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Between 1971 and 1983, a new Al Pacino performance was an event ... most of the time. No one was excited to see Pacino follow up the supercharged "Cruising" by playing a stressed-out papa in Arthur Hiller's abominable 1982 family dramedy "Author! Author!" Other than that, there was always the promise of greatness with Pacino, whether presented in the form of "Panic in Needle Park" or "Scarface." And when your peak is "Dog Day Afternoon" and/or "The Godfather Part II," that's pure, transcendent craft.

There was, however, a growing sense with Pacino around the time he did the controversial "Scarface" that the actor was eschewing nuance and depth for scenery-devouring showmanship. His Tony Montana was the culmination of a tendency towards growling and gesticulating (which began in films like "...And Justice for All" and "Cruising"), topped off with a thick Cuban accent. It's a towering performance, but it's also one that proved difficult for him to shed.

As a Brit, I may be a little biased when I say this: The opening ceremony for the London 2012 Summer Olympics was the best ever. Directed by Danny Boyle, the usual hour of dancers and acrobats twirling around was spectacular and silly, complete with skits celebrating the Industrial Revolution, the NHS, and the nation's rich cultural scene. Movie buffs also got two special treats: Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean daydreaming about beating the boys from "Chariots of Fire" in their famous beach race, and Queen Elizabeth II making her screen debut opposite Daniel Craig's James Bond before her stunt double sky-dived into the stadium. It was surely the best trailer "Skyfall," which hit theaters a few months later, could have hoped for.

The music of the Fab Four featured heavily during the ceremony, complete with Sir Paul McCartney wrapping things up by leading a sing-a-long to "Hey Jude." As such,...

Acorn TV has announced the titles that will be available on the AMC-owned streaming service in March 2025. The Acorn TV March 2025 slate adds to the service’s various acclaimed English and foreign-language dramas, engaging comedies, documentaries, and more.

The March schedule includes A Remarkable Place to Die, Blackshore, Recipes for Love and Murder Season 2, Truelove, and more. Keep reading to view the full schedule.

Recipes for Love and Murder Season 2 Acorn TV March 2025 Highlights

Recipes for Love and Murder Season 2 (Acorn TV Original Series) – Two-Episode Season Premiere Monday, March 3

When a massive fire engulfs the small town of Eden, a fateful chain of events is triggered and Tannie Maria, Jessie, and Khaya get dragged into a multiple murder investigation that unearths the town’s darkest secrets.

Blackshore (Acorn TV Exclusive Series) – Two-Episode Series Premiere Monday, March 10

The picture postcard town of Blackwater might be idyllic for some, but it...

Quick Links Who Did Ian Holm Play in The Lord of the Rings? Who Did Ian Holm Play in the Radio Adaptation of The Lord of the Rings? Who Else Was Considered for the Role of Bilbo?

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is perhaps the most celebrated book-to-film adaptation of all time. Somehow, he managed to do the unthinkable: he brought Middle-earth to life in a way that made it both accessible to new fans and pleased those who grew up loving Tolkien's original novels.

However, it wasn't the first successful adaptation of the novels. Twenty years before Peter Jackson's films were released, a radio drama brought The Lord of the Rings to life for the first time. And, interestingly, it starred one of the trilogy's stars in a completely different role than he went on to bring to life onscreen.

Who Did Ian Holm Play...

Mr. Bean was about to be called Mr. Cauliflower (Photo Credit – Facebook)

Yes, the iconic character could’ve had a quirky, vegetable-inspired name, which tossed around—including Mr. White and Mr. Cauliflower. But thankfully, Mr. Bean stuck. The change came down to the need for something short, sharp, and memorable, a name that would stick in people’s minds—and the rest, as they say, is comedy history.

Back in the early days, Atkinson first tested out the character in Canned Laughter, a comedy sketch collection. Here, he played Robert Box, a socially awkward proto-version of Mr. Bean. Box was a bit less peculiar but still showed flashes of the Bean-like awkwardness that would later become world-famous. The standout moment? Robert making coffee—not in a cup, but directly in his mouth. Sounds messy, right? This bizarre gag even made a cameo in Bean, Rowan Atkinson’s big-screen debut, cementing...

As 2024 comes to a close, many publications are releasing their "best of the year" lists to celebrate everything cinema had to offer. This is certainly true of Variety, who, in addition to more traditional top ten fare, also asked numerous filmmakers to name their top film of the year. Among the directors chosen to weigh in — which includes Barry Jenkins (Mufasa: The Lion King), Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity), and Fede Alvarez (Alien: Romulus), among others — Christopher Nolan had one of the most heartfelt answers.

