For many years, A24 has been attempting to adapt the long-running slasher film series "Friday the 13th" into a prequel TV series called "Crystal Lake." For a few promising moments, Bryan Fuller was set to be the showrunner, but like so many Fuller projects, he eventually parted ways with the project over creative differences. This was in addition to the continued legal woes surrounding the "Friday the 13th" movies, leaving director/producer Sean Cunningham butting heads with original "Friday the 13th" screenwriter Victor Miller as to who owns the rights to the 1980 hit.
Charlize Theron was once eyed to star in "Crystal Lake" as Jason Voorhees' mom, Pamela Voorhees, but that may no longer be the case now that the series has undergone some reworking in the wake of Fuller's departure. That reworking may finally be in full swing once again, as, according to a new report from Variety, Brad Caleb Kane...
Charlize Theron was once eyed to star in "Crystal Lake" as Jason Voorhees' mom, Pamela Voorhees, but that may no longer be the case now that the series has undergone some reworking in the wake of Fuller's departure. That reworking may finally be in full swing once again, as, according to a new report from Variety, Brad Caleb Kane...
- 8/19/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Screen legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s second and final screen pairing, in 1973’s The Sting, proved even more popular at the box office than their first, 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film — about a syndicate of confidence men planning cons in the Great Depression — was a dream shoot on the Universal backlot set, save for one persistent annoyance: Redford was always late.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its seven Oscar wins, the team behind The Sting — producers Michael Phillips and Tony Bill (the third producer, Julia Phillips, ex-wife of Michael and author of You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, died in 2002) and screenwriter David S. Ward — joined The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast for a rollicking conversation about getting the film made.
“He always felt inadequate, and that he was hired for his blue eyes,” says Phillips of working with his hero,...
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its seven Oscar wins, the team behind The Sting — producers Michael Phillips and Tony Bill (the third producer, Julia Phillips, ex-wife of Michael and author of You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, died in 2002) and screenwriter David S. Ward — joined The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast for a rollicking conversation about getting the film made.
“He always felt inadequate, and that he was hired for his blue eyes,” says Phillips of working with his hero,...
- 3/20/2024
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Bailey, the cinematographer on Ordinary People, Groundhog Day, As Good as It Gets and dozens of other notable films who endured two “stressful” terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, died Friday. He was 81.
Bailey died in Los Angeles, his wife, Oscar-nominated film editor Carol Littleton (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), announced.
”It is with deep sadness I share with you that my best friend and husband, John Bailey, passed away peacefully in his sleep early this morning,” she said in a statement. “During John’s illness, we reminisced how we met 60 years ago and were married for 51 of those years. We shared a wonderful life of adventure in film and made many long-lasting friendships along the way. John will forever live in my heart.”
They worked on more than a dozen features together.
The Southern California-raised Bailey served as the director of photography for...
Bailey died in Los Angeles, his wife, Oscar-nominated film editor Carol Littleton (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), announced.
”It is with deep sadness I share with you that my best friend and husband, John Bailey, passed away peacefully in his sleep early this morning,” she said in a statement. “During John’s illness, we reminisced how we met 60 years ago and were married for 51 of those years. We shared a wonderful life of adventure in film and made many long-lasting friendships along the way. John will forever live in my heart.”
They worked on more than a dozen features together.
The Southern California-raised Bailey served as the director of photography for...
- 11/11/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
David Gordon Green's 2022 slasher film "Halloween Ends" is an unusual entry in the series in many ways. In it, the vicious masked serial killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) has been living in a sewer and stays out of the film's central action for the bulk of its running time. "Ends," instead, focuses largely on a character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a man who, two years ago, accidentally killed the young boy he was babysitting. Green envisioned Corey's hometown town of Haddonfield, Illinois as a bitter and wounded place, full of spiteful, hurt people who cannot heal from the murderous damage that Michael caused way back in 1978, as well as his return in 2018. Every citizen is bitter, angry, and paranoid. Corey is bullied and picked on, unable to outlive his mistake.
When Corey wanders into Michael's sewer (he was fleeing bullies), he finds Michael and a strange transference occurs.
When Corey wanders into Michael's sewer (he was fleeing bullies), he finds Michael and a strange transference occurs.
- 11/7/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
As we approach another anniversary of August 9, those who participated in “the decision” are all but gone.
But the reminders are with us, thanks to a new book by Evan Thomas, “Road to Surrender,” the forward for which reads “To save lives, it was necessary to take lives — possibly hundreds of thousands of them.” And, of course, Christopher Nolan’s epic portrait of the man who was never allowed to forget, Robert Oppenheimer.
We can’t hide under our desks anymore, but we can view ten other works that scared the hell out of us.
“On the Beach” (United Artists)
“On the Beach” (1959)
As a little girl in 1959, I found my parents watching this black and white film on TV. Excited, I asked if it was the latest with Annette and Frankie Avalon. Uh, no. They allowed me to stay, and two hours later, I was shaken to the core.
But the reminders are with us, thanks to a new book by Evan Thomas, “Road to Surrender,” the forward for which reads “To save lives, it was necessary to take lives — possibly hundreds of thousands of them.” And, of course, Christopher Nolan’s epic portrait of the man who was never allowed to forget, Robert Oppenheimer.
We can’t hide under our desks anymore, but we can view ten other works that scared the hell out of us.
“On the Beach” (United Artists)
“On the Beach” (1959)
As a little girl in 1959, I found my parents watching this black and white film on TV. Excited, I asked if it was the latest with Annette and Frankie Avalon. Uh, no. They allowed me to stay, and two hours later, I was shaken to the core.
- 8/9/2023
- by Michele Wilens
- The Wrap
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we discuss a character actress, multiple Oscar nominee (and winner) and living legend who is still somehow underrated: Kathy “Bobo” Bates!
Our B-Sides today are: A Home of Our Own, Dolores Claiborne, Love Liza, and Richard Jewell.
The actress made her bones in the theater, originating roles in iconic stuff such as ‘Night Mother and Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.
Our guest is Billy Ray Brewton, host of the superb The Incinerator Podcast, the Movie Mixtapes podcast, and the Center Clueless podcast. Brewton is also the Festival Director/Lead Programmer of Make Believe Seattle.
We talk to Brewton about why it is that Bates is his favorite working actress, her innate Southern charm,...
Today we discuss a character actress, multiple Oscar nominee (and winner) and living legend who is still somehow underrated: Kathy “Bobo” Bates!
Our B-Sides today are: A Home of Our Own, Dolores Claiborne, Love Liza, and Richard Jewell.
The actress made her bones in the theater, originating roles in iconic stuff such as ‘Night Mother and Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.
