On Dec. 20, 1990, Francis Ford Coppola unveiled The Godfather: Part III at its premiere at the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills. The film went on to gross $136 million globally and nab seven Oscar nominations at the 63rd Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
It’s business, and personal. A complex depiction of Michael Corleone’s dying-days attempt to cement the family in the “legitimate” business world and attain spiritual redemption, this third installment of the Corleone Family chronicle is a full-bodied, albeit somber dramatic orchestration.
However, legitimacy has its price — respectability exacts a grayness and a tempering of one’s style and substance — and this splendidly conceived, although often confusing saga, is itself vulnerable to the dramatic doldrums of Michael’s venture into “respectable” dominions.
The Godfather, Part III does not go to the mattresses, it goes to the boardroom, and mainstream viewers after being served up...
It’s business, and personal. A complex depiction of Michael Corleone’s dying-days attempt to cement the family in the “legitimate” business world and attain spiritual redemption, this third installment of the Corleone Family chronicle is a full-bodied, albeit somber dramatic orchestration.
However, legitimacy has its price — respectability exacts a grayness and a tempering of one’s style and substance — and this splendidly conceived, although often confusing saga, is itself vulnerable to the dramatic doldrums of Michael’s venture into “respectable” dominions.
The Godfather, Part III does not go to the mattresses, it goes to the boardroom, and mainstream viewers after being served up...
- 12/20/2023
- by Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy consists of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End, each associated with a different flavor of Cornetto ice cream cone. The choice of ice cream flavor aligns with the genre of each film, with strawberry for horror, vanilla for buddy cop action, and mint for alien invasion. While a fourth Cornetto movie could be a gangster film, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have confirmed they are moving on to new projects outside the Cornetto trilogy.
The three movies that make up Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy remain the filmmaker's most popular releases, and a fourth installment could follow suit with a specific genre aligning with another ice cream flavor. The trilogy consists of 2004's Shaun of the Dead, 2007's Hot Fuzz, and 2013's The World's End, all of them co-written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost.
The three movies that make up Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy remain the filmmaker's most popular releases, and a fourth installment could follow suit with a specific genre aligning with another ice cream flavor. The trilogy consists of 2004's Shaun of the Dead, 2007's Hot Fuzz, and 2013's The World's End, all of them co-written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost.
- 8/20/2023
- by Christopher Campbell
- ScreenRant
James J. Murakami, an art director who received an Emmy award for his work on the HBO western drama Deadwood, has died. He was 91. As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Murakami passed away on Thursday, December 15, at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, as confirmed by his wife, Ginger. Born on June 4, 1931, in Sacramento, California, Murakami began his career at Ziv Studios, where he worked in various art departments on several film and television projects. One of his first movie jobs came in 1974 as Assistant Art Director for Dean Tavoularis on The Godfather: Part II; he would assist Tavoularis again in 1979 for Apocalypse Now. He served as art director for multiple episodes of Battlestar Galactica in 1978 while also working on popular feature films, such as Beverly Hills Cop, True Romance, Midnight Run, and Enemy of the State. He also developed a close working relationship with Clint Eastwood,...
- 12/23/2022
- TV Insider
Click here to read the full article.
James J. Murakami, the admired art director, production designer and set designer who earned an Emmy for Deadwood and an Oscar nomination for Changeling, one of the dozen films he worked on for director Clint Eastwood, has died. He was 91.
Murakami died Dec. 15 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a fall, his wife of 34 years, Ginger, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Murakami served as an assistant art director for production designer Dean Tavoularis and director Francis Ford Coppola on The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), One From the Heart (1981) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
He then partnered with production designer-art director Henry Bumstead on the Eastwood-helmed Unforgiven (1992), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) and Letters From Iwo Jima (2006).
After Bumstead’s death, Murakami handled production designer duties on Eastwood’s Gran Torino (2008), Changeling (2008), Invictus (2009), Hereafter (2010), J.
James J. Murakami, the admired art director, production designer and set designer who earned an Emmy for Deadwood and an Oscar nomination for Changeling, one of the dozen films he worked on for director Clint Eastwood, has died. He was 91.
Murakami died Dec. 15 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a fall, his wife of 34 years, Ginger, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Murakami served as an assistant art director for production designer Dean Tavoularis and director Francis Ford Coppola on The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), One From the Heart (1981) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
He then partnered with production designer-art director Henry Bumstead on the Eastwood-helmed Unforgiven (1992), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) and Letters From Iwo Jima (2006).
After Bumstead’s death, Murakami handled production designer duties on Eastwood’s Gran Torino (2008), Changeling (2008), Invictus (2009), Hereafter (2010), J.
- 12/23/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Telluride Film Festival has revealed its annual poster for the 2022 event, happening over the Labor Day weekend September 2 – 5. This year’s one-sheet is designed by artist Leanne Shapton, who is also the art editor at the New York Review of Books. Swaths of eye-popping green usher in a breath of fresh air — and excitement for the movies to come over one of the most anticipated weekends of the season.
Telluride is always a treat because the event gathers tastemaking audiences at the start, rather than the middle or end, of the awards season, where the spirit of discovery is still in the air and folks aren’t beaten down by the oversaturation of awards campaigns that last the course of six months. Instead, the event, while it does push many of the awards contenders to come out of the gate, is about the pure love of the movies.
So...
Telluride is always a treat because the event gathers tastemaking audiences at the start, rather than the middle or end, of the awards season, where the spirit of discovery is still in the air and folks aren’t beaten down by the oversaturation of awards campaigns that last the course of six months. Instead, the event, while it does push many of the awards contenders to come out of the gate, is about the pure love of the movies.
So...
- 7/14/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Opposition to the Academy’s plan to award eight Oscars prior to the live telecast continues to grow, with more than 350 new names — including more than a dozen Oscar-winning editors, cinematographers and production designers — added to the petition sent last week to Academy president David Rubin urging a reversal of the plan.
Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).
Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.
Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.
Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).
Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.
Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.
- 3/17/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Some of Hollywood’s top filmmakers and former Oscar winners are calling on the Academy to rethink its decision to pre-record eight categories ahead of the March 27 telecast.
James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, John Williams, Kathleen Kennedy, and more than six dozen others signed an open letter addressed to Academy President David Rubin slamming the decision to record the wins for best documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound outside of the live Dolby Theatre ceremony.
The letter explained that such a decision would “demean” those categories and “relegate [them] to the status of second-class citizens,” as shared with Variety. Though the eight categories taking place prior to the 5 p.m. start time will be integrated into the broadcast, these artists are pushing the Academy to reverse its decision and present all 23 Oscar categories live.
“To diminish any of those individual...
James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, John Williams, Kathleen Kennedy, and more than six dozen others signed an open letter addressed to Academy President David Rubin slamming the decision to record the wins for best documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound outside of the live Dolby Theatre ceremony.
The letter explained that such a decision would “demean” those categories and “relegate [them] to the status of second-class citizens,” as shared with Variety. Though the eight categories taking place prior to the 5 p.m. start time will be integrated into the broadcast, these artists are pushing the Academy to reverse its decision and present all 23 Oscar categories live.
“To diminish any of those individual...
- 3/9/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Some of Hollywood’s most high-profile filmmakers, including director James Cameron, producers Kathleen Kennedy and Lili Fini Zanuck and composer John Williams have joined the growing chorus of voices asking the Academy to reverse course and present all 23 Oscars on the live March 27 telecast.
In a letter sent today to Academy President David Rubin and obtained by Variety, more than six dozen film professionals, including multiple Academy Award winners, contend that the plan to present eight awards during the pre-telecast hour will “demean” these crafts and “relegate [them] to the status of second-class citizens.”
The eight are original score, film editing, production design, makeup and hairstyling, sound, documentary short, live-action short and animated short. The Academy continues to insist that the nominees in those categories will be announced, and the winner’s acceptance speech aired, in edited form and aired as part of the three-hour ABC show.
That’s not good enough for these artists.
In a letter sent today to Academy President David Rubin and obtained by Variety, more than six dozen film professionals, including multiple Academy Award winners, contend that the plan to present eight awards during the pre-telecast hour will “demean” these crafts and “relegate [them] to the status of second-class citizens.”
The eight are original score, film editing, production design, makeup and hairstyling, sound, documentary short, live-action short and animated short. The Academy continues to insist that the nominees in those categories will be announced, and the winner’s acceptance speech aired, in edited form and aired as part of the three-hour ABC show.
That’s not good enough for these artists.
- 3/9/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
At any given moment the most titillating movie intrigues are not about star salaries or director firings, but rather about those grisly details that are well below the radar.
“The blood doesn’t look right to me. We need believable blood. Blood that coagulates. Get me better blood.”
Those were the demands of one filmmaker who was prepping an especially violent scene on an important movie. Though he abhorred violence, he was determined to deliver memorable murders.
Production strategizing usually remains secretive, with the exception of Alec Baldwin’s Rust, which seems grist for endless litigation. On most studio films, however, the cone of silence remains intact.