The Oppenheimer director picked fellow British filmmaker Ridley Scott's Gladiator II as his favorite film of the year, stating, "Scott’s contribution to the evolution of cinematic storytelling has never been properly acknowledged." High praise indeed.

Of the film itself, Nolan writes:

Like the best long-awaited sequels, 'Gladiator II' must be a remake and sequel in one, and it's testament to Scott's brilliance that...

The Academy Awards are widely accepted as the most important and influential awards body in the film industry, marking some of the most critically and commercially successful films of the year and celebrating the art of cinema. Though the nominees and winners are selected by a wide panel of voters from across the industry, sometimes it is easy to look back and see the flaws in the Academy's decisions.

Often, movies that win Best Picture at the Oscars do not hold up nearly as well as some of their fellow nominees. Over the years, audience and critical opinions have shifted, and many believe that different films should have won the Academy Awards' top prize.

This Classic Film Is Much More Recognizable Than the Winner Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Directed by:

Steven Spielberg

Starring:

Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Lost to:

Chariots of Fire

The start of what is...

The Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather” (1972) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Picture winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 29 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 96 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is the Michael Curtiz classic “Casablanca” (1943). Following in third place is the powerful Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” (1993). Rounding out the top five are Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” (1974) in fourth place and Billy Wilder‘s “The Apartment” (196o) in fifth place.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Picture winners is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) from Cecil B. DeMille. Just above that film in the rankings are “Cimarron” (1931) from Wesley Ruggles, “The Broadway Melody” (1929) from Harry Beaumont, “Crash” (2005) from Paul Haggis, and “Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956) from Michael Anderson.

Our photo gallery above features the full top 10. See the complete rankings of all 96 films below.

The Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather” (1972) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Picture winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 29 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 96 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is the Michael Curtiz classic “Casablanca” (1943). Following in third place is the powerful Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” (1993). Rounding out the top five are Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” (1974) in fourth place and Billy Wilder‘s “The Apartment” (196o) in fifth place.

The worst among 96 Best Picture winners is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) from Cecil B. DeMille. Just above that film on the bottom of the rankings are “Cimarron” (1931) from Wesley Ruggles, “The Broadway Melody” (1929) from Harry Beaumont, “Crash” (2005) from Paul Haggis, and “Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956) from Michael Anderson.

Our photo gallery below features the full top 10. See the complete rankings of all 96 films below.

A star-studded edition of the Seville European Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, with Ludovich and Zoran Boukherma’s French coming-of-age drama “And Their Children After Them” taking home the Giraldillo de Oro, the Festival’s top honor. Its lead, Paul Kircher, also scored a best actor win.

This year’s Official Selection jury included legendary British producer David Puttnam (“Chariots of Fire”) as president alongside Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons, Rome Film Festival artistic director Paola Malanga, Algerian filmmaker Mounia Meddour (“Papicha”) and Yelmo Cines programming manager Eva Rekettyei.

Now, in its second year under director Manuel Cristobal, Seville has expanded its selection to include all types of European cinema, from the most experimental arthouse indies to broad four-quadrant fare. The festival also aims to increase its influence on the awards season with the addition of the Puerto América Award – given to the best Oscar-submitted film in the program...

For a brief period, over 1982-86, the U.K. enjoyed a remarkable film renaissance. Four films – “Chariots of Fire,” (1982) “Gandhi,” (1983) “The Killing Fields” (1985) and “The Mission” (1986) – won a total 19 Academy Awards, including Best Picture two years running. All of those films, save “Gandhi,” were produced by David Puttnam.

To this day, few figures are more associated with a national film revival. “The British are coming,” “The Chariots of Fire” screenwriter Colin Welland famously said in his Oscar speech. The main Brit Hollywood had on their radar was Puttnam. He was appointed CEO of Columbia Pictures in 1986, becoming the first and only foreigner ever, he notes, to serve on the board of the MPA.

Knighted in 1995, Puttman ended his film career in 1997, at 56, when he was appointed a life peer. “When I finished ‘Memphis Belle,’ I kind of knew that I was never going to make better films than the ones I’d already produced,...

In HBO's Game of Thrones, Bran Stark is called North of the Wall by a mysterious voice visiting him in his dreams, a voice that often takes the form of a three-eyed raven. In the finale of season 4, Bran finally makes it to a large cave beneath a weirwood tree where he meets the Three-Eyed Raven, played by Struan Rodger. After briefly introducing the character, the showrunners recast Struan Rodger with the more well-known Max von Sydow, and redesigned the character's visual appearance, greatly impacting the direction of the show's fantasy elements in future seasons.