Our guest is Billy Ray Brewton, host of the superb The Incinerator Podcast, the Movie Mixtapes podcast, and the Center Clueless podcast. Brewton is also the Festival Director/Lead Programmer of Make Believe Seattle.
We talk to Brewton about why it is that Bates is his favorite working actress, her innate Southern charm,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Jodie Foster, one of our most guarded movie stars, confessed, "I am a solitary, internal person in an extroverted, external job. I don't think I will ever not feel lonely. It's a theme in my life. It's not such a bad thing. I don't need to be known by everyone."
Movie stardom can be a curse in this regard. Each performance, splashed across a big screen and examined time and again in the home-viewing format of your choosing, draws us near to them. We want to know them, befriend them, tear up the town with them... we want them. And since we are typically not an empathetic species (particularly in the United States), too many of us do not understand why these seemingly blessed individuals recoil from the public eye or feel ambivalent about their success.
This tension has been the central theme of Foster's career,...
Movie stardom can be a curse in this regard. Each performance, splashed across a big screen and examined time and again in the home-viewing format of your choosing, draws us near to them. We want to know them, befriend them, tear up the town with them... we want them. And since we are typically not an empathetic species (particularly in the United States), too many of us do not understand why these seemingly blessed individuals recoil from the public eye or feel ambivalent about their success.
This tension has been the central theme of Foster's career,...
- 6/5/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Private members’ club NeueHouse is debuting its newest L.A. location in a historic building owned by actor, director and Oscar-winning The Sting producer Tony Bill.
Located steps from the Venice Beach boardwalk, the two-story 1920s building — redesigned as a professional work and social space with a residential vibe — includes a 2,000-square-foot roof deck, a programming and events space, a gallery, meeting rooms and phone booths. There also is a daytime lounge that will become Reunion restaurant and bar by night when the coastal Italian-inspired eatery opens in late January.
The painting Portrait of Taco by Shizu Saldamando hangs in the reception area.
In the 1970s, Bill hosted concerts, lectures, art shows and community political meetings in the space, which was flanked by Larry Gagosian’s first gallery and the celebrity hotspot Bill owned with Dudley Moore, 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill.
Private members’ club NeueHouse is debuting its newest L.A. location in a historic building owned by actor, director and Oscar-winning The Sting producer Tony Bill.
Located steps from the Venice Beach boardwalk, the two-story 1920s building — redesigned as a professional work and social space with a residential vibe — includes a 2,000-square-foot roof deck, a programming and events space, a gallery, meeting rooms and phone booths. There also is a daytime lounge that will become Reunion restaurant and bar by night when the coastal Italian-inspired eatery opens in late January.
The painting Portrait of Taco by Shizu Saldamando hangs in the reception area.
In the 1970s, Bill hosted concerts, lectures, art shows and community political meetings in the space, which was flanked by Larry Gagosian’s first gallery and the celebrity hotspot Bill owned with Dudley Moore, 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill.
- 12/17/2022
- by Evan Nicole Brown
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Whatever people were expecting from David Gordon Green's "Halloween Ends," the third and final film in his revival trilogy of John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, it almost certainly wasn't the strangely subdued film he's delivered. The previous installment, "Halloween Kills," seemed to be setting up one last grudge match between Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strodeand her seemingly unkillable nemesis Michael Myers. After all, the stakes had been raised to a series-high personal level with Michael's murder of Laurie's daughter, Karen (Judy Greer). To me, this would've been a disappointingly pat resolution to Green's new take, which had wiped out every sequel to Carpenter's original and started from scratch. Fortunately, Green felt the same way.
"Halloween Ends" kicks off with a teenage babysitter, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), accidentally killing his bratty charge, and proceeds, for a shockingly lengthy stretch of the film, to work shockingly well as a young outlaw romance.
"Halloween Ends" kicks off with a teenage babysitter, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), accidentally killing his bratty charge, and proceeds, for a shockingly lengthy stretch of the film, to work shockingly well as a young outlaw romance.
- 10/17/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Director/Tfh Guru Allan Arkush discusses his favorite year in film, 1975, with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Rules of the Game (1939)
Le Boucher (1970)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Topaz (1969)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Going My Way (1944)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary
M*A*S*H (1970)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Nada Gang (1975)
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Rules of the Game (1939)
Le Boucher (1970)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Topaz (1969)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Going My Way (1944)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary
M*A*S*H (1970)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Nada Gang (1975)
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...
- 9/20/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Bill Robinson, a talent agent and manager who represented stars like Carol Burnett, Robert Duvall, Maggie Smith, and Audrey Hepburn, has died. He was 92.
His family shared he died on August 6 in his Malibu home after a long illness.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
“I knew Bill for many, many years…since 1959. We met while I was doing the Gary Moore Show. Later on, he became my manager when I was doing my show. But not just my manager. He was one of my closest friends in the world. I loved him very much… and I will miss him,” Burnett said in a statement.
Throughout his career, Robinson also represented the likes of Judith Anderson, Alan Arkin, Tony Bill, Peter Falk, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings and Jayne Mansfield, among many more.
It was Robinson that gave Mike Medavoy his first job as an agent and the...
His family shared he died on August 6 in his Malibu home after a long illness.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
“I knew Bill for many, many years…since 1959. We met while I was doing the Gary Moore Show. Later on, he became my manager when I was doing my show. But not just my manager. He was one of my closest friends in the world. I loved him very much… and I will miss him,” Burnett said in a statement.
Throughout his career, Robinson also represented the likes of Judith Anderson, Alan Arkin, Tony Bill, Peter Falk, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings and Jayne Mansfield, among many more.
It was Robinson that gave Mike Medavoy his first job as an agent and the...
- 8/15/2022
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Bill Robinson, a veteran talent agent who represented the likes of Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin and Carol Burnett, died on Aug. 6 in Malibu after a long illness, his family announced. He was 93 years old.
“I knew Bill for many, many years…since 1959,” Burnett said. “We met while I was doing the ‘Gary Moore Show.’ Later on, he became my manager when I was doing my show. But not just my manager. He was one of my closest friends in the world. I loved him very much… and I will miss him.”
Over the years, Robinson has represented Judith Anderson, Tony Bill, Peter Falk, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Jayne Mansfield and Maggie Smith, among others. He also gave Mike Medavoy, currently the chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures as well as former chairman of Tri-Star Pictures, his first job as an agent.
Robinson got his start as an agent in the McA mail room,...
“I knew Bill for many, many years…since 1959,” Burnett said. “We met while I was doing the ‘Gary Moore Show.’ Later on, he became my manager when I was doing my show. But not just my manager. He was one of my closest friends in the world. I loved him very much… and I will miss him.”
