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What do you get when you cross a glossy all-star business drama with a kinky Italian horror flick, a German crime procedural, and “Fiddler on the Roof?” That insane mix may sound too good to be true, but it’s not — it’s a movie that actually exists. It’s called “Bloodline,” it was released by Paramount in 1979, and after years of intermittent accessibility on home video, it’s now available in a beautiful Blu-ray edition from the boutique label Vinegar Syndrome.

At the time of its release, “Bloodline” wasn’t a success by any criteria, but it was a major release thanks to an international cast consisting of Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Romy Schneider, Omar Sharif, Beatrice Straight (just a few years after her Oscar-winning turn in “Network”), Irene Papas and others. The fact that it was based on a novel by bestselling author Sidney Sheldon — who...

Actor and singer Inga Swenson, who played Gretchen the cook on the popular ’80s sitcom “Benson,” on Sunday in Los Angeles. Swenson died of natural causes, according to TMZ. She was 90.

She was known for starring as Gretchen Kraus in the ABC series “Benson,” which aired for seven years from 1979 to 1986. The show follows Benson DuBois (Robert Guillaume) who is hired as head of household for a governor; Gretchen was the German cook with whom Benson had a workplace rivalry and friendship. For her role as Gretchen, Swenson was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress. “Benson” was a spin-off of the show “Soap,” in which Swenson also appeared for multiple episodes as the character Ingrid Svenson.

A trained lyric soprano, Swenson also had a successful career on Broadway, performing in lauded starring roles in the 1960s. She starred as Lizzy Curry in “110 in the Shade” and Irene Adler in “Baker Street,...

Anyone who has been following the news knows that the Sackler family faced little to no legal retribution when it came to holding them, and their company Purdue Pharma, culpable for America’s opioid crisis.

While the finale of Hulu’s limited series Dopesick made that fact abundantly clear Wednesday, the closing installment also emphasized the billions of dollars the OxyContin manufacturer has to pay in settlements.

More from TVLineDopesick's Kaitlyn Dever Talks Betsy's Crushing Fate and That Phone CallDopesick's Arischa Conner Explains How Dr. Finnix's Arrest Saved His LifePam & Tommy Teaser: First Look at Hulu Series About Sex...

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By Fred Blosser

In “Stiletto,” a 1969 release from Joseph E. Levine’s Avco Embassy Pictures, Cesare Cardinali (Alex Cord) enjoys a jet-setting lifestyle rivaling and maybe even surpassing those of his real-life contemporaries in the “Playboy” era. He resides in a lavish Midtown Manhattan penthouse, hobnobs with movie stars and minor European royalty at red-carpet parties, races cars on the international circuit, and romances two beautiful girlfriends. But he’s increasingly uneasy about what he has to do to keep the money coming. On the books, he earns his millions through a lucrative importing business. In reality, he’s on the Mafia’s payroll through his patron, crime boss Ettore Matteo (Joseph Wiseman). Whenever a particularly important murder contract is ordered, Cesare is called in to do the job. His specialized tool is a medieval stiletto, and although he’s good at what he does,...

Oscar-nominated screenwriter and producer Walter Bernstein, who survived the blacklist era by writing pseudonymous scripts for television and later wrote films including “Fail-Safe,” “The Front” and “Semi-Tough,” died on Jan. 22. He was 101.

Bernstein’s longtime friend and former WGA West president Howard Rodman shared the news of his death on Twitter Saturday. “Truly saddened to hear that Walter Bernstein – legendary screenwriter, and one of the great humans – died last night. He was 101. I feel so damn fortunate that three generations of our family got to know him.”

Truly saddened to hear that Walter Bernstein — legendary screenwriter, and one of the great humans — died last night. He was 101. I feel so damn fortunate that three generations of our family got to know him.

Here's Walter from 10 years ago, when he was a young man of 91. pic.twitter.com/yLGvTb3mJY

— Howard A. Rodman (@howardrodman) January 23, 2021

Bernstein’s promising writing career was...

With its mix of Jane Austin meets Gossip Girl with 35 Shades of Grey, as described by Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page, Netflix’s Shondaland series has taken pop culture by storm since its Dec. 25 debut. Redefining the period drama and romance genres and breaking conventions on race while making global stars out of Page and Phoebe Dynevor, the adaptation of Julia Quinn’s novel captivated viewers to become one of Netflix’s most watched series premieres.

As we are awaiting a formal green light for Season 2, now casting, here is a deep dive into the Bridgerton phenomenon with fascinating Season 1 details from one of its key auspices, director Julie Anne Robinson.