The Three-Eyed Raven is a mystical green seer, who draws his powers from the magical weirwood trees. Before becoming an embodiment of the Old Gods and green magic, he was a powerful leader in Westeros, known as Brynden Rivers, or Bloodraven. Bloodraven, getting his name from a red birthmark in the shape of a raven on his face,...

As Spanish film festivals go, few have demonstrated the mainstream clout and drawing power of this year’s Seville European Film Festival (Seff), which boasts one of its most audience-friendly lineups of stars and films to date.

Sevilla aims to bring the best in European cinematographic culture to the south of Spain for dialogues between new artists and recognized figures from the industry while also dedicating space to new media for cinematographic expression. Always a haven for independent and arthouse fare, the festival has broadened its program in recent years to include more mainstream titles and A-list guests. It’s an intentional trend that the festival’s team hopes to continue nurturing in future editions.

This year’s Official Selection jury features two European cinema legends, producer David Puttnam and Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons.

Irons is the more recognizable of the two, given his on-screen work in films such as...

The Toronto International Film Festival — which I have been attending since 2007, and from which I just returned — has long been an important launching pad for Oscar contenders, from 1981’s Chariots of Fire to 1999’s American Beauty to 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire to 2018’s Green Book. But a few years ago, that status was jeopardized when the fest grew resentful of the fact that a number of films that it was advertising as “world premieres” or “North American premieres” were, in fact, first sneak-screening at the Telluride Film Festival, which takes place a few days before it does.

Even though virtually no TIFF attendee would have balked at seeing a film that had previously screened for a relatively small number of people in a remote town in the Rockies, TIFF decided to adopt a hard-line position: it told film makers and backers that if they showed their film somewhere else in North America before TIFF,...

“The Life of Chuck,” director Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation starring Tom Hiddleston, has won the People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced at an awards ceremony on Sunday.

In TheWrap’s review of the film, Chase Hutchinson called it “less of a horror film than it is an existential grappling with the end — while also being a jubilant celebration of the moments that make life worth living along the way. It’s Flanagan’s vibrant equivalent of Charlie Kaufman’s ‘Synecdoche, New York’ that finds hope and meaning in his own way just as it is one of the best modern Stephen King adaptations one could hope for.”

Unlike festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Venice, Toronto does not give out a jury award to the festival’s top film. Instead, viewers at all public screenings are invited to vote for their...

The People’s Choice Award from the just-wrapped 2024 Toronto Film Festival has gone to The Life of Chuck, first runner-up is Emilia Pérez, and second runner-up is Anora. The Documentary Award goes to The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, and the Midnight Madness winner is The Substance.

Both runners-up Emilia Pérez and Anora were big winners at Cannes in May (the latter taking the Palme d’Or), but Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck was a TIFF world premiere and a surprise winner of this award.

Tom Hiddleston stars in the film based on King’s novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz. It is an unusual winner here for this award as it currently is looking for distribution and has no set release date, which means it could be the first People’s Choice winner in recent memory...

Ian Holm was a versatile British actor of stage and screen, known for appearances in classics like Alien, Chariots of Fire, The Lord of the Rings, and Ratatouille. He was a character actor, delighting in larger-than-life roles, but also capable of restraint and realism when necessary. His career was marked by a willingness to take on challenging roles, often shifting seamlessly between genres. Holm's performances were almost always compelling, whether he was playing a hobbit, a king's physician, a mean chef, or a devious android.

Some actors in the Alien franchise, like Ian Holm, Paul Reiser, and Bill Paxton, are forgotten in their roles due to more famous, mainstream, successful roles coming after. Other actors like James Franco, Raymond Cruz, Charles Dance, and Patrick Wilson have small roles in Alien movies, meaning they are less memorable. Winona Ryder's Alien appearance came between more successful projects, meaning not many remember she was in the film.

Many actors have appeared in the Alien franchise over the years, yet there are some who still go under the radar due to other works or smaller roles. As of Alien: Romulus' 2024 release, the Alien movie timeline is more expansive than ever. The original four movies explored the character of Ellen Ripley - including her clone - before Ridley Scott decided to switch up the order of Alien movies by telling a prequel story with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

Many...

