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Coulda shoulda woulda — when it comes to breakthrough ‘80s comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, there’s a murderers’ row of comedians who might have taken on the lead role that eventually went to Bob Hoskins. Robin Williams, Wallace Shawn and Sylvester Stallone were reportedly considered to play beleaguered private dick Eddie Valiant, but two comedy superstars in particular wished they’d thought twice about taking the job: Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy.

According to director Robert Zemeckis on the film’s DVD commentary, he and producer Steven Spielberg had Murray at the very top of their list to play Eddie. There was only one problem — neither man knew how to get hold of the Ghostbusters star. That’s not surprising for those familiar with Murray legend. The comedian doesn’t employ an agent or manager; he instead uses an unlisted 800 number to collect his messages. Sometimes (like when Sofia Coppola...

Mere months after coming unnervingly close to killing off Conan O’Brien, Hot Ones just hosted another comedy icon of sorts: Peter Griffin. The popular YouTube show, which is predicated on the idea that celebrities will only abandon regurgitated talk show banter in favor of genuine human thought when their taste buds are being bombarded with brain-melting levels of spiciness, just crossed over with Family Guy in order to celebrate the cartoon’s 25th anniversary.

The Seth MacFarlane patriarch began the episode by claiming that he was happy to have been invited to the “decline of American journalism,” and the whole thing ultimately ended with a pantsless Peter Griffin attempting to shove his hot sauce-coated finger into host Sean Evans’ eyeball.

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This isn’t the first time that Evans hosted a literal cartoon character on his show, possibly because Hot Ones canonically takes place inside of the Who Framed Roger Rabbit universe.

Jeff Goldblum’s film career started in a particularly auspicious manner since his first four films were all highly regarded works of the early 1970s: “Death Wish”, “California Split”, “Nashville” and “Next Stop, Greenwich Village.” He continued to work in film and television for the next four decades and even returned to Broadway a few times, most notably in the highly regarded Martin McDonough play “The Pillowman.”

Along the way Goldblum has picked up a number of award nominations including an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for “Little Surprises.” He received an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance on “Will and Grace” in 2005. He also was a nominee for Best Actor for two of the most prestigious critics awards groups for his work in “The Fly.” Both the New York Film’s Critics and the National Society of Film Critics named him as one of the top three actors of the year.

Bubble, boil, steam, and burn, it’s time to watch those film reels turn. That’s right, it’s October, which means it’s almost Halloween, but the minute the clock struck midnight on the 1st, we here at IndieWire were already decked in black and frightening our office mates at Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. While carving pumpkins, eating candy, and donning elaborate costumes may be how most ring in this special time of year, we believe there’s no better celebration of spooky season than entering a dark theater and sharing a few collective screams with strangers.

This month, repertory theaters in New York and Los Angeles have plenty of offerings to get those lungs expanding and heart beating. From black-and-white classics like Don Siegel’s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956) to modern monster favorites such as “The Mummy” (1999) starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, don’t miss...

Robert Watts, a production manager on George Lucas’ Star Wars and producer on its first two sequels along with Steven Spielberg’s first three blockbuster Indiana Jones movies and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, died Monday in his sleep at his home in West Sussex, England. He was 88.

His rep Julian Owen of Alliance Media confirmed the news to Deadline, writing: “Goodnight to my wonderful friend and client Robert Watts, Producer of some of the most famous films in cinema history. … Talking about his career was his favourite thing to do. We had some amazing adventures together which I will cherish forever.”

After working on Star Wars, Watts was an associate producer on smash 1980 sequel The Empire Strikes Back, which solidified and furthered the Star Wars galaxy as a cultural touchstone. The next year he served in the same role for Raiders of the Lost Ark, which introduced the world to...

Before she reached a new level of celebrity in the 21st century, Smith had a remarkable big-screen career, channelling her stage presence into the camera whether as Jean Brodie or her tragic, absurd ‘aunt’ persona

• Appreciations by Michael Billington and Mark Lawson

• A life in pictures

• Her 20 best films

• Memories from Michael Palin, Mike Newell and Nicholas Hytner

• Share your tributes

Maggie Smith thought she was famous after The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, in 1969; she gave a glorious, Oscar-winning performance in her mid-30s in the movie based on the Muriel Spark novel, and no actor ever intuited Spark’s world more brilliantly. Smith became the Edinburgh schoolmistress. Her Miss Jean Brodie is imperious, haughty, vulnerable, sexually attractive, prone to admiring fascism and terribly lonely. Her delicate, open face registered a kind of wounded and delusional idealism and poignantly absurd conceit, a complicated, funny portrayal that went above and...

