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2009 | 2008

14 articles from 2009

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Former MGM Chief Daniel Melnick Dead At 77; Many Classic Films To His Credit

16 October 2009 9:58 AM, PDT | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news »

Producer and former MGM chief Daniel Melnick died Tuesday at age 77. His credits are as diversified as they are impressive. Among the films and TV series he oversaw, produced or developed: Get Smart, Network, Straw Dogs, All That Jazz, That's Entertainment, Midnight Express, The Goodbye Girl, The Sunshine Boys, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Footloose and Altered States. For more click here »

- nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)

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Movie Maverick Melnick Dead At 77

15 October 2009 12:16 PM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »

Emmy Award-winning movie maverick Daniel Melnick has died after battling lung cancer. He was 77.

The former head of production at MGM and Columbia studios made his name by signing off on bold and often controversial films like Straw Dogs, Network and Making Love.

Paying tribute to the mogul, his protege Sherry Lansing tells the Los Angeles Times newspaper, "He was an extraordinary producer and an extraordinary executive. He always thought out of the box and was never afraid to take a risk."

Melnick was also the brains behind cult TV show Get Smart.

He won Emmys in the mid 1960s for John Gielgud's Shakespearean TV special Ages of Man and Death of a Salesman.

Sam Peckinpah’s violent and controversial Straw Dogs was the first film Melnick produced.

He also helped to develop classic movies like Midnight Express, Kramer Vs. Kramer, All That Jazz and The China Syndrome at Columbia.

Melnick also produced 1984’s Footloose and Steve Martin's revamp of the Cyrano De Bergerac tale, Roxanne. »

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7 Movies Not To Watch If You’re Married

15 October 2009 4:31 AM, PDT | Filmofilia | See recent Filmofilia news »

“Couples Retreat“ is sponsoring Break Media this week, so I’m going to go ahead and describe the film as a hilarious look at real world problems faced by married couples.

But when it comes to looking at the real world problems of married couples, not all films are so friggin’ hilarious. In fact, some movies might just ruin your crappy marriage!…

Private Parts

On the surface Howard Stern’s Private Parts might not seem so bad. After all, the film is basically a love note from Stern to his wife. It was his way of letting her know that despite all the breasts he sees on a daily basis, love conquers all…

Kramer vs. Kramer, Eraserhead… Click here to read full story [Via Screen Junkies]

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- Allan Ford

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Studio Chief Daniel Melnick Dies at 77

14 October 2009 10:19 AM, PDT | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »

By Brent Lang

Former MGM chief Daniel Melnick died Tuesday in Los Angeles at 77. He had been struggling with lung cancer.

 In a career that spanned decades, Melnick produced both Oscar-winning prestige pictures such as "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Network," as well as the action movies "Total Recall" and "The Quick and the Dead."

Melnick worked extensively at Columbia, ABC, and MGM. It was at the latte... »

- Lew Harris

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Movie Review: The Boys Are Back

23 September 2009 3:59 AM, PDT | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »

It's been 30 years since Kramer vs. Kramer took movie audiences by surprise with its tale of a workaholic dad forced to reorder his priorities to focus on being a caregiver (back before anyone had heard the term "caregiver"). That film was a change of pace for Dustin Hoffman, softening an edgy image and earning him his first Oscar. Now here comes Clive Owen in Scott Hicks' The Boys Are Back, a reworking of similar themes in a way that is just as telling and just as affecting. Indeed, Owen hasn't played this kind of role before, at least not since he first popped up on American radar in Bent and Croupier a dozen years ago. While he's shown versatility in a variety of roles, he's never played a character dealing with problems as normal as the ones confronting Joe Warr, the... »

- Marshall Fine

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Geek Deal: Columbia Best Picture Collection for $60

