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It's the culinary moment we've all been waiting for... Iron Chef is back and it's all-new: So grab your aprons and specialty knives because you're not going to want to miss it. The reimagining of Iron Chef begins June 15 on Netflix. And it may be new, but thankfully, some familiar faces come along with it. Alton Brown will be returning to the kitchen stadium to host alongside Kristen Kish. Additionally, Mark Dacascos will reprise his role of The Chairman. This time, the series will be "reborn with a supersized approach to the ground-breaking culinary competition that started it all," the series description reads. "It's been called the toughest culinary...

The iconic, epic culinary battle that is Iron Chef is back. “So, feeling hungry old friend?” Alton Brown asks Mark Dacascos in the official teaser for Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. “Hungry for battle!” Dacascos exclaims. “What a coincidence because that’s exactly what’s on the menu,” Brown tells him before passing him apple, which he bites. Chefs once again battle head-to-head in the new series, premiering on Netflix on Wednesday, June 15. Watch the teaser below. Brown returns to the kitchen stadium to host with Kristen Kish. Dacascos reprises his role of The Chairman. Based on Fuji Television Network’s format, the series is reborn with a supersized approach. “It’s been called the toughest culinary challenge a chef will ever experience. This is where world-class cuisine meets high-octane sports. Five new trailblazing Iron Chefs will welcome brave Challenger Chefs to the reimagined Kitchen Stadium, where they...

Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Alia Shawkat and Tim Meadows are among the actors joining the voice cast for AMC+’s stop-motion animated series Ultra City Smiths, from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and showrunner Steve Conrad.

Set to debut on AMC+ on July 22, Ultra City Smiths hinges on an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of fictional metropolis Ultra City’s most famous magnate (Smith). Two intrepid detectives (Simpson and Randolph) follow the case, rallying to fight against their city’s dangerous corruption, at a high cost to themselves and their families, all in pursuit of a gentler place to call home. Bell appears as Donella Pecker, Shepard as Congressman Chris Pecker, Shawkat as Little Grace, and Meadows as Deputy Mayor Jeff Thumb.

Also joining the cast are Terry O’Quinn as Captain Krieger, Debra Winger as Trish McSapphire, Luis Guzmán as Rodrigo Smalls, Julian Barratt as The Most Dangerous Man in the World,...

Here’s a scenario straight out of a political thriller by Brad Meltzer, a satirical graphic novel by Gail Simone, a seasonal arc of 24, or the warped mind of your columnist:

Reuters is reporting that Vladimir Putin, the Russian dictator president orders denies interference with the 2016 American Presidential election following the hospitalization of Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton for suspected polonium 210 chronic radiation poisoning. It was Polonium 210 acute radiation exposure that killed former Kgb officer Alexander Litvenko in just three weeks. The former Kgb officer had been granted political asylum in the United Kingdom.

In response to this news, Donald Trump has tweeted “Told you she was sick!”

Hoo boy, if I posted that on my Facebook page I’d be the darling of every conspiracy nut in the world. And might even warrant a visit from the Secret Service…or Jack Bauer. (Chloe, you rock, woman!)

I didn’t see...

The Interview and the geopolitical crisis it caused is arguably the most important movie-related story of recent weeks.

The story device featured in The Interview, the idea of a film featuring the assassination of the current ruling leader, is nothing new, and in fact is seen through much of film’s history. In 1941 a German-in-exile Fritz Lang shown an unsuccessful attack on Adolf Hitler in Man Hunt (this story was also told in BBC’s Rogue Male from 1976 starring Peter O’Toole). The Shaw Brothers used the actual newsreel footage of Queen Elisabeth visiting Hong-Kong (then a British colony) in their 1976 martial arts flick A Queen’s Ransom (a.k.a. The International Assassin) starring post-James Bond George Lazenby as an Ira assassin and Angela Mao as a heroine trying to stop him. In fact, the Queen of England might be the most popular assassination target among actual world leaders...

Focus World has debuted the first official trailer and poster for the prolific Oscar-winner Alex Gibney‘s new documentary We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, focusing in on the 2010 leak of the Baghdad airstrike footage. There is, of course, another Assange movie coming this year – Bill Condon‘s The Fifth Estate, with Benedict Cumberbatch stepping into the shoes of the WikiLeaks founder who has already denounced the movie as a ‘massive propaganda attack. As for the upcoming documentary, Gibney’s focus looks to expand beyond Assange/WikiLeaks to examine what the ordeal reveals about the way our world’s governments function in the 21st century. Gibney (Taxi...