Dame Maggie Smith passed away today at the age of 89, after giving the world decades' worth of indelible, beloved performances. A star of stage and screen since the 1950s, the highly decorated actress was best-known to a generation as Hogwarts' stern but heroic Professor McGonagall, while others loved her best as the Dowager Countess of "Downton Abbey."

Smith may have only become a household name to younger generations in the past two decades, but she did much of her best work in the 20th century, winning Oscars for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "California Suite" in the '60s and '70s and a Tony Award for her role in the satirical play "Lettice and Lovage" in 1990. While her TV, film, and stage work was prolific and wide-ranging, only three Smith movies were ever universally embraced by critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes. One is a James Ivory classic,...

At this stage, it seems as though Denzel Washington can do no wrong. The man is a Hollywood legend, proving he can take on everything from action blockbuster franchises to thoughtful indie dramas and deliver. If his "Equalizer" movies aren't for you, there's always the expressionist nightmare that is Joel Coen's "The Tragedy Of Macbeth," in which, as /Film's review surmised, Denzel was "ferocious," threatening to "rip that Oscar right out of the throat of the Academy with his bare teeth."

At 69, the veteran star is still going strong, and will soon appear in "Gladiator II," Ridley Scott's follow-up to his 2000 historical action epic. Washington is set to play Macrinus, an arms dealer who supports Lucius Verus II (Paul Mescal) as he takes on the Roman Empire. While many of us are saddened that Scott's supernatural pitch for the "Gladiator" sequel will never get made, and that Nick Cave...

Steve Martin and Martin Short keep making appearances to promote Only Murders in the Building/their never-ending game of over-the-top animosity. Most recently, the two amigos interviewed each other for GQ, and gave the finest acting performances of their careers by pretending like they hadn’t already heard every single one of each other’s anecdotes.

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Soon, the subject turned to fan encounters. Short recounted how he can always tell which movie someone is a fan of when they approach him in public. “If it’s a 45-year-old guy, and if I’m in an airport, I know it’s Three Amigos,” Short mused. “If it’s a young lady in her late 30s, she will talk about Father of the Bride. And if it’s a guy who’s 28 who looks like he’s on meth, (he’s a fan of) Clifford.”

Martin replied that he can always...

The casting in 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" movies was always a mixed bag. Some picks were perfect at bringing the comic character to life — Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, etc. Others were swings and misses — Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse (but really any actor would have struggled inside that makeup), etc. Then there were some in the middle — actors who didn't really match the character on paper but still worked well due to the strength of their performances, like Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Marvel first started pursuing an "X-Men" movie in the 1980s, more than a decade before it was finally released. In 1990, Stan Lee and longtime "X-Men" comic book writer Chris Claremont met with James Cameron about him directing the movie, but Cameron was more interested in a "Spider-Man" movie (which...

Eddie Murphy’s journey through Hollywood has been nothing short of legendary, but not all of his animated ventures have hit the mark. Before becoming the voice of the iconic Donkey in Shrek, Murphy took a detour from one of the greatest animated comedies of the 20th century. With his role in Shrek, the star not only bounced back but cemented his place as a voice-acting powerhouse.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F | Eddie Murphy Productions

Dive into the story of how one comedian’s initial skepticism turned into a groundbreaking animated triumph.

Eddie Murphy’s Regret: Turning Down Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Finding Redemption in Shrek Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop 4 trailer | Eddie Murphy Productions

Who would’ve thought the man behind some of the raunchiest, most iconic comedy films of the 80s would turn down a...

Eddie Murphy has made sure to don some of the most fan-favorite roles throughout his star-studded career, with his iconic Beverly Hills Cop role of Axel Foley ranking as one of his best ones to date. Even then, despite holding some really significant titles to his role like Coming to America and Trading Places, the actor holds some serious regrets about the roles he turned down.

Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop 3 | Paramount Pictures

While one of the roles that he was offered but couldn’t take on included one from the critically acclaimed Ghostbusters film franchise, it wasn’t the only one. As it turns out, one other $351 million comedy movie that he was offered but ended up turning down eventually became one of his biggest regrets in Hollywood. This movie was 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Eddie Murphy Deeply Regrets Turning Down Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Within...