The vintage example is The Godfather: Though much has been written about that movie, some pre-production conflicts have lately been revisited in Mark Seal’s new book Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, which relies in part on two previously unknown documents.
“The blood doesn’t look right to me. We need believable blood. Blood that coagulates. Get me better blood.”
Those were the demands of one filmmaker who was prepping an especially violent scene on an important movie. Though he abhorred violence, he was determined to deliver memorable murders.
Production strategizing usually remains secretive, with the exception of Alec Baldwin’s Rust, which seems grist for endless litigation. On most studio films, however, the cone of silence remains intact.
The vintage example is The Godfather: Though much has been written about that movie, some pre-production conflicts have lately been revisited in Mark Seal’s new book Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, which relies in part on two previously unknown documents.
- 12/30/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Former Haven star Eric Balfour has been tapped to play production designer Dean Tavoularis opposite Miles Teller and Matthew Goode in The Offer, Paramount+’s upcoming limited series about the making of The Godfather.
The Offer is based on two-time Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s (Teller) experience of making the iconic 1972 film The Godfather that Francis Ford Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo from Puzo’s bestselling novel. The movie starred Marlon Brando, Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Talia Shire; it was nominated for 11 Oscars and won three — including Best Picture for Ruddy.
Balfour will play Dean Tavoularis, the production designer who created cinematic magic on a very limited budget.
In addition to Teller, and Goode, who plays Robert Evans, Balfour joins previously announced cast Giovanni Ribisi (Joe Colombo), Colin Hanks (Barry Lapidus), Dan Fogler (Francis Ford Coppola), Juno Temple (Bettye McCartt), Burn Gorman...
The Offer is based on two-time Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s (Teller) experience of making the iconic 1972 film The Godfather that Francis Ford Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo from Puzo’s bestselling novel. The movie starred Marlon Brando, Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Talia Shire; it was nominated for 11 Oscars and won three — including Best Picture for Ruddy.
Balfour will play Dean Tavoularis, the production designer who created cinematic magic on a very limited budget.
In addition to Teller, and Goode, who plays Robert Evans, Balfour joins previously announced cast Giovanni Ribisi (Joe Colombo), Colin Hanks (Barry Lapidus), Dan Fogler (Francis Ford Coppola), Juno Temple (Bettye McCartt), Burn Gorman...
- 10/4/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Apocalypse Now in 4K? After The Wild Bunch this is one title likely to get me to invest in a new format. Francis Coppola & John Milius’ Vietnam War epic may not be perfect, but it’s one of the most exciting movie experiences ever and one of the top achievements of the first film school generation of moviemakers. The release is agreeably all-inclusive: the original Road Show cut and the two revised versions are here along with the excellent making-of feature Hearts of Darkness. Re-tooled and polished up for picture and audio, this qualifies as a prime audio show-off disc too.
Apocalypse Now Final Cut
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital
Lionsgate
1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...
Apocalypse Now Final Cut
4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital
Lionsgate
1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...
- 3/6/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Rialto Pictures is bringing Francis Ford Coppola’s Palme d’Or winning 1974 movie The Conversation back to theaters, starting March 20 at New York’s Film Forum and Landmark’s Nuart Theatre in L.A., with newly struck 35mm prints personally supervised by the five-time Oscar winning filmmaker.
The platform release will offer theaters an alternate Dcp restoration remixed in Dolby 5.1 by 3x Oscar winning sound designer Walter Murch.
Written, produced and directed by Coppola, The Conversation stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a paranoid, secretive surveillance expert who has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple, on whom he is spying, will be murdered. Upon re-hearing the tapes, however, Caul believes he may be putting the couple in danger if he turns the material over to his client. But what one hears can ultimately turn out to be quite different from what was actually recorded.
The platform release will offer theaters an alternate Dcp restoration remixed in Dolby 5.1 by 3x Oscar winning sound designer Walter Murch.
Written, produced and directed by Coppola, The Conversation stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a paranoid, secretive surveillance expert who has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple, on whom he is spying, will be murdered. Upon re-hearing the tapes, however, Caul believes he may be putting the couple in danger if he turns the material over to his client. But what one hears can ultimately turn out to be quite different from what was actually recorded.
- 2/19/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Mubi's double feature Wim Wenders in America is showing in September and October 2019, in the United States.Hammett“You like stories, don’t you?” Peter Boyle’s Jimmy Ryan knows how much Samuel Dashiell Hammett appreciates a good yarn, and as played by Frederic Forrest in Wim Wenders’ Hammett (1982), the German director’s first American feature, this renowned writer is about to get mixed up in a doozy. The scene is 1928 San Francisco. Ryan, who has been providing fodder for Hammett’s fictional material, appears in the flesh, swiftly entangling his former associate in a mysterious criminal scheme involving a Chinese prostitute named Crystal Ling (Lydia Lei). The film subsequently unfolds in a knowingly multifaceted fusion of perspectives, with the reality of the crime on one level, seen through the eyes of Hammett, the writer and ex-Pinkerton detective, on another, and the entire collusion realized in Wenders’ self-consciously stylized interpretation.
- 9/15/2019
- MUBI
Now in its 12th year, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival ended its 12th run on Sunday evening with Orpheus Awards handed out in several categories, plus an honorary Orpheus for Greek-American actor George Chakiris, who won the Oscar for best supporting actor Academy Award in 1961’s “West Side Story.” His costar, Rita Moreno, who scored a best supporting actress Oscar for the same film, presented Chakiris with his trophy.
The ceremony was held at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater, capping a week of screenings, seminars and social events. Stand-up comedian Anthony Steven Kalloniatis, aka Ant, opened the event, and network warm-up host Chuck Dukas served as Mc.
Historical drama “Polyxeni,” directed by Dora Masclavanou, a tale of orphan girl from Istanbul unaware of the devious plan others are weaving behind her back, won the Orpheus Award for best fiction feature film. Katia Goulioni (pictured above in a scene from the...
The ceremony was held at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater, capping a week of screenings, seminars and social events. Stand-up comedian Anthony Steven Kalloniatis, aka Ant, opened the event, and network warm-up host Chuck Dukas served as Mc.
Historical drama “Polyxeni,” directed by Dora Masclavanou, a tale of orphan girl from Istanbul unaware of the devious plan others are weaving behind her back, won the Orpheus Award for best fiction feature film. Katia Goulioni (pictured above in a scene from the...
- 6/11/2018
- by Peter Caranicas
- Variety Film + TV
Jodie Foster will receive an honorary degree from the AFI Conservatory, along with Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis.
A two-time Academy Award winner for acting, Foster has transitioned to behind-the-camera work in recent years but will next be seen starring in the crime thriller Hotel Artemis. Tavoularis is the longtime collaborator of Francis Ford Coppola, with credits that include the Godfather films as well as Apocalypse Now, Bonnie & Clyde and The Outsiders.
Past recipients of honorary degrees include Maya Angelou, Kathryn Bigelow, Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno.
Foster and Tavoularis will be honored at AFI's commencement ceremony on June 11 ...
A two-time Academy Award winner for acting, Foster has transitioned to behind-the-camera work in recent years but will next be seen starring in the crime thriller Hotel Artemis. Tavoularis is the longtime collaborator of Francis Ford Coppola, with credits that include the Godfather films as well as Apocalypse Now, Bonnie & Clyde and The Outsiders.
Past recipients of honorary degrees include Maya Angelou, Kathryn Bigelow, Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno.
Foster and Tavoularis will be honored at AFI's commencement ceremony on June 11 ...
- 5/15/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Jodie Foster will receive an honorary degree from the AFI Conservatory, along with Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis.
A two-time Academy Award winner for acting, Foster has transitioned to behind-the-camera work in recent years but will next be seen starring in the crime thriller Hotel Artemis. Tavoularis is the longtime collaborator of Francis Ford Coppola, with credits that include the Godfather films as well as Apocalypse Now, Bonnie & Clyde and The Outsiders.
Past recipients of honorary degrees include Maya Angelou, Kathryn Bigelow, Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno.
Foster and Tavoularis will be honored at AFI's commencement ceremony on June 11 ...
A two-time Academy Award winner for acting, Foster has transitioned to behind-the-camera work in recent years but will next be seen starring in the crime thriller Hotel Artemis. Tavoularis is the longtime collaborator of Francis Ford Coppola, with credits that include the Godfather films as well as Apocalypse Now, Bonnie & Clyde and The Outsiders.
Past recipients of honorary degrees include Maya Angelou, Kathryn Bigelow, Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno.
Foster and Tavoularis will be honored at AFI's commencement ceremony on June 11 ...
- 5/15/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Arthur Penn’s under-appreciated epic has everything a big-scale western could want — spectacle, interesting characters, good history and a sense of humor. Dustin Hoffman gets to play at least five characters in one as an ancient pioneer relating his career exploits — which are either outrageous tall tales or a concise history of the taking of The West.
