’t want...

Daniel Dae Kim is set to executive produce and star in a series adaptation of the graphic novel Butterfly, our sister site Variety first reported.

The project, which is currently in development at Prime Video, is described as a character-driven spy thriller. The series will center on “David Jung (Kim), an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former U.S. intelligence operative living in South Korea, whose life is blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a deadly, sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him,...

Daniel Dae Kim will star in and executive produce a series adaptation of the graphic novel “Butterfly” currently in development at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.

The project is described as a character-driven spy thriller. Per the official logline, the series centers on “David Jung (Kim), an enigmatic, highly unpredictable former US intelligence operative living in South Korea, whose life is blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself pursued by Rebecca, a deadly, sociopathic young agent assigned to kill him.” According to sources, the series would shoot in South Korea and feature both Korean and English dialogue.

The “Butterfly” graphic novel was created by Arash Amel and written by Amel and Marguerite Bennett. It was illustrated by Antonio Fuso and Stefano Simeone. It was originally published by Boom! Studios in 2015.

Ken Woodruff is co-creating the series with novelist Steph Cha.

Communication is the key to successful first contact scenarios. The empathic relationship that language can create between two dissimilar peoples is a source of optimism in both in fiction and in real life. Consider, if you will, Denis Villeneuve's 2016 film, "Arrival." It may not be the first big movie about forging a connection between humans and aliens, but the way that its story never loses its focus on linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) allows that link to feel bigger and more poignant because of how personal it becomes.

What Banks discovers is that humanity must evolve, so that we can save others at some future date, and that language is the key to doing so. It's a poignant lesson, as we realize that, in learning it, Dr. Banks must face her destiny with her eyes wide open, fully aware of what she'll lose. It's also painful, because so much...

Most noted for its troubled production background, this hospital-set murder thriller turns a doctor into a detective: James Coburn’s medico undertakes an amateur investigation of a crime involving an illegal abortion, and the cover-up thereof. Although tangled up in the crazy James Aubrey-Kirk Kerkorian regime at MGM, Blake Edwards’ film can boast a strong supporting cast: Jennifer O’Neill, Pat Hingle, Elizabeth Allan, Dan O’Herlihy, James Hong, Michael Blodgett, Regis Toomey and John Hillerman.

The Carey Treatment

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Available at Amazon.com / General site Wac-Amazon / Street Date May 10, 2022 / 21.99

Starring: James Coburn, Jennifer O’Neill, Pat Hingle, Skye Aubrey, Elizabeth Allan, Dan O’Herlihy, James Hong, Michael Blodgett, Regis Toomey, Jennifer Edwards, John Hillerman, Alex Drier, Robert Mandan, Melissa Tormé-March.

Cinematography: Frank Stanley

Art Director: Alfred Sweeney

Film Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Original Music: Roy Budd

Screenplay by “James P. Bonner” and...

James Olson, who starred opposite Joanne Woodward in 1968’s Rachel, Rachel, played a surgeon investigating a deadly alien organism in the 1971 sci-fi classic The Andromeda Strain and survived the notorious Broadway flop Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Mary Tyler Moore that closed before it opened in 1966, has died. He was 91.

His April 17 death at his home in Malibu was reported by the Malibu Times.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

A familiar character on television and in film for four decades before retiring in 1990, Olson received his first national exposure in the title role of Kraft Theatre‘s 1956 TV installment The Life of Mickey Mantle, following up that high-profile performance with guest appearances throughout the decade and into the 1960s among them Robert Montgomery Presents, Have Gun – Will Travel, Playhouse 90, Route 66, The Defenders and The Magical World of Disney.

His breakthrough film role came in 1968 with Rachel,...

James Olson, a highly versatile stage and screen actor whose credits touched just about every 1970s television hit, has died. He was 91.

Olson died peacefully at his home in Malibu on April 28, The Malibu Times originally reported. His career began in the late 1950s, and though he loved the theater and appeared on Broadway, he’d soon become one of the TV industry’s busiest actors, with credits on nearly 100 shows, sometimes playing multiple and repeating characters.

His dizzying list of guest-starring turns included “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” “Route 66,” “Columbo,” “Kung Fu,” “Wonder Woman,” “The Bionic Woman,” “Lou Grant,” “Maude,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and “Murder, She Wrote,” truly just to name a few. From 1972-1979 he appeared five times on “Hawaii Five-o” – as five different characters.