Over the years, Robinson has represented Judith Anderson, Tony Bill, Peter Falk, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Jayne Mansfield and Maggie Smith, among others. He also gave Mike Medavoy, currently the chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures as well as former chairman of Tri-Star Pictures, his first job as an agent.
Robinson got his start as an agent in the McA mail room,...
- 8/15/2022
- by Carson Burton
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Bill Robinson, the well-liked talent agent and manager who represented the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, James Garner and Robert Duvall during his long career, has died. He was 92.
Robinson died Aug. 6 at his home in Malibu after a long illness, his family announced.
Robinson’s clients also included Judith Anderson, Tony Bill, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Jayne Mansfield and Maggie Smith, and he gave Mike Medavoy (real first name: Morris) his first job as an agent.
“‘You’re gonna have a hard time in this business as a Morris,’ Bill Robinson told me when he hired me … at his agency,” Medavoy, the producer and studio executive, wrote in his 2002 book, You’re Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot.
“‘You got a middle name?’ ‘Mike,’ I told him.
Bill Robinson, the well-liked talent agent and manager who represented the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, James Garner and Robert Duvall during his long career, has died. He was 92.
Robinson died Aug. 6 at his home in Malibu after a long illness, his family announced.
Robinson’s clients also included Judith Anderson, Tony Bill, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Jayne Mansfield and Maggie Smith, and he gave Mike Medavoy (real first name: Morris) his first job as an agent.
“‘You’re gonna have a hard time in this business as a Morris,’ Bill Robinson told me when he hired me … at his agency,” Medavoy, the producer and studio executive, wrote in his 2002 book, You’re Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot.
“‘You got a middle name?’ ‘Mike,’ I told him.
- 8/15/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 40th anniversary screening of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” at the upcoming TCM Film Festival will be a full-blown reunion.
The Turner Classic Movies Film Festival announced on Wednesday that actors Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas are confirmed to appear alongside Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy at the screening, which will be held on the opening night of the festival on April 21.
In keeping with this year’s festival theme “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen,” director Michael Schultz and stars Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, and Steven Williams will introduce their seminal coming-of-age dramedy “Cooley High” (1975), about a group of teens in Chicago preparing for life after high school. In addition, stars Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg and Tim Daly will celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Diner” (1982).
The festival runs from April 21 through April 24 in Hollywood, with TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz...
The Turner Classic Movies Film Festival announced on Wednesday that actors Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas are confirmed to appear alongside Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy at the screening, which will be held on the opening night of the festival on April 21.
In keeping with this year’s festival theme “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen,” director Michael Schultz and stars Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, and Steven Williams will introduce their seminal coming-of-age dramedy “Cooley High” (1975), about a group of teens in Chicago preparing for life after high school. In addition, stars Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg and Tim Daly will celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Diner” (1982).
The festival runs from April 21 through April 24 in Hollywood, with TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz...
- 3/23/2022
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Venice Beach has long been a haven for the artsier elements of the entertainment industry. There were pioneers such as Dennis Hopper and Tony Bill. Newer arrivals have included Robert Downey Jr., Maria Bello and, for a time time, Julia Roberts, who later sold her home to Tim Robbins.
But the pandemic, increasing home prices — further fueled by an influx of Silicon Valley types — a failing health care system and L.A.’s overwhelming homelessness crisis have turned the haven into a nightmare for some, especially along the Boardwalk where a sea of tents has overwashed the beach. Residents are not happy.
The growing political battle over homelessness on the Venice Boardwalk escalated on Tuesday, with City Councilman Mike Bonin lashing out at Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s plan to dispatch deputies to Ocean Front Walk — outside his agency’s jurisdiction — to meet with the homeless population there and begin an effort to clear the encampment.
But the pandemic, increasing home prices — further fueled by an influx of Silicon Valley types — a failing health care system and L.A.’s overwhelming homelessness crisis have turned the haven into a nightmare for some, especially along the Boardwalk where a sea of tents has overwashed the beach. Residents are not happy.
The growing political battle over homelessness on the Venice Boardwalk escalated on Tuesday, with City Councilman Mike Bonin lashing out at Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s plan to dispatch deputies to Ocean Front Walk — outside his agency’s jurisdiction — to meet with the homeless population there and begin an effort to clear the encampment.
- 6/8/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Else Blangsted, a Holocaust survivor who went on to a 35-year career as a film music editor who worked with some of the industry’s most successful directors, producers and composers – Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Sydney Pollack, among others – died Friday, May 1, from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles. She was 99.
Blangsted’s death, which occurred just three weeks short of her 100th birthday, was confirmed by her cousin, the Oscar–winning filmmaker and producer Deborah Oppenheimer.
Though she occasionally worked in TV throughout the years – Hazel, Dennis the Menace, Apple’s Way and the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter, among others – it was in film that Blangsted left her most indelible professional mark. A partial roster of her film credits, spanning 1955’s Picnic to 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, includes On Golden Pond, The Great Santini, Ordinary People, The Color Purple, The Goonies, In Cold Blood,...
Blangsted’s death, which occurred just three weeks short of her 100th birthday, was confirmed by her cousin, the Oscar–winning filmmaker and producer Deborah Oppenheimer.
Though she occasionally worked in TV throughout the years – Hazel, Dennis the Menace, Apple’s Way and the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter, among others – it was in film that Blangsted left her most indelible professional mark. A partial roster of her film credits, spanning 1955’s Picnic to 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, includes On Golden Pond, The Great Santini, Ordinary People, The Color Purple, The Goonies, In Cold Blood,...
- 5/5/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
In 91 years of Academy Awards, there have only been three occasions when a producer had two best picture nominees simultaneously: Francis Coppola and Fred Roos, with 1974’s “The Godfather Part II” and “The Conversation”; Scott Rudin, with 2010’s “The Social Network” and “True Grit”; and Megan Ellison, with 2013’s “American Hustle” and “Her.”
That could happen this year with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who produced “The Irishman” and “Joker.” As a bonus, she was also exec producer on “Uncut Gems.” In other words, she’s having a good year.
Tillinger Koskoff freely admits that many people, even within the industry, are unclear on a producer’s role: “Some producers find the material and develop it. Some raise the funds and never go to the set. That’s not what I do.” What she does do: Pay attention to the filmmaker’s vision, and do everything necessary to bring it to life.
That could happen this year with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who produced “The Irishman” and “Joker.” As a bonus, she was also exec producer on “Uncut Gems.” In other words, she’s having a good year.