Walt Disney brought in Steven Spielberg as a producer to turn Gary K. Wolf’s 1981 novel into Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988. Mark Sturdivant and Terry Gilliam were the initial choices for producer and director, however, they dropped out due to too much work. Spielberg’s addition brought his protege Robert Zemeckis into the film, who gained popularity in the Hollywood circles with his Back to the Future project.

A promotional poster of Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Walt Disney Pictures

Spielberg and Zemeckis’s successful collaboration in the film led the studio to plan another film. What they came up with was a prequel project that was set before the original, with the Nazis as the satirical villain. However, the Jaws director was not on board with the idea and Disney eventually shelved the film.

Steven Spielberg Refused To Do This Prequel Film Due to Schindler’s List A still...

The upcoming Gears of War film adaptation could learn a thing or two from previous attempts at bringing games to the big screen, and some fans have pitched an interesting direction for the film that Netflix might be smart to consider.

Video game adaptations are quickly replacing comic book films as the hottest property; to continue to thrive, they must stand out and avoid the pitfalls of the comic book movie genre.

Gears of War is The Next In A Long Line of Game Adaptations

Dave Bautista appeared in Gears of War 5 as a skin for Marcus. Image Credit: The Coalition

Until recently, video game adaptations have proven difficult to get right with many more misses than there are hits. For every successful adaptation like The Last of Us on HBO, there is an Uncharted, which to many felt more like a generic adventure from the 2010s than a high-budget...

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: Christopher Walken Gets to Dance and Steve Martin Sings… Sort of?

Known for his BBC TV series “The Singing Detective,” starring Michael Gambon, and “Pennies from Heaven,” which launched the career of Bob Hoskins, British journalist and screenwriter Dennis Potter seemed to have a fascination with the music trapped inside our inner beings. Mixing fantastical musical sequences with harsh dramatic realities, Potter used spectacle to expose his characters’ complex natures, as well as the complex nature of the world around them, with biting wit and stunning inventiveness. When his work arrived on the big screen,...

A Family Affair is Netflix’s latest rom-com directed by Richard Lagravenese from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon. The Netflix film follows the story of Zara, a young woman with aspirations of becoming a film producer, but currently, she works as an assistant for a self-obsessed and childish movie star, Chris Cole. While Zara hates her job and boss, she still tolerates them, but things get worse when she finds out that her mother and boss are romantically involved. A Family Affair has an amazing cast, including Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, and Kathy Bates. So, if you loved the romance, banter, and hijinks of A Family Affair, here are some similar romcoms you could watch next.

The Idea of You (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

The Idea of You is a romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay co-written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt. Based...

Steven Spielberg is now a legendary filmmaker in the industry, having directed many acclaimed and award-winning films over the years. The filmmaker is arguably the most versatile director who does not limit his films to one genre. He has made dramas, sci-fi films, historical epics, thrillers, action adventures, and big-budget extravaganzas.

Steven Spielberg made Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom in the 80s | Paramount Pictures

By the late 80s, Spielberg was already a big filmmaker with many successful films elevating his power in the industry. In addition to directing, he produced several projects under his production company Amblin Entertainment. The director pulled off the impossible, as he convinced Disney and Warne Bros to license their iconic cartoon characters for 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Steven Spielberg Pulled Off An Epic Crossover Event With Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Bob Hoskins and Roger Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit...

With Tyler having the clarity, gumption, and downright insight to throw the first live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie at us as a gateway horror movie, it got me thinking about other movies that aren’t really horror movies but maybe got us thinking about dipping our toes into that now beloved genre. It got me thinking past things like A House with a Clock in its Walls, The Monster Squad, or other kids’ movies that are actually horror movies for kids. It got me thinking of late summer in 1995 and the old Charter Center theater off of Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach, California. It got me thinking of the first time I saw Mortal Kombat (watch it Here) and what that meant to both me and the state of video games as movies. Turn on your Techno Syndrome from the soundtrack and let’s revisit one of the...

Actor John Leguizamo is known for his supporting roles in films such as Super Mario Bros., Carlito’s Way, and more. The actor also has a presence on the stage, having been nominated for four Tony Award nominations for his performance in the Broadway show Freak. He has also won a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

At the beginning of his career, Leguizamo had a small role in Bruce Willis’ Die Hard 2. The actor recounted his experience in the action film as a harrowing reminder of everything wrong with Hollywood. He was reportedly chosen for the role of a terrorist in the action film and was demoted to a much lesser role due to his looks.

John Leguizamo Had A Terrible Experience On Die Hard 2 Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 | Credits: Gordon Company/Silver Pictures

Bruce Willis became an...