Robinson was approached by Shondaland’s Betsy Beers to direct Bridgerton, created by Scandal’s Chris Van Dusen. Robinson, a British director who has been working in the U.S. for the past 15 years, has been a Shondaland fixture, helming episodes of Grey’s Anatomy,...

“Slave Play” actor James Cusati-Moyer has booked a recurring role on Netflix’s upcoming limited series “Inventing Anna,” TheWrap has learned.

The 10-episode series from “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes adapts the New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler about Anna Sorokin, a.k.a. Anna Delvey, the 28-year-old who faked being a German heiress to swindle New York elite out of more than $200,000.

Cusati-Moyer will play Val, a stylist and fashion director who experiences firsthand the whiplash of a whirlwind friendship with Anna.

He joins a cast which includes “Ozark” star Julia Garner as the titular fake heiress, “Veep” alum Anna Chlumsky, “Orange Is the New Black” star Laverne Cox, “Scandal’s” Katie Lowes and “The Bold Type” actress Alexis Floyd. Rhimes is creator and executive producer on the series, alongside Shondaland’s Betsy Beers. “The Devil Wears Prada’s” David Frankel directs.

Cusati-Moyer was nominated for a Tony Award...

Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...

A forgotten gem of the late 1970s comes to Blu-ray for the first time, Frank Pierson’s adaptation of the novel King of the Gypsies. Notable for several reasons, namely as the credited debut for actor Eric Roberts and a star studded cast packed to distraction, this is the kind of pulp oddity often whisked off the shelves of the bestseller list for glossy cinematic reinterpretation. This gypsy saga was based on a novel by Peter Maas, better known as the biographer of Serpico, which resulted in the novel inspiring Sidney Lumet’s classic 1973 film starring Al Pacino. Eventually, Maas’ works, often revolving around sensational true crime treatments, would be adapted mainly for television (including the 1991 Valerie Bertinelli Lifetime film, In a Child’s Name), and this sometimes outlandish antique feels like an exaggerated heirloom in the Harold Robbins’ vein (The Carpetbaggers; The Betsy; The Adventurers), a frumpy comparison...

Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...

Part I. Anger, Suez and Archie Rice

“There they are,” George Devine told John Osborne, surveying The Entertainer‘s opening night audience. “All waiting for you…Same old pack of c***s, fashionable assholes. Just more of them than usual.” The Royal Court had arrived: no longer outcasts, they were London’s main attraction.

Look Back in Anger vindicated Devine’s model of a writer’s-based theater. Osborne’s success attracted a host of dramatists to Sloane Square. There’s Shelagh Delaney, whose A Taste of Honey featured a working-class girl pregnant from an interracial dalliance; Harold Pinter’s The Room, a bizarre “comedy of menace”; and John Arden’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, which aimed a Gatling gun at its audience. Devine encouraged them, however bold or experimental. “You always knew he was on the writer’s side,” Osborne said.

Peter O’Toole called the Royal Court actors “an...

Long-time character actor Edward Herrmann has lost a battle with brain cancer and has died at the age of 71. Herrmann was known for his strikingly tall physical presence, kind and sympathetic demeanour, and distinct voice. He is best remembered for his countless supporting parts in numerous films and TV shows.

Amongst his big screen works are key roles in films such as "The Lost Boys," "Overboard," "The Aviator," "The Cat's Meow," "Nixon," "Annie," "Reds," "The Great Gatsby," "The Betsy," "Intolerable Cruelty," "Born Yesterday," "The Great Waldo Pepper," "Harry's War," "Rko 281," "The Paper Chase," "Big Business," and "Richie Rich".

On the small screen he is best known for his regular role as Richard Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls," narrating countless History Channel docos, and guest starring roles galore on shows like "The Practice," "Oz," "Grey's Anatomy," "30 Rock," and two "Eleanor and Franklin" TV movies for which he scored Emmy nominations. He...

Long-time character actor Edward Herrmann has lost a battle with brain cancer and has died at the age of 71. Herrmann was known for his strikingly tall physical presence, kind and sympathetic demeanour, and distinct voice. He is best remembered for his countless supporting parts in numerous films and TV shows.

Amongst his big screen works are key roles in films such as "The Lost Boys," "Overboard," "The Aviator," "The Cat's Meow," "Nixon," "Annie," "Reds," "The Great Gatsby," "The Betsy," "Intolerable Cruelty," "Born Yesterday," "The Great Waldo Pepper," "Harry's War," "Rko 281," "The Paper Chase," "Big Business," and "Richie Rich".

