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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | 2004 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
1-20 of 35 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
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15 November 2009 8:30 AM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »
Emil Jannings, Warner Baxter, George Arliss and Lionel Barrymore. Wallace Beery and Fredric March simultaneously. Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Victor McLaglen. Paul Muni and Spencer Tracy². Robert Donat, Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper and James Cagney. Paul Lukas, Bing Crosby, Ray Milland and Fredric March, who was worth returning to. Ronald Colman, Laurence Olivier, Broderick Crawford, José Ferrer and Bogie. 'Coop' again. William Holden and Marlon Brando a few years late. Ernest Borgnine, Yul Brynner and Alec Guiness. David Niven, Charlton Heston and Burt Lancaster. Maximillian Schell, Gregory Peck and Sidney Poitier who made history. Rex Harrison, Lee Marvin, Paul Scofield, Rod Steiger, Cliff Robertson and 'The Duke'. George C Scott though he refused. Gene Hackman. Marlon Brando by way of Sacheen Littlefeather. Jack Lemmon, Art Carney, Jack Nicholson and (posthumously) Peter Finch. Richard Dreyfuss, Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Henry Fonda. Ben Kingsley, Robert Duvall, F Murray Abraham, »
- NATHANIEL R
Kind Hearts and Coronets: from 'antisemitic' novel to classic film
12 November 2009 5:52 AM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
The 60th anniversary of Robert Hamer's Ealing classic Kind Hearts and Coronets is the perfect time to get acquainted with the witty, provocative book on which it is based
This week, I spoke at the Film Nite discussion group in London on the 60th anniversary of Robert Hamer's Ealing classic Kind Hearts and Coronets. It was a chance to revisit that old chestnut: is it true that you can only make great films from terrible books, and that conversely, great books always get turned into terrible films?
Kind Hearts and Coronets is the elegant black comedy about a suburban draper's assistant, Louis Mazzini, played by Dennis Price, who by a quirk of fate is distantly in line to a dukedom and sets out to murder every single nobleman and noblewoman ahead of him in the succession so that he can get his hands on the ermine. All the »
- Peter Bradshaw
Zakes Mokae obituary
10 November 2009 10:45 AM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
South African actor who helped break the taboos of apartheid
On a steamy evening in a rundown Johannesburg club in September 1961, two actors premiered The Blood Knot, a play about brothers with different fathers, both men black but one light enough to enter white society. For each of them, the black actor Zakes Mokae, who has died aged 75, and the white playwright Athol Fugard, the night launched their careers. Fugard's play toured South Africa for six months, and although he travelled first-class on the train while Mokae travelled third, the two had broken a taboo by being the first black and white actors to appear on a public stage in apartheid South Africa. The success of The Blood Knot brought Fugard to international attention and kickstarted Mokae's long and varied career in theatre, film and television.
Mokae was born and grew up in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, the son of a policeman and a housemaid. »
Anthony Hopkins Is Odin In ‘Thor’
30 October 2009 9:00 AM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »
It shouldn’t be completely surprising that an actor of Anthony Hopkins stature has decided to take the role of Odin, the father of Thor and Loki, in Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming big screen adaptation of the comic Thor. After all, famous actors playing parts such as this in big budget fantasy or genre movies is not completely unheard of.
As an example, take a look at the original Clash of the Titans, which featured the great Laurence Olivier as Zeus. Or, how about a little movie called Star Wars, which cast the great Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi. Plus, Hopkins himself has been in a few genre movies previously, including Dracula and The Silence of the Lambs.
In case you’re not familiar with Thor, the film, which is scripted by Mark Protosevich and Zack Stentz, centers on partly disabled med student Dr. Donald Blake’s discovery of his Norse god alter ego, »
- Joe Gillis
How Does Jim Carrey Playing Multiple Roles in 'A Christmas Carol' Benefit the Film?
26 October 2009 1:22 PM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »
The idea of one actor playing multiple characters in a film isn't a new one even though many people begin and end the conversation with Eddie Murphy for his performances in films such as Nutty Professor and Norbit all while forgetting the comedy he brought us in Coming to America.
Before Murphy we had the likes of Mel Brooks in History of the World and Spaceballs, Alec Guiness in the fantastic Kind Hearts and Coronets and Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove. Outside of Murphy it seems only Mike Myers has endured the same kind of ill treatment, primarily for taking the joke to the point it wasn't funny any longer (debatable) in the Austin Powers films and then dropping the bomb that was The Love Guru.