“Who is that actor?” It’s probably everyone’s reaction to their first experience of Britain’s Matt Berry. With his booming delivery, and an uncanny ability to draw out every last vowel and consonant from even the dullest of words, Berry has been a cult comic actor in the U.K. for 20 years now. He broke out there in 2012 with Toast of London, a surreal sitcom in which he appeared as the bitter, buffoonish, self-serious thespian Steven Toast. But in 2019, the FX show What We Do in the Shadows took his homegrown appeal overseas, as the shape-shifting 300-year-old vampire Laszlo in the mock-doc comedy show inspired by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s word-of-mouth movie hit from 2014.

Hardcore fans will remember him as Dr. Sanchez from Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, a horror parody devised by Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade that premiered to little fanfare in 2004 but has since gathered a devout following,...

The Olympic Games are the biggest sporting event in the world. Athletes train all their lives just for a chance to compete, but only the best of the best qualify, and even fewer get the chance to stand on the podium as one of their discipline's top three. The Olympic Games have a limitless amount of drama, which is why it is not surprising that so many movies revolve around Olympic athletes, including classics like Chariots of Fire and modern efforts like Foxcatcher.

From Caligula to Forrest Gump and My Neighbour Totoro, rereleases are hitting the big screen once again – and are proving lucrative at the box office

Glance at the lineup of films at your local cinema and you might briefly believe you have passed through a time portal. Stirring athletics biopic Chariots of Fire sits cheek by jowl with schmaltzy Tom Hanks fable Forrest Gump; magical Japanese animation My Neighbour Totoro finds houseroom next to melancholic Hungarian art film Werckmeister Harmonies; 1990s action yarn The Mummy galumphs alongside Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid 70s classic The Conversation. The surge of reissues and restorations appears unstoppable. This week sees the release of a new edit of the notoriously sleazy Caligula, first released in 1979, with the Tex-Mex crime story Lone Star (1996) and Coraline (2009) to follow shortly.

Previously they were largely the preserve of organisations such as the BFI making archive treasures available on the big screen,...

Jay Kanter, agent to superstar Hollywood clients including Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly, died Tuesday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 97.

His son, Adam Kanter of Independent Artist Group, remembered his father as someone who conducted his entire career with “integrity and kindness.”

Kanter also inspired Jack Lemmon’s character in Billy Wilder’s classic comedy “The Apartment.”

Jay Kanter served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and started out working at McA, with mentoring help from Lew Wasserman. At just 22 years old, he was sent to pick up Brando at the train station and they became friends, with Brando becoming his longtime client.

He went on to represent stars including Warren Beatty, Gene Kelly and Ronald Reagan.

Kanter relocated to London when McA bought Universal, where he oversaw production for the studio in Europe. When the studio shut down European operations, he founded a production...

Jay Kanter, the veteran agent who represented a slew of Hollywood legends including Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe, died Tuesday in his Beverly Hills home. He was 97.

A Chicago native who served in the Navy during World War II, Kanter got his start in showbiz at McA, where he was mentored by legendary mogul Lew Wasserman.

As an agent, one of Kanter’s first clients was a young Marlon Brando, whom he represented all the way through his iconic career and right up to his death in 2004. Kanter would go on to serve as an agent for several of the biggest names in Hollywood history, including Grace Kelly, Gene Kelly, Ronald Reagan and Marilyn Monroe.

In 1962, after Wasserman led McA to take over Universal Pictures, Kanter moved into film production and oversaw Universal’s European studio. After that studio shut down, Kanter formed a production company with famed producer Alan Ladd Jr....

Jay Ira Kanter, veteran film producer and agent to a long list of Hollywood luminaries including Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, among others has died. He was 97.

Kanter died peacefully and surrounded by his family in his Beverly Hills home on the morning of August 6.

The agent and executive got his start in the business after his stint in the US Navy, which he joined during World War II. Kanter applied for a job at McA and rose up quickly through the ranks. He was mentored by Lew Wasserman.

At age 22, Kanter sought an offer for a young actor named Marlon Brando. Brando then traveled to Los Angeles via train, and Kanter picked him up at the station. Upon arrival, the two became fast lifelong friends, with Brando becoming Jay’s longtime client.

Kanter went on to represent stars such as Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Gene Kelly, Warren Beatty,...

Editor’S Note: The following article originally ran in 2016 and is being republished here – the Deadpool reference still works! With the 2024 edition of the Olympics in full swing in Paris, we thought it was only appropriate to look back on some all-time Olympic docs. We’ve also updated the list with a few new titles that have come out post-2016.

Where to watch each film has been updated for 2024.

Forget your Deadpools, Batmans and Captains America. The only superheroes anyone cares about this week are the ones running, jumping, swimming and gymnastic-ing their way through the 2016 Summer Olympics, which kicked off last Friday in Rio de Janeiro for 17 action-packed days of elite international competition, syrupy NBC athlete profiles and more daily Costas than is typically recommended by physicians. So step aside Jason Momoa—right now Michael Phelps is the only Aquaman anyone gives a damn about.