On the small screen he is best known for his regular role as Richard Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls," narrating countless History Channel docos, and guest starring roles galore on shows like "The Practice," "Oz," "Grey's Anatomy," "30 Rock," and two "Eleanor and Franklin" TV movies for which he scored Emmy nominations. He...

Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...

Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...

Arguing whether Daniel Day-Lewis is a greater actor than, say, Laurence Olivier is like arguing whether Messi is more talented than Pelé. It's not just down to the statistics

Statistically speaking, with his third best actor Oscar in hand, Daniel Day-Lewis is now officially the greatest actor of all time. But statistics lie. Richard Burton, the greatest actor of his generation, was nominated for six Oscars and never won. Roberto Benigni did. Cary Grant, who almost single-handedly invented motion pictures, never won an Oscar. F Murray Abraham did. Heath Ledger, the most gifted actor of his generation, won his first and only Oscar – for best supporting actor – after he was dead. Art Carney, Nicolas Cage and Richard Dreyfuss were all very much alive when they were singled out as best actor of the year. Yes, Art Carney. As previously noted, statistics lie. Especially when they involve Nicolas Cage.

Arguing whether...

Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...

Two decades ago, Kenneth Branagh was "the new Olivier". Now he's directing a comic-book adaptation. Why? Because he was never meant to be an idol

In 1989, when he was not yet 30 years old, Kenneth Branagh appeared in a stirring version of William Shakespeare's Henry V. The film, which Branagh also directed, won tons of awards. God, was it stirring. Everybody thought the St Crispin's Day speech was just terrific, even the French, who came out somewhat worse for wear at the Battle of Agincourt and whom Shakespeare despised. Everybody wondered where this combustible young talent had come from. The answer: Belfast. Since the cultural megalith Laurence Olivier had already produced, directed and starred in his own Oscar-winning Henry V 44 years earlier, the year Adolf Hitler finally went down for the count, and since Branagh had more than held his own in this revival, it seemed obvious that the actor was throwing down the gauntlet,...

Hollywood may be obsessed with youth and speed, but just occasionally age and wisdom win out. Joe Queenan on the late bloomers who make a good case for biding one's time

Early next year, Annette Bening will garner an Oscar nomination for her tart, intense performance as Julianne Moore's control-freak lover in The Kids Are All Right. She could just as easily be nominated for her tart, intense performance as a neurotic middle-aged healthcare professional in the underrated film Mother and Child, another engaging arthouse release that surfaced a few months ago. In effect, after more than a decade of working infrequently, and even then mostly appearing in duds (Being Julia, The Women, Running with Scissors ) Annette Bening is making a serious comeback at the age of 52, 20 years after most leading ladies have arrived at the expiration date for their careers.

What makes this return to centre stage even...

Beloved Broadway, film and television star Paul Ryan Rudd has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 70. The entertainer died at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut on Thursday, August 12.

His Broadway credits include "The National Health" in 1974, a 1975 revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!", and a revival of "The Glass Menagerie" that same year. He also starred in the original production of John Guare's comedy "Bosoms and Neglect" in 1979, was part of the original Broadway cast of David Rabe's "Streamers" in 1976, and starred as Romeo in a 1977 production of "Romeo and Juliet". Alongside Meryl Streep and Philip Bosco, Rudd played the title role in a 1976 production of "Henry V" for the New York Shakespeare Festival.

On U.S. television, he starred in "Beacon Hill", and in 1977 TV movie "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye". He also appeared in "The Betsy", the 1978 film based on the Harold Robbins novel,...

Beloved Broadway, film and television star Paul Ryan Rudd has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 70.

The entertainer died at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut on Thursday.

His Broadway credits include The National Health in 1974, a 1975 revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness!, and a revival of The Glass Menagerie that same year.

He also starred in the original production of John Guare’s comedy Bosoms and Neglect in 1979, was part of the original Broadway cast of David Rabe’s Streamers in 1976, and starred as Romeo in a 1977 production of Romeo and Juliet.

Alongside Meryl Streep and Philip Bosco, Rudd played the title role in a 1976 production of Henry V for the New York Shakespeare Festival.

On U.S. television, he starred in Beacon Hill, and in 1977 TV movie Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye. He also appeared in The Betsy, the 1978 film based on the Harold Robbins novel, and continued his TV career throughout the 1980s with guest roles on TV series Hart to Hart, Moonlighting and others before leaving acting to raise his children.

Rudd is survived by his second wife, Martha Bannerman, their three children, Graeme, Kathryn and Eliza and his mother, Kathryn Rudd.