From leading the most acclaimed Star Wars release, The Empire Strikes Back to starring in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Blade Runner, the ’80s saw Harrison Ford at his peak. Moreover, apart from taking leading roles in major sci-fi and fantasy releases, he also made sure to star in several acclaimed dramas, including Witness, which earned him an Oscar nod for Best Actor.

But while Ford took on many iconic gigs, especially in the 80s, the actor also chose to turn down a plethora of them, including Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables.

Harrison Ford Rejected the Offer to Headline Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables Harrison Ford | Credit: Star Wars (Lucasfilm and Disney)

By the time Harrison Ford was done with the original Star Wars trilogy, the actor was one of the most in-demand actors in the world and was reasonably the favorite pick for many directors. Brian De Palma,...

The devil was in the detail when it came to 1987’s superb The Untouchables – and that included the suite where Robert De Niro’s Al Capone lived.

With a price tag of $25m in an era when that felt like a reasonable amount of money for a major Hollywood studio to spend, Paramount Pictures’ 1987 hit The Untouchables was really something of a gamble.

>Granted, it was a gamble mitigated by the presence of some star wattage. Still, Robert De Niro in the role of Al Capone was a man more known for attracting strong critical notices than packing the house out. Sean Connery meanwhile was far from at the height of his commercial pulling powers.

Throw in the fact that director Brian De Palma was desperately needing a hit after a run of box office disappointments and that the picture’s star – Kevin Costner – was pretty much an unknown at this stage,...

The world works on capitalism in today’s day and age. To get paid for what one works on is only fair. Actors are no exception to this rule, regardless of whether it is The Untouchables’ Robert De Niro or Kevin Costner. Actors take on big roles and get paid heftily for the same. To put in the work and then getting paid for it, or as the world now knows it to be equivalent exchange.

Robert De Niro in The Untouchables | Credit: Paramount Pictures

What may be rare to hear, however, is for someone to get paid for not doing something. When a big project comes into play, many actors get eager to take the role, while at the same time, others may not see things in the same direction. Such was the case with Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables.

Robert De Niro was Always Brian De Palma...

The Oscar-nominated novelist, screenwriter and essayist Nick Hornby below writes a special tribute for Deadline commemorating Jenne Casarotto, his agent for nearly 30 years, who died on February 29 aged 77.

The industry titan, who co-founded leading British talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates in 1989, was eulogized today by family, friends and close colleagues at an event named a Celebration of the Life of Jenne Casarotto in the Queen Elizabeth Hall located in London’s Southbank Centre.

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop welcomed guests. Agent colleagues Abby Singer, Mel Kenyon and Jodi Shields spoke of working with Jenne, her son Mark Casarotto commemorated his mother, and producers Jeremy Thomas and Tim Bevan and longtime director clients John Madden and Shawn Slovo told stories about the Jenne they knew and loved.

During the ceremony, it was announced that Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and the National Film and Television School have established The Jenne Casarotto Scholarship...

Universal and Illumination’s smash The Super Mario Bros Movie finishes No. 1 to make it a wrap on Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2023. While the industry is still coming out of Covid and the aftermath of the strikes, there’s no question about the major motion picture studios’ embrace of the theatrical downstream model; steamers such as Amazon and Apple realize the power of it too.

Last year’s wild ride saw the buckling of superhero movies, though Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse underscored fanboys’ hunger for something different in the genre. The year also showed that longtime box office emperor Disney can lose its clothes sometimes — in 2023 it was its overextension and hasty execution of IP Wish, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Haunted Mansion and The Marvels. Barbie and Oppenheimer, meanwhile, showed that perhaps the biggest box office weekends are best programmed with two tentpoles in the heart of summer.

Daniel Mays remembers Michael Douglas and Timothy Van Patten, the respectively star and director of new Apple TV drama Franklin, bursting into song whenever he appeared on set.

It came about because during the Franklin shoot in Paris, director Nicholas Hytner asked Mays to star at London’s Bridge Theatre as good old reliable Nathan Detroit in an immersive production of the classic Broadway fable Guys & Dolls by Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling.

Upon hearing this news, Douglas insisted, ”You’re doing it, Danny — no question about it.”

The adaption of Damon Runyon’s tales was Van Patten’s father’s favorite musical, “so then within the hour, more like a whole bloody second, every time I came on set, they kept playing ‘The Oldest Established [Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York], and Michael and Noah Jupe would join in.”

Even the French crew got in the swing of it.

In French or English?...

