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Freddie Salem, who played guitar and sang for The Outlaws in the late 1970s and ’80s, has died of cancer. He was 70.

The news was announced on the Facebook page of his current project, Freddie Salem & Lonewolf, but it did not provide a date of death. “This morning, the heavens parted for the arrival of a legend,” the post reads. “Rock on high, Freddie Salem. Until we meet again.”

The Outlaws paid tribute to Salem on its Facebook page, writing, “Freddie passed from complications due to cancer and will be remembered for his outgoing personality and passion for music.”

Salem replaced original Outlaws guitarist Henry Paul in 1977 and continued the group’s signature three-guitar attack. Playing his usual Les Paul, he made his debut on the band’s 1978 live double album Bring It Back Alive (aka Bring ‘Em Back Alive). It features one track he wrote (“”I Hope You Don...

It’s a fine line between genius and madness, and an even thinner, barely visible gossamer thread that demarcates genius and being categorized as difficult. Faye Dunaway has been labeled both, though in a competition between those two descriptives, “difficult” often had a three-to-one lead. Most documentaries about legendary stars would sand off its subject’s rough edges and try to present the most hagiography-friendly version imaginable. Faye, much like the force of nature (note that we did not say maelstrom) at the center of this movie, takes a bumpier road less traveled.

Early in Faye, Laurent Bouzereau’s entertaining portrait for HBO of screen legend Faye Dunaway, Bette Davis in a Johnny Carson clip names her without hesitation as the one star with whom she would never work again. Considering this is clearly a very authorized and deeply respectful bio-doc, it’s surprising how candidly it digs into the star’s reputation for being temperamental and demanding. Dunaway even plays into it herself — the first words we hear are her impatiently nudging the director to roll cameras on the present-day interview that binds the many recollections and self-reflections together.

“We need to shoot; I’m here now, come on,” says an exasperated Dunaway. Seated on a comfortable-looking sofa in an airy New York apartment living room, she huffs, “This is the worst seat in the world. I’m not happy with anything here.” But when she then snaps, “I need a glass of water,...

Hollywood’s last big all-star war epic in Black & White? Otto Preminger took a happy film company to Hawaii for this enormous saga about the Naval push in the Pacific Theater of WW2, with none other than John Wayne as the competent commander leading the charge. Soap-opera scenes aside, it’s a thrilling epic directed with Preminger’s well-known reserve. The star-gazing isn’t bad either — Kirk Douglas! Patricia Neal! Henry Fonda! Paula Prentiss! The finish is a huge naval battle with impressive live-action special effects, and given a moody music score by Jerry Goldsmith.

In Harm’s Way

Blu-ray

Paramount Viacom CBS

1965 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 167 min. / Street Date June 29, 2021 / Available from Paramount Movies / 13.99

Starring: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Franchot Tone, Patrick O’Neal, Carroll O’Connor, Slim Pickens, George Kennedy, Barbara Bouchet.

Cinematography:...

Film-lover designed film posters in Rome in 1960s, including one for Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2.

David Weisman, the Oscar-nominated producer of Kiss Of The Spider Woman and an accomplished graphic artist, has died in Los Angeles from illness. He was 77.

Weisman passed away on October 9 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles due to complications from neuroinvasive West Nile virus.

Born in Binghamton, New York, on March 11, 1942, Weisman attended Syracuse University’s School of Fine Arts in the early 1960’s. Inspired by La Dolce Vita, Weisman dropped out of college and travelled to Italy, where he found work designing film posters in Rome,...

David Weisman, an Academy Award nominee as producer of Kiss of the Spider Woman and an accomplished graphic artist, died on October 9 from complications from neuroinvasive West Nile virus. He died in Los Angeles at Cedars Sinai at age 77, according to his publicist.

Born in Binghamton, New York, in March 1942, Weisman attended Syracuse University’s School of Fine Arts in the early 1960’s. Inspired by the classic Italian film La Dolce Vita and armed with a gift for languages, Weisman dropped out of college to design film-posters in Rome. There he met Federico Fellini, for whom he created a poster for 8 1/2 (Otto e mezzo).