Tillinger Koskoff freely admits that many people, even within the industry, are unclear on a producer’s role: “Some producers find the material and develop it. Some raise the funds and never go to the set. That’s not what I do.” What she does do: Pay attention to the filmmaker’s vision, and do everything necessary to bring it to life.
- 12/4/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Great new for Frank Sinatra fans. None But The Brave is currently available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives. Ordering information can be found Here
A crippled C-47 transport crash-lands on a remote Pacific island. For the Marines aboard, World War II becomes smaller, but no less deadly. The atoll is held by a Japanese platoon, also cut off from its command.
Debuting director Frank Sinatra stars in this suspenseful war saga, joined by Clint Walker, Tony Bill and Olympic champion Rafer Johnson. After initial bullet-laced confrontations, the Japanese leader (Tatsuya Mihashi) offers to swap water for the aid of Pharmacist Mate Maloney (Sinatra), whom he has mistaken for a doctor. When Maloney amputates the leg of a Japanese soldier and saves his life, peace results. But can it last? There are two sides to every war. None but the Brave skillfully shows the heroism of both.
Frank Sinatra added “director...
A crippled C-47 transport crash-lands on a remote Pacific island. For the Marines aboard, World War II becomes smaller, but no less deadly. The atoll is held by a Japanese platoon, also cut off from its command.
Debuting director Frank Sinatra stars in this suspenseful war saga, joined by Clint Walker, Tony Bill and Olympic champion Rafer Johnson. After initial bullet-laced confrontations, the Japanese leader (Tatsuya Mihashi) offers to swap water for the aid of Pharmacist Mate Maloney (Sinatra), whom he has mistaken for a doctor. When Maloney amputates the leg of a Japanese soldier and saves his life, peace results. But can it last? There are two sides to every war. None but the Brave skillfully shows the heroism of both.
Frank Sinatra added “director...
- 6/25/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Beverly Hills 1968 — Sunset Blvd., The Strip, The Bistro, the haze in the Hollywood Hills — where a lowly hairdresser-stud is locked in a crazy lifestyle free-fall while having the time of his life with four beautiful women. Warren Beatty puts a facet of his public personality on display as a world-class ladies’ man who just can’t keep things together.
Shampoo
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 947
1975 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 18, 2018 / 39.95
Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill, George Furth, Jay Robinson, Carrie Fisher, George Furth, Luana Anders.
Cinematography László Kovács
Production Designer Richard Sylbert
Art Direction W. Stewart Campbell
Film Editor Robert C. Jones
Original Music Paul Simon
Written by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty
Produced by Warren Beatty
Directed by Hal Ashby
Mr. Pettis, banker: “What kind of references do you have?”
George Roundy: “I do Barbara Rush.
Shampoo
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 947
1975 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 18, 2018 / 39.95
Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill, George Furth, Jay Robinson, Carrie Fisher, George Furth, Luana Anders.
Cinematography László Kovács
Production Designer Richard Sylbert
Art Direction W. Stewart Campbell
Film Editor Robert C. Jones
Original Music Paul Simon
Written by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty
Produced by Warren Beatty
Directed by Hal Ashby
Mr. Pettis, banker: “What kind of references do you have?”
George Roundy: “I do Barbara Rush.
- 10/16/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It certainly seems to be the year of the woman at the Academy Awards. Greta Gerwig became just the fifth woman to receive a Best Director Oscar nomination for “Lady Bird.” For the first time in the academy’s 90-year history, a woman, AFI Conservancy alum Rachel Morrison, has been nominated for Best Cinematography for “Mudbound.” And the drama’s director Dee Rees made history as the first black woman to receive a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film’s star Mary J. Blige not only received a supporting actress nomination, but she is also nominated for Best Original Song for “Mighty River” from the film, alongside co-writers Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.
But it’s been baby steps for women behind the camera in terms of Oscar nominations, let alone wins.
Here is a look at some of the trailblazers:
See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards...
The film’s star Mary J. Blige not only received a supporting actress nomination, but she is also nominated for Best Original Song for “Mighty River” from the film, alongside co-writers Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.
But it’s been baby steps for women behind the camera in terms of Oscar nominations, let alone wins.
Here is a look at some of the trailblazers:
See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards...
- 1/29/2018
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) is a shoo-in for a nomination for Best Actress next week, but she could end up making Oscars history in another category as well as was recently reported by one of our Experts, Sasha Stone (Awards Daily). Robbie is also a producer of the film, so if “I, Tonya” also receives a Best Picture nomination she would be the first actress to receive acting and producing nominations for the same film. After a year that saw actresses Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”), Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”) all win Emmys as both actors and producers of TV programs, it would be fitting for Robbie’s passion project to go the distance with a pair of historic Oscar nominations.
It has been an incredible year for female stories, both real and fictional. The “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements have shined...
It has been an incredible year for female stories, both real and fictional. The “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements have shined...
- 1/20/2018
- by Ronnie Boadu
- Gold Derby
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This August will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train
Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train
Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.
- 7/24/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Watch This offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases or premieres. Since it’s Chicago Week here at The A.V. Club, we’re looking back on some essential Chicago movies, set (and often filmed) in the Windy City.
My Bodyguard (1980)
My Bodyguard has slipped under the radar since its 1980 debut, but it’s the kind of film that appears timeless, decades later. Frankly, in today’s fervent “anti-bullying” educational landscape, it should be dusted off and submitted as required viewing for middle-schoolers. Tony Bill’s directorial debut features floppy-haired Chris Makepeace as new kid Clifford, who quickly gets tormented by a gang of thugs at his Chicago high school. The thugs are led by Moody, played by an astonishing Matt Dillon, simultaneously menacing and charming at all of 16 years old. Clifford gets the idea to hire the school’s biggest kid, Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin), to ...
My Bodyguard (1980)
My Bodyguard has slipped under the radar since its 1980 debut, but it’s the kind of film that appears timeless, decades later. Frankly, in today’s fervent “anti-bullying” educational landscape, it should be dusted off and submitted as required viewing for middle-schoolers. Tony Bill’s directorial debut features floppy-haired Chris Makepeace as new kid Clifford, who quickly gets tormented by a gang of thugs at his Chicago high school. The thugs are led by Moody, played by an astonishing Matt Dillon, simultaneously menacing and charming at all of 16 years old. Clifford gets the idea to hire the school’s biggest kid, Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin), to ...
- 3/28/2017
- by Gwen Ihnat
- avclub.com
1963 is our "Year of the Month" for September. So we'll be celebrating its films randomly throughout the month. Here's Daniel Walber...
Once upon a time, there were two production design categories at the Oscars. From 1945 through 1956, and again from 1959 through 1966, color films and black and white films competed separately. The Academy nominated ten films every year after 1950, creating a whole lot more room for variety.