Little Big Man
Region B Blu-ray
Koch Media
1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 139 147 min. / Available from Amazon.de / Street Date September 14, 2017 / Eur 17.99
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan, Jeff Corey, Aimée Eccles, Kelly Jean Peters, Carole Androsky, Ruben Moreno, William Hickey, Jesse Vint, Alan Oppenheimer, Thayer David.
Cinematography: Harry Stradling Jr.
Production Designer: Dean Tavoularis
Art Direction: Angelo P. Graham
Special Makeup: Dick Smith
Special Effects: Logan Frazee
Film Editors: Dede Allen, Richard Marks
Original Music: John Hammond
Written by Calder Willingham from the novel by Thomas Berger
Produced...
Little Big Man
Region B Blu-ray
Koch Media
1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 139 147 min. / Available from Amazon.de / Street Date September 14, 2017 / Eur 17.99
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan, Jeff Corey, Aimée Eccles, Kelly Jean Peters, Carole Androsky, Ruben Moreno, William Hickey, Jesse Vint, Alan Oppenheimer, Thayer David.
Cinematography: Harry Stradling Jr.
Production Designer: Dean Tavoularis
Art Direction: Angelo P. Graham
Special Makeup: Dick Smith
Special Effects: Logan Frazee
Film Editors: Dede Allen, Richard Marks
Original Music: John Hammond
Written by Calder Willingham from the novel by Thomas Berger
Produced...
- 11/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
Anatahan (Josef von Sternberg)
Josef von Sternberg called Anatahan his best film. Borne from more than a decade’s worth of frustration with the studio system, it was, as the last picture he completed, his stamp on his time as a director. Even then, when released in 1953, it was only released in a butchered format, and, as it often goes in such cases, was subsequently abandoned by popular consciousness. But a few times each year, cinephiles (at least...
Anatahan (Josef von Sternberg)
Josef von Sternberg called Anatahan his best film. Borne from more than a decade’s worth of frustration with the studio system, it was, as the last picture he completed, his stamp on his time as a director. Even then, when released in 1953, it was only released in a butchered format, and, as it often goes in such cases, was subsequently abandoned by popular consciousness. But a few times each year, cinephiles (at least...
- 4/25/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Director and documentarian Mark Hartley scores both a film history and comedy success with this ‘wild, untold’ account of the 1980s film studio that was both revered and despised by everyone who had contact with it. The ‘cast list’ of interviewees is encyclopedic, everybody has a strong opinion, and some of them don’t need four-letter words to describe their experience!
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
On a double bill with
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Blu-ray
Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region
2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99
Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
On a double bill with
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Blu-ray
Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region
2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99
Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...
- 4/8/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The dirty book of the '60s became an all-star dirty movie with Brando, Burton, Starr, Coburn, Matthau, Astin, Aznavour and Huston all wanting a taste of the Swedish nymphet Ewa Aulin. Camerawork by Rotunno, designs by Dean Tavoularis, effects by Doug Trumbull -- and the best material is Marlon Brando making goofy faces as a sub-Sellers Indian guru. Candy Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 124 min. /Candy e il suo pazzo mondo / Street Date May 17, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Ewa Aulin, Charles Aznavour, Marlon Brando, James Coburn, Richard Burton, John Astin, John Huston, Walter Matthau, Ringo Starr, Anita Pallenberg, Elsa Martinelli. Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno Production Designer Dean Tavoularis Opening and closing designed by Douglas Trumbull Film Editor Giancarlo Cappelli, Frank Santillo Original Music Dave Grusin Writing credits Buck Henry from the book by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg Produced by Robert Haggiag Directed by Christian Marquand
Reviewed...
Reviewed...
- 5/3/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Contrary to a hard-to-source quote that's long been floating around online, Harrison Ford insists he never said that he "outgrew" Han Solo. And as he sat in a Beverly Hills hotel suite in November for his Rolling Stone cover-story interview on The Force Awakens, it quickly became clear that rumors of his hostility towards the character – and the franchise that helped launch his career – have been greatly exaggerated. "Or maybe he was just in a good mood that day. Here's Ford's full interview:
Are you as surprised as anyone that...
Are you as surprised as anyone that...
- 12/15/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Long before the comic book boom of the 21st Century, Hollywood's handling of heroes drawn from the funny pages was a touch and go enterprise. More at home in the serials era of the 40s and 50s, that iconography leaked out onto the big screen in only drips and drabs, a "Superman" here, a "Batman" there. And indeed, a year after Tim Burton brought the latter to unique Gothic heights in 1989, Warren Beatty brought another flesh and blood crime fighter to the big screen with bold expressionistic strokes. Today, "Dick Tracy" stands out as a hand-crafted wonder. Beatty's team was jammed with talent, and it needed to be, for this was an exercise in placing the viewer in a world only slightly familiar. Its extremes — and there were many — were a direct extension of design techniques and flourishes. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography,...
- 6/15/2015
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Telluride — While press and patrons were hustling into gondolas and over to the Chuck Jones Cinema for the World Premiere of Jean-Marc Vallée's "Wild," the 41st annual Telluride Film Festival was kicking off with a bang at an over-stuffed Werner Herzog Theater for the lead program of this year's schedule: a tribute to Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now." The ticket was so hot that well over a hundred pass holders were turned away at the door. In introducing a new Dcp of the original theatrical cut of the film (supervised for Coppola himself), Telluride co-founder Tom Luddy said it was noteworthy the event was unfolding at the Herzog, as "Apocalypse Now" holds a fair share of homages to Herzog's "Aguirre the Wrath of God," which screened at the fest last year to dedicate the new venue. A boat in a tree, a creeping vessel barraged by arrows, the general descent into madness,...
- 8/30/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Andy Garcia Finds Love At Middleton
By
Alex Simon
Since making a splash as crack shot George Stone in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, Andy Garcia has become one of the cinema’s most prolific and diverse actors. The Cuban-born Garcia boasts over 100 credits on his resume, with roles ranging from actor, director, producer and musical performer. At Middleton, which arrived on DVD and Blu-ray April 1 from Anchor Bay Entertainment, features Garcia as a slightly befuddled doctor who finds an unexpected love connection with another parent (Vera Farmiga) while accompanying their kids on a tour of a tony East Coast college. Andy Garcia spoke with us recently about this and other career highlights. Here’s what transpired:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you play a guy who’s not cool, so it was a pleasant surprise to see you in At Middleton, which marks a change of pace.
By
Alex Simon
Since making a splash as crack shot George Stone in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, Andy Garcia has become one of the cinema’s most prolific and diverse actors. The Cuban-born Garcia boasts over 100 credits on his resume, with roles ranging from actor, director, producer and musical performer. At Middleton, which arrived on DVD and Blu-ray April 1 from Anchor Bay Entertainment, features Garcia as a slightly befuddled doctor who finds an unexpected love connection with another parent (Vera Farmiga) while accompanying their kids on a tour of a tony East Coast college. Andy Garcia spoke with us recently about this and other career highlights. Here’s what transpired:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you play a guy who’s not cool, so it was a pleasant surprise to see you in At Middleton, which marks a change of pace.
- 4/7/2014
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Dean Tavoularis was the production designer on the one and only film I worked on, Farewell My Lovely. Aside from Dean, the entire crew from The Godfather was on this film, produced by Elliott Kastner (stepfather of Cassian Elwes and his illustrious brothers), associate produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, with a cameo of the new upcoming heartthrob Sylvester Stallone, and starring truly stellar actors Charlotte Rampling and Robert Mitchum. It's hard to believe that 1975 was 37 years ago!
And now, the 40th Telluride Film Festival (August 29 – September 2, 2013), presented by National Film Preserve Ltd., proudly announces Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis as its 2013 poster artist. Tavoularis will attend the 40th Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend to present his poster design to the public and hold a poster signing for festival guests.
As a student, Dean Tavoularis studied painting and architecture at different art schools and went on to work at Disney Studios as an in-betweener in the animation department where he worked on the 1955 film Lady and the Tramp. He then transitioned to the live-action department where he worked on the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. His career as a production designer began in 1967 when filmmaker Arthur Penn asked him to lead the artistic direction for Bonny And Clyde. Three years later, he and Penn teamed up again on Little Big Man. He began working with Francis Ford Coppola in 1972 on The Godfather, which was the beginning of much collaboration including the latter two films in The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now.
Tavoularis has spent the last ten years focusing on his work as a painter. His return to film came in 2012 when he was the production designer on Roman Polanski’s Carnage. He has worked on over thirty films spanning four decades, landing five Academy-Award nominations and one win for The Godfather Part II. Tavoularis lives in Paris and Los Angeles with his wife, actress Aurore Clément.