And as anyone who...

Disney’s latest blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine headlines this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, aiming to revive the recent fortunes of the once-mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

A sequel to Deadpool and Deadpool 2 as well as a follow-up to Logan, the film sees Deadpool pulled from his quiet life by the Time Variance Authority and set on a mission to save his universe – during which he collides with Wolverine from another universe. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprise their roles as the titular superheroes, with Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin and Screen Stars of Tomorrow Emma Corrin and Dafne Keen also among the cast.

Olympics movies celebrate both the real triumphs of athletes like Jesse Owens and the fictional absurdities of comedies like Blades of Glory. Dive into inspiring true stories like Race and Richard Jewell, or enjoy whimsical underdog tales like Eddie the Eagle and Cool Runnings. Films like Foxcatcher and I, Tonya delve into the darker sides of Olympic sports, while classics like Miracle and Chariots of Fire inspire with tales of victory.

Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games, its the perfect time to check out the best movies about the Olympics, from Cool Runnings to Chariots of Fire. The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially dubbed the Games of the Xxxiii Olympiad, will take place in France, mostly in the host city of Paris. The opening ceremony will take place on July 26 and the games will last until August 11 (with some competitions beginning on July 24). As usual, the Olympics will determine the best athletes from...

Universal’s “Despicable Me 4” maintained its lead at the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive week, earning £4.9 million ($6.3 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The animated sequel has now accumulated £17.4 million in total.

Warner Bros.’ “Twisters” made a notable entrance, blowing into the second position with a £4.1 million opening. Disney’s “Inside Out 2” continued to perform well in its sixth week, adding £1.5 million to reach a cumulative total of £47.2 million after six weekends.

Black Bear’s “Longlegs” held onto fourth place in its second week with £1.3 million, bringing its total to £3.9 million. Paramount’s “A Quiet Place: Day One” rounded out the top five, earning £447,907 in its fourth week for a total of £9 million.

Further down the chart, Bollywood film “Bad Newz” from Moviegoers and Altitude’s “Blur: To The End” debuted at seventh and eighth places respectively, with openings of £165,464 and £147,981. The National Theatre Live...

Underway now through July 16, Severin Films‘ annual summer sale is the most ambitious in the company’s history. The Dario Argento’s Opera five-disc box set — which you can preview in an exclusive clip below — is the headliner, but there are nine more releases in addition to exclusive merchandise and big savings on past inventory.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Severin Summer Sale…

Opera

In my eyes — held open with needles, of course — Opera is Argento’s last true masterpiece. While the Italian maestro attained fleeting moments of greatness later in his oeuvre, Opera is the last of his efforts that can hold its own alongside his earlier, career-defining work like Suspiria, Deep Red, Tenebrae, and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

Co-written by Argento and frequent collaborator Franco Ferrini, the giallo stars Cristina Marsillach as Betty, a young opera singer whose big break...

Hollywood donors like George Clooney and Reed Hastings are calling for Biden to step aside to prevent Trump from winning. Damon Lindelof and Ari Emanuel are among other creatives who think Democrats should stop funding Biden's campaign. Celebrities like Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg, who once supported Biden, are now remaining silent or calling for his resignation.

Politics and Hollywood almost always intersect when it comes down to an election year. Many heavyweights in the industry will throw their weight and money behind their candidate of choice, and they can become a strong part of generating revenue for their campaign. We've come to their intersection once again following the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but not in the way one might imagine. After Biden performed poorly during a recent, crucial debate, many of his high-profile celebrity supporters are now shifting gears and suggesting...

Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we cover the 55th Academy Awards in 1983, honoring the films of 1982.

There was no suspense as to what would win heading into the ceremony. “Gandhi” dominated from top to bottom, winning eight awards from its leading 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Richard Attenborough and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley. The biopic did not have a Best Actress contender, but even if it did, there was no beating Meryl Streep, who prevailed for “Sophie’s Choice.” She was such a lock that even fellow nominee Debra Winger‘s parents were rooting for Streep.

See Oscars Playback: When ‘Chariots of Fire’ outran ‘Reds’ for the gold

1982 was a breakout year for Jessica Lange, who became the first performer in 38 years to receive two acting nominations...

Fry, Leela and Bender are back. Hulu has unveiled the trailer for Season 12 of the revival of “Futurama,” set to premiere July 29 on the streamer.