Olson also had a healthy film career, co-starring opposite Joanne Woodward in the 1968 film “Rachel, Rachel,” which was nominated for Best Picture.

It’s no exaggeration to state that filmmaking, especially in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, might not be what it is today without the pioneering work of the legendary Douglas Trumbull.

The director and visual effects designer, who passed away on February 8 at the age of 79, had a hand in creating the screenscapes for some of the most influential genre films of all time, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner. He pioneered techniques that allowed those films and many others to visualize the vastness of space, the magnificence of alien spacecraft and the eeriness of dystopian futures with a sense of scale and realism that elevated sci-fi cinema beyond its reputation as a dumping ground for hoary, cheap-looking B-movies once and for all.

Born on April 8, 1942 in Los Angeles, Douglas Trumbull followed his father Donald — who worked on the visual...

Douglas Trumbull, the pioneering VFX master behind the groundbreaking science-fiction classics “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” has died. His daughter, Amy, shared the news on Facebook that Trumbull had cancer, a brain tumor, and a stroke. He was 79.

“He was an absolute genius and a wizard and his contributions to the film and special effects industry will live on for decades and beyond,” she wrote. Trumbull created the special photographic effects for Kubrick’s innovative “2001”, Spielberg’s aliens-among-us classic “Close Encounters” (which advanced the lessons learned from “2001”), the first big-screen wonderment of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” and the seedy, futuristic LA of Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner.” The latter three films earned him Best Visual Effects Oscar nominations. He also worked on the VFX for the sci-fi cult classic, “The Andromeda Strain,” and Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.”

“Speaking, solely, personally...

Douglas Trumbull, a legendary film pioneer of visual effects who worked on “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Blade Runner” and the first “Star Trek” movie, has died. He was 79.

Trumbull’s death was announced by his daughter in a Facebook post. He died Monday night after “a two-year battle with cancer, a brain tumor and a stroke,” she said.

“He was an absolute genius and a wizard and his contributions to the film and special effects industry will live on for decades and beyond,” Amy Trumble wrote. “My sister Andromed and I got to see him on Saturday and tell him that he [sic] love him and we got to tell him to enjoy and embrace his journey into the Great Beyond. I love you Daddy, I sure will miss you!”

“After 20 years, side-by-side, day and night, I say goodbye to my best friend, partner, true...

Visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, one of the masterminds behind the visual effects on some of the most visually audacious science fiction films of all time, including “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Blade Runner,” died Monday from complications from mesothelioma. He was 79.

His daughter Amy wrote on Facebook. that he had cancer, a brain tumor and a stroke.

“My sister Andromeda and I got to see him on Saturday and tell him that he love him and we got to tell him to enjoy and embrace his journey into the Great Beyond,” she wrote.

He shared Oscar nominations for best visual effects for “Close Encounters,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Blade Runner.”

Trumbull also oversaw the visual effects on “Silent Running,” “The Andromeda Strain” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” and he directed eco-sci-fi film “Silent Running” and Natalie Wood-starring “Brainstorm.”

Trumbull...

Filmmaker received Academy’s honorary Gordon Sawyer Award in 2012.

Douglas H. Trumbull, the VFX pioneer who worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey and earned three Oscar nominations for his work on Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Blade Runner and Star Trek – The Motion Picture, has died. He was 79.

Trumbull’s wife Julia said the filmmaker passed away on Monday (7) from complications from mesothelioma.

He was born on April 8, 1942, in Los Angeles, to Marcia Hunt, an artist, and Donald Trumbull, an engineer who had received his start in Hollywood as a special effects rigger on The Wizard Of Oz. Trumbull...

“Deliver a good entertainment, and the audience will come.” That’s what the venerable director Robert Wise told me after defying Hollywood doubters with his hit musical West Side Story.

Courtly and gracious, Wise also was a tough realist who, following his success, decided to turn to disaster movies like The Hindenburg and The Andromeda Strain. Disasters were safer bets.

Were he around today, I suspect Wise would assess Hollywood’s alleged four-quadrant audience and conclude that three had somehow drifted off to streamer heaven. “Spidey Saves the Day,” heralded the Spider-Man comic, while his youthful adherents have delivered a resounding $800 million worldwide gross for Spider-Man: No Way Home to date.