“We are thrilled Dean agreed to do the poster art for the 40th anniversary,” said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “The 40th edition will be a remarkable celebration of Tff’s past and present, and Dean’s work with Telluride is a wonderful parallel. He was a part of Telluride in its very early years when he designed a poster for a Tff celebration called the ‘Spirit of Zoetrope.’ We are excited to have him back and to present his vision for this special year. ”
Tavoularis remarks, “When I was asked by Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger if I would design the poster for the 40th Telluride Film Festival, I was first flattered and then thoughtful of being part of the Telluride film history. In my own way I pondered Telluride’s past and in fact all film festivals. Like the word implies, a festival is a fair; people gathering to show their films. It just as well could be their tomatoes. It’s an exchange. I wanted a poster that was simple and joyful, that looked homemade with pure colors in shapes that symbolize a 1:85 screen and an audience. One cannot exist without the other. I am very happy to be a small part of Telluride’s history.”
Dean Tavoularis joins a prestigious list of artists who have shared their talents with Telluride Film Festival. Past poster artists include Ed Ruscha, John Mansfield, Julian Schnabel, Dottie Attie, Doug and Mike Starn, David Lance Goines, Chuck Jones, David Salle, Alexis Smith, Jim Dine, Seymour Chwast, Frederic Amat, Francesco Clemente, Dave McKean, Gary Larson, Chip Kidd, John Canemaker, Mark Stock, Laurie Anderson, William Wegman, Ralph Eggleston, Maira Kalman and Dave Eggers.
To view and download the 40th Telluride Film Festival poster art, visit: here.
40th Telluride Film Festival posters will be available for purchase throughout the five-day Festival or by visiting the Tff website at www.telluridefilmfestival.org.
40th Telluride Film Festival passes are now available here.
40th Anniversary of the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival is celebrating its 40th Anniversary August 29 – September 2, 2013. To commemorate this special occasion an additional day has been added to the usual four-day Festival, making room for a five-day bounty of special programming and festivities. Passes are now available for purchase here.
About Telluride Film Festival
The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. Tff is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Founded in 1974, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.
About Our Sponsors
Telluride Film Festival is supported by Land Rover North America, Turner Classic Movies, Ernst & Young, Film Finances, Audible.com, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Universal Studios, Meyer Sound, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bombardier Business Aircraft, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Américas Film Conservancy, Telluride Foundation, Pine Ridge Vineyards, The London Hotel Group, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Dolby, Telluride Alpine Lodging, Crumpler, ShopKeep Pos, The Hollywood Reporter, Boston Light and Sound, among others.
And now, the 40th Telluride Film Festival (August 29 – September 2, 2013), presented by National Film Preserve Ltd., proudly announces Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis as its 2013 poster artist. Tavoularis will attend the 40th Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend to present his poster design to the public and hold a poster signing for festival guests.
As a student, Dean Tavoularis studied painting and architecture at different art schools and went on to work at Disney Studios as an in-betweener in the animation department where he worked on the 1955 film Lady and the Tramp. He then transitioned to the live-action department where he worked on the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. His career as a production designer began in 1967 when filmmaker Arthur Penn asked him to lead the artistic direction for Bonny And Clyde. Three years later, he and Penn teamed up again on Little Big Man. He began working with Francis Ford Coppola in 1972 on The Godfather, which was the beginning of much collaboration including the latter two films in The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now.
Tavoularis has spent the last ten years focusing on his work as a painter. His return to film came in 2012 when he was the production designer on Roman Polanski’s Carnage. He has worked on over thirty films spanning four decades, landing five Academy-Award nominations and one win for The Godfather Part II. Tavoularis lives in Paris and Los Angeles with his wife, actress Aurore Clément.
“We are thrilled Dean agreed to do the poster art for the 40th anniversary,” said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “The 40th edition will be a remarkable celebration of Tff’s past and present, and Dean’s work with Telluride is a wonderful parallel. He was a part of Telluride in its very early years when he designed a poster for a Tff celebration called the ‘Spirit of Zoetrope.’ We are excited to have him back and to present his vision for this special year. ”
Tavoularis remarks, “When I was asked by Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger if I would design the poster for the 40th Telluride Film Festival, I was first flattered and then thoughtful of being part of the Telluride film history. In my own way I pondered Telluride’s past and in fact all film festivals. Like the word implies, a festival is a fair; people gathering to show their films. It just as well could be their tomatoes. It’s an exchange. I wanted a poster that was simple and joyful, that looked homemade with pure colors in shapes that symbolize a 1:85 screen and an audience. One cannot exist without the other. I am very happy to be a small part of Telluride’s history.”
Dean Tavoularis joins a prestigious list of artists who have shared their talents with Telluride Film Festival. Past poster artists include Ed Ruscha, John Mansfield, Julian Schnabel, Dottie Attie, Doug and Mike Starn, David Lance Goines, Chuck Jones, David Salle, Alexis Smith, Jim Dine, Seymour Chwast, Frederic Amat, Francesco Clemente, Dave McKean, Gary Larson, Chip Kidd, John Canemaker, Mark Stock, Laurie Anderson, William Wegman, Ralph Eggleston, Maira Kalman and Dave Eggers.
To view and download the 40th Telluride Film Festival poster art, visit: here.
40th Telluride Film Festival posters will be available for purchase throughout the five-day Festival or by visiting the Tff website at www.telluridefilmfestival.org.
40th Telluride Film Festival passes are now available here.
40th Anniversary of the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival is celebrating its 40th Anniversary August 29 – September 2, 2013. To commemorate this special occasion an additional day has been added to the usual four-day Festival, making room for a five-day bounty of special programming and festivities. Passes are now available for purchase here.
About Telluride Film Festival
The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. Tff is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Founded in 1974, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.
About Our Sponsors
Telluride Film Festival is supported by Land Rover North America, Turner Classic Movies, Ernst & Young, Film Finances, Audible.com, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Universal Studios, Meyer Sound, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bombardier Business Aircraft, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Américas Film Conservancy, Telluride Foundation, Pine Ridge Vineyards, The London Hotel Group, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Dolby, Telluride Alpine Lodging, Crumpler, ShopKeep Pos, The Hollywood Reporter, Boston Light and Sound, among others.
- 6/3/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Yes, I have acquired my pass for the celebratory 40th Telluride Film Festival, which adds an extra day to its usual four-day Labor Day weekend festivities (August 29 – September 2, 2013). This year the Rocky Mountain fest, which is presented by National Film Preserve Ltd., gave the design of its 2013 poster to Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis, who will attend the fest to sign posters for attendees. “The 40th edition will be a remarkable celebration of Tff’s past and present," said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger, "and Dean’s work with Telluride is a wonderful parallel. He was a part of Telluride in its very early years when he designed a poster for a Tff celebration called the ‘Spirit of Zoetrope.’ We are excited to have him back and to present his vision for this special year. ” Explaining his design concept, Tavoularis pondered on Telluride’s past, he says, "and in fact all film festivals.
- 5/30/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Here's some really cool storyboard art from Frances Ford Coppola's 1979 classic war movie Apocalypse Now. The art you see here was created by Dean Tavoularis. If for some reason you haven't watched this movie yet, do it now! This is is such a great and crazy movie!
During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.
During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.
- 12/9/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
With the notion of film canonization once again at issue, we thought it might be an appropriate occasion to check in on our staff’s collective opinion of the greatest films of all time. We had no idea what to expect; our contributors come from all over the world and come from vastly different backgrounds and occupations. The results were, appropriately, eclectic, ranging from acknowledged cornerstones to contemporary classics.
A few facts worth throwing in: with five films appearing, Orson Welles is the most frequently-cited director, followed by Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa; the newest film to merit an appearance was Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds; animated films made a dent, particularly Toy Story and Snow White; several shorts managed to find their way in, as well.
The list, along with some individual writers’ thoughts on the entries that make up the Top 10, follow including special mention of...
A few facts worth throwing in: with five films appearing, Orson Welles is the most frequently-cited director, followed by Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa; the newest film to merit an appearance was Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds; animated films made a dent, particularly Toy Story and Snow White; several shorts managed to find their way in, as well.
The list, along with some individual writers’ thoughts on the entries that make up the Top 10, follow including special mention of...
- 8/23/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
New Exhibit at Museum of the Moving Image Shows Off Obsessive Film Craftsmanship (Exclusive Images!)
This Wednesday, New York's Museum of the Moving Image kicked off the second exhibit in a three-part series, "Persol Magnificent Obsessions: 30 Stories of Craftmanship on Film," showing off obsessive craftmanship in ten of film history's most stylistically interesting films. The exhibit includes ephemera from and behind-the-scenes access to the artistry of actor/director Ed Harris ("Pollock"), actress Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby"), director Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Amelie"), director Todd Haynes ("Far from Heaven"), cinematographer Vittorio Storaro ("The Last Emperor"), director Alfred Hitchcock ("North by Northwest"), production designer Dean Tavoularis ("One From the Heart"), special effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey"), composer Ennio Morricone (best known for his work with Sergio Leone), and costume designer Arianne Phillips ("W.E."). The...