This especially benefited comedy, a genre that has since fallen out of favor with Oscar. And while Come Blow Your Horn might not be the funniest of the 1960s, it is certainly one of the most deserving nominees of the era. Adapted by Norman Lear from a Neil Simon play, this Frank Sinatra vehicle stages most of its antics in one of cinema’s most luxurious apartments, the work of art directors Roland Anderson (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and Hal Pereira (Vertigo) and set decorators...
Once upon a time, there were two production design categories at the Oscars. From 1945 through 1956, and again from 1959 through 1966, color films and black and white films competed separately. The Academy nominated ten films every year after 1950, creating a whole lot more room for variety.
This especially benefited comedy, a genre that has since fallen out of favor with Oscar. And while Come Blow Your Horn might not be the funniest of the 1960s, it is certainly one of the most deserving nominees of the era. Adapted by Norman Lear from a Neil Simon play, this Frank Sinatra vehicle stages most of its antics in one of cinema’s most luxurious apartments, the work of art directors Roland Anderson (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and Hal Pereira (Vertigo) and set decorators...
- 9/5/2016
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Brian DePalma’s Carrie (1976) has cast a very wide shadow since it hit theatres. Many horror films have used the trope of telekinesis for the greater bad following its release, including Jennifer, The Fury, Patrick, The Medusa Touch (all ’78), Scanners (’81), and several more. (You can’t make me mention Friday the 13th Part VII. Oh. Dammit.) Of course, television is anything if not inclusive, and the networks scrambled to come up with their own takes on teenage angst. However, ABC’s The Initiation of Sarah (1978) took a slightly different tact and sent the girl off to college – and ended up serving a strong dose of female empowerment.
First broadcast on Monday, February 6th, Sarah had her work cut out, not so much from NBC, who provided their own Monday Night at the Movies, but from CBS’ juggernaut of M*A*S*H/One Day at a Time. Regardless of ratings,...
First broadcast on Monday, February 6th, Sarah had her work cut out, not so much from NBC, who provided their own Monday Night at the Movies, but from CBS’ juggernaut of M*A*S*H/One Day at a Time. Regardless of ratings,...
- 6/5/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Fox has set Kylie Bunbury to star in a pilot titled "Pitch" - an hour-long drama from Dan Fogelman ("Grandfathered;" "Crazy, Stupid, Love") and Rick Singer ("Younger"), which centers on a young pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues. The pilot order is a part of Fogelman’s four-year development deal with 20th Century Fox TV to write, produce, and supervise various series. In addition to CBS’s "Under the Dome," Bunbury has also appeared in the former Freeform show "Twisted" as well as the miniseries "Tut" on Spike. Fogelman and Singer will write and executive produce along with Tony Bill...
- 3/30/2016
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
“Jesus Loves You More Than You Will Know”
By Raymond Benson
Although it has been released before on Blu-ray, the “Criterion treatment” is always welcome for a classic, well-known film such as The Graduate. Quite simply, it’s one of the most beloved pictures of the 60s, one that hit a nerve in the public consciousness. It helped define those wildly changing years at the end of the decade, illustrating how the country’s youth rebelled against an established society that they were expected to join. The Graduate is a landmark of the New Hollywood movement that took over the studios in those years and held reign through the 70s.
Director Mike Nichols, fresh from his success as a debut helmsman for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), gave us a romantic comedy unlike anything we’d seen previously—mainly because of the radically daring casting of an unknown actor named Dustin Hoffman.
By Raymond Benson
Although it has been released before on Blu-ray, the “Criterion treatment” is always welcome for a classic, well-known film such as The Graduate. Quite simply, it’s one of the most beloved pictures of the 60s, one that hit a nerve in the public consciousness. It helped define those wildly changing years at the end of the decade, illustrating how the country’s youth rebelled against an established society that they were expected to join. The Graduate is a landmark of the New Hollywood movement that took over the studios in those years and held reign through the 70s.
Director Mike Nichols, fresh from his success as a debut helmsman for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), gave us a romantic comedy unlike anything we’d seen previously—mainly because of the radically daring casting of an unknown actor named Dustin Hoffman.
- 2/8/2016
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Paris Barclay has come on board to direct and executive produce Pitch, Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer's baseball drama pilot for Fox. The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, where Fogelman is under an overall deal, stars Kylie Bunbury as a young female pitcher who defies the odds when she becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues. Singer penned the script with Fogelman. The two executive produce with Barclay, Tony Bill and Helen Bartlett. Emmy winner and DGA…...
- 2/3/2016
- Deadline TV
Production is now underway on location in New York City on the New Line Cinema comedy Going In Style, directed by Zach Braff (“Garden State”) and starring Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”), Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules,” “Hannah and Her Sisters”) and Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”).
Freeman, Caine and Arkin team up as lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, who decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
The film also stars two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret (“Tommy,” “Carnal Knowledge”) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one; Peter Serafinowicz...
Freeman, Caine and Arkin team up as lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, who decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
The film also stars two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret (“Tommy,” “Carnal Knowledge”) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one; Peter Serafinowicz...
- 8/11/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Through films like Flightplan, Soul Plane, and White House Down, it has taken over a decade for Hollywood to arrive at Non-Stop.
Showing the vitality of Liam Neeson carrying a gun and a broken heart, Non-Stop recently gave the new action hero one of his biggest box office weekends so far. Involving an air marshal using a particular set of skills to hunt and kill someone threatening his plane (to paraphrase Taken), the film may seem like a generic Neeson actioner. But while his character might be a composite of previous roles, the anxiety he tackles within this film is fresh. Considering its box office success (and my mother’s intense experience in watching the movie), Non-Stop works efficiently as a thriller in 2014 because it provides viewers with imagery of in-flight chaos not seen since before 9/11. It is also the indication of a natural progression for how Hollywood films are...
Showing the vitality of Liam Neeson carrying a gun and a broken heart, Non-Stop recently gave the new action hero one of his biggest box office weekends so far. Involving an air marshal using a particular set of skills to hunt and kill someone threatening his plane (to paraphrase Taken), the film may seem like a generic Neeson actioner. But while his character might be a composite of previous roles, the anxiety he tackles within this film is fresh. Considering its box office success (and my mother’s intense experience in watching the movie), Non-Stop works efficiently as a thriller in 2014 because it provides viewers with imagery of in-flight chaos not seen since before 9/11. It is also the indication of a natural progression for how Hollywood films are...
- 3/7/2014
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 10 Oct 2013 - 03:27
Another 25 unsung greats come under the spotlight, as we provide our pick of the underappreciated films of 1993...