Returning to New York, he collaborated with Otto Preminger, who asked him to create the title sequence for Hurry Sundown. He then became Preminger’s assistant on the film. Weisman also designed the key art for The Boys in the Band, among many others.

In 1967, with...

David Weisman, who was Oscar-nominated as producer of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” died Oct. 9 in Los Angeles due to complications from West Nile virus. He was 77.

Weisman had a long career as a graphic designer and photographer and co-wrote and co-directed cult classic “Ciao! Manhattan” about 1960s icon Edie Sedgwick.

Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Weisman dropped out of Syracuse University in the early 1960s to design film posters in Rome. He met Federico Fellini and created a poster for “8 1/2” before returning to New York to work with Otto Preminger on “Hurry Sundown.” He also designed the key art for “The Boys in the Band” and many other films.

On “Ciao! Manhattan” he partnered with John Palmer, an alumnus of Andy Warhol’s Factory. He worked as associate director on avant-garde film “The Telephone Book” and created “Shogun Assassin,” edited from a series of Japanese samurai movies.

Weisman begin...

Carroll as the glamorous Dominique Deveraux in "Dynasty".

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actress Diahann Carroll has passed away at age 84 from breast cancer. Carroll was the consummate performer, making her mark on stage, in recordings and In television and feature films. The Bronx native had a modest start in life before winning a television talent contest that ultimately led her to being cast in director Otto Preminger's film "Carmen Jones" in 1954. The mercurial Preminger was pleased with her work and cast her again in his 1959 big screen production of "Porgy and Bess", though Carroll's singing voice was dubbed in the film, an ironic decision considering she was known for her ability to impress audiences with her crooning. Carroll caught the attention of legendary composer Richard Rodgers, who wrote the Broadway production "No Strings" for her. The 1962 production saw Carroll winning a Tony award.

Carroll with Marc Copage in the landmark...

Diahann Carroll, TV’s history-making star of NBC’s 1960s sitcom Julia and Broadway’s first black Tony Award-winner in a leading role for the 1962 musical No Strings, died today of cancer. The Dynasty star was 84.

“My personal world has taken a downward spiral,” said singer and friend Dionne Warwick in a statement. “Losing my dear friend and Mentor comes as a true hurt to my heart!! I know I’ll miss her as I’m certain all that knew her will. Rest In Peace my dear friend.”

Carroll’s death was announced by her daughter, Suzanne Kay.

Already a popular stage and nightclub performer when she signed on to star in Julia, Carroll is credited with being the first African-American actress to lead a primetime series in a non-stereotypical role, and the first overall since Beulah, the 1950s sitcom about a maid.

Julia became an immediate hit when it...

Singer and Tony-winning, Oscar-nominated actress Diahann Carroll, the first African American woman to star in her own TV series, has died at at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer. She was 84.

Her daughter, Suzanne Kay, confirmed the news.

Carroll is perhaps best remembered by younger audiences for her role as the conniving Dominique Deveraux on the nighttime soap “Dynasty” in the mid-’80s. But her first major television assignment was starring as the middle-class single mother Julia in a 1968 sitcom that was praised for featuring an African American in the title role — as much as it was criticized for ignoring the civil rights struggle. The series, which ran for three years, was a trailblazer in leading to greater visibility for African American characters on series television.

The actress characterized by svelte cosmopolitan sophistication had come to television via the musical theater. In the early 1960s...

Faye Dunaway will celebrate her 78th birthday on January 14, 2019. The actress has had a dynamic 57-year career on Broadway, television and of course in film. She shows no signs of slowing down either since this year she will return to the Great White Way for the first time since 1982 in a play where she will play another acting legend, Katharine Hepburn.

Despite her regal bearing and glamorous style, Dunaway was actually born in rural Florida to rather humble beginnings. She was drawn to the arts at a young age and eventually graduated from Boston University with a degree in theater. A few weeks after her college graduation Dunaway was hired to join the cast of the hit play “A Man for All Seasons,” which was in the midst of a successful run on Broadway.Dunaway was also hand-picked by Elia Kazan to by a part of a repertory company of...