- 6/15/2012
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
Ben Kingsley: Roman Polanski Prada commercial A Therapy Roman Polanski is everywhere at the Cannes Film Festival. Polanski is the subject (and interviewee) of Laurent Bouzereau’s documentary Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir. He unveiled a restored print of his 1979/1980 Best Picture César and Oscar nominee Tess, starring Nastassja Kinski. And he is the director of the short film / Prada commercial A Therapy. Starring Helena Bonham Carter as a poor little Prada-clad rich woman and Ben Kingsley as her therapist and Prada aficionado, A Therapy was shown prior to the Tess screening. (Please scroll down.) Co-written by Polanski and The Ghost Writer‘s Ronald Harwood, A Therapy boasts music by The Queen‘s Alexandre Desplat, gorgeous cinematography by Girl with the Pearl Earring‘s Eduardo Serra, production design by The Godfather‘s Dean Tavoularis, and editing by The Pianist‘s Hervé de Luze. Ah, and costume design by, I guess,...
- 5/22/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
(Francis Ford Coppola, 1982, Studio Canal, 12)
The most ambitious film-maker of the 1970s, Francis Ford Coppola had a string of critical and box-office successes before his triumph with Apocalypse Now. But he actually achieved disaster with One From the Heart, a grand folly comparable with Spielberg's 1941 and Scorsese's New York New York.
The film helped bankrupt Coppola's Zoetrope Studios on whose sound stages he'd extravagantly recreated an astonishing surreal Las Vegas, setting for a modest tale of the romance between a likable, unprepossessing couple - Hank, the proprietor of a junkyard called Reality Wrecking (Frederic Forrest), and his live-in lover Frannie (Teri Garr), who works at the Paradise Travel agency. They split up on 4 July, believing that "life has to be more than this", have brief affairs with exotic partners and then reunite, having discovered they're meant for each other.
Alternating between the banal and the sublime, One From the Heart...
The most ambitious film-maker of the 1970s, Francis Ford Coppola had a string of critical and box-office successes before his triumph with Apocalypse Now. But he actually achieved disaster with One From the Heart, a grand folly comparable with Spielberg's 1941 and Scorsese's New York New York.
The film helped bankrupt Coppola's Zoetrope Studios on whose sound stages he'd extravagantly recreated an astonishing surreal Las Vegas, setting for a modest tale of the romance between a likable, unprepossessing couple - Hank, the proprietor of a junkyard called Reality Wrecking (Frederic Forrest), and his live-in lover Frannie (Teri Garr), who works at the Paradise Travel agency. They split up on 4 July, believing that "life has to be more than this", have brief affairs with exotic partners and then reunite, having discovered they're meant for each other.
Alternating between the banal and the sublime, One From the Heart...
- 1/15/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
(Wim Wenders, 1982, Studiocanal, 12)
Modelling his career on Dashiell Hammett's, Joe Gores first worked as a private detective in San Francisco before turning to crime fiction. In 1975 he wrote Hammett, an ingenious, well-researched thriller set in 1928, when his hero was beginning to make his way as an innovative novelist. Francis Ford Coppola announced a film version by Nicolas Roeg, a task taken over by Wim Wenders, who worked on it for four years with four writers, two designers and two cinematographers.
Wenders virtually disowned what became Coppola's picture rather than his. But it's a stylish, entertaining movie, starring Frederic Forrest (a dead ringer for Hammett, bar the height) as a drinking, smoking, coughing and typewriter-bashing writer lured back into detection by an old Pinkerton associate (Peter Boyle) and stumbling into the plot of The Maltese Falcon.
A neo-noir classic, it looks like a series of Black Mask covers drawn by Edward Hopper,...
Modelling his career on Dashiell Hammett's, Joe Gores first worked as a private detective in San Francisco before turning to crime fiction. In 1975 he wrote Hammett, an ingenious, well-researched thriller set in 1928, when his hero was beginning to make his way as an innovative novelist. Francis Ford Coppola announced a film version by Nicolas Roeg, a task taken over by Wim Wenders, who worked on it for four years with four writers, two designers and two cinematographers.
Wenders virtually disowned what became Coppola's picture rather than his. But it's a stylish, entertaining movie, starring Frederic Forrest (a dead ringer for Hammett, bar the height) as a drinking, smoking, coughing and typewriter-bashing writer lured back into detection by an old Pinkerton associate (Peter Boyle) and stumbling into the plot of The Maltese Falcon.
A neo-noir classic, it looks like a series of Black Mask covers drawn by Edward Hopper,...
- 11/20/2011
- by Wim Wenders, Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced that, as part of its Hidden Histories program, it'll be screening work by Ai Weiwei, "six long films which he refers himself to as 'social documentaries' and four documentary art videos. There is a remarkable difference between Ai's sometimes highly conceptual art videos and his social documentaries. For the latter, he acts — before and behind the camera — as a committed research journalist, persistent to bring injustice in the open." Ai Weiwei was, of course, arrested in Beijing earlier this year, imprisoned for 81 days and released in June, though he's still not allowed to leave Beijing. Hidden Histories will feature new work by other Chinese documentary filmmakers as well, including He Yuan, Yu Guangyi and Xu Tong. The 41st edition of the Iffr runs from January 25 through February 5.
More events. Craig Baldwin for the San Francisco Cinematheque on this evening's program: "The selection of...
More events. Craig Baldwin for the San Francisco Cinematheque on this evening's program: "The selection of...
- 11/18/2011
- MUBI
If there had been no Zoetrope, the film studio founded by Francis Coppola and George Lucas in San Francisco in 1969, there would be no Star Wars, argues John Patterson
In April 1979, Francis Ford Coppola threw a characteristically grandiose bash to celebrate the completion of Apocalypse Now, the picture that had threatened to become his Waterloo. It was at the apogee of the 1970s Hollywood renaissance, whose directors were suspended in that delightfully rarified moment after their biggest blockbusters and before their flops – and they all had at least one gargantuan flop ahead of them.
Coppola, as usual, was ahead of the game, or so it seemed. Apocalypse Now's chequered production history had produced wild press rumours of directorial overindulgence, perhaps even of a full swandive into film-making insanity, and the film's subsequent lofty place in the cinematic firmament was then far from secure. The film historian Peter Biskind, in his book Easy Riders,...
In April 1979, Francis Ford Coppola threw a characteristically grandiose bash to celebrate the completion of Apocalypse Now, the picture that had threatened to become his Waterloo. It was at the apogee of the 1970s Hollywood renaissance, whose directors were suspended in that delightfully rarified moment after their biggest blockbusters and before their flops – and they all had at least one gargantuan flop ahead of them.
Coppola, as usual, was ahead of the game, or so it seemed. Apocalypse Now's chequered production history had produced wild press rumours of directorial overindulgence, perhaps even of a full swandive into film-making insanity, and the film's subsequent lofty place in the cinematic firmament was then far from secure. The film historian Peter Biskind, in his book Easy Riders,...
- 11/18/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Self-taught costume designer who dressed Beatty and Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde
Theadora Van Runkle was almost 40 and broke, a commercial illustrator drawing fashion ads for the May Department Stores Company to support her children, when she met the movie costume designer Dorothy Jeakins at a party in Los Angeles in 1966. Jeakins had been in the business a long time by then (from Joan of Arc to The Sound of Music), but she was no sketch artist, and she hired Van Runkle on the spot to do that task for the glum epic Hawaii. The engagement lasted barely a month. As payback, Jeakins later called to say: "I've just been asked to do a little western over at Warner Bros" – she couldn't do it because of conflicting schedules – "and I recommended you."
Van Runkle, who has died of lung cancer aged 83, panicked. She had no design training, but she had...
Theadora Van Runkle was almost 40 and broke, a commercial illustrator drawing fashion ads for the May Department Stores Company to support her children, when she met the movie costume designer Dorothy Jeakins at a party in Los Angeles in 1966. Jeakins had been in the business a long time by then (from Joan of Arc to The Sound of Music), but she was no sketch artist, and she hired Van Runkle on the spot to do that task for the glum epic Hawaii. The engagement lasted barely a month. As payback, Jeakins later called to say: "I've just been asked to do a little western over at Warner Bros" – she couldn't do it because of conflicting schedules – "and I recommended you."
Van Runkle, who has died of lung cancer aged 83, panicked. She had no design training, but she had...
- 11/12/2011
- by Veronica Horwell
- The Guardian - Film News
Sony Pictures Classics has finalized a deal to distribute Roman Polanski's Carnage. The film is an adaptation of the Broadway hit God of Carnage. The film has a great cast that includes Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz. They star as four thespians who, "play two couple who come together one evening to discuss the behavior of their children, only for things to quickly become heated." Earlier we shared some stills from the film so check those out here.
I love most of Polanski's films, especially his last film The Ghost Writer. This sounds like a cool story, so I am interested in seeing this. What are your thoughts?
For all the details, check out the full press release below.
New York (April 14, 2011) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will release Roman Polanski’s new film, Carnage, in North America. Polanski penned the script with Yasmina Reza,...
I love most of Polanski's films, especially his last film The Ghost Writer. This sounds like a cool story, so I am interested in seeing this. What are your thoughts?
For all the details, check out the full press release below.
New York (April 14, 2011) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will release Roman Polanski’s new film, Carnage, in North America. Polanski penned the script with Yasmina Reza,...