What a year 1993 was. It saw the release of Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. Bill Clinton became president. Season three of Deep Space Nine premiered on Us television. UK politician Douglas Hurd visited Argentina. Cyndi Lauper released her album Hat Full Of Stars.
Aside from those earth shattering events, we'll probably remember 1993, in cinema terms, as the year Jurassic Park dominated the box office like an angry Tyrannosaurus. A true phenomenon, its profits doubled those of the second most watched film in 1993 cinemas, Mrs Doubtfire, and almost three times as much as the movie below that - the Harrison Ford thriller, The Fugitive.
But as ever, there was so much more to the 1993 movie landscape than dinosaurs and Robin Williams dressed as an old woman.
Another 25 unsung greats come under the spotlight, as we provide our pick of the underappreciated films of 1993...
What a year 1993 was. It saw the release of Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. Bill Clinton became president. Season three of Deep Space Nine premiered on Us television. UK politician Douglas Hurd visited Argentina. Cyndi Lauper released her album Hat Full Of Stars.
Aside from those earth shattering events, we'll probably remember 1993, in cinema terms, as the year Jurassic Park dominated the box office like an angry Tyrannosaurus. A true phenomenon, its profits doubled those of the second most watched film in 1993 cinemas, Mrs Doubtfire, and almost three times as much as the movie below that - the Harrison Ford thriller, The Fugitive.
But as ever, there was so much more to the 1993 movie landscape than dinosaurs and Robin Williams dressed as an old woman.
- 10/9/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Ted Melfi, who made his feature debut directing Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd in St. Vincent De Van Nuys for The Weinstein Company, is in talks to helm Going In Style, the New Line remake of the 1979 bank heist comedy. Melfi wrote the script and Donald De Line is producing with Tony Bill exec producing. The offer to Melfi was made today and they are negotiating. The original film was directed by Martin Brest and it starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three retirees who decide to rob a bank. That basic premise is being used in the sequel, but the back stories of the characters are different. A lot of golden age stars are circling this one, and a strong cast should be set soon. For Melfi, this comes after he made a deal to develop for Sony Pictures and...
- 9/19/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Although The Incredible Burt Wonderstone helmer Don Scardino was previously rumored to direct, Variety is today reporting that New Line Cinema is in negotiations with Ted Melfi, previously attached just as screenwriter, to take on Going in Style . Melfi is making his directorial debut with the upcoming St. Vincent de Van Nuys . Directed by Martin Brest, the original 1979 film starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as a trio of senior citizens who decide to rob a bank and take their winnings to Las Vegas. Tony Bill, who also produced the original film, is returning to produce the remake.
- 9/19/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Eleanor Parker today: Beautiful as ever in Scaramouche, Interrupted Melody Eleanor Parker, who turns 91 in ten days (June 26, 2013), can be seen at her most radiantly beautiful in several films Turner Classic Movies is showing this evening and tomorrow morning as part of their Star of the Month Eleanor Parker "tribute." Among them are the classic Scaramouche, the politically delicate Above and Beyond, and the biopic Interrupted Melody, which earned Parker her third and final Best Actress Academy Award nomination. (Photo: publicity shot of Eleanor Parker in Scaramouche.) The best of the lot is probably George Sidney’s balletic Scaramouche (1952), in which Eleanor Parker plays one of Stewart Granger’s love interests — the other one is Janet Leigh. A loose remake of Rex Ingram’s 1923 blockbuster, the George Sidney version features plenty of humor, romance, and adventure; vibrant colors (cinematography by Charles Rosher); an elaborately staged climactic swordfight; and tough dudes...
- 6/18/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Breaking: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone helmer Don Scardino is in talks to go right back to work for New Line and helm Going In Style, the remake of the 1979 caper pic. The original starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as geriatrics who are bored with their lives and decide to knock off a bank. The remake is being scripted by Ted Melfi, who wrote and will direct Saint Vincent de Van Nuys with Bill Murray starring. Donald De Line is producing on board to produce. Tony Bill, the producer on the original, will executive produce. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone stars Steve Carell, Jim Carrey and Steve Buscemi as Vegas magicians, bows March 15. Scardino’s repped by CAA and Parseghian/Planco.
- 1/10/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
New Line is hoping that Going In Style isn’t out of style. The Warner Bros. label is remaking the 1979 caper movie, with Donald De Line on board to produce. Tony Bill, the producer on the original, will executive produce. Ted Melfi, who wrote and is directing the Bill Murray vehicle St. Vincent de Van Nuys, is writing the script. Photos: Fall Movie Preview: Major New Releases From Spielberg, Jackson, Tarantino, the Wachowskis, Burton The original movie starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as seniors who, tired of the monotonous life of feeding pigeons and waiting for
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- 10/12/2012
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chicago – Now that Wes Anderson’s marvelous “Moonrise Kingdom” has finally received a much-belated wide release, it’s an ideal time for audiences to revisit Bill Murray’s first cinematic excursion to summer camp. Ivan Reitman’s 1979 hit, “Meatballs,” is famous primary for giving the SNL vet his first starring role, which is appropriate considering Murray is the only reason worth watching it.
As far as “snobs vs. slobs” farces of the ’70s go, “Meatballs” is a passable but wholly unremarkable escapist lark. It assembles a series of misfit stereotypes—the clueless nerd, the fat kid, the guy who can’t help blowing stuff up—and has them go through the motions. There isn’t a single gag involving the hapless counselors-in-training at Camp North Star that is the least bit funny or surprising. Half of the film’s 99-minute running time is so tiresome that it will undoubtedly lead...
As far as “snobs vs. slobs” farces of the ’70s go, “Meatballs” is a passable but wholly unremarkable escapist lark. It assembles a series of misfit stereotypes—the clueless nerd, the fat kid, the guy who can’t help blowing stuff up—and has them go through the motions. There isn’t a single gag involving the hapless counselors-in-training at Camp North Star that is the least bit funny or surprising. Half of the film’s 99-minute running time is so tiresome that it will undoubtedly lead...
- 7/3/2012
- by [email protected] (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Tony Bill seems to have it all going for him – successful actor, producer and director – so it was with great pleasure that we were able to pick his brains recently on the many strings to his bow and how he became involved as a producer with The Sting, which gets a beautifully buffed and shined Blu-ray re-release this week.
HeyUGuys: How did you come to meet David Ward? I understand that you first met him when he had already written Steelyard Blues and was working on The Sting?
Tony Bill: David was just out of film school at UCLA and had written Steelyard Blues. His agent sent it to me and I asked to meet him, because I thought it showed a lot of original talent. I asked him what he wanted to write next and he told me a 3 minute idea about a movie set in the 30′s about confidence men.
