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Mitchel Musso was a prolific Disney Channel star who was on one of its biggest shows, "Hannah Montana." According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the highest-rated episodes drew in over 10 million viewers. The secret superstar sitcom was one of the few series to make it past Disney Channel's dreaded 65 episode rule because it was too popular to cancel. Musso, with his Justin Bieber-style hair swoop and earnest smile, played Oliver Oken — a sweet, outgoing kid known for his quirky catchphrase, "Fricky Fricky Fresh."

He also voiced Jeremy, the guitar-playing object of Candace's affection on the animated series "Phineas and Ferb." Musso eventually earned a starring role on the Disney Xd show "Pair of Kings," about fraternal twins who become the unexpected rulers of a tropical island kingdom. But it's been at least two years since we've heard anything about what Mitchel Musso is up to, since he...

On the next General Hospital

General Hospital spoilers reveal a preview clip has been released for Wednesday, February 26, 2025. It shows Stella Henry (Vernee Watson) sharing an idea with Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner).

Drew Cain Quartermaine (Cameron Mathison) decides Jason Morgan’s (Steve Burton) fate. Also, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) continues to confront Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna).

Keep reading and let’s discuss what’s coming up in today’s episode of the ABC soap opera.

Stella Henry’s Brainstorm

On Wednesday, February 26, Stella will have an idea on how to grant that favor to Curtis. Stella tells Curtis that she might have found a way to take down Drew.

So, it should be interesting to see what kind of idea Stella comes up with. Could there be unforeseen consequences? Will this really stop Drew’s madness?

Jason Morgan’s Risky Alibi

Now that Brennan has the Wsb plant evidence, Jason...

Top Brazilian production company Gullane Entretenimento is ramping up efforts to widen its scope through Gullane+, the company’s fast-growing distribution arm. Partners Fabiano and Caio Gullane will now focus on production, with Débora Ivanov taking over the distribution operation. Gullane+ inherits the company’s rich catalog of over 40 projects, including Karim Aïnouz’s “Mariner of the Mountains” and Laís Bodanzky’s classic “Brainstorm,” as well as featuring a slate of new exciting projects by André Ristum and Flavia Moraes.

Speaking with Variety out of Berlin, where Gullane is heavily promoting its distribution efforts, Fabiano Gullane said the three partners always “really liked the distribution part of the process” and realized they could employ their many years of expertise in handling some of their titles. Initially, Gullane+ will focus on documentaries and smaller productions, with major projects still benefiting from their long-standing partnership with Brazilian distributors like Paris Filmes.

“The...

Gabriel Mascaro’s “The Blue Trail,” playing in competition in Berlin, marks another great milestone for Brazilian cinema in a year where the country got its first best picture Oscar nomination with Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here.” Mascaro follows in the footsteps of Salles playing in competition in Venice and Karim Aïnouz playing in competition at Cannes with “Motel Destino,” three consecutive Brazilian films playing in the most prestigious strands of the three most important European film festivals.

“Each one of these films is so different from each other but has great strengths,” Mascaro tells Variety ahead of his Berlinale bow. “I feel very proud to be a part of it.”

“The Blue Trail” takes place in a near future Brazil where the government relocates the elderly to senior housing colonies so the younger generations can fully focus on productivity and growth. Tereza (Denise Weinberg), nearing 80, refuses to accept her fate,...

Today on General Hospital

General Hospital spoilers reveal a preview clip has been released for Monday, February 10, 2025. It shows Josslyn

Jacks (Eden McCoy) delivering an apology to an unseen person.

Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) has a wild idea but will it work? Elsewhere, Kristina Corinthos-Davis (Kate Mansi) gets in Ava Jerome’s (Maura West) way.

Keep reading and let’s talk about what is coming up in the next episode of the ABC soap opera.

Josslyn Jacks’ Apology

The preview clip for today’s episode shows Josslyn encountering someone. The other character isn’t seen but whoever it is, Joss apologizes. Joss doesn’t seem rattled or nervous at all.

So, this might be Willow Tait Corinthos (Katelyn MacMullen) that Joss is apologizing to. It would go along with Willow recently getting an apology from Lucas Cooper (Van Hansis).

While the apologies might be intended to diffuse Willow’s extreme decisions,...

The Bold and the Beautiful spoilers reveal that Steffy Forrester Finnegan (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) will want to punish Hope Logan (Annika Noelle).