By contrast, movies aimed at the grown-up quadrant seem gripped in some sort of ‘plex poison: Nightmare Alley, The Last Duel, King Richard or, yes, West Side Story.

The questions loom large: Does streaming represent the only future for “specialty” cinema?...

The Visual Effects Society has set Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron and CG pioneer Gary Demos (The Last Starfighter) as Honorary Members, while adding new fellows and Hall of Fame inductees, all of whom will be celebrated at a special event this fall.

Fellows, who will be bestowed with the post-nominal letters “Ves,” include VFX veterans Brooke Breton, Mike Chambers, Van Ling and Nancy St. John.

The 2021 class of Ves Hall of Fame honorees includes VFX supervisor and Dp and special effects icon Roy Field, special effects supervisor and Dp John P. Fulton, A.S.C. (The Ten Commandments), VFX supervisor and designer Phil Kellison, pioneering filmmakers Auguste and Louis Lumière (The Arrival of a Train), and animator, composer and inventor John Whitney,...

The year of 1969 saw the moon landing of the Apollo 11’s Eagle module, Richard Nixon sworn in as the 37th president of the United States, the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village ushering in the gay rights movement, the Tate-La Bianca murders by the Manson Family, the landmark Woodstock Music and Arts Fair which attracts 400,000, the tragic and violent Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway and even Tiny Tim marrying Miss Vicki on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

But one major event was basically ignored by the mainstream media: the Harlem Cultural Arts Festival which took place June 29-August 24 at the Mount Morris Park. Founded by Tony Lawrence, the festival celebrating Black pride, music and culture features such landmark performers as Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Stevie Wonder, The Fifth Dimension and Mahalia Jackson. And when the NYPD refused to supply security,...

Chilean horror maestro Jorge Olguin and his producers will be at Cannes’ Marché du Film and Producers Network to seek international co-producers and distributors for his upcoming sci-fi horror film “The Shape of Fear” (“La Forma del Miedo”), described as a cross between “The Andromeda Strain” and “The Thing.”

Its teaser trailer, unveiled exclusively in Variety, opens with a panning shot of Chile’s stunning Atacama Desert as a mysterious white light streaks across the sky to the tune of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, which has never sounded more sinister. We close in on a military hospital as a bloodied woman writhing in pain is rushed in on a stretcher. A lab scientist, played by Mayte Rodriguez, studies the patient’s blood sample under a microscope and alarmed at what she sees, urges everyone to put on their masks. Blood splatters, people are stabbed and more horror ensues.

Juan Carlos Maldonado...

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is a series on Production Design.

The Andromeda Strain is quite a potent movie these days. True, both Robert Wise’s film and the original Michael Crichton novel were primarily tapping into the anxiety of nuclear proliferation. But today, exactly 50 years since the film’s debut, it has become terrifyingly relevant for entirely different reasons.

The story begins with a satellite crash landing in New Mexico, bearing a mysterious extraterrestrial something that wipes out an entire town. A team of scientists is then brought to a top-secret underground facility in Nevada, codenamed “Wildfire,” to figure out what on earth is going on. It’s all about the fear of what we cannot see.

Which, of course, is a fascinating challenge for a design team...

Michael Crichton‘s books and films have helped shape pop culture of the 20th and 21st century — from Jurassic Park to Westworld to The Andromeda Strain, the late author was an inarguable force in genre and action storytelling. And like many authors, he left behind tons of unpublished manuscripts that would never see the light of day — until now. […]

The post ‘Jurassic Park’ Author Michael Crichton’s Unpublished Work is Getting Adapted for Both Film and TV appeared first on /Film.

The estate and production company of “Jurassic Park” author Michael Crichton, CrichtonSun, has signed with Range Media Partners to develop TV series and a film adaptation of the late author’s unpublished manuscripts.

Sherri Crichton, Michael’s widow and president of CrichtonSun, along with producing partner Laurent Bouzereau, will produce, package and develop the projects in partnership with Range. And while no specific projects were announced, the slate of shows and a “major screen event” will be based from unpublished material from the Crichton archives.