HeyUGuys: How did you come to meet David Ward? I understand that you first met him when he had already written Steelyard Blues and was working on The Sting?
Tony Bill: David was just out of film school at UCLA and had written Steelyard Blues. His agent sent it to me and I asked to meet him, because I thought it showed a lot of original talent. I asked him what he wanted to write next and he told me a 3 minute idea about a movie set in the 30′s about confidence men.
- 6/6/2012
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The producer and screenwriter of the 1973 film that paired up Robert Redford and Paul Newman as 1930s con men
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Michael Phillips, producer
One day in 1971, the producer Tony Bill rang me, very excited, saying he had just met a film school graduate called David S Ward. This guy had an idea for a film about confidence men. David refused to reveal the ending: he wanted this scene to be a con on the audience. My wife and I, who had formed a company with Bill in La, loved it.
Ward didn't finish the script until 1972, but it was the finest screenplay I had ever read. Suddenly we had several studios competing to shoot it, and the best director around, George Roy Hill, wanting to take charge. Hill, who had made Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, was able to recruit Robert Redford to star as Johnny Hooker.
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view
Michael Phillips, producer
One day in 1971, the producer Tony Bill rang me, very excited, saying he had just met a film school graduate called David S Ward. This guy had an idea for a film about confidence men. David refused to reveal the ending: he wanted this scene to be a con on the audience. My wife and I, who had formed a company with Bill in La, loved it.
Ward didn't finish the script until 1972, but it was the finest screenplay I had ever read. Suddenly we had several studios competing to shoot it, and the best director around, George Roy Hill, wanting to take charge. Hill, who had made Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, was able to recruit Robert Redford to star as Johnny Hooker.
- 6/5/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
As part of Universal’s centennial celebrations they are dusting off some of the more esteemed classics in their back catalogue (and some bizarre titles that would perhaps better be left confined to history), giving them the HD spit and polish treatment and re-releasing them.
One hugely welcome member of the upgrade club is 1973′s The Sting, starring Butch and Sundance (Paul Newman & Robert Redford), directed once again by George Roy Hill. I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Michael Phillips, who along with his then wife Julia was presented with the Best Film Oscar that year for producing this peerless con film, which was especially enjoyable given his noticeable absence from the raft of special features being rolled out with the newly spruced up Blu-ray. Since it was only his second film as producer (after Steelyard Blues), I started by asking him how he became involved in the project.
One hugely welcome member of the upgrade club is 1973′s The Sting, starring Butch and Sundance (Paul Newman & Robert Redford), directed once again by George Roy Hill. I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Michael Phillips, who along with his then wife Julia was presented with the Best Film Oscar that year for producing this peerless con film, which was especially enjoyable given his noticeable absence from the raft of special features being rolled out with the newly spruced up Blu-ray. Since it was only his second film as producer (after Steelyard Blues), I started by asking him how he became involved in the project.
- 6/4/2012
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This story first appeared in the Feb. 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Highbrows might scoff that Hollywood doesn't respect serious literature, but they obviously haven't discovered the biz's high-end rare-book scene. Johnny Depp collects first-edition works by Jack Kerouac, Arthur Rimbaud, Dylan Thomas and Edgar Allan Poe. Other industry figures have assembled museum-quality collections devoted to everything from exploration (producer Kathleen Kennedy) and aviation (director Tony Bill) to novelizations of silent-era films (business manager Bill Tanner) and the poetry of William Butler Yeats (screenwriter Jeffrey Fiskin). CAA is a particular fan of vintage
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- 2/11/2012
- by Gary Baum
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Let’s say you’re a crew worker in Hollywood and Steven Spielberg comes up to you on set and asks to borrow your script for a moment because he locked his in his car.
Do you:
A.) Say “sure thing” and loan him your copy.
B.) Snatch the script out of his hands and say, “Get your own.”
If you chose B.) today you could reasonably expect those ghosts from the lost Ark of the Covenant to show up and shoot lightning through your chest until your face melts. But back before Spielberg was Spielberg, this was precisely the...
Do you:
A.) Say “sure thing” and loan him your copy.
B.) Snatch the script out of his hands and say, “Get your own.”
If you chose B.) today you could reasonably expect those ghosts from the lost Ark of the Covenant to show up and shoot lightning through your chest until your face melts. But back before Spielberg was Spielberg, this was precisely the...
- 12/5/2011
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
Hollywood joke:
A writer, a director, and a producer are crawling across the desert without water, dying of thirst. They look up and sticking out of the sand is a nicely chilled bottle of apple juice. Before the writer and director can grab it, the producer is on his feet, unzips his pants and starts peeing into the bottle.
“What’re you doing?” the writer and director cry.
“Fixing it!” says the producer.
So, that attitude in mind, when I tell you John Calley died last Tuesday at age 81, and if the name is unfamiliar and I try to enlighten you by saying he was a producer and – worse – a studio executive, no doubt at least a few of you who regularly patronize this site out of your love for film and filmmakers might shrug and say, “So what?” A dead studio exec? That’s like that other joke, the...
A writer, a director, and a producer are crawling across the desert without water, dying of thirst. They look up and sticking out of the sand is a nicely chilled bottle of apple juice. Before the writer and director can grab it, the producer is on his feet, unzips his pants and starts peeing into the bottle.
“What’re you doing?” the writer and director cry.
“Fixing it!” says the producer.
So, that attitude in mind, when I tell you John Calley died last Tuesday at age 81, and if the name is unfamiliar and I try to enlighten you by saying he was a producer and – worse – a studio executive, no doubt at least a few of you who regularly patronize this site out of your love for film and filmmakers might shrug and say, “So what?” A dead studio exec? That’s like that other joke, the...
- 9/21/2011
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
When one thinks of Steve McQueen, the last thing that pops into that person’s mind is the iconic actor acting like a loveable oaf, opposite someone like Jackie Gleason. However, that’s exactly the case when it comes to the underrated gem of a comedy, Soldier In The Rain.
A 1963 film produced by Pink Panther helmer and comedy giant Blake Edwwards, Soldier stars Gleason and McQueen, and is based on the William Goldman novel of the same name. Helmed by Ralph Nelson (best known for films like Requiem For A Heavyweight, also starring Gleason), the film itself is arguably better known for being released during the same week as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but it’s also an absolutely wonderful comedy, that still garners laugh after laugh to this day.
Seeing a proper DVD release thanks to the Warner Archive, Soldier in the Rain follows the friendship...