Once Steffy learns about Hope and Carter Walton’s (Lawrence Saint-Victor) scheme, she will want to attack any way she can. Hope is no longer at Forrester Creations, so Steffy can’t hurt her there. Steffy might try to prove to Carter that Hope is no good, though.

So, could Steffy recruit Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) into a fake proposal scheme? If Liam agrees, will Hope fall for it? Keep reading and let’s explore this theory.

The Bold And The Beautiful Spoilers – Carter Walton’s LLC Scheme

B&b spoilers reveal that Carter was confronted by Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye). Although Ridge offered Carter a way out, it came with one condition… dumping Hope. Carter refused and seems to think he’s in love with Hope.

Carter is...

The Young and the Restless spoilers reveal a preview clip for the week of December 2, 2024, has been released. Yes, it’s very early but the soap also won’t be airing for the rest of the week.

The preview shows Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) asking Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd) for help with Sharon Newman (Sharon Case).

Meanwhile, Claire Grace Newman (Hayley Erin) confronts a disguised Jordan (Colleen Zenk). Keep reading to find out what is coming up next week in the CBS soap opera.

The Young And The Restless Spoilers – Nick Newman’s Gut Instincts

Y&R spoilers for the week of December 2 reveal that the preview clip begins with Nick. Sitting down with Chance, Nick lays it out for the detective. Nick tells Chance that Sharon did confess, but something isn’t sitting right with him about that.

Nick wants Chance to help him. Nick most likely will make...

In 1975, George Kennedy starred in an unusual revenge thriller in which AI was used to catch the bad guys. A look back at The ‘Human’ Factor:

Revenge films and vigilantes were all over the place in the 1970s, whether it was Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey gunning down crooks in Death Wish (1974) or Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle going on a rampage in Taxi Driver (1976). One of the more unusual thrillers of its type from the era, though, was The ‘Human’ Factor from 1975. For one thing, there’s its high-tech premise, in which George Kennedy’s protagonist uses cutting-edge technology to track down his enemies.

Kennedy plays John Kinsdale, a middle-aged, American computer expert stationed in Naples. Each day, he says goodbye to his picture-perfect Nuclear family – wife, two sons, a daughter with an outsized clown doll – and drives to his workplace at a nearby NATO base. There,...

Image Source: Warner Bros Have you ever discovered a long-lost treasure, a forgotten movie? Brainstorm, a science fiction film from 1983, is perfect for that. Often disregarded, it is full of inspiring concepts and eye-catching imagery. The movie follows a research team’s efforts to develop a novel technology—a system that records and replays an individual’s whole emotional and sensory experiences. Imagine using this gadget to relive the excitement of skydiving, the delight of a first love, or even a person’s last moments. However, as the group tests the limits, they find that it may be abused, especially for military objectives. With a cast boasting talents like Academy Award winners Cliff Robertson, Louise Fletcher, and Christopher Walken, Brainstorm also features the legendary Natalie Wood in her final role. Wood’s untimely death during filming necessitated changes to the ending. Douglas Trumbull, a master of visual effects renowned for...

Kai Winn Adami, played by Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher, was memorable as one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's most insidious villains. With one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's primary themes being faith, Kai Winn was corrupted by political self-interest and jealousy as the elected spiritual leader of Bajor. As an antagonist, Kai Winn starkly contrasted the way Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) slowly accepted his role as Emissary of the Prophets and embraced Bajor, and how Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) redefined her own personal relationship to the Bajoran faith as DS9's Dominion War raged on.

First appearing in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's season 1 finale, "In the Hands of the Prophets", Winn Adami was a strict, orthodox Bajoran Vedek concerned about Keiko O'Brien's (Rosalind Chao) secular teaching style at DS9's school. After the death of Kai Opaka (Camille Saviola), Vedek Winn...

São Paulo production shingle Gullane, which is behind upcoming Netflix series “Senna,” has moved into development on a sequel to the animated feature “Noah’s Ark.”

Produced by Gullane and Walter Salles’ Videofilmes, “Noah’s Ark” has been sold to 45 countries by Edward Noeltner’s Cmg Management. It has grossed $4.25 million in territories in which it’s been released.

Imagem Filmes will bow “Noah’s Ark” in Brazil on more than 1,000 screens, a huge spreading a country of 3,300 screens. Rodrigo Santoro, Alice Braga and Julio Andrade feature among a Brazilian star-studded voice cast. It looks like the biggest release ever of a Brazilian movie in Brazil, Fabiano Gullane told Variety from Toronto, where the company is world premiering Fernando Coimbra’s “Carnival Is Over.”