The crew embarks on different adventures in the new season, including birthday party games to the death, A.I. friends and enemies, the next chapter in Fry and Leela’s romance and more.

John Dimaggio, BIlly West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice Lamarche, Lauren Tom, Phil Lamar and David Herman all return to the animated sci-fi series. Created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen, “Futurama” comes from executive producers including Groening, Cohen, Ken Keeler and Claudia Katz.

Watch the trailer below.

In other TV roundup news:

Trailers

Acorn TV has released a new trailer for its detective drama series “Signora Volpe.” The three-part series is set to return for its second venture on Monday, July 29 and will broadcast on Acorn...

One of the most unique honors in all of cinema is the Palm Dog Award, given annually at the Cannes Film Festival to the pooch who left the biggest mark on film that year. It’s a quirky award given at the most prestigious festival there is; but there’s nothing like that at the Oscars. Could you imagine the Academy voters nominating a dog? Well, they actually did – albeit in name only – thanks to Robert Towne. In the wake of Towne’s death this week, let’s take a look at the time he got so pissed off over Greystoke that he ensured his dog would be on the Oscar ballot.

In the ‘70s, Robert Towne was tasked to pen Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, later taking on directing duties at his own insistence. Towne hadn’t directed before so in the time being, he took on Personal Best,...

Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we cover the 54th Academy Awards in 1982, honoring the films of 1981.

Thanks to its leading 12 nominations, most assumed Oscar night would be seeing red, er, “Reds” walk away with the top prize. Warren Beatty‘s ambitious historical epic netted him acting, directing, writing and producing nominations, the second time he achieved the feat after 1978’s “Heaven Can Wait,” but Beatty wound up only winning Best Director. Best Picture turned into a race between “Reds,” surprise hit “On Golden Pond” — the second highest-grossing film of the year and 10-time nominee — and Olympics drama “Chariots of Fire,” a seven-time nominee. Going into the final award, the three films had each won three Oscars. And in the kind of upset we see more in sports than awards shows,...

The Ladd Company saw success with hits like Blade Runner, but timing and financial burdens led to its downfall. Critical successes like The Right Stuff and Blade Runner failed to attract audiences, causing financial strain. Despite multiple setbacks, the company made a brief comeback with Alan Ladd Jr. leading MGM and later reviving The Ladd Company.

The beloved 1982 film Blade Runner is an integral part of pop culture, so much so that its hard to believe that the studio responsible for its creation died just two years after its release. Helmed by producer Alan Ladd Jr., The Ladd Company produced several gems. Many were popular during its peak in the 1980s or were quietly influential behind the scenes thereafter.

The Ladd Company was founded in October of 1979 by a team of former Fox executives. Its president, Alan Ladd Jr., worked on a couple of the best sci-fi movies of all...

Exclusive: Comedian and writer Julian Clary (Julian Clary: Live – Lord of the Mince) will play the title role in this festive season’s London Palladium pantomime Robin Hood, with singer and travel show presenter Jane McDonald (Cruising with Jane McDonald) topping the bill as Maid Marion.

The annual Palladium show, now in its ninth consecutive season, has become an eagerly awaited staple in the West End’s calendar. It runs from December 7 through January 12, 2025. Priority booking opens 10 Am (GMT) April 25.

Last year’s production, Peter Pan, with comedy legend Jennifer Saunders making her pantomime debut as Captain Hook, and with Clary playing Seaman Smee, was a sold-out success, playing 56 performances -often two a day – to an audience of more than 123,000 at the 2,200 capacity variety house.

When tickets went on sale, there was a moment when 90,000 people were in the queue, waiting their turn to book seats.

Sports movies are a niche genre of film that can often bring a variety of audiences together to enjoy an artistic piece. Many sports fans may be unsure of the world of film and many film fans may be unsure of the world of sport, making sports movies the common ground for these two often conflicting sides to meet. Sports films have a long and varied history within cinema, with the highs of Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire and John G. Avildson's Rocky, and some lows that can create the genre a somewhat poor reputation in the eyes of some. One sport that doesn't often get the recognition it may deserve on the silver screen is tennis. Tennis is one of the most admired sports in the world, however, its appeal to movie producers has seemingly forever been low. Two of the sport's most famous athletes did get their...

30 years ago, "Schindler's List" earned Steven Spielberg his first Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. It was a long-delayed coronation, one that was contingent on the director putting away childish things and making a serious movie for grown-ups. Spielberg was obviously deserving, but these should've been Oscars number five and six after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial".