It’s always fun to discuss horror novels that Aren’T Stephen King. No knock on the monster from Maine, he’s the master of horror novels over the last, oh I don’t know, 50 years, for a reason but its nice to not have the show be solely dedicated to his adapted works. He says knowing that he makes the schedule and decides what books to cover. See you in May, Mr. King! Funnily enough, the man actually loved today’s subject to the degree that he called it one of 2006’s best horror novels, but more on that in a little bit. The Ruins (watch it Here) was one of those hot properties by an author whose previous work was an instant success with critics, fans, and studio executives that put it to celluloid. The book came out and just two years later we were given a movie...

Joe Pasquale has a Pampers advert and Bob Hoskins to thank for landing a role in 2006’s Garfield movie: more here.

If you’re reading this from the UK, then you may already be acquainted with the work of comedian Joe Pasquale, whose all-but-trademarked squeaky voice is a distinctive part of his act. It’s also a voice that’s earned him a lot of professional voiceover work, and one of those jobs many moons ago was for a nappy advert.

As he explained on the Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, he was hired to do one particular Pampers campaign with the late Bob Hoskins. Unusually, the pair were to sit in a recording booth together, rather than record their lines separately. Yet as Pasquale explained, Hoskins didn’t believe the sound coming out of his co-star was quite right. “That voice… I’ve never heard it come...

The recent critical acclaim for HBO’s The Last of Us and the box office success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie have sparked a wave of optimism. Could this be a turning point for video game adaptations?

Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller in The Last of Us

For decades, such adaptations have struggled to capture the essence of beloved games and translate them effectively to the cinematic medium. Despite Hollywood’s persistent efforts to turn popular video game characters into cinematic heroes, the vast majority of these adaptations have fallen flat.

Suggested“They only started filming the other week”: Pedro Pascal’s The Last of Us 2 Update Seemingly Confirms the Worst for Fans Awaiting His Return

While some triumphed, most of them were unsuccessful. We share 10 of the worst video game adaptations to date.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2010)

Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time...

The X-Men franchise has always had a special part in the hearts of fans of the superhero genre. Over the years, the mutants have become a symbol of inclusion, rightly so. The entire credit of bringing these fan-favorite comic characters to life goes to none other than filmmaker Bryan Singer who is responsible for films like X-Men and Days of Future Past.

A still from X-Men (2000)

However, before Bryan Singer could bring these films to the screen, writer Chris Claremont had a different idea about what an X-Men film should look like. In his dream film, he would have loved to have renowned filmmaker James Cameron as the producer. In fact, Chris Claremont had a completely different casting for both Wolverine and Storm in his mind.

X-Men Writer Wanted Angela Bassett as Storm Halle Berry as Storm

For four of the X-Men films, out of which three had the involvement of Bryan Singer,...

Long before X-Men films and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine became popular among movie lovers, James Cameron had plans to make an X-Men film. The Avatar director’s ex-wife and Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow was set to direct the film. The reported lineup for the film was also pretty awesome, including Bob Hoskins as Wolverine and Angela Bassett as Storm. However, one Marvel character ruined these plans and the film never got past the planning stage.

Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine in X-Men: The Last Stand

Bryan Singer’s X-Men films re-ignited audience interest in superhero films, particularly the Marvel films. If the film produced by James Cameron happened way back in the ’90s, it would’ve turned around the fate of Marvel Studios.

James Cameron Planned To Produce An X-Men Film Directed By Kathryn Bigelow Titanic director James Cameron planned to produce an X-Men film directed by his ex-wife Kathryn...

The word "iconic" gets used a lot, but if there's one character who deserves to be called that, it's Mario. The little mustachioed guy revolutionized gaming (and plumbing) forever. He has defended kingdoms against countless threats, saved princesses, and even fought off gorillas. He hasn't done all that much actual plumbing, but he has been a racer, a doctor, a golfer, a superhero, and even an elephant.

After the huge, incredible, and not entirely surprising box office success of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" — not the Bob Hoskins one, the Chris Pratt one — it was inevitable that we would get more of the Mario brothers. After all, if Mario can have almost as many careers as Barbie, why not add "movie star" to the list?

While we wait to return to Mushroom Kingdom and witness Bowser's latest attempt at getting Princess Peach to marry him for some reason, let's...

How do you capture Jenne Casarotto? She was at the intersection of theatre, film and television. It all, seemingly, swirled around her.

Not just around her.