Click to continue reading We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks Trailer & Poster on | FilmoFilia

Related posts: Alex Gibney to Make WikiLeaks Documentary Mark Boal to Write Julian Assange Movie, Paul Greengrass to Direct Another One First Look: Benedict Cumberbatch As Wikileaks...

Although TV movies are not on our radar, this one is worthy of your attention. Rachel Griffiths and Anthony Lapaglia have been cast in the forthcoming TV movie Underground, based on the early life of Julian Assange as a teenage hacker in Melbourne, Australia. Newcomer Alex Williams has been cast as one of the biggest [...]

Continue reading Anthony Lapaglia and Rachel Griffiths Cast in Julian Assange Biopic on FilmoFilia.

Related posts: Mark Boal to Write Julian Assange Movie, Paul Greengrass to Direct Another One Anthony Lapaglia Has Tossed His Name Into the Django Unchained Gang WikiLeaks Movie: The Most Dangerous Man in the World...

There is no better time than the present to move forward on a film about Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder and general rabble-rouser who has garnered an unbelievable amount of media attention both for his legitimate groundbreaking work (leaking state secrets on the Internet for all to see) and his more specious activities (facing rape charges in Sweden). Biographies of Assange and accounts of Wikileaks's actions already abound, and the movie deals haven't' come long after-- just two weeks ago producers optioned the rights to The Most Dangerous Man in the World, a biography by an Australian reporter. Now a slew of other details are coming together too. One of them, as chronicled by Deadline, involves The Hurt Locker writer Mark Boal, and will be based on Bill Keller's account in The New York Times of the paper's work with Assange in publishing leaks. They're calling it The Boy Who...

WikiLeaks: The Movie. Alright, maybe not quite that dramatic, but there is a plan hatching to develop a feature film about The Most Dangerous Man in the World, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

In a world where a movie about the creation of Facebook has won some of the best reviews of 2010, a movie about Assange and his online creation suddenly starts to look attractive.

The genesis of the Assange biopic begins with Andrew Fowler's upcoming biography of the WikiLeaks founder, The Most Dangerous Man in the World. Fowler interviewed Assange several times last year and started putting together his non-fiction book after his subject's infamy with world governments rocketed high with the release of several thousand secret diplomatic cables. Assange has been the subject of a police investigation in Sweden concerning possible sexual crimes. He was released on bail and is awaiting the start of an extradition hearing scheduled for next month.

The story of Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg’s ascension to the top (and the ensuing drama around his creation) has proved to be a big box office draw, and it also looks like The Social Network may be the recipient of a number of Oscars, come March time.

Following that film’s success and the current thirst to capitalise on contemporary news stories, it comes as no surprise to learn (via The Wrap) that a biopic of Julian Assange (the man who recently caused a near world-wide PR meltdown with site Wikileaks) is in the works.

Michelle Krumm (a former Weinstein Company executive) has teamed up with Josephson Entertainment to option the yet-to-be-published biography of Assange, entitled The Most Dangerous Man in The World. Written by Australian journalist Andrew Fowler, the book is scheduled to be released later this year.

The creator of Wikileaks is currently being held in custody over here,...

Being one of the more polarizing public figures of the modern era kid of puts you on a fast-track to a movie about your life, either in the form of a documentary or biopic. But, if you’re extra special, like Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, you get both.

According to Deadline, the founder of the document-leaking, politician-infuriating organization has caught the attention of both Alex Gibney and Universal Studios, who’ve agreed to fund a documentary for him to direct. His past work, which includes Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer and Casino Jack and the United States of Money makes him a great fit for the headline-occupying material (I love hyphens!).

The big question is at the moment is Assange’s involvement; in the past the filmmaker has often gotten his reviled subjects to tell their side of the...

It was inevitable, of course, that Julian Assange, freedom of information campaigner and the “front man” of Wikileaks would at some point be depicted on the big screen. What is a surprise, however, is the speed and avarice with which his life story has been seized upon by the Hollywood machine.

With so much of the Assange story yet to truly unfold before, inevitably, by hook or by crook, the CIA finally get their man, one would think that producers and screenwriters would be waiting with pens poised for Assange’s nascent martyrdom for democracy. – Not so, it would appear. Keen to steal a march on potential competitors, Michelle Krum and her production company have optioned an as yet unreleased biography of Assange entitled The Most Dangerous Man in the World.