CrichtonSun was founded in 2014 in order to continue the legacy of Michael Crichton, who died in 2008 and is known for books like “The Andromeda Strain,” “Jurassic Park,” “Congo” and who directed seven films, including the original “Westworld,” “Coma” and “The Great Train Robbery.”

The publishing and production company has worked to keep Crichton’s books on the best-seller list, including the more recent publications of “Pirate Latitudes,...

The publishing and production entity of best-selling author Michael Crichton’s estate has signed with Range Media Partners, Variety has learned.

CrichtonSun, run by Sherri Crichton and partner Laurent Bouzereau, will partner with Range to produce, package and develop a slate of projects from the Crichton archives. Projects in the works include several television series as well as a major screen adaptation of one of the author’s unpublished manuscripts.

Michael Crichton was a prolific author and filmmakers, having written 18 best-sellers including “The Andromeda Strain,” “Jurassic Park,” “Congo,” “Disclosure” and “Sphere.” His directing credits include “Westworld,” “Coma” and “The Great Train Robbery,” for which he adapted the screenplays.

In 1995, he achieved a pop culture milestone by having the nation’s top-rated TV show (“ER”), best-selling book (“The Lost World”) and the No. 1 movie in the country (“Congo”). He repeated the feat again with “ER,” “Airframe” and “Twister.”

“We’re thrilled...

Range Media Partners has signed CrichtonSun, the Los Angeles-based archive, publishing and production company of late author Michael Crichton that is overseen by president Sherri Crichton and her producing partner Laurent Bouzereau.

Together, Range and CrichtonSun will produce, package and develop a slate of new projects from the Jurassic Park author’s archives including several TV series and a major screen event adaptation of one of his unpublished manuscripts.

Founded in 2014, CrichtonSun is dedicated to continuing the Crichton legacy through an array of projects across multiple platforms including film, television and podcasts. The company has also kept the author on the bestseller list with newly found literary works including Pirate Latitudes, Dragon Teeth and Micro. In 2019, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Crichton’s benchmark novel The Andromeda Strain, CrichtonSun created a sequel entitled The Andromeda Evolution in collaboration with bestselling author Daniel H. Wilson.

“We’re thrilled to...

Sandra de Bruin is an established actress who has appeared in more than 100 television series, TV films and feature films. She has done numerous commercials, worked in voice-over and looping, danced at the Los Angeles Music Center and is the creator of the bestselling Actor's Audition Log. Sandra will periodically be sharing her stories of working with Hollywood legends, which will appear in a forthcoming memoir about her on-and off-screen adventures.

By Sandra De Bruin With Dean Brierly

How does one describe a bright, charming, handsome, witty con-man? Well, if he’s all of that and more—then he’s James Garner.

Every Sunday night I would call my father in New York. This ritual began in the 1970s and continued until he passed away in the late 1980s. I would regale him with the follies and foibles of my week in Tinseltown, and he would patiently listen, occasionally interjecting an upbeat comment.

Sandra de Bruin is an established actress who has appeared in more than 100 television series, TV films and feature films. She has done numerous commercials, worked in voice-over and looping, danced at the Los Angeles Music Center and is the creator of the bestselling Actor's Audition Log. Sandra will periodically be sharing her stories of working with Hollywood legends, which will appear in a forthcoming memoir about her on-and off-screen adventures.

By Sandra De Bruin With Dean Brierly

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How does one describe a bright, charming, handsome, witty con-man? Well, if he’s all of that and more—then he’s James Garner.

Every Sunday night I would call my father in New York. This ritual began in the 1970s and continued until he passed away in the late 1980s. I would regale him with the follies and foibles of my week in Tinseltown,...

“It calls back a time when there were flowers all over the Earth… and there were valleys. And there were plains of tall green grass that you could lie down in – you could go to sleep in. And there were blue skies, and there was fresh air… and there were things growing all over the place, not just in some domed enclosures blasted some millions of miles out in to space.”

Bruce Dern in Silent Running (1972) will be available on Blu-ray November 17th from Arrow Video

In 1968, visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull contributed to the ground-breaking special photographic effects of Stanley Kubrick s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Four years later, he stamped his own indelible mark on the science fiction genre with his mesmerising directorial debut Silent Running.

In the not-so-distant future, Earth is barren of all flora and fauna, with what remains of the planet s former ecosystems preserved...