Faye Dunaway will celebrate her 78th birthday on January 14, 2019. The actress has had a dynamic 57-year career on Broadway, television and of course in film. She shows no signs of slowing down either since this year she will return to the Great White Way for the first time since 1982 in a play where she will play another acting legend, Katharine Hepburn.

Despite her regal bearing and glamourous style, Dunaway was actually born in rural Florida to rather humble beginnings. She was drawn to the arts at a young age and eventually graduated from Boston University with a degree in theater. A few weeks after her college graduation Dunaway was hired to join the cast of the hit play “A Man for All Seasons,” which was in the midst of a successful run on Broadway.Dunaway was also hand-picked by Elia Kazan to by a part of a repertory company of...

The new Music Supervisor category this Emmy season finally honors the supervisor’s creative contribution to narrative storytelling and music aesthetic: Licensing songs that are appropriately iconic and emotionally resonant, while touting some of the hottest new talent.

Here are the nominees: Thomas Golubic (“Better Call Saul” — “Sunk Costs”), Susan Jacobs (“Big Little Lies” — “You Get What You Need”), Manish Raval, Jonathan Leahy, Tom Wolfe (“Girls”— “Goodbye Tour”), Zach Cowie, Kerri Drootin (“Master of None” — “Amarsi Un Po”), and Nora Felder (“Stranger Things” — “Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street”).

The results included three female supervisors (Jacobs, Drootin, and Felder) and demonstrated the brand power of HBO (“Big Little Lies,” “Girls”) and Netflix (“Master of None,” “Stranger Things”). But in the end, it came down to a battle of dueling playlists.

“Better Call Saul” — “Sunk Costs”

In the third season of the “Breaking Bad” prequel, Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) gets...

Director John G. Avildsen has passed away from pancreatic cancer. He had an eclectic body of work that began in earnest with his work as a cinematographer on several high profile films of the 1960s including "Hurry Sundown" and "Mickey One". Avildsen graduated to the director's chair with the surprise indie hit "Joe" in 1970 a serio-comic look at an ultra conservative working man (Peter Boyle) whose rage boils over from what he believes are anti-American protest movements against the Vietnam War. Three years later Avildsen directed the acclaimed drama "Save the Tiger" which won Jack Lemmon the Best Actor Oscar. In 1976 he directed the most unlikely of blockbusters, "Rocky", which won the Best Picture Oscar. Avildsen took home the Best Director award. He also scored with the "Karate Kid" franchise and also directed the zany comedy "Neighbors" with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as well as "The Formula" with Marlon Brando...

Need to catch up? Check out our previous Better Call Saul recap here.

Jimmy has a fool for a client this week on Better Call Saul, as he looks to represent himself in court after his brotherly tiff with Chuck.

Following last week’s ambush, he calls into the office and tells Francesca to push back all his appointments — since, you know, he’s expecting to be arrested any minute. He sits on the curb outside Chuck’s house, despondent, and Chuck comes out to tell him he’s pressing charges against Jimmy for his own good: “You won’t want to hear it,...

Olive Films releases classics old and new (but mostly old) on a monthly basis, and it’s not uncommon to find pockets of a theme at times — same actors, similar genre, etc. — and their selection of titles that hit shelves this week are no different. The seven films can be broken into two groups as four of them are film noir examples from the late ’40s and early ’50s, and the three more recent titles are all directed by Otto Preminger. My exposure to both is not nearly as deep as I’d like, so these offered up a great sampling of the noir genre and Preminger’s resume. Three of the films are genuinely fantastic, but none of the seven seem to enjoy wide popularity — this is somewhat baffling when you look at the powerhouse casts including the likes of Alan Ladd, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, William Holden, Michael Caine and others. Keep...

Welcome back to This Week In Discs! If you see something you like, click on the title to buy it from Amazon. Hurry Sundown Henry Warren (Michael Caine) is a landowner on the brink of making a big deal, but there are still two plots of land he needs to acquire. One belongs to a white relative’s family, and the other belongs to a black family whose lineage traces back to time spent as slaves to Mrs. Warren’s (Jane Fonda) relatives. Those times have passed, but 1940’s Georgia isn’t that much more enlightened, and as Warren’s efforts conflict with those of two families struggling to make the most of their homes and farmland racial tensions and civil expectations are tested. Director Otto Preminger‘s all-star look at Southern relations leans heavily towards melodrama at times, but it works well all the same. The cast — which also includes Faye Dunaway, John Phillip Law...