17 September 2009 11:30 PM, PDT | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »

Today's Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day is the Columbia Pictures' Best Pictures Collection for $59.99, 56% off the $136 suggested retail price. This 14-disc set features 11 films from Columbia Pictures' Best Picture Oscar winners spanning the years from 1934 to 1982, including "It Happened One Night" (1934), "You Can't Take It with You" (1938), "All the King's Men" (1949), "From Here to Eternity" (1953), "On the Waterfront" (1954), "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "A Man for All Seasons" (1966), "Oliver!" (1968), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979)30, and "Gandhi" (1982). The specially designed package offers cinemaphiles a genuine Hollywood collectible, complete with slipcase, synopsis of each film, details on the Oscar win for each title and artwork from key movie scenes. As with all of Amazon's Gold Box bargins, the deal price will end at midnight. »

- Peter Sciretta

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Meryl Streep: Has she ever starred in a masterpiece?

28 August 2009 7:42 AM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »

Meryl Streep is arguably our best living actress, and she's by all accounts awesome and interesting and smart, etc. But this mock editorial in the Onion, called "Name One Masterpiece Of Cinema That I've Starred In," by Meryl Streep is really, really on the money. I know it's a joke, and that Meryl  Streep didn't really write it, but the very funny piece is totally right. Por ejemplo: "... the name Meryl Streep isn't really synonymous with one truly unforgettable film. It's weird to think about, but it's undeniably true. Go ahead, try and name a classic movie I've starred in. Not a classic character I've portrayed, mind you, but an overall amazing piece of cinema. You can't. You just can't." Then it runs through some of the Streep filmography: Kramer vs. Kramer: "Let's be honest, Kramer Vs. Kramer isn't really a masterpiece in the same way that, say, The French Connection »

- Margaret Lyons

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Streep at 60: Chamaeleonidae Erotica

30 June 2009 6:29 PM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Streep at 60, a retrospective (June 11th - July 14th)

I wear body armor as I type this, for fear of your collective outrage but the time got away from me. We're jumping forward. You see, Streep's second act, those legend making years from 1981-1988, in which she morphed through one of cinema's all time hot streaks like some genetically enhanced superfreak chameleon, is too large a topic. I need more time with The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Sophie's Choice (1982) and Silkwood (1983), in particular. Perhaps I should write a book. For disparate reasons all three are deserving of chapter length essays.

For now, some general observations about this time period and the first of Streep's collaborations with director Fred Schepisi (Plenty).

Chameleonidae Erotica

Streep's penchant for shape shifting, particularly in the vocal arena, is well known. Though many actors collect several character voices and accents in their life's work, the vocals became »

- NATHANIEL R

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Meryl Streep "The Immoral Psychotic Promiscuous One"

18 June 2009 6:43 AM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Streep at 60, A Retrospective

Previously: Julia, The Deer, 1978 Oscars

Sadie, Sadie (Un)married Lady

One of the fascinating things about old movies is the snapshots they take of their own time. Even in period pieces you can see the (then) modernity of the time period it was made in faintly stamped... a bit of reverse pentimento if you will. The Seventies might be the very best decade for cultural snapshots since it seems as if a large percentage of filmmakers were excited about capturing their own times rather than obsessing over eras gone by or creating imaginary worlds. That's arguably a naive modern perspective on the Seventies based on the films that endured but it feels like the truth.

Troubled marriages have been around since the sacred institution was invented. Naturally they've also been a part of cinema since its invention. What is Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans (1927) for »

- NATHANIEL R

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A Listers and Franchises. There Are No Streepquels.

17 June 2009 5:01 PM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Remember a couple weeks ago when we joked about Hollywood's endless reboots, remakes and sequels... Vera Drake 2: Jail Break! Well it's on everyone's mind this summer what with Star Trek rebooting and Terminator probably collapsing: first Sarah Connor gets cancelled and now T4 can't beat the $ of T3. Ouch. Bless Movie | Line for doing some investigating about A-Listers and their relationship to franchises. It's a fact of life for the top moneymakers. Or is it?