Though the Academy never showed Spielberg the love for his escapist classics, John Williams certainly made out well. He won Best Original Score for "Jaws" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" before taking home his fifth overall Oscar for "Schindler's List" -- which was as daunting of a challenge for Williams as it was for Spielberg (who credits the film with restoring his faith in filmmaking). Williams's music had always been an integral component of Spielberg's movies, but he'd never composed anything this somber for the director. In fact,...

Academy Award winners don't always bring in big bucks, as seen with Best Picture winners Cimarron, Chariots of Fire, and The Last Emperor. Some Oscar winners like Crash, No Country for Old Men, and The Hurt Locker, although acclaimed, struggled financially at the box office. Even Best Picture winners like The Artist, Birdman, Moonlight, and Coda didn't rake in huge profits, showcasing the divide between awards and box office success.

The Academy Awards may bestow films with the most sought-after accolades in the industry, but that doesn't always mean the movie is a financial success. Hollywood and the rest of the world have several different organizations that are designed to give recognition and praise to the best and brightest movies ever made. However, the public has a slightly different system for showing their affection and admiration for movies, which is arguably more important; the box office. Audiences pay with their...

Since 92 films have won the Oscar for Best Costume Design, it stands to reason that there has been some overlap when it comes to their casts. Indeed, hundreds of actors have each appeared in at least two of those movies, with 31 having played credited roles in three or more. Scroll through our photo gallery to find out which 23 men and eight women have donned the most Oscar-winning outfits.

Costume designers were first honored at the 21st Academy Awards in 1949, when “Hamlet” and “Joan of Arc” were respectively chosen as the black-and-white and color films with the most impressive garments. After being temporarily combined from 1958-1959, those two categories permanently merged in 1968, the year that vibrant musical “Camelot” took the prize. Eight of said 31 performers (including half of the actresses) are on the roster thanks to their appearances in films shot in both styles.

Of the 51 movies included on this list,...

Since 92 films have won the Oscar for Best Costume Design, it stands to reason that there has been some overlap when it comes to their casts. Indeed, hundreds of actors have each appeared in at least two of those movies, with 31 having played credited roles in three or more. Scroll through our photo gallery to find out which 23 men and eight women have donned the most Oscar-winning outfits.

Costume designers were first honored at the 21st Academy Awards in 1949, when “Hamlet” and “Joan of Arc” were respectively chosen as the black-and-white and color films with the most impressive garments. After being temporarily combined from 1958-1959, those two categories permanently merged in 1968, the year that vibrant musical “Camelot” took the prize. Eight of said 31 performers (including half of the actresses) are on the roster thanks to their appearances in films shot in both styles.

Of the 51 movies included on this list,...

He’s the consummate actor, writer, renaissance man. What on earth wouldn’t you like to learn Stephen Fry’s take on?

There’s so much you could ask Stephen Fry. Maybe something about his TV career, from A Bit of Fry and Laurie to Jeeves and Wooster to Blackadder to Qi. Perhaps his books – the novels, the memoirs, the classics, how to write poetry.

Maybe something about his illustrious film career, with Wilde the obvious highlight, but which also includes Chariots of Fire, Gosford Park, The Hobbit, Love and Friendship, and Spice World.

There's a variety of techniques that movies use to impress audiences and capture their attention. As modern technology develops, cinema becomes more epic, forever pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

Slow-motion has long been a tool in many filmmakers' boxes, with some using it to strengthen a scene and its meaning. From slowing down a petrifying action shot to adding to the comedic effect of a sequence, there are a number of slow-motion scenes that are remembered by fans.

Madagascar is a Fun Animation for All Ages

Madagascar

A group of animals who have spent all their life in a New York zoo end up in the jungles of Madagascar, and must adjust to living in the wild. This is just the beginning of their many adventures around the world.

Created byMark Burton, Billy Frolick, Tom McGrath, Eric DarnellFirst FilmMadagascarLatest Filmpenguins of madagascarCastDavid Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, Ben...

John Williams has never won an Oscar for his score in an Indiana Jones movie, despite four nominations spanning over 42 years. Williams has a long-standing partnership with Steven Spielberg, composing iconic scores for Spielberg's films, including Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones. While Williams received a nomination for Best Original Score for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, he is not considered a frontrunner due to tough competition from other films like Oppenheimer.

The 2024 Oscars is the last opportunity to break Indiana Jones's 42-year losing streak in a key category. The first film in the franchise, Raiders of the Lost Arc, was released in 1981. It earned eight Academy Award nominations and four wins for editing, production design, sound mixing, and visual effects. Then, in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came out, which received two nominations and one win for its incredible visual effects.