“Noah’s Ark” was inspired by classic children’s songs by Bossa Nova pioneer Vinicius de Moraes. The 3D animated feature focuses on two male mice, Vini and Tito, who steal onto Noah’s ark,...

Google‘s AI model is helping creators come up with ideas for their videos. A video on the Creator Insider channel offered details about Brainstorm with Gemini, an AI-powered feature that is currently in the testing phase.

YouTube is building Brainstorm with Gemini on top of other advancements powered by Google’s AI model (which was previously known as Bard). An “ideas and outlines” generator announced earlier this year is now expanding to India, and the latest Gemini-aligned feature is also part of Google’s plan to employ AI as a creativity aid. Neal Mohan has laid out that mission (which includes Shorts-oriented experiments like Dream Screen) in addresses he’s given over the past year.

According to TechCrunch, only a “small, limited” number of creators currently have access to Brainstorm with Gemini, which is currently in the testing phase. YouTube users can see if they have access to the...

Heather Graham’s chosen family is growing.

The actress-turned-filmmaker’s latest big-screen effort, Chosen Family, has been acquired by Brainstorm Media for North America with a theatrical release set for Oct. 11.

Written, directed by and starring Graham, the Verdi Prods. film also stars John Brotherton, Ella Grace Helton, Andrea Savage, Michael Gross, Julie Halston, Thomas Lennon and Julia Stiles. Chosen Family follows a yoga teacher named Ann (Graham) who is on a path to find inner peace amidst the chaos of her manic family and miserable dating life. The situation is complicated by an inability to say no and her relentless desire to fix everyone’s problems. She also struggles to save her sister Clio (Stiles) from addiction, leading to disastrous results.

Graham said she can’t wait for audiences to see her film, which she describes as a labor of love. “I’m so excited that Brainstorm is releasing...

eXistenZ by David Cronenberg explores the impact of virtual reality in a futuristic world through unsettling and prescient narrative twists. The film delves into the merging of biological and technological elements, showcasing disturbing visuals and raising thought-provoking questions about human nature. This quiet satire of gaming culture reveals deeper truths about addiction to VR, begging the audience to consider the consequences of escaping reality.

Virtual reality isn't a new topic for cinema. The concept goes back to the dawn of the computer age, when films like Brainstorm and Tron suggested worlds that existed solely within a hard drive somewhere. The trend likely reached its apex with The Matrix, but has continued even as reality itself strides to match it. Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One is a more recent example of how the concept has evolved over time, and how addicting virtual worlds can sometimes become in ways that no...

Directed by Doug Trumbull, 1983 sci-fi thriller Brainstorm could have been deleted as an insurance write-off – but then a London bank intervened.

When Warner Bros announced its plans to effectively delete the films Batgirl, Scoob 2 and Coyote Vs Acme, the reaction was one of outrage. Studios destroying films as a tax write-off is nothing new, however: on the 21st June 1933, the Charlie Chaplin film A Woman Of The Sea (previously called Sea Gulls) was burned on the steps of Chaplin’s own studio. The five witnesses who saw the negative go up in flames then signed a letter confirming that the film had been lost to history.

A film directed and produced by one of the most important visual effects pioneers of the 20th century almost suffered a similar fate. Brainstorm, which went into production in the early 1980s, was directed by Doug Trumbull and featured a superb cast, including Christopher Walken,...

Natalie Wood was the former child actress who racked up three Oscar nominations before she was 25, Wood’s life ended in a tragedy that often overshadows her movie career. Yet many of her titles remain classics, so let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1938 in San Francisco, Wood snagged her first starring role when she was just nine years old in the holiday classic “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947), playing a precocious girl who tugs on Santa Claus’ beard. She earned her first Oscar nomination when she was 17 for the juvenile delinquent drama “Rebel Without a Cause” (Best Supporting Actress in 1955), which made an icon out of James Dean, who died before its release. Wood added two more Best Actress bids to her resume with the romantic melodramas “Splendor in the Grass” (1961) and “Love with the Proper Stranger” (1963).

Though she never won an Academy Award,...

In the summer of 1990, screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin became an overnight success with the release of “Ghost,” a romantic thriller that would go on to become the top-grossing film of the year and earn Rubin an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. At least that’s how it seemed from the outside; the truth is that the 47-year-old filmmaker had been kicking around the industry for decades, working as a TV news editor, film museum curator, and writer-for-hire before “Ghost” (and then “Jacob’s Ladder” a few months later) established him as one of the most original voices in Hollywood cinema.