In this chart "near franchises" is a subjective number, referring to films

that were obviously intended for / or completely natural fits for sequels

if the star had wanted it or if the first film hadn't flopped

It turns out not all of the A-Listers believe in repetition. You may already know that our June subject girl Meryl Streep has never made a sequel but it was interesting to note who else has never done »

- NATHANIEL R

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The Deer Hunter (1978)

15 June 2009 6:33 PM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Streep at 60

A Retrospective Celebration in June and maybe some of July, too.

At the risk of cries of sacrilege I decided to try a screening experiment with The Deer Hunter for my Streep project. I have never seen the movie (I know) and I opted to only watch the Meryl Streep parts.

"Why???" I can hear purists (and other versions of myself) screaming. Well, I've become fascinated of late with the idea that audiences are consuming their movies in an entirely different way than they used to. In the age of YouTube, termite criticism, DVR, cable, home theaters and dozens of "exclusive" clips from new movies available on hundreds of sites before the movie in question ever opens, it's now quite common to experience movies not as 90-120-180 minute narratives but as a collection of acted fragments both before and after the first full screening. Sometimes the movie »

- NATHANIEL R

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Streep at 60: Julia (1977)

11 June 2009 6:30 AM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Streep at 60: A Retrospective Series

This post is dedicated to Derek who has asked me to write about this movie for two years. What can I say, I'm slow.

Julia (1977) Directed by Fred Zinneman. Starring: Jane Fonda, Vanessa

Redgrave, Jason Robards and way down in the cast list... Meryl Streep

Imagine you're the casting director for a prestige piece about hotheaded playwright Lillian Hellman and her (fictional) friend Julia, a wealthy anti-fascist who puts her life on the line to save Jews in 193os Germany. Lillian, the chainsmoking Jewess, is described early in the film like so: You're scrappy. You are the neighborhood bulldog except for your goddamn dream of being a cocker spaniel. You have to have Meryl Streep for the role, don't you? Bulldog and cockerspaniel it is. We're talking about the cinema's most acclaimed chameleon. Or maybe you had Meryl in mind for the impassioned title character, »

- NATHANIEL R

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Tuesday Top Ten: The Best of 1984

16 May 2009 4:13 AM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

For no reason whatsoever I have declared today 1984 day! It's a 25th Anniversary Jamboree or some such. (Don't ask questions. Just go with it) Herewith a tripled top ten: What the public liked, what Oscar liked, what I liked from the year that was. All movie title links go to their Netflix page in case you're interested in giving them a looksie. First a little historical entertainment context: Vanessa Williams was not starring on Ugly Betty but resigning her Miss America tiara due to nude photos (the more things change...), Ricky Martin was a new member of Menudo, people were just discovering what Madonna looked like on MTV, and Scarlett Johansson was fresh out of the womb.

What Oscar Liked

The Oscar nominees for Best Picture were the Mozart bio Amadeus (11 noms / 8 wins), the legendary David Lean's swan song A Passage to India (11 noms / 2 wins), Roland Joffé's war »

- NATHANIEL R

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Winslet Family Predicted A Streep Win

23 February 2009 4:06 AM, PST | WENN | See recent WENN news »

Kate Winslet was convinced she would lose out on the Best Actress Oscar to Meryl Streep - because her own mum worked out the odds leaned in favour of the veteran star.

Winslet was named Best Actress for her role in The Reader on Sunday - taking the prestigious prize home for the first time despite having five nominations under her belt.

But before the ceremony, Winslet was terrified she would once again walk away empty-handed - after her mother Sally theorised that Streep was due a win.

The Kramer Vs Kramer star has received 15 Academy Award nominations, more than any other actor or actress in the history of the prizegiving, but has only won two statuettes.

Sally explains, "I was a bit worried! At the last minute, I thought Meryl might get it. She has had so many nominations but she only won two."

And the Titanic actress insists she was taken aback by her victory: "I honestly didn't expect it. When you're in a category with Meryl Streep, you really just think, 'Oh well. She's Meryl Streep! She's Meryl!' It's not supposed to be possible." »

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2009 | 2008

14 articles from 2009

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