The book, written by Australian journalist Andrew Fowler details Assange’s early life and rise to the founder and...

Universal Pictures has acquired a documentary about controversial WikiLeaks founder and political activist Julian Assange with Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney set to direct and produce.

Assange founded WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organization, in 2006 as a means to publish private, secret, and classified documents about world governments and businesses. The organization came under fire more recently when, in July 2010, they released the Afghan War Diary that compiled over 76,000 documents about the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The Australian journalist is currently under house arrest in England awaiting an extradition hearing for a Swedish arrest warrant and allegations of sexual assault. Meanwhile, members of the U.S. government, as well as reality TV star Sarah Palin, continue to hammer Assange with rhetoric calling him a “high-tech terrorist.”

It’s unclear if Assange will participate in Gibney’s documentary, but given his policy of speaking openly about his practices and the mounting costs of his legal defense,...

One of the first big pieces of news out of Sundance is that Universal will fund a documentary about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, directed by Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Casino Jack and the United States of Money). Together with the biopic of Mr. Assange that is about to go into development at a different company, that would make him quite the man of the moment -- if he hadn't already been the man of the moment thanks to the actions of WikiLeaks over the past months. [Update: Deadline [1] says that HBO is also developing a film about Mr. Assange. This one would be a co-production with the BBC based on Raffi Khatchadourian's June 7, 2010 New Yorker article [2] called No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for Total Transparency.] More detail on each film after the break. Deadline [3] confirms the deal with Universal but isn't able to say whether...

Enron, Eliot Spitzer, Jack Abramoff, Hunter S. Thompson, Guantanamo Bay and now Julian Assange. Documentary director Alex Gibney has found the subject for his next film and he's lined up a major studio to back the production. Deadline reports that Universal has picked up the rights to a documentary about the notorious Wikileaks founder that will be directed by Alex Gibney. The news come hot on the heels of reports that surfaced yesterday that a feature film treatment was in the works based on the upcoming biography “The Most Dangerous Man in the World” by journalist Andrew Fowler. While it's…...

AP/HuffPost:

An upcoming biography of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange isn't even in stores yet, and it's already been optioned into a feature film.

Plans are under way for Andrew Fowler's book, "The Most Dangerous Man in the World," to be turned into a movie. The Australian reporter first interviewed Assange last May, and his investigative biography is due out later this year.

Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Productions jointly optioned the movie rights.

Assange, 39, is the founder of WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing website that revealed classified information. He's in London, where he's battling extradition to Sweden over sex-crime allegations.

Who would you cast as Assange? If you have better ideas, leave them in the comments and we'll add a few more.

Photos:...

If you've been following current events, you've likely heard of Julian Assange. He's the founder of Wikileaks, one of the more controversial sites on the web. Whether you think what he's done is right or wrong, the fact remains he's had quite the life.

However, the guy is in quite a bit of legal trouble, and needs money. So Julian took a deal where he'd get $1 million for his autobiography. Which of course caused more controversy, with people saying he's profiting from leaking government secrets and all that stuff. To make things more interesting, there was another biography written about Assange called The Most Dangerous Man in the World, which has also been optioned for a movie.

Photo by Espen Moe.Film producers Barry Josephson and Michelle Krumm have optioned the rights to The Most Dangerous Man in the World, the forthcoming biography of WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange. Both book and movie are sure to contain a lucrative combination of intrigue, rebellion, politics, ambition, and betrayal. Add a haunting score and punchy, hyperliterate dialogue, and WikiLeaks: the Movie may even rival the last great Internet movie, The Social Network. If touchscreen-to-big-screen really is the next filmmaking trend, what other Web sites might have cinematic stories? Some suggestions:...

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

New set photos of Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried in Andrew Niccol's 'Now' have emerged.

According to The Sun (a source that always requires a handful of salt), the new James Bond film will be called 'Red Sky At Night' and that the film's producers want Rachel Weisz to play Bond's arch enemy.

A book about the life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, titled 'The Most Dangerous Man in the World,' has already been optioned for the big screen.

'Easy A' director Will Gluck will produce (though likely not direct) a remake of the '80s comedy 'About Last Night...' through his Olive Bridge Productions.

'The Iceman,' based on the life of famed hitman Richard Kuklinski is off to a great start