- 4/15/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Deadline told you last week that Sony Pictures Classics was wrapping up distribution on Roman Polanski's adaptation of the Broadway hit God of Carnage. They've just announced the deal for the movie, with the abbreviated title Carnage: New York (April 14, 2011) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will release Roman Polanski’s new film, Carnage, in North America. Polanski penned the script with Yasmina Reza, which is adapted from Reza’s 2009 Tony Award® winning play God of Carnage. Carnage is produced by Said Ben Said (The Witnesses, The Girl On The Train) and stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. Spc expects an end of year release. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film from Said Ben Said and ICM’s Jeff Berg. Polanski assembled an all-star crew to work on Carnage, director of photographer Pawel Edelman (The Ghost Writer, Ray, The Pianist), production designer Dean Tavoularis (The Ninth Gate,...
- 4/14/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Sony Pictures Classics (Spc) announced today that they will release Roman Polanski's new film, Carnage , in North America. Polanski penned the script with Yasmina Reza, which is adapted from Reza's 2009 Tony Award® winning play "God of Carnage." Carnage is produced by Said Ben Said ( The Witnesses , The Girl on the Train ) and stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. Spc expects an end of year release. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film from Said Ben Said and ICM.s Jeff Berg. Carnage 's production crew will include director of photographer Pawel Edelman ( The Ghost Writer , Ray , The Pianist ), production designer Dean Tavoularis ( The Ninth Gate , The Godfather , The Outsiders ), editor Herve de Luze ( The Ghost Writer , Wild...
- 4/14/2011
- Comingsoon.net
One of the bonuses of award season is the guild award shows that honor the greats of the past along with the present. The Art Directors Guild, for example, will give its lifetime achievement award on February 11 at the Beverly Hilton to Oscar-winning nominated production and costume designer Patricia Norris, who designed costumes for Blake Edwards' Victor, Victoria (pictured) and Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven as well as many David Lynch films, including Elephant Man. She's the second woman to win the honor; other winners include production designers Ken Adam, Robert Boyle, Henry Bumstead, Stuart Craig, Terence Marsh, Harold Michelson, Paul Sylbert and Dean Tavoularis. Norris began her career in the film industry as a stock girl in the wardrobe department at MGM ...
- 11/22/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
Production Designer and Costume Designer Patricia Norris, a frequent David Lynch collaborator, will receive the Art Directors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Adg's 15th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on February 5, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Norris, only the second woman to be awarded the Adg's Lifetime Achievement Award (Jan Scott was the first in 2001), has been nominated for five Academy Awards in the Best Costume Design category: Days of Heaven (1978), The Elephant Man (1980), Victor Victoria (1982), 2010 (1984), and Sunset (1989). Previous recipients of Adg Lifetime Achievement Awards are Production Designers Ken Adam, Robert Boyle, Albert Brenner, Henry Bumstead, Roy Christopher, Stuart Craig, Bill Creber, John Mansbridge, Terence Marsh, Harold Michelson, Jan Scott, Paul Sylbert and Dean Tavoularis. The information below is the Adg's press release: Norris began her career in the film industry as a stock girl in the wardrobe department at MGM [...]...
- 11/22/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
HollywoodNews.com: Academy Award-winning Production Designer and Costume Designer Patricia Norris will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Art Directors Guild’s 15th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on February 5, 2011, it was announced today by Thomas A. Walsh, Adg Council President, and Awards co-producers Dawn Snyder and Tom Wilkins. The award will be presented at a black-tie industry gathering at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Norris began her career in the film industry as a stock girl in the wardrobe department at MGM Studios and worked her way up to become one of the industry’s most respected craft persons. In announcing this honor, Adg President Walsh said, “Patricia is one of only a very few American designers who have been able to successfully combine the dual practices of production and costume design for film and television.” She holds dual production and costume design credits for works...
Norris began her career in the film industry as a stock girl in the wardrobe department at MGM Studios and worked her way up to become one of the industry’s most respected craft persons. In announcing this honor, Adg President Walsh said, “Patricia is one of only a very few American designers who have been able to successfully combine the dual practices of production and costume design for film and television.” She holds dual production and costume design credits for works...
- 11/22/2010
- by Linny Lum
- Hollywoodnews.com
At first sight, The Godfather seems like a crime picture or a gangster movie. And we should remember that in its day it was the most successful film there had ever been, as well as winner of the Oscar for best picture. So it seems like a triumph of the mainstream, and nowhere more acutely than in the scene in which Michael goes to a meeting with Sollozzo and McCluskey and executes them.
Ostensibly, it's a brilliantly sustained exercise in suspense in which we hear about the meeting arranged and follow the plan to conceal a gun in the lavatory of the small, neighbourhood Italian restaurant chosen for the rendezvous. We wonder, will it work? So there's the night-time car ride where Michael is frisked and approved. There are the ominous chords of Nino Rota's score building. And there is the restaurant itself, a quiet but welcoming place – "Try the veal", says Sollozzo.
Ostensibly, it's a brilliantly sustained exercise in suspense in which we hear about the meeting arranged and follow the plan to conceal a gun in the lavatory of the small, neighbourhood Italian restaurant chosen for the rendezvous. We wonder, will it work? So there's the night-time car ride where Michael is frisked and approved. There are the ominous chords of Nino Rota's score building. And there is the restaurant itself, a quiet but welcoming place – "Try the veal", says Sollozzo.
- 10/20/2010
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
Coppola Calls On Godfather Designer To Revamp Winery
Moviemaker Francis Ford Coppola reteamed with Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis to recreate Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark at his wine estate in Alexander Valley, California.
The two men worked together on The Godfather and the director admits Tavoularis was the first person who came to mind when he decided to revamp his vineyard and turn it into a "wine wonderland".
Coppola has now opened the reimagined winery to the public and insists it's a place to behold.
He says, "It's a place to celebrate the love of life."...
The two men worked together on The Godfather and the director admits Tavoularis was the first person who came to mind when he decided to revamp his vineyard and turn it into a "wine wonderland".
Coppola has now opened the reimagined winery to the public and insists it's a place to behold.
He says, "It's a place to celebrate the love of life."...
- 8/25/2010
- WENN
It seems strange to say Harrison Ford is underrated as an actor; he is, after all, the No. 1 worldwide box-office star of all time, with a roster of hit films and franchises whose audiences cross all age and gender lines. He created two of the most recognizable and beloved icons in film history: space cowboy Han Solo in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, and the wisecracking, whip-snapping, fedora-sporting Indiana Jones.But in a career spanning five decades, Ford has also turned in remarkable performances in a world not so far, far away. Complex roles as philandering husbands in hits like "Presumed Innocent" and "What Lies Beneath" showed the actor was willing to risk his likable image. He made offbeat choices with 1982's "Blade Runner" and 1986's "The Mosquito Coast"—performances and films that didn't fare well at the time but have come to be heralded in recent years. And then...
- 1/20/2010
- backstage.com
Godard's Breathless is the film that made me want to become a filmmaker. I saw it my freshman year in college and I couldn't believe how a director could take a few great characters and a mostly hand-held camera and make a film that said so much about life in a world in which absolute values had become irrelevant (both filmically and ethically.) And what a face Belmondo had! - Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile (read here), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of all time favorite films. This month we profile Tao Ruspoli, helmer behind Fix which ropens November 20th at the Village East in NY. He gave us his top ten (as of November 2009).
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
Paris -- "Mamma Mia!" will kick off the 34th annual Deauville Festival of American Cinema on Sept. 5, organizers said Monday.
Distributor Universal will showcase its new Paris-based French wing with a strong presence at the fest including Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" and Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."
Other U.S. majors will be keeping a low profile with just a few titles in the official selection, including Warner Bros.' "Get Smart" and Sony's "Lakeview Terrace" and "Married Life."
An American Nights sidebar will feature classic U.S. titles totaling 187 hours of round-the-clock screenings.
French actress Carole Bouquet will top an eight-strong jury including French actor Edouard Baer, Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz and Palme d'Or-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
The festival's Uncle Sam's Docs sidebar will see nine documentaries compete for Gallic pay TV network Canal Plus' Favorite Doc prize.
Deauville will pay homage to Spike Lee, who will be in town to present the French premiere of "Miracle at St. Anna." Parker Posey, Ed Harris and director Mitchell Leisen also will be honored.
This year's Michel d'Ornano prize for best French first film will be awarded to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire for his harrowing portrait of child soldiers in Africa, "Johnny Mad Dog."