Rubin tells the story of everything that led up to “Ghost” — and everything that came after — in “It’s Only a Movie,” a book that’s half-show business memoir, half spiritual inquiry detailing his lifelong quest for enlightenment. That quest informs Rubin’s best films — “Brainstorm,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Ghost,” “My...

Emmy winner Edie Falco stars in the upcoming indie comedy I'll Be Right There, dealing with family complexities. Brainstorm Media acquires U.S. distribution rights for the heartwarming yet hilarious film led by Falco. Director Brendan Walsh expresses honor and pleasure in reuniting with Falco for the project, set for fall release.

Emmy Award winner Edie Falco reunites with Nurse Jackie director Brendan Walsh for the upcoming indie comedy Ill Be Right There. Brainstorm Media has now announced that it has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the comedy, in a deal that was successfully negotiated by Peter Block and Cory Neal of A Bigger Boat Productions and Alex Peters of Brainstorm Media.

Ill Be Right There finds Falco starring as a woman who is just trying to care of everyone in her life...including her pregnant daughter, her struggling mother, and her complicated son. You can check out...

In the late 1980s, Bruce Joel Rubin was a screenwriter with two interesting credits on his resume — “Brainstorm” (1983) and “Deadly Friend” (1986) — and a screenplay (“Jacob’s Ladder”) that everyone in Los Angeles agreed was terrific but which no one at the studios would green light. Rubin’s fortunes and reputation changed seemingly overnight on July 13, 1990, when his romantic thriller “Ghost” opened and became a worldwide smash. A few months later, “Jacob’s Ladder,” which had finally been brought to the screen by director Adrian Lyne, opened as well, and Rubin’s status as one of Hollywood’s top screenwriters was secure.

While “Ghost” ultimately garnered Rubin an Academy Award and went on to become a classic — one of those rare cases where personal expression seamlessly intersected with popular and artistic success — its path to the screen wasn’t always smooth. In the following exclusive excerpt from Rubin’s new memoir, “It’s Only a Movie,...

If Criterion24/7 hasn’t completely colonized your attention every time you open the Channel––this is to say: if you’re stronger than me––their May lineup may be of interest. First and foremost I’m happy to see a Michael Roemer triple-feature: his superlative Nothing But a Man, arriving in a Criterion Edition, and the recently rediscovered The Plot Against Harry and Vengeance is Mine, three distinct features that suggest a long-lost voice of American movies. Meanwhile, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy four by Sara Driver, and a wide collection from Ayoka Chenzira fill out the auteurist sets.

Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...

For multiple generations, Star Wars has been the go-to sci-fi franchise. Now, with the success of Denis Villenueve’s Dune movies, it might have its own legs as the quintessential sci-fi experience. But there is a common link: Christopher Walken. Ok, so Walken didn’t board the Millennium Falcon, but he did at least audition for the role of Han Solo, which he’s glad he didn’t get.

Speaking with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken remembered that he did in fact do a screen test for Star Wars alongside Jodie Foster (auditioning for Princess Leia), saying, “I’m not sure we did a scene. Maybe we just sat in front of, in those days, those old videotape cameras…We might have just sat there and did the name, rank, and serial number type of thing. I would say that, Yes, I did audition for Star Wars, but so did about 500 other actors.

In the late Spring of 1979, Paramount Pictures' production of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was in big trouble. With a looming release date of December 7 of that year, the film was still struggling to be completed, with the bulk of its visual effects work yet to be even attempted, let alone finished.

In retrospect, given the movie's production history, this was an inevitable problem. Ever since the original "Star Trek" series was cancelled in the summer of 1969, the franchise had experienced a number of stops and starts when it came to being revived. Around the mid-'70s, creator Gene Roddenberry had seemingly set up a script and a production for the show's leap to the big screen, only for Paramount to pivot and seek to turn that work into a proposed reboot of the series back on television, to be known as "Star Trek: Phase II." That show was literal...

US singer and actress Debbie Harry and Give Me Pity! filmmaker Amanda Kramer are the latest to join the line-up of talks at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which runs from January 25-February 4.

Harry, the lead singer of Blondie, will join the US filmmaker for a discussion on Kramer’s new sci-fi documentary, So Unreal. The film is narrated by Harry, and examines the relationship between cinema and technology in the format of a long-form video essay. Kramer uses footage from the likes of Lisberger’s Tron and Trumbull’s Brainstorm to explore technical evolution as a key theme in...