It was the brilliant team that she assembled at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, the agency that’s been at the epicenter of UK arts culture for over three decades. Correction: The company’s reach extended far beyond the environs of London’s Soho.

One would see her in Venice, Cannes, Toronto and Sydney. One would not be at all surprised to be at a screening at, let’s say, Sundance, and there’d be a tap on the shoulder when the lights came up. “That was great stuff, wasn’t it?” She’d say gleefully.

It was a bit of a test because she’d expect you to be honest with her. Well, it was godawful, actually, and she’d nod sagely, her eyes twinkling behind her specs.

Jenne Casarotto, who co-founded the London-based global talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and represented the likes of Tennessee Williams, Stephen Frears, David Hare, Terry Gilliam, Steve McQueen, Neil Jordan and John Madden during her long career, has died. She was 77.

Casarotto died Thursday in the U.K. of complications from a short illness, her firm announced.

With a career spanning more than 50 years, Casarotto was “an award-winning agent who was highly regarded throughout the world for her impeccable taste in writers and directors, unwavering dedication to her clients and for her calm and creative leadership,” Casarotto Ramsay & Associates said in a statement.

She and her husband, Giorgio Romeo Casarotto, launched the company in 1989.

Her illustrious list of clients — several of whom worked alongside her since their feature film debuts — also included J.G. Ballard, John Crowley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matteo Garrone, Christopher Hampton, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins, Neil Gaiman, Hilary Bevan Jones,...

Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of the London agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates which represents some of the leading names working behind the camera, died on Feb. 29. She was 77.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of Casarotto Ramsay & Associates,” said the company in a statement.

With a career spanning more than 50 years, Casarotto co-founded Casarotto Ramsay & Associates alongside her husband Giorgio in 1989, helping re-shape the agency landscape. The company’s roster would grow to include many of the world’s best-known writers, directors, creatives, literary properties and heads of departments across film, theatre and television.

Among her list of clients over the years were J.G. Ballard, John Crowley, the Dahl Estate, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Stephen Frears, Matteo Garrone, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Nick Hornby, Bob Hoskins, Neil Gaiman, Terry Gilliam, Hilary Bevan Jones, Neil Jordan, David Leland, John Madden, Steve McQueen, Cynthia Payne, Neal Purvis,...

Jenne Casarotto, who co-founded leading British talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates in 1989 and repped some of the nation’s greatest talents, died Thursday following complications from a short illness. She was 77.

Casarotto died “peacefully, according to a statement from the agency.

Th 35-year-old outfit described its founder as a “visionary leader and a giant within the global entertainment industry,” saying, “With a career spanning over 50 years, Jenne was an award winning agent who was highly regarded throughout the world for her impeccable taste in writers and directors, unwavering dedication to her clients, and for her calm and creative leadership.”

Casarotto co-founded the London shop in 1989 with husband Giorgio and went on to represent some of the best-known and most successful writers, directors, playwrights, creatives and HODs in the business at an agency that has been at the forefront of the UK sector for years.

Casarotto’s enviable client list included J.G. Ballard,...

Helen Mirren ripped AI to shreds while being honored Thursday night at the American Cinematheque Awards.

After being presented with the lifetime achievement award by her “Mosquito Coast” and “1923” co-star Harrison Ford at the Beverly Hilton gala, Mirren began to read her acceptance speech from a piece of a paper.

“Ladies and gentlemen and esteemed guests and dear friends, I am deeply humbled, profoundly honored to stand before you today accepting this extraordinary award. To be recognized for a lifetime devoted to the craft of acting is a privilege beyond words,” she said dramatically. “First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the industry and the individuals who have supported me throughout this incredible journey. It is has been a life filled with passion, challenges and above all, an unyielding love for the art of storytelling.”

Then she added, “And that was written by AI,” before...

The Super Bowl will once again feature ads promoting Jesus, thanks in large part to the billionaire family that leads Hobby Lobby.

He Gets Us, the billion-dollar campaign to further raise Jesus’ profile, will be back at the big game this year to spread the good word. According to Greg Miller, a spokesman for the campaign, a 60-second spot will appear in the first quarter of the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, followed by a 15-second spot in the second half of the CBS and Univision broadcasts.

Romance. Adventure. Bickering. Mudslides. Alligators are ready to devour you at a moment’s notice. This is all at the heart of Romancing the Stone – the movie and the production. Before it became a hit with audiences – which took some time itself – the script was developed by a sole waitress…before landing at the feet of an Oscar winner before bouncing between studios before finding itself the victim of poor press before a miraculous recovery at the box office. With additional backstories of mended feuds, career skyrocketing, and tragic deaths, it reads like something out of a book – not those trashy paperbacks but almost something even more unbelievable: the making of Romancing the Stone.