A lineup for the Deauville fest follows:
Competition
"Afterschool," Antonio Campos
"All G-d's Children Can Dance," Robert Logevall
"American Son," Neil Abramson
"Ballast," Lance Hammer
"Gardens of the Night," Damian Harris
"Towelhead," Alan Ball
"The Visitor," Tom McCarthy
"Smart People," Noam Murro
"Snow Angels," David Gordon Green
"Sunshine Cleaning," Christine Jeffs
Official selection
"Mamma Mia!" Phyllida Lloyd
"Appaloosa," Ed Harris
"Changeling," Clint Eastwood
"Dan in Real Life," Peter Hedges
"Get Smart," Peter Segal
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Guillermo del Toro
"Idiots & Angels," Bill Plympton
"Lakeview Terrace," Neil Labute
"Lars and the Real Girl," Craig Gillespie
"Married Life," Ira Sachs
"Miracle at St. Anna," Spike Lee
"Recount," Jay Roach
"The Wackness," Jonathan Levine
"The Life Before her Eyes," Vadim Perelman
"The Girl Next Door," Gregory Wilson
"Then She Found Me," Helen Hunt
Jury
French actress Carole Bouquet
French actor Edouard Baer
Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz
French director Pierre Jolivet
French director Cedric Kahn
Belgian director Bouli Lanners
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu
Portuguese actress Leonor Silvera
American artistic director Dean Tavoularis...
Distributor Universal will showcase its new Paris-based French wing with a strong presence at the fest including Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" and Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."
Other U.S. majors will be keeping a low profile with just a few titles in the official selection, including Warner Bros.' "Get Smart" and Sony's "Lakeview Terrace" and "Married Life."
An American Nights sidebar will feature classic U.S. titles totaling 187 hours of round-the-clock screenings.
French actress Carole Bouquet will top an eight-strong jury including French actor Edouard Baer, Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz and Palme d'Or-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
The festival's Uncle Sam's Docs sidebar will see nine documentaries compete for Gallic pay TV network Canal Plus' Favorite Doc prize.
Deauville will pay homage to Spike Lee, who will be in town to present the French premiere of "Miracle at St. Anna." Parker Posey, Ed Harris and director Mitchell Leisen also will be honored.
This year's Michel d'Ornano prize for best French first film will be awarded to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire for his harrowing portrait of child soldiers in Africa, "Johnny Mad Dog."
A lineup for the Deauville fest follows:
Competition
"Afterschool," Antonio Campos
"All G-d's Children Can Dance," Robert Logevall
"American Son," Neil Abramson
"Ballast," Lance Hammer
"Gardens of the Night," Damian Harris
"Towelhead," Alan Ball
"The Visitor," Tom McCarthy
"Smart People," Noam Murro
"Snow Angels," David Gordon Green
"Sunshine Cleaning," Christine Jeffs
Official selection
"Mamma Mia!" Phyllida Lloyd
"Appaloosa," Ed Harris
"Changeling," Clint Eastwood
"Dan in Real Life," Peter Hedges
"Get Smart," Peter Segal
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Guillermo del Toro
"Idiots & Angels," Bill Plympton
"Lakeview Terrace," Neil Labute
"Lars and the Real Girl," Craig Gillespie
"Married Life," Ira Sachs
"Miracle at St. Anna," Spike Lee
"Recount," Jay Roach
"The Wackness," Jonathan Levine
"The Life Before her Eyes," Vadim Perelman
"The Girl Next Door," Gregory Wilson
"Then She Found Me," Helen Hunt
Jury
French actress Carole Bouquet
French actor Edouard Baer
Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz
French director Pierre Jolivet
French director Cedric Kahn
Belgian director Bouli Lanners
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu
Portuguese actress Leonor Silvera
American artistic director Dean Tavoularis...
- 7/21/2008
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paris -- "Mamma Mia!" will kick off the 34th annual Deauville Festival of American Cinema on Sept. 5, organizers said Monday.
Distributor Universal will showcase its new Paris-based French wing with a strong presence at the fest including Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" and Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."
Other U.S. majors will be keeping a low profile with just a few titles in the official selection, including Warner Bros.' "Get Smart" and Sony's "Lakeview Terrace" and "Married Life."
An American Nights sidebar will feature classic U.S. titles totaling 187 hours of round-the-clock screenings.
French actress Carole Bouquet will top an eight-strong jury including French actor Edouard Baer, Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz and Palme d'Or-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
The festival's Uncle Sam's Docs sidebar will see nine documentaries compete for Gallic pay TV network Canal Plus' Favorite Doc prize.
Deauville will pay homage to Spike Lee, who will be in town to present the French premiere of "Miracle at St. Anna." Parker Posey, Ed Harris and director Mitchell Leisen also will be honored.
This year's Michel d'Ornano prize for best French first film will be awarded to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire for his harrowing portrait of child soldiers in Africa, "Johnny Mad Dog."
A lineup for the Deauville fest follows:
Competition
"Afterschool," Antonio Campos
"All G-d's Children Can Dance," Robert Logevall
"American Son," Neil Abramson
"Ballast," Lance Hammer
"Gardens of the Night," Damian Harris
"Towelhead," Alan Ball
"The Visitor," Tom McCarthy
"Smart People," Noam Murro
"Snow Angels," David Gordon Green
"Sunshine Cleaning," Christine Jeffs
Official selection
"Mamma Mia!" Phyllida Lloyd
"Appaloosa," Ed Harris
"Changeling," Clint Eastwood
"Dan in Real Life," Peter Hedges
"Get Smart," Peter Segal
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Guillermo del Toro
"Idiots & Angels," Bill Plympton
"Lakeview Terrace," Neil Labute
"Lars and the Real Girl," Craig Gillespie
"Married Life," Ira Sachs
"Miracle at St. Anna," Spike Lee
"Recount," Jay Roach
"The Wackness," Jonathan Levine
"The Life Before her Eyes," Vadim Perelman
"The Girl Next Door," Gregory Wilson
"Then She Found Me," Helen Hunt
Jury
French actress Carole Bouquet
French actor Edouard Baer
Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz
French director Pierre Jolivet
French director Cedric Kahn
Belgian director Bouli Lanners
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu
Portuguese actress Leonor Silvera
American artistic director Dean Tavoularis...
Distributor Universal will showcase its new Paris-based French wing with a strong presence at the fest including Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" and Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."
Other U.S. majors will be keeping a low profile with just a few titles in the official selection, including Warner Bros.' "Get Smart" and Sony's "Lakeview Terrace" and "Married Life."
An American Nights sidebar will feature classic U.S. titles totaling 187 hours of round-the-clock screenings.
French actress Carole Bouquet will top an eight-strong jury including French actor Edouard Baer, Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz and Palme d'Or-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
The festival's Uncle Sam's Docs sidebar will see nine documentaries compete for Gallic pay TV network Canal Plus' Favorite Doc prize.
Deauville will pay homage to Spike Lee, who will be in town to present the French premiere of "Miracle at St. Anna." Parker Posey, Ed Harris and director Mitchell Leisen also will be honored.
This year's Michel d'Ornano prize for best French first film will be awarded to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire for his harrowing portrait of child soldiers in Africa, "Johnny Mad Dog."
A lineup for the Deauville fest follows:
Competition
"Afterschool," Antonio Campos
"All G-d's Children Can Dance," Robert Logevall
"American Son," Neil Abramson
"Ballast," Lance Hammer
"Gardens of the Night," Damian Harris
"Towelhead," Alan Ball
"The Visitor," Tom McCarthy
"Smart People," Noam Murro
"Snow Angels," David Gordon Green
"Sunshine Cleaning," Christine Jeffs
Official selection
"Mamma Mia!" Phyllida Lloyd
"Appaloosa," Ed Harris
"Changeling," Clint Eastwood
"Dan in Real Life," Peter Hedges
"Get Smart," Peter Segal
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Guillermo del Toro
"Idiots & Angels," Bill Plympton
"Lakeview Terrace," Neil Labute
"Lars and the Real Girl," Craig Gillespie
"Married Life," Ira Sachs
"Miracle at St. Anna," Spike Lee
"Recount," Jay Roach
"The Wackness," Jonathan Levine
"The Life Before her Eyes," Vadim Perelman
"The Girl Next Door," Gregory Wilson
"Then She Found Me," Helen Hunt
Jury
French actress Carole Bouquet
French actor Edouard Baer
Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz
French director Pierre Jolivet
French director Cedric Kahn
Belgian director Bouli Lanners
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu
Portuguese actress Leonor Silvera
American artistic director Dean Tavoularis...
- 7/21/2008
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Casino,' 'Curse,' top ADG Awards
"Casino Royale", "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Pan's Labyrinth" were the winners in the three feature film categories at the 11th annual Art Directors Guild's Excellence in Production Design Awards on Saturday night.
"Casino Royale" production designer Peter Lamont won for best production design among the year's contemporary films, while "Curse of the Golden Flower"'s Huo Tingxiao won in the period-film category and "Pan's Labyrinth"'s Eugenio Caballero took the prize for the top design among fantasy films.
The ADG decorated the Beverly Hilton Hotel's International Ballroom like a '30s supper club, complete with floating candles, red columns, white flowers and tape measures as table favors. During the black-tie dinner, Johnny Crawford's swinging orchestra played standards like Irving Berlin's "Isn't This a Lovely Day".