The third film in the franchise,...

Julian Senior, the veteran Warner Bros. marketing and publicity executive in Europe who enjoyed close relationships with filmmakers including Oscar winners Stanley Kubrick, Clint Eastwood, David Puttnam and Neil Jordan, has died. He was 85.

Senior died Jan. 1 of pneumonia and heart failure in a hospital near his home in Borehamwood, England, Conor Nolan, his friend and onetime Warner Bros. colleague, told The Hollywood Reporter.

A native of South Africa, Senior joined Warner Bros. in 1970 after an eight-year run at MGM, where he was an advertising and publicity consultant in its European Regional Office, and he stuck with the studio through 2000.

At the start, Senior helped mastermind the advertising and publicity campaign for the landmark Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange (1971), and he also worked with the famed director on The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

“He taught me how publicity, advertising and marketing operates,” Senior once said of Kubrick.

Julian Senior, a veteran international marketing executive for Warners and MGM who enjoyed a long working relationship with Stanley Kubrick and many other notable filmmakers, died Jan. 1. He was 85.

His death was announced by former Warners executive Conor Nolan.

Born in South Africa, Senior was at MGM for eight years before joining Warners in 1970 as an advertising and publicity consultant in Europe, and soon after was appointed VP of European advertising and publicity.

He became senior VP of European regional advertising and publicity in 1993, and oversaw dozens of Warner Bros. film campaigns. Senior retired in 2000 and handed over the marketing and publicity reins to Con Gornell and Nolan.

His friendship with Kubrick began in 1970 when the director finished “A Clockwork Orange.” Senior oversaw the advertising and publicity campaigns for “The Shining,” “Full Metal Jacket” and Kubrick’s final film, “Eyes Wide Shut” with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Senior once...

Julian Senior, former Warner Bros European marketing and publicity executive, passed away on January 1, 2024 at the age of 85.

Senior joined Warner Bros in 1970, after an eight-year stint at MGM, as an advertising and publicity consultant in the studio’s European region office. He was soon appointed vice president of European advertising and publicity at the studio and, in 1993, was promoted to senior vice president.

The South Africa-born executive had a close working and personal relationship with Stanley Kubrick and worked with the filmmaker on the campaigns for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut.

During his career,...

BITB_15372_R (l-r.) Thomas Elms stars as Chuck Day, Tom Varey as Johnny White, Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Shorty Hunt, Callum Turner as Joe Rantz, Luke Slattery as Bobby Moch and Wil Coban as Jim McMillin in director George Clooney’s The Boys In The Boat An Amazon MGM Studios film Photo credit: Laurie Sparham © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As promised the onslaught of 2023 sports films marches, or in this case paddles, on. Hot on the heels of last week’s historical sports drama, comes this one based on a popular book from a few years ago. It’s not about wrestling, like Friday’s flick, but it is set in the past, though nearly fifty years before the Von Erichs. But there is an Olympic connection. This one concerns a larger team of young men defying the odds and overcoming hardship to go for the gold, rather than fame and fortune.

If the day ever arrives when a smart director decides to make “Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story,” he should seriously consider casting Callum Turner, the dreamy raw-boned star of George Clooney’s period rowing drama “The Boys in the Boat.” Turner, who is British (he’s best known for his role in the last two “Fantastic Beasts” films), has the dark-eyed, purse-lipped, lock-jawed scowl of Springsteen the working-class prince — even though Bruce, as he admitted in his one-man Broadway show, totally trumped up his proletarian roots. He was a middle-class kid from Jersey palming himself off as a kind of roughneck factory worker of the soul. In “The Boys in the Boat,” Turner, playing the pivotal member of the 1936 University of Washington crew team, exudes the same duality.

His character, Joe Rantz, has been on his own since he was 14, living in a tin-roof encampment in Seattle during...

The biggest story of the 1936 summer Olympics in Berlin was Black track and field star Jesse Owens winning four gold medals and putting the lie to Adolf Hitler’s theories of race supremacy. A less-heralded U.S. gold medal triumph over host country Nazi Germany glides onto screens this Christmas with The Boys in the Boat from MGM Amazon Studios, directed by George Clooney.

It was a technically grueling, on-the-water shoot with a group of young actors who had to learn the sport from scratch, Clooney’s longtime producing partner, Grant Heslov, said during a panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles event. At one point they feared they had made a terrible mistake, Heslov said in conversation alongside the movie’s editor, Tanya Swerling.

“So we cast these guys and we hired them for an extra three months to train — a solid three months of real rowing training with Olympic rowing coaches,...