So let’s find out: Wtf Happened to this movie?!

Romancing the Stone began where so many romances do: a diner! It was while working as a waitress in Malibu, California, in the late ‘70s that...

Leland is best known for directing ’Wish You Were Here’, ’Land Girls’ and TV series ’Band Of Brothers’.

Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson have heralded their collaborations with leading UK director, writer and actor David Leland who died on December 24, 2023 at the age of 82

Brosnan thanked the filmmaker, best known for directing Wish You Were Here and The Land Girls, for giving him his first professional acting role in Tennessee William’s stage production of The Red Devil Battery Sign.

“It was the thrill of my young lifetime to be cast as McCabe, working with David and Tennessee. David will...

British director and screenwriter who enjoyed huge success with his 1987 hit film Wish You Were Here

Grittiness and compassion were the twin hallmarks of the writer and director David Leland, who has died aged 82. He scripted a clutch of uncompromising films that launched the screen careers of Cathy Tyson, Emily Lloyd and Tim Roth. Leland’s writing was distinctly British in flavour but without the parochial sensibility that might have limited its appeal.

His early draft of Mona Lisa (1986), an underworld thriller about the relationship between a sex worker (Tyson) and her driver (Bob Hoskins), was tougher and nastier than the finished film. Leland shared the screenplay credit with its Irish director, Neil Jordan.

David Leland, a director of stage and screen whose filmmaking CV includes films such as Wish You Were Here, Personal Services and Land Girls, has died. He was 82.

Born in 1941 in Cambridge, Leland initially trained as an actor at the Central Speech of School and Drama and had many stage credits before moving into direction at the Crucible Theatre. That began his collaboration with Alan Clarke in 1981. He wrote Made In Britain, which Clarke directed and featured the first screen role of Tim Roth. In 1986, Leland and director Neil Jordan co-wrote the screenplay for Mona Lisa, which starred Bob Hoskins.

Leland then wrote Personal Services, which was directed by Terry Jones and followed the true-life story of Cynthia Payne, who ran a private brothel.

Payne was also the subject of Leland's next film his directorial debut, Wish You Were Here, which chronicled her teenage years, starring Emily Lloyd.

While his next two films,...

Emmy winning “Band of Brothers” director David Leland, who was also a prolific writer with over five decades in the industry, died Sunday at age 82.

The news came from his longtime agency Cassaroto Ramsay & Associates on Wednesday.

“Our beloved client writer/director, David Leland has passed away. We will miss his incredible talent and warm spirit so very much,” the agency said. “Our thoughts are with his family at this time.”

Leland, born in England at the height of World War II, trained as an actor and stage manager before establishing himself as a screenwriter and director. Among his most popular films are the 1983 cult classic “Made in Britain,” 1986’s Golden-Globe and Oscar-nominated “Mona Lisa” with Bob Hoskins and 1987’s “Wish You Were Here.”

Leland was renowned for writing two films about British suburban madam Cynthia Payne, 1987’s “Personal Services” and Cannes Film Festival hit “Wish You Were Here,” the...

David Leland, the British writer, director and actor whose credits include “Wish You Were Here,” “The Borgias” and more, died on Dec. 24, according to his agents Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. He was 82. A cause of death was not revealed.

Leland cut his teeth in theater, where he directed the world premiere of Michael Palin and Terry Jones’ “Their Finest Hours” and gave Pierce Brosnan his first opportunity to act on stage in the British premiere of Tennessee Williams’ “The Red Devil Battery Sign.”

A distinguished film and TV screenwriting career followed, including “Made in Britain” (1982) directed by Alan Clarke and starring Tim Roth; “Birth of a Nation” (1983) by Mike Newell; and Neil Jordan’s Oscar, Golden Globe and WGA-nominated “Mona Lisa” (1986), featuring a BAFTA-winning performance by Bob Hoskins.

Leland made his directorial debut with “Wish You Were Here” (1987), which won him the BAFTA for best original screenplay, and the film...

Ah, Christmas. It’s a time of family get-togethers, going into debt, and TV and movie studios trying their best to cater to everyone. Unless you’re on the Hallmark Channel, and it’s pretty obvious you’ve got one specific demo you are targeting with extreme prejudice.