Looking at the performances listed above I am reminded of some classic films as well as a couple that missed the mark, but we »
- Brad Brevet
10 Most Underrated Young Actresses
22 October 2009 1:48 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »
Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -
- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'. »
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
10 Most Underrated Young Actresses
22 October 2009 1:48 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »
Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -
- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'. »
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
10 Most Underrated Young Actresses
22 October 2009 1:48 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »
Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -
- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'. »
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
10 Most Underrated Young Actresses
22 October 2009 1:48 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »
Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -
- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'. »
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
10 Most Underrated Young Actresses
22 October 2009 1:48 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »
Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -
- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'. »
- modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
Nsfw Re-Edit of 'Star Wars' Mos Eisley Scene
20 October 2009 9:25 PM, PDT | CinemaSpy | See recent CinemaSpy news »
The folks over at Sci Fi Wire have unearthed a funny bit of YouTube goodness —a re-edit of a scene from the original Star Wars.
The sequence features the voice of British actor Peter Serafinowicz redubbing Alec Guinness' dialogue in a much more, ahem...shall we say, John McClane sort of way.
For those who may not know, Serafinowicz is known for voicing Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, playing Pete in Shaun of the Dead, and most recently appearing as Sctanley in Couples Retreat.
Be advised this is definitely Nsfw. Turn the speakers down so that the R-Rated dialogue doesn't make you the subject of tomorrow's informal water-cooler "talk" about work place ethics.
That aside, enjoy...
»
Five Villains Who've Worn Out Their Welcome
20 October 2009 7:02 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »
A good villain is memorable, and impressive, and scary as hell. But bring back the same villain over and over, give him lousy dialogue and have him repeatedly defeated by worthless opponents, and that villain becomes nothing more than an ineffectual bully who doesn't know when to give up. He's like that big, hairy guy down the street who scared the crap out of you when you were a kid, but who now has a pot belly, three obnoxious kids, and a Trans Am on blocks in his front yard. It makes it hard to remember why you ever found him frightening in the first place -- you'd feel sorry for him, but you just don't care enough to bother. Like these five:
Dr. Evil
Remember how cool Dr. Evil was in the first Austin Powers movie? Very few villains have fallen as far or as fast as Mike Myers' homage to Bondian baddies. »
- Dawn Taylor
Justin Bieber Is Not From Around Here
28 September 2009 10:11 AM, PDT | MTV Newsroom | See recent MTV Newsroom news »
Fifteen-year-old singer Justin Bieber has already scored himself a Canadian Platinum single, has a hit video (with a second on the way) and legions of fans. The attention has driven him from his hometown of Stratford, Ontario, to Atlanta, so that he can be closer to his mentor Usher and better focus on making his debut album My World. The transition has been dramatic for Bieber, who went from a small town with a population of under 30,000 to a city of millions.
Everybody knows about Atlanta, a city full of hot hip-hop (Jermaine Dupri, Outkast, Ludacris and Lil Jon all count the A-t-l as home), workmanlike baseball and Coca-Cola. But what about Stratford, Ontario?
Bieber's hometown was originally named for Stratford-upon-Avon, the town in England that William Shakespeare called home. Not surprisingly, the biggest annual event in town is the Shakespeare festival, which actually attracts top-shelf acting talent (Alec Guinness, »
- Kyle Anderson
Jor-El to appear on Smallville this season
12 September 2009 3:00 PM, PDT | AOL - TVSquad | See recent AOL - TVSquad news »
Clark's Kryptonian father Jor-El will be appearing on Smallville in Season 9, and he'll be played by Julian Sands. It'll be a flashback or time-travel plot device (much like his last appearance in season three when he was played by Tom Welling), so it's not as if the character is coming back from the dead or anything. This isn't Buffy.
The character has been voiced by Terrance Stamp practically since the beginning of the series and has only appeared once as Tom Welling, although his American accent at the time was never explained. Sands plays a younger version, as well, but at least the accent is correct. I wonder if Sands will be trying a Terrance Stamp impersonation the same way that Ewan McGregor copied Alec Guinness' accent for the Star Wars prequels. That would be kind of cool.
Sands is a good actor and I'm sure he'll do the part proud. »
- Brad Trechak
Record-Breaking Priyanka Chopra!
4 September 2009 10:02 AM, PDT | Bollyspice | See recent Bollyspice news »
Priyanka Chopra is set to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by playing twelve different characters in What's Your Rashee? - beating Kamal Hassan's ten for Dasavatharam and Sir Alec Guinness's eight for Kind Hearts & Coronets. "If this does happen, it will be phenomenal," she says, "I'm overjoyed and honoured to be a part of this record-breaking film."