A 1963 film produced by Pink Panther helmer and comedy giant Blake Edwwards, Soldier stars Gleason and McQueen, and is based on the William Goldman novel of the same name. Helmed by Ralph Nelson (best known for films like Requiem For A Heavyweight, also starring Gleason), the film itself is arguably better known for being released during the same week as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but it’s also an absolutely wonderful comedy, that still garners laugh after laugh to this day.
Seeing a proper DVD release thanks to the Warner Archive, Soldier in the Rain follows the friendship...
- 6/15/2011
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Everyone loves a good underdog. Maybe he’s the kid in school that just can’t win, like in Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, or maybe they are just a misunderstood nerd that ends up saving the day in the end. Either way, underdogs have a special place in our heart, and that is why this weeks top ten is
Top Ten Underdogs (in children’s movies)
Be sure to tell us your picks too!!!
Honorable Mention: Daniel Larusso aka Daniel-san – The Karate Kid (1984)
The Karate Kid starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita is one of those movies that you either care nothing about or absolutely love. There’s not really anything in between and I happen to fall into the latter category. Obviously, I could start out by saying that the director was no other than John G. Avildsen (yeah, the guy that directed Rocky) and...
Top Ten Underdogs (in children’s movies)
Be sure to tell us your picks too!!!
Honorable Mention: Daniel Larusso aka Daniel-san – The Karate Kid (1984)
The Karate Kid starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita is one of those movies that you either care nothing about or absolutely love. There’s not really anything in between and I happen to fall into the latter category. Obviously, I could start out by saying that the director was no other than John G. Avildsen (yeah, the guy that directed Rocky) and...
- 3/29/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exclusive: David Ellison's Skydance Productions is negotiating a rights deal to turn the 1970s animated science fiction TV series Star Blazers into a large scale live action feature. Ellison will hire Christopher McQuarrie to write the script, with Ellison and Josh Klein producing. The series was based on the Japanese anime series Space Battleship Yamato. Both are described as "space opera," involving alien invasions, the near extinction of the human race, and a last dash journey through space to save the planet. Ellison started Skydance with hopes he could emulate the studio-aligned-producer-who-can-put-up-50% model that Thomas Tull's Legendary Pictures has succeeded with at Warner Bros. Ellison made a deal with Paramount Pictures in late 2009 to co-finance four to six pictures per year, and then raised a reported $350 million in debt and equity funding. His Paramount deal has gotten off to a flying start: Skydance funded half of True Grit,...
- 2/21/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Late last year, Keith Ross Leckie and Julie Allan were hired to write Ocean Warrior, a biopic about 'eco-pirate' and Greenpeace activist Captain Paul Watson. Now there is a report that Ewan McGregor will play the lead role. The comments about the actor being hired reportedly come from Paul Watson himself. Trouble is, I can't find the actual posting of said comments (which follow), nor could Bleeding Cool [1]. Ecorazzi [2] reports that the comments were posted at Planet Ocean Alliance [3], but I haven't been able to turn up the real post. The making of this movie has been a project in Hollywood since 1981 when Tony Bill first bought the rights from me for Warner Brothers,” writes Watson. “The option rights have been purchased every year but now finally it looks promising, with a written script and serious pre-production work. Over the years a number of actors have requested to play my part including Sean Penn,...
- 1/3/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
In November it was reported by Variety that development was underway on an action-thriller called Ocean Warrior. The film is based on the exploits of Capt. Paul Watson, Greenpeace activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Keith Ross Leckie and Julie Allan wrote the screenplay for Ocean Warrior. It has just been announced that Ewan McGregor has been cast in the lead role.
Here is a statement from Capt. Watson from Ecorazzi
The making of this movie has been a project in Hollywood since 1981 when Tony Bill first bought the rights from me for Warner Brothers. The option rights have been purchased every year but now finally it looks promising, with a written script and serious pre-production work. Over the years a number of actors have requested to play my part including Sean Penn, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aiden Quinn, Rutger Hauer, Clive Owens etc. As of now it looks like Ewan McGregor.
Keith Ross Leckie and Julie Allan wrote the screenplay for Ocean Warrior. It has just been announced that Ewan McGregor has been cast in the lead role.
Here is a statement from Capt. Watson from Ecorazzi
The making of this movie has been a project in Hollywood since 1981 when Tony Bill first bought the rights from me for Warner Brothers. The option rights have been purchased every year but now finally it looks promising, with a written script and serious pre-production work. Over the years a number of actors have requested to play my part including Sean Penn, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aiden Quinn, Rutger Hauer, Clive Owens etc. As of now it looks like Ewan McGregor.
- 1/3/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
A Variety report from November outlined the basics of Ocean Warrior, a biopic about Captain Paul Watson, eco-pirate and star of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars. Now, Bleeding Cool reports that Watson himself has confirmed the casting of his role: Ewan McGregor.
Whale Wars chronicles Watson’s controversial Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they wage dangerous high-seas war against illegal Japanese whaling vessels. The film, described as an action-thriller, would cover Watson’s early days with Greenpeace and the formation of his organization.
Ecorazzi has pulled this quote from Watson from somewhere on the Planet Ocean Alliance forum (there is no exact lead to where Watson wrote this):
The making of this movie has been a project in Hollywood since 1981 when Tony Bill first bought the rights from me for Warner Brothers. The option rights have been purchased every year but now finally it looks promising, with a written script and serious pre-production work.
Whale Wars chronicles Watson’s controversial Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they wage dangerous high-seas war against illegal Japanese whaling vessels. The film, described as an action-thriller, would cover Watson’s early days with Greenpeace and the formation of his organization.
Ecorazzi has pulled this quote from Watson from somewhere on the Planet Ocean Alliance forum (there is no exact lead to where Watson wrote this):
The making of this movie has been a project in Hollywood since 1981 when Tony Bill first bought the rights from me for Warner Brothers. The option rights have been purchased every year but now finally it looks promising, with a written script and serious pre-production work.
- 1/3/2011
- by Anthony Vieira
- The Film Stage
By Lee Pfeiffer
You're a Big Boy Now, the 1966 coming of age sex comedy, has finally received a DVD release through the Warner Archive. The film is primarily significant because it marked the elevation of young Francis Ford Coppola from B horror movies and skin flicks to slick big studio fare. The film traces the experiences of a young nerd, Bernard (Peter Kastner) as he tries desperately to lose his virginity. It seems the sexual revolution is occurring all around him but he's stuck in the role of Establishment reactionary. This is do in no small part to his overbearing parents. Mom (Geraldine Page) is a monstrously bossy, overbearing type who seems to want to instill an Oedipus complex in young Bernard. Dad (Rip Torn) is a revered department head at the New York City Library who rules the roost with the type of disciplinary tactics that would have offender Himmler.
- 12/27/2010
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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