Jane Fonda has joined the cast of Youth.

The actress will reunite with Michael Caine in Paolo Sorrentino's drama, Deadline reports.

The pair previously starred alongside one another in 1978 comedy California Suite, as well as in Hurry Sundown in 1967.

Rachel Weisz, Harvey Keitel and Paul Dano were announced as the latest additions to Youth's cast earlier this week.

The film centres around ageing friends Fred and Mick - a retired composer and conductor and a film director - who are on holiday together in the Alps.

They find themselves considering the time they have left. While Mick struggles to complete his final movie, Fred finds that there is someone out there who wants to see him make music again.

Production on Youth begins later this month.

Moviefone's New Release Pick of the Week "Brave" What's It About? Pixar's latest feature tells the story of Princess Merida, a headstrong- archery-loving teenager, living in feudal Scotland, whose desire to carve out her own fate and go against her parent's wishes for betrothal sets her on a magic adventure. See It Because: "Brave" is rich in both visual splendor and charming characters. And despite it being a completely new story, it sits perfectly alongside other timeless childhood fairy tales. Merida is an adorable and plucky heroine for young audiences, and the movie's simple message of responsibility makes this a great viewing experience for the entire family (but especially mothers and daughters). (Also Available on Amazon Instant Video | Netflix ) Moviefone's Blu-ray Release of the Week "Lawrence of Arabia" What's It About? Peter O'Toole's most iconic role -- as the real-life famed British army office -- sets him in the...

Judith Crist, a blunt and popular film critic for the Today show, TV Guide and the New York Herald Tribune whose reviews were at times so harsh that director Otto Preminger labeled her “Judas Crist,” has died. She was 90.

Her son, Steven Crist, said his mother died Tuesday at her Manhattan home after a long illness.

Starting in 1963, at the Tribune, Crist wrote about and discussed thousands of movies for millions of readers and viewers, and also covered theater and books.

She was the first woman to become a full-time critic at a major U.S. newspaper and was among...

New York — Judith Crist, a blunt and popular film critic for the "Today" show, TV Guide and the New York Herald Tribune whose reviews were at times so harsh that director Otto Preminger labeled her "Judas Crist," has died. She was 90.

Her son, Steven Crist, said his mother died Tuesday at her Manhattan home after a long illness.

Starting in 1963, at the Tribune, Crist wrote about and discussed thousands of movies for millions of readers and viewers, and also covered theater and books.

She was the first woman to become a full-time critic at a major U.S. newspaper and was among the first reviewers of her time to gain a national following. Roger Ebert credited her with helping to make all film critics better known, including such contemporaries as The New Yorker's Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris of the Village Voice.

With the growing recognition of such foreign directors...

Character actor Luke Askew has passed away at the age of 80.

He died at his Lake Oswego, Oregon home after a long battle with ill health on 29 March.

Francis Luke Askew first attended the University of Georgia and honed his acting skills in several Off-Broadway plays.

He later made his feature film debut alongside Michael Caine and Faye Dunaway in Hurry Sundown and he subsequently played a sadistic prison guard in Paul Newman's Cool Hand Luke.

He also took on the role of Sergeant Provo in John Wayne's The Green Berets but Askew is perhaps best known for portraying the wayward stranger who led Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper to a hippie commune in 1969 classic Easy Rider.

Askew additionally appeared in several hit TV shows throughout his career, including Walker, Texas Ranger, MacGyver, The Six Million Dollar Man, Everwood, and most recently Big Love.

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: April 3, 2012

Price: Blu-ray $26.98

Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment

The Blu-ray debut of Chinatown, the 1974 Oscar-winning film starring Jack Nicholson (How Do You Know) and Faye Dunaway (Hurry Sundown), doesn’t come with any new special features, but the high-definition picture of the classic movie should be enough for the investment.