As expected, Netflix had a quick hit on its hands this weekend: David Fincher’s “The Killer” was an immediate #1 on the streamer. Credit the genre and star Michael Fassbender for giving it a boost that even top directors like Fincher don’t always guarantee.

After all, even Fincher’s first Netflix film, “Mank,” wasn’t a hit. His second offering for the streamer is immediately doing far better than his 2019 black-and-white biopic. Despite good reviews — and eventual Oscar nominations — “Mank” made Netflix’s top 10 for just one day and it only ranked at #10.

As for “The Killer,” its action appeal, a lead actor not known for streaming originals, and elevated festival attention all seem to have contributed to its immediate ascension to #1. It replaced “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” with Sony’s big summer hit still #2.

Netflix originals only took one other place the chart: “Locked In,” a London-set thriller...

Exclusive: Indie distributor Brainstorm Media is keeping it in the family with the selection of its new CEO.

Michelle Shwarzstein is taking the reins of the company founded in 1995 by her father, Meyer Shwarzstein. Before being elevated to CEO, she had spent more than a decade running Brainstorm’s distribution business and leading the acquisitions and marketing of dozens of films.

After the executive transition, Meyer Shwarzstein, will start a new venture focused entirely on development and production.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Meyer Shwarzstein said. “I’m impressed by Michelle’s team’s vision and their passion for the business.”

Brainstorm’s executive roster also includes Abbey Warner, VP of Marketing and Strategy, who recently joined Brainstorm Media from Gunpowder & Sky; and Alex Peters, who was recently promoted to VP of Sales and Acquisitions.

“Abbey, Alex and I are honored to build on Brainstorm’s legacy,” Michelle Shwarzstein said.

VFX legend Phil Tippett, whose totally bonkers “Mad God” stop-motion horror film finally got released last year, is a special effects Emmy hopeful this season for an episode of Rian Johnson’s “Poker Face” on Peacock, written and directed by star Natasha Lyonne. He not only contributed old-school monster puppets but also inspired its story about a crusty old stop-motion filmmaker (Nick Nolte). The busy Tippett also supplied hellish cave set designs for Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” (on Disney+).

Both projects came as a result of Tippett’s “Star Wars” fame, which began when he led the Ilm animation department for “The Empire Strikes Back.” On the “Star Wars” sequel, he co-developed the “go motion” animation technique (stop-motion with motion blur) and was responsible for the At-at Imperial Walkers and the hybrid alien Tauntauns. On “Return of the Jedi,” he won his first Oscar for his creature work; with “Jurassic Park,...

The title has sold across Europe and the Middle East.

UK sales outfit Film Seekers has brought in a raft of deals for Blank, selling to the UK (Sparky Pictures), Scandinavia (Njuta), Portugal (Vendetta), Middle East (Teleprog) and airlines (Encore).

Natalie Kennedy’s feature stars Heida Reed, Rachel Shelley and US TV host Wayne Brady. A writer signs up for an AI-operated retreat to cure her writer’s block, where she finds herself stuck after a glitch occurs in the system. Rebecca-Clare Evans produces.

Previous deals include North America (Brainstorm), where the film first released in September 2022, along with China...

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Wolf Pack. The Teen Wolf universe expands with Wolf Pack, which introduces all new characters played by a mix of veteran actors and fresh faces. Series creator Jeff Davis revisits the supernatural franchise with an overall deal with Paramount+. Aside from spearheading Teen Wolf: The Movie, he's also tasked to launch a brand-new show, Wolf Pack, and despite the initial assumption that it's a Teen Wolf spin-off, it's an entirely new narrative that's set in the same universe.

MTV's Teen Wolf cancelation was supposedly due to the fact that the show has run its course. Five years later, however, the franchise's resurrection on Paramount+ proves this to be untrue as the universe evolves beyond the McCall Pack. Wolf Pack introduces a new teenage group based in Los Angeles; their story begins with a massive forest fire that sends them on a supernatural adventure that will...

Louise Fletcher, whose Oscar-winning performance as the sadistic Nurse Ratched in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gave Hollywood one of its greatest all-time villains and provided the culture with a portrait of bureaucratic evil so indelible that the character’s last name could carry a TV series 45 years later, died Friday at her home in Montdurausse, France. She was 88.

Her death was announced to Deadline by her family through agent David Shaul. Although no cause was specified, Shaul said she passed away in her sleep at the home she had built from a 300-year-old farmhouse, surrounded by family. Earlier today, she said to her family about her beloved home, “I can’t believe I created something so meaningful to my well-being.”

Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery

Although forever linked with her most famous character, Fletcher enjoyed an acting career that spanned more than 60 years and included...

Visionary visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, who died Monday, contributed his groundbreaking inventions and techniques to classics including “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Blade Runner.”

Among his many honors were three visual effects Oscar nominations; the Academy’s Scientific and Engineering Award for creating the Showscan Camera System; and the Visual Effects Society’s Georges Méliès Award, honoring those who have made significant, pioneering contributions to the effects business, in 2012.

A generation of visual effects artists and filmmakers were influenced by his work, including Weta FX senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri, who said, “Doug stands out as an iconic figure in visual effects, one of the early pioneers who blended a deep knowledge of cinematography and mechanics to develop techniques that we still use today. An early evangelist of high frame rate processes, Doug’s vision for where we...

Douglas Trumbull might not be a household name like so many of the filmmakers he collaborated with, but he contributed to the visual effects for some of the most technically ground-breaking sci-fi movies of all time, including "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and "Blade Runner." His experience directing the 1983 sci-fi flop "Brainstorm" — which served as Natalie Wood's final film after she tragically died during a production break — led Trumbull to step away from Hollywood, yet he continued to innovate in the 1990s by working on projects like the "Back to the Future: The Ride" theme park...

The post Douglas Trumbull's Last Movie is a Fitting Capstone To His Career appeared first on /Film.

Douglas Trumbull, the legendary special effects master who helped create the worlds of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blade Runner and Star Trek: The Motion Picture has died, according to a social media post from his daughter, Amy Trumbull. He was 79.

Trumbull developed the slit-scan photography process that was used in the “Star Gate” sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi classic. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he later said. “We were struggling with the Star Gate. Nobody knew what a Star Gate was, but I came up with some ideas that I didn’t even know at the time were based on some things I was learning as a young guy about street photography and weird photographic techniques.”

Based on his work for Kubrick, Trumbull was George Lucas’ first choice to head Industrial Light & Magic, but he...

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...

Exclusive: Leading reality producer A. Smith & Co. has promoted Emmy-winning producer and series developer Eli Baldrige to senior vice president of development. In his expanded role, Baldrige will manage the development team and oversee all development across the entire company.

Baldrige has served as vice president of development at A. Smith & Co. Productions for the past three years. During that time, he developed programming including Welcome to Plathville (TLC), Pharrell Williams’ Voices of Fire, and Canine Intervention (Netflix), in addition to unannounced projects coming later this year.

“Promoting Eli Baldrige to SVP of Development is incredibly exciting for us at A. Smith & Co. Productions as we continue to reach and elevate our team and our content,” said A. Smith & Co. Productions CEO Caroline Baumgard. “His propensity for storytelling and purposeful entertainment, and ability to think beyond the ordinary makes him the ideal executive to lead our genre-spanning development slate...

Douglas Trumbull has been in the “2001: A Space Odyssey” business for over 50 years. The special effects guru was a young animation artist when he worked on the spaceflight short film “To the Moon and Beyond” for the 1964 World’s Fair, which caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick while in the early stages of planning his operatic space epic. Trumbull wound up learning the ropes of visual effects on the project and played a critical role in everything from the miniatures to Hal 9000’s robotic view and the climactic Stargate sequence, which remains as mesmerizing today as it was over half a century ago.

Much of Trumbull’s work is on display in “Envisioning 2001: Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey,” an exhibition at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image that reopens this week and remains on display through September. The exhibit, a variation of an earlier show...

Trailblazing director Betty Thomas will receive the DGA’s prestigious Robert B. Aldrich Award for her “extraordinary service to the guild and its members” at the 73rd Annual DGA Awards.

Veteran Upm Brian E. Frankish and longtime CBS operations’ associate director Joyce Thomas will receive special awards for their service to the guild and the industry. The awards show will be held on April 10, but the DGA isn’t saying yet whether it will be virtual or not.

All three recipients have long histories of service to the guild. Betty Thomas serves as the DGA’s secretary-treasurer – the guild’s second-highest elected officer.

“Betty means so much to our guild,” said DGA president Thomas Schlamme. “No matter how busy she’s been throughout her remarkable, ceiling-shattering directing career, she’s always placed service to her fellow members among her highest priorities, fighting for their creative and economic rights. And from the very beginning,...

Four top film directors will reveal details behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Oscar contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published on Thursday, January 28, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Rob Licuria and a group chat with Rob and all of the group together.

RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:

“Cherry” (Apple TV+): Joe and Anthony Russo

The Russo brothers are Emmy winners for “Arrested Development.” Other projects have included “Avengers: Endgame,...

The erratic world of VOD consumption saw a lift this week with debuts of “The New Mutants” (Disney) and “Unhinged” (Solstice), films that were the first wide releases when theaters began to reopen in August. Ninety days later, normal windows dictate that it’s time for non-premium availability. (They each rent for $5.99.)

Disney’s Marvel spin-off took the top spot at Apple TV and FandangoNow, while Russell Crowe’s stalker thriller is #1 at Google Play. Two items of note: “Mutants” shows its strength by taking the top spot at Fandango, which ranks by revenue, not transactions; that’s impressive for a standard-price title. Unlike “Mutants,” “Unhinged” had a PVOD release and now sees a revival at its lower price.

These two titles were the only ones to place on three charts. (Spectrum’s weekly chart lags behind and will likely show them next week.) “Unhinged” placed #2 and #3 elsewhere, while “Mutants” was #5 on Google.

After selling off a half-dozen titles to Amazon and Netflix, “Love and Monsters” is one of the few Paramount Pictures titles to receive a 2020 theatrical release. It’s not much of a release — 387 theaters this weekend, for $255,000 — but its PVOD performance (at $19.99) may suggest why Paramount chose to hold on to it.

Scheduled pre-covid for theatrical release April 17, “Love and Monsters” (original title: “Monster Problems”) is no. 1 at both Apple TV and FandangoNow. Budgeted at $30 million, this adventure comedy led by”Maze Runner” and “Teen Wolf” star Dylan O’Brien, is not unlike “Zombieland” in its use of a young hero fighting off monsters in a dystopian society.

It’s the only new PVOD title this week, so it’s unsurprising to see its high placement at FandangoNow, which ranks its charts by revenue. Still, it beat out “Mulan,” which costs $29.99. More impressive: It leads at Apple TV, which ranks by number of transactions,...

I don’t know about you, but this writer is more than ready to start looking forward to the Halloween season. And one of the staples of my own ongoing cinematic celebration every year is checking out all the wonderful classic horror movies that Turner Classic Movies airs on their channel. And considering the mess that 2020 has been over the last several months, I thought this year it might be helpful to also include all the genre films that will be playing on TCM throughout the month of September, as it’s never too early to get ready for Halloween.

Check out all the great classic horror movies playing on the small screen over the next two months on TCM, and be sure to set those DVRs so you don’t miss any of the classic films that are sure to get you into the Halloween spirit this year.

Thursday,...

What’s the dress code for a virtual awards ceremony? That was one of many questions about the virtual Emmys that were on Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon’s minds during Monday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“So have you decided what you’re wearing on your couch at this year’s Emmys?” Washington, who was filling in as guest host for Jimmy Kimmel, asked her “Little Fires Everywhere” co-star.

“You know, I don’t know anything about the Emmys, other than I think Jimmy is hosting it, right?” Witherspoon responded.

Yes, Kimmel will be hosting the 2020 Emmys, which take place virtually (due to the pandemic) on Sept. 20. And once Washington and Witherspoon realized that they demanded answers from the currently vacationing ABC late-night host.

Also Read: Emmys Producers Confirm Virtual Ceremony This Year

“I know, but he’s not here to take our questions about what it’s going to be!

Actor/Producer David Arquette joins Joe & Josh to discuss the movies that made him.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Scream (1996)

Never Been Kissed (1999)

3,000 Miles To Graceland (2001)

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Spree (2020)

Gremlins (1984)

Muppets From Space (1999)

It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)

Unforgiven (1992)

The World According To Garp (1982)

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

Slap Shot (1977)

The World of Henry Orient (1964)

Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961)

Insomnia (2002)

One Hour Photo (2002)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Last House On the Left (1972)

The Tripper (2006)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)

The Wizard of Oz (1925)

Funny Bones (1995)

There’s Something About Mary (1998)

The Gold Rush (1925)

The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981)

Wild Style (1982)

The Shining (1980)

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

Dreamscape (1984)

Brainstorm (1983)

The Dead Zone (1983)

The Warriors (1979)

Commando (1985)

Somewhere In Time (1980)

Escape From New York (1981)

Being There (1979)

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980)

Targets (1968)

Pleasantville (1998)

Hidden Agenda...