Basking in the success of three big hits in a row, the hard-working Priyanka has confirmed that she will be appearing in Siddharth Anand's Anjaana Anjaani along with Ranbir Kapoor. She tweeted, "Hey guys.. Just got out of a script discussion for the next film I'm starting.. It's called Anjaana Anjaani!! Super story.. Excited!!" The film has a 45-day shoot scheduled for Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco beginning in October.
To put the icing on the cake, it appears that Priyanka has been picked as the »
Where My Heart Lies: My Favorite Actors. And Yours?
29 August 2009 10:05 AM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »
instead of a tues top 10, a 25.
I did this once for the actresses but I'm always giving the ladies their due. So, here's to the silver screen men that have enriched my movie-life. I admit up front that I haven't investigated Classic Hollywood actors to the extent I've investigated their leading ladies, so this list is highly subject to change the more old movies I see in my life.
Nathaniel's 25 all time favorite leading men
In no particular order and extremely subject to change
Gene Kelly | Tony Leung Chiu-Wai |
Montgomery Clift | Jeff Bridges | Paul Newman
Jude Law | James Dean | William Holden | Gene Hackman | Rock Hudson
Jack Lemmon | Gael García Bernal | Ewan McGregor | James Stewart | Gregory Peck
Steve Martin | Marlon Brando | Jack Nicholson | Burt Lancaster | Richard Burton
Brad Pitt | Johnny Depp | Cary Grant | Warren Beatty | William Hurt
Because sometimes you just want to name names
The list is not comprehensive, not set in stone, »
- NATHANIEL R
American Thoughts On The British Film Industry
31 July 2009 10:52 AM, PDT | FilmShaft.com | See recent FilmShaft.com news »
Kevin Coll is a Memphis based marketing guru and Editor in Chief of Memphis-based film news site Fused Film.
So when Craig asked me to do a guest post on FilmShaft about American thoughts on the British film industry, how could I resist? First off let me start by saying that I speak on my own behalf and not the rest of America. I say this because if what I say is misconstrued or taken out of context to be offensive I do not want the rest of America to suffer!
So where to start? How about the tradition of great British actors who have come to be household names in American cinema? Perhaps the most recognizable of names for me is Peter O’Toole who is in my favorite movie of all time, “Lawrence of Arabia” (and mine in “High Spirits – Craig). One of the biggest problems I have about Hollywood, »
- kevincoll
Let The Right One In Director to Adapt John Le Carré Spy Novel
10 July 2009 11:12 AM, PDT | FilmJunk | See recent FilmJunk news »
As we all await the dreaded Matt Reeves-directed remake of Let The Right One In, it's nice to see that the director of the original, Tomas Alfredson, is starting to get a lot of cool opportunities thrown his way. His next project is currently being lined up over at Working Title Films, and it is an adaptation of the John Le Carré spy novel, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The film will be Alfredson's first English-language picture, with a screenplay written by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), who was also recently hired to pen the next James Bond movie [1]. While a cold war thriller is not necessarily what I would have expected from Tomas Alfredson, the truth is I know next to nothing about his filmography prior to Let The Right One In. He is apparently excited to work with Morgan and producer Tim Bevan, calling the project both »
- Sean
Le Carre Lets Tomas Alfredson In To Direct ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’
10 July 2009 9:05 AM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »
The director of one of last year's best films has finally found his next gig... Tomas Alfredson, director of Let The Right One In, has been hired to make a spy thriller. Per Variety, Alfredson will be directing an adaptation of John Le Carre's classic cold war novel, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." It will be Alfredson's first film in English and the second time the novel has been brought to the screen. The first was for a BBC mini-series starring Alec Guinness. The story is about an aging, retired spy named George Smiley who's brought back to active duty to help identify a possible mole in the upper ranks of the British Secret Intelligence Service. No word on casting yet, but the script is written by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland). Alfredson showed with his fantastic debut film that he can handle atmosphere and character with equal skill. The »
- Rob Hunter
Tomas Alfredson to Adapt Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
9 July 2009 11:09 PM, PDT | Beyond Hollywood | See recent Beyond Hollywood news »
While Hollywood tries to remake his vampire horror movie “Let the Right One In” with those guys from “Cloverfield”, Swedish director Tomas Alfredson has already moved on to his next project: adapting the John Le Carre spy novel “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” for Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The original novel was set in the aftermath of the cold war, and tells the tale of a spy-hunt within the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service. THR says Peter Morgan (”Frost/Nixon,” “The Queen”) will do the actual adapting, while Alfredson will get ready to direct the film sometime next year. The book was previously adapted into a British TV series in the 1970s starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley, the retired former British intelligence officer called in to track down a double agent within the spy agency. The series co-starred Michael Jayston, Anthony Bate, George Sewell, »
- Nix
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | 2004 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
1-20 of 35 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
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