Directed by Roman Polanski (The Ghost Writer), Chinatown stars Nicholson as J.J. “Jake” Gittes, a private detective who’s hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Dunaway) to investigate whether her husband is having an affair. In the scandal that follows, Gittes discovers that the woman who hired him was not Mrs. Mulwray, and when the real Mrs. Mulwray is found dead, Gittes ends up in a web of deceit, murder and corruption.

The R-rated movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Actor and Actress for Nicholson and Dunaway. The crime film won only one Oscar,...

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2011

Price: DVD $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack $39.99, DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack $39.99, 5-Disc Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack $49.99, 11-Disc 3-Movie Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack $119.99

Studio: Pixar/Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

A celebration of sorts, marking the 25th anniversary of Pixar Animation Studios, Disney/Pixar’s fast-action, high-octane animated hit Cars 2 is a sequel to the 2006 smash Cars.

The first Pixar film to be released on Blu-ray 3D, Cars 2 grossed $185 million at the domestic box office. It was directed by John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, in Lasseter’s first time back in the driver’s seat as feature-length film director since the 2006 original.

The movie focuses on star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater as they head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides – Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane

Movie of the Week

Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides

The Stars: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane

The Plot: Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too.

The Buzz: Who dares to release a film on the same day as the next Pirates film? No one dares. Well, slight correction — Woody Allen dares, but Midnight in Paris is a limited release. Really looking forward to that one too…but back on task…

I will admit my bias, as I absolutely adored the first three Pirates films, but that aside, this film’s first trailer knocked my socks off. Though it be a mere trailer, it had it all: Jack Sparrow (the...

"Margot Benacerraf, now in her 80s, only ever made one feature-length film," begins Josef Braun, "but that film remains so extraordinary, so very nearly singular, that it merits an admiration on par with many more prolific and esteemed bodies of work. After studying and gathering numerous influential allies in France and elsewhere, Benacerraf returned to her native Venezuela, specifically to an island no one had heard of, though when was discovered by the Spanish 450 years earlier it was deemed a sort of paradise on account of its abundance of one resource: salt, as valuable back then as gold. We can see the ruins of colonial fortresses erected to protect the island and its salt marshes, once the center of piracy in the Caribbean, during the prologue of Araya (1959). But historical context quickly gives way to the seeming timelessness of hard labour, to Benacerraf's lyrical approach to depicting the life of a community that was,...

The latest vintage Paramount title announced for release on DVD by Olive Films is the psychedelic 1968 comedy movie Skidoo, which will be available on July 19.

Groucho Marx takes a toke as "God" in the 1968 cult favorite Skidoo.

Remastered in high definition from a 35mm archive print and directed by Otto Preminger (Hurry Sundown), the film stars Jackie Gleason (The Hustler) as Tough Tony Banks, a retired gangster who reluctantly comes out of retirement to silence his old friend and squealer (Mickey Rooney, The Fox and The Hound). On the home front, Tony’s suburban haven comes crashing down when his daughter (Alexandra Hay, How Sweet It Is!) takes up with a hippie (John Phillip Law, Hurry Sundown) and his wife (Carol Channing, Thoroughly Modern Millie) gives them permission to move into their house with their hippy friends.

The lore on Skidoo has it that Preminger was experimenting with LSD in the mid-1960s,...

Horton Foote, the prolific playwright and screenwriter who gave enduring voice to the values of small-town America in such movies as "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Tender Mercies" and "The Trip to Bountiful" and plays like the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Young Man From Atlanta," died Wednesday in Hartford, Conn. He was 92.

Foote died in his sleep in his apartment. He was working on "The Orphans' Home Cycle," a collection of nine plays that will be presented next fall at the Hartford Stage, where his daughter, actress Hallie Foote, is now appearing in a production of "Mockingbird."

The Texas-born writer's career spanned more than 50 years in film, TV and theater. He earned two Academy Awards -- best adapted screenplay for 1962's "Mockingbird" and best original screenplay for 1983's "Mercies" -- and was nominated for a third for 1985's "Bountiful."

Robert Duvall won the best actor Oscar for "Mercies," and Geraldine Page took...