After taking viewers on a walk down the macabre memory lane of ’80s horror cinema with the documentary In Search of Darkness (coming to Shudder later this year), CreatorVC is now giving fans of ’80s sci-fi a similar experience to look forward to with the new documentary In Search of Tomorrow. Although its main focus is on sci-fi films of the ’80s, there are still plenty of insightful scares examined in the new documentary, as the latest trailer highlights the documentary's inclusion of many memorable movies from the horror/sci-fi subgenre.

From Aliens and Invaders From Mars (1986) to Predator and The Thing, the new In Search of Tomorrow trailer shows what happened when horror and sci-fi collided to create iconic cinema moments and masterful practical effects.

Here's what writer/director/producer David Weiner had to say about the horror sci-fi elements of In Search of Tomorrow:

"Eighties Sci-Fi was packed with memorable horror-crossover elements,...

This week HBO takes us on a journey down the star-studded history of Hollywood. No, we’re not talking about the fact and fiction mix of Ryan Murphy’s new streaming miniseries. It’s a look at one particular star, but it’s not a “bio-pic” similar to last year’s big award winners Rocketman and Judy, though it owes a bit to the latter. No mimics or makeup are involved here since it’s a documentary chocked full of feature film clips, archival interviews and little-seen family home movies and photos. She began as a child star, but her career blossomed as she matured, so it’s not the old “rags to riches back to rags” melodrama. But her story ends far too early in tragedy. We don’t see her on lots of merchandise, nor any campy imitators even though she starred in several iconic cinema classics. Unfortunately,...

“I feel that this documentary is definitive documentary of her life you know, and my book is the definitive deep dive into our relationship, but I also talk about the night she died and the sheriff’s department reopening the case, I get into that in the book as well, and I just think this narrative of fiction that has been peddled, it’s time for that to stop now.”

Those are the determined words of Natasha Gregson Wagner, daughter of the late Natalie Wood, in talking to me recently about her new film for which she is not only a producer but also an on-camera guide and interviewer in exploring the career, life and yes death of her famous mother, who died at age 43 while on a weekend boating excursion to Catalina Island in late November 1981. That mysterious death, in which Wood was found floating in the shallow surf,...

After taking viewers on a walk down the macabre memory lane of ’80s horror cinema with the documentary In Search of Darkness (coming to Shudder later this year), CreatorVC is now giving fans of ’80s sci-fi a similar experience to look forward to with the new documentary In Search of Tomorrow. Featuring interviews with more than 40 (and counting) notable actors, directors, writers, special effects artists, and composers who helped bring iconic ’80s sci-fi films to life In Search of Tomorrow has launched its official Kickstarter campaign.

Running until midnight Pst on May 17th, the Kickstarter campaign for In Search of Tomorrow includes seven support platforms, and not only allows sci-fi fans to support the documentary, but also become a part of its immersive celebration of ’80s sci-fi cinema, including a Discord community that will allow supporters to participate in watch parties and Q&As with special guests from the documentary.

Two on a Guillotine

Blu ray

Warner Archives

1965/ 2:35:1 / 107 min.

Starring Connie Stevens, Dean Jones

Cinematography by Sam Leavitt

Directed by William Conrad

Imagine shock-meister William Castle directing a Disney movie and the result might be something like Two on a Guillotine. William Conrad, narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle and star of television’s Cannon, is at the wheel of this thrill ride and he’s happy to rehash a few of Castle’s favorite scare tactics for his own purposes – the moans and groans of a carnival spook house and even a wire-drawn skeleton. There’s no denying Conrad’s effort has some of the Saturday matinee charm of creep shows like House on Haunted Hill but the sunny locales and aggressively perky demeanor of co-stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones make you wish Frederick Loren would drop by with a well-aimed champagne cork.

Stevens is Cassie Duquesne,...

When it comes to Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, what you see is what you get. Zipping by at a manageable 100 minutes, established producer and documentarian Laurent Bouzereau pays proper tribute to Natalie Wood, the movie star who perished at the young age of 43 in a boat accident off the coast of California.

There will be no grand revelations here, no shocking moments. Guided through her mother’s impressive life by daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, the documentary focuses primarily on the good that Wood left behind. Famous as a child, Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko had her name changed to “Natalie Wood” by producer William Goetz in honor of director Sam Wood. You may remember the young starlet as the girl in Miracle on 34th Street.

By the time Wood was nineteen years old, she was married to matinee star Robert Wagner, called “Rj” by his friends. They would divorce five years later,...