Oscar 2020: Show to Include Tribute to Koby Bryant
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) will include a tribute to the late basketball icon Kobe Bryant during the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony on February 9.
Merrily We Live (1938): Screwball Comedy Starring Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, and Billie Burke in her Only Oscar Nominated Role
Norman Z. McLeod directed Merrily We Live, a popular comedy, starring Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne and featuring Ann Dvorak, Bonita Granville, Billie Burke, Tom Brown, Alan Mowbray, Clarence Kolb and Patsy Kelly.
Shoa: Four Sisters (2017): Claude Lanzman’s Holocaust Documentary and Final Film
Claude Lanzman’s Shoah: Four Sisters, a French documentary about the Holocaust, premiered at the 2017 New York Film Fest.
Thank You for Your Service: Jason Hall’s Tale of Combat PTSD, Starring Miles Teller
Thank You for Your Service from Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks and partner Universal, opened poorly with $3.7 million from 2,054 locations. Thank You for Your Service, starring Miles Teller and directed by American Sniper scribe Jason Hall, is based on the 2013 book of the same name about combat PTSD by best-selling author and journalist David […]
Suburbicon: George Clooney’s Worst Film?
George Clooney’s Suburbicon, starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore, opened to a dismal $2.8 million from 2,045 theaters after getting slapped with a D- CinemaScore. That’s the worst nationwide launch of Clooney’s directing career and the worst showing of Damon’s career behind All the Pretty Horses, which debuted to $1.3 million from 1,483 cinemas in […]
Night House, The: David Bruckner’s Supernatural Thriller, Starring Rebecca Hall
Searchlight is acquiring the worldwide distribution rights to The Night House, a supernatural thriller that premiered to strong reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Fest. Directed by David Bruckner and starring Rebecca Hall, the deal is valued at roughly $12 million. If you want to know more about Sundance and Independent Cinema, please read my […]
Koby Bryant: Legendary Basketball Star, 41, Dies in Helicopter Crash
Thousands of people gathered to mourn Bryant outside the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, where there is a statue of the retired Lakers legend.
Hillary: Docu Series on Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sundance Fest Premiere, Hulu, March 6
The docu’s director, Nanette Burstein, said that the couple was willing to recount the experience in separate interviews, due to its significance in Hillary’s personal life, which the features explores in-depth.
1917: Sam Mendes Wins Best Director from the Directors Guild
Director Sam Mendes won the top prize at the 72nd annual Directors Guild of America Awards for 1917, solidifying the status of his dazzling World War I drama as the film to beat at the Oscar Awards.
Buck and the Preacher (1972): Poitier’s Directing Debut, Western Starring Himself and Harry Belfonte
Star Sidney Poitier made an honorable feature directing debut with Buck and the Preacher, a character-driven Western, in which he stars alongside Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee.
Quezon’s Game: Matthew Rosen’s True Tale of Holocaust Heroism
The film is based on a true story of Holocaust heroism during World War II in the Philippines by Filipino President Manuel L. Quezon, who rescued as many persecuted Jews as Oskar Schindler at a time when most countries were turning their backs.
Wrath of God, The (1972): Ralph Nelson’s Trashy Western, Starring Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, and Rita Hayworth in her Final Performance
Ralph Nelson helmed The Wrath of God, a trashy, violent offveat Western, starring Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, Rita Hayworth and Victor Buono. Our Grade: C+ (** out of *****) The film is a lighthearted, borderline exploitation adaptation of the western noir novel The Wrath of God written by Harry Patterson and published under the pseudonym […]
Miss Americana: Taylor Swift’s Powerful Sundance Documentary
Director Wilson said that the docu was made in such “complete secrecy” that even Taylor Swift’s family didn’t know about it.
Incendiary Blonde (1945): Marshall’s Musical Biopic, Starring Betty Hutton
Directed in Technicolor by George Marshall and loosely based on a true story, the musical biopic Incendiary Blonde stars Betty Hutton as 1920s nightclub singer Texas Guinan.
Escape (1940): Agit-Pro Political Thriller, Starring Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, Conrad Veidt and Alla Nazimova
Set in pre-World War II Nazi Germany, Escape is a political thriller about an American who, upon discovering that his mother is in concentration camp, tries desperately to free her.
Whistling in the Dark (1941): Sylvan Simon’s Comedy, Starring Red Skelton
S. Sylvan Simon directed Whistling in the Dark, the first of three comedies, starring Red Skelton as Wally “the Fox” Benton, a man who writes and acts in radio murder mysteries.
Tikkun (2016): Israeli Filmmaker Avishai Sivan’s Third Feature Wins Award at Locarno Fest
At the 2016 Locarno Film Fest, the Special Jury Prize, the runner-up gong to the Golden Leopard, was presented to Israeli visual artist turned filmmaker Avishai Sivan for his third feature Tikkun.
Raton Pass (1951): Edwin Martin’s Western, starring Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal and Steve Cochran
Edwin L. Marin directed Raton Pass, a modest black-and-white Western, starring Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal and Steve Cochran.
Spoken Word (2010): Victor Nunez’ Tale of Latino Artists
Victor Nunes’s new indie, Spoken Word, centers on Cruz Montoya (Kuno Becker), a Latino spoken-word artist who works in San Francisco.
Nothing But a Man (1964): Michael Roemer’s Seminal Indie
Nothing But a Man is a seminal indie feature, starring Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln, and directed by Michael Roemer, who co-wrote the scenario with Robert M. Young.