The evening's host, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" star Steven Weber, tried to get some chuckles out of pretending that he was at an Adult Film Awards show. Charles Durning did wring some guffaws out of a tired bestiality joke. And while presenter Annette gamely worked her way through a tongue-twisted list of global names, Jon Voight mangled those of the winning design team for "Curse of the Golden Flower".
Warren Beatty praised lifetime achievement award winner Dean Tavoularis as "one of the greatest production designers in the history of time." The veteran production designer in turn thanked Beatty for giving him his first job as a designer on "Bonnie and Clyde". Receiving a warm standing ovation from his peers, he also thanked "the dreaded" Francis Ford Coppola, his early mentors at Disney Studios, and his brother Alex Tavoularis.
"Casino Royale" production designer Peter Lamont won for best production design among the year's contemporary films, while "Curse of the Golden Flower"'s Huo Tingxiao won in the period-film category and "Pan's Labyrinth"'s Eugenio Caballero took the prize for the top design among fantasy films.
The ADG decorated the Beverly Hilton Hotel's International Ballroom like a '30s supper club, complete with floating candles, red columns, white flowers and tape measures as table favors. During the black-tie dinner, Johnny Crawford's swinging orchestra played standards like Irving Berlin's "Isn't This a Lovely Day".
The evening's host, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" star Steven Weber, tried to get some chuckles out of pretending that he was at an Adult Film Awards show. Charles Durning did wring some guffaws out of a tired bestiality joke. And while presenter Annette gamely worked her way through a tongue-twisted list of global names, Jon Voight mangled those of the winning design team for "Curse of the Golden Flower".
Warren Beatty praised lifetime achievement award winner Dean Tavoularis as "one of the greatest production designers in the history of time." The veteran production designer in turn thanked Beatty for giving him his first job as a designer on "Bonnie and Clyde". Receiving a warm standing ovation from his peers, he also thanked "the dreaded" Francis Ford Coppola, his early mentors at Disney Studios, and his brother Alex Tavoularis.
- 2/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tavoularis draws award from art guild
Production designer Dean Tavoularis, an Oscar winner for art direction on 1974's The Godfather Part II, will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 11th annual Art Directors Guild Awards. The gala is set for Feb. 17 at the Beverly Hilton. Previous recipients of the group's lifetime achievement laurels include Ken Adam (Diamonds Are Forever), Robert Boyle (In Cold Blood) and Jan Scott (Roots).
- 9/6/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Parent Trap'
While the Hayley Mills faithful will likely consider it sacrilege, Disney's update of its 1961 charmer, "The Parent Trap", emerges as the most satisfying of the studio's recent dust-offs.
Marking co-scribe Nancy Meyers' debut at the helm, the picture is a handsomely mounted, impeccably cast midsummer romantic comedy that for the most part hits all the key classic moments with respect rather than sticky reverence.
Although the two-hour-plus running time might tax smaller viewers' attention spans (granted, the original was even longer), this "Parent Trap" could very well double the going family-fare rate at the boxoffice, snaring both young girls and their nostalgic moms. And video should be, to quote from another memorable Mills outing, scathingly brilliant.
Doing double duty as spunky Northern Californian Hallie Parker and her separated-at-birth, London-bred twin Annie James, freckle-faced daytime soap veteran Lindsay Lohan is a major find, nailing her British accent and demanding eye lines with considerable finesse. Mills would likely approve.
Meanwhile, the Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara roles have been neatly filled by dependable Dennis Quaid as Hallie's winery-owning dad and Natasha Richardson as Annie's wedding gown-designing mum. It's particularly gratifying to see the endlessly versatile Richardson demonstrate a winning but seldom seen flair for physical comedy.
Likewise, TV comedian Lisa Ann Walter ("Life's Work") shows off some sparkling line delivery as Parker family housekeeper Chessy, while busy British actor Simon Kunz ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") has some fun as the Jameses' unstuffy butler, Martin. And, in a nod to continuity, Joanna Barnes, who played the conniving Vicki Robinson in the original, returns as the mother of the current evil fiancee played by Elaine Hendrix.
Meyers and longtime writing partner Charles Shyer, who handed over the directing reins to his wife but did second-unit work here, do a nice job in lightly modernizing David Swift's original screenplay, which, in turn, was based on a German novel.
But there's an episodic feel to the material that could have been eliminated had Meyers and Shyer been able to cut it down to a more compact, contemporary length.
Behind the scenes, the production is a pleasant surprise. Rather than adhering to the usual, budget-conscious, shoot-it-in-Vancouver approach, the producers have done it up right with the help of a couple of Deans of the industry -- production designer Dean Tavoularis ("The Godfather" movies) and director of photography Dean Cundey ("Jurassic Park", "Apollo 13"), who lend the remake an unexpectedly rich luster.
Add solid visual effects, some chic contributions by costume designer Penny Rose ("Evita") and a bouncy Alan Silvestri score -- but subtract the onslaught of too cute song cues -- and "The Parent Trap" is live action Disney diversion at its breezy best.
THE PARENT TRAP
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
A Walt Disney Pictures presentation
Director: Nancy Meyers
Screenwriters: David Swift and Nancy Meyers
& Charles Shyer
Producer: Charles Shyer
Director of photography: Dean A. Cundey
Production designer: Dean Tavoularis
Editor: Stephen A. Rotter
Costume designer: Penny Rose
Music: Alan Silvestri
Visual effects supervisor: Jim Rygiel
Casting: Ilene Starger
Color/stereo
Cast:
Nick Parker: Dennis Quaid
Elizabeth James: Natasha Richardson
Hallie Parker/Annie James: Lindsay Lohan
Meredith Blake: Elaine Hendrix
Martin: Simon Kunz
Chessy: Lisa Ann Walter
Grandfather: Ronnie Stevens
Marva Kulp Sr.: Polly Holliday
Vicki: Joanna Barnes
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Marking co-scribe Nancy Meyers' debut at the helm, the picture is a handsomely mounted, impeccably cast midsummer romantic comedy that for the most part hits all the key classic moments with respect rather than sticky reverence.
Although the two-hour-plus running time might tax smaller viewers' attention spans (granted, the original was even longer), this "Parent Trap" could very well double the going family-fare rate at the boxoffice, snaring both young girls and their nostalgic moms. And video should be, to quote from another memorable Mills outing, scathingly brilliant.
Doing double duty as spunky Northern Californian Hallie Parker and her separated-at-birth, London-bred twin Annie James, freckle-faced daytime soap veteran Lindsay Lohan is a major find, nailing her British accent and demanding eye lines with considerable finesse. Mills would likely approve.
Meanwhile, the Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara roles have been neatly filled by dependable Dennis Quaid as Hallie's winery-owning dad and Natasha Richardson as Annie's wedding gown-designing mum. It's particularly gratifying to see the endlessly versatile Richardson demonstrate a winning but seldom seen flair for physical comedy.
Likewise, TV comedian Lisa Ann Walter ("Life's Work") shows off some sparkling line delivery as Parker family housekeeper Chessy, while busy British actor Simon Kunz ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") has some fun as the Jameses' unstuffy butler, Martin. And, in a nod to continuity, Joanna Barnes, who played the conniving Vicki Robinson in the original, returns as the mother of the current evil fiancee played by Elaine Hendrix.
Meyers and longtime writing partner Charles Shyer, who handed over the directing reins to his wife but did second-unit work here, do a nice job in lightly modernizing David Swift's original screenplay, which, in turn, was based on a German novel.
But there's an episodic feel to the material that could have been eliminated had Meyers and Shyer been able to cut it down to a more compact, contemporary length.
Behind the scenes, the production is a pleasant surprise. Rather than adhering to the usual, budget-conscious, shoot-it-in-Vancouver approach, the producers have done it up right with the help of a couple of Deans of the industry -- production designer Dean Tavoularis ("The Godfather" movies) and director of photography Dean Cundey ("Jurassic Park", "Apollo 13"), who lend the remake an unexpectedly rich luster.
Add solid visual effects, some chic contributions by costume designer Penny Rose ("Evita") and a bouncy Alan Silvestri score -- but subtract the onslaught of too cute song cues -- and "The Parent Trap" is live action Disney diversion at its breezy best.
THE PARENT TRAP
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
A Walt Disney Pictures presentation
Director: Nancy Meyers
Screenwriters: David Swift and Nancy Meyers
& Charles Shyer
Producer: Charles Shyer
Director of photography: Dean A. Cundey
Production designer: Dean Tavoularis
Editor: Stephen A. Rotter
Costume designer: Penny Rose
Music: Alan Silvestri
Visual effects supervisor: Jim Rygiel
Casting: Ilene Starger
Color/stereo
Cast:
Nick Parker: Dennis Quaid
Elizabeth James: Natasha Richardson
Hallie Parker/Annie James: Lindsay Lohan
Meredith Blake: Elaine Hendrix
Martin: Simon Kunz
Chessy: Lisa Ann Walter
Grandfather: Ronnie Stevens
Marva Kulp Sr.: Polly Holliday
Vicki: Joanna Barnes
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 7/27/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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