Over the years, many Christmas-themed movies and TV specials have danced across screens, both big and small. Some of them are classics like A Muppet Christmas Carol, or It’s a Wonderful Life. Others go out of their way to try and be extreme in their counter-programming, like Silent Night, Deadly Night (which has somehow made six total films over the years…good lord).

And then others are just so odd and unexpected that they deserve their own list, and that’s what we’re doing today. I’m not sure this list should be counted as Nice or Naughty; we’ll say...

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Quick Answer: Stream the Mario Movie on Peacock or rent the film with bonus features on Amazon Prime Video.

watch on Peacock $5.99/month

Let’s-a go! As the star of the new Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario is more popular than ever, with the adaptation becoming a smash hit that generated a whopping $1.3 billion and counting at the global box office. Not only was the animated feature the...

Renowned French director Luc Besson, director of Léon and The Fifth Element is releasing a new thriller next year. Briarcliff Entertainment will release Luc Besson’s thriller DogMan in select theatres on March 15, 2024, and will expand on March 22, 2024. The film, written and directed by Besson, had its World Premiere at the Venice FIlm Festival and stars Caleb Landry Jones, Jojo T. Gibbs and Christopher Denham.

The plot synopsis from Briarcliff Entertainment reads,

“In DogMan, having just been arrested, Douglas opens his heart to tell the moving story of his life. As a survivor of childhood trauma, with a violent father who forces him to live in the family kennel, he develops a bond with dogs that defies understanding. Out of this hell, he grows to discover love, theatre, and cabaret, but also the injustice and disillusionment of the human world. In a life that’s been broken a thousand times,...

Christmas Books That Were Turned Into Movies ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

Not everyone likes reading books. It demands a big chunk of your time and a lot of concentration. And come on, let’s be real, why bother when you can easily watch a two-hour movie adaptation that covers all the important scenes and leaves out all the fillers? Besides, even for the most avid book readers, diving into Christmas-themed books might not be very high up on their list of holiday priorities. So, what better way to fill in that book void on Christmas than by watching some Christmas films based on books?

Here are 5 holiday-themed books that were turned into movies.

1. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

“The Man Who Invented Christmas” is a Charles Dickens biographical film based on a book written by Les Standiford. It was released on November 22, 2017, in Canada and was directed by Bharat Nalluri. It stars Dan Stevens,...

Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane are bringing Mr and Mrs Smith to the small screen, here’s the trailer.

2005 was a good year for action films. Jet Li gave one of his greatest performances opposite Bob Hoskins in Unleashed and Christopher Nolan kicked of his iconic trilogy with Batman Begins.

Another hugely successful film that year was Mr And Mrs Smith. It saw Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play a married couple who, unbeknownst to each other, are both world class assassins. The film originally cast Nicole Kidman to star opposite Pitt, but scheduling conflicts with The Stepford Wives meant she had to drop out.

Doug Liman directed the film from a screenplay by Simon Kinberg, and while it is by no means perfect, it remains a hugely enjoyable, rollicking ride.

Now, Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane have brought the story to the small screen.

The synopsis reads as follows:...

The Legend of Zelda is heading to the big screen. After Universal’s $1 billion hit adaptation Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo is developing the new Zelda project with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Wes Ball, the director behind the Maze Runner trilogy, will helm the live-action feature, with Sony distributing. Nintendo and Avi Arad’s Arad Productions, Inc. are behind the film that will be co-financed by the gaming giant and Sony.

Nintendo representative director and fellow Shigeru Miyamoto, who is set to produce the movie, posted Tuesday to X (formerly Twitter) that he and Arad have been working on a live-action version “for many years now.”

Miyamoto continued, “We have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”

Ball made his feature directorial debut with 2014’s The Maze Runner,...

The gaming industry has always had a turbulent relationship with Hollywood. For every hit adaptation, there are countless misses that leave fans cringing and wondering, “Why?” However, the recent cinematic journey of Super Mario seems to have flipped the script and set a new standard.

Let’s roll back a bit. Historically, game-to-film adaptations have been met with skepticism. Remember the initial reception to Angelina Jolie‘s portrayal of Lara Croft or the infamous “Street Fighter” adaptation? How about the not-so-fondly-remembered 1993 Super Mario Bros. with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo? All these films had their moments, but they couldn’t capture the heart of the games they aimed to represent.

Related: 10 Best Animated Shows of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

However, with the latest ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ (2023), the tide seems to be changing. The movie, which “collected a lot of gold coins” with its $1.36 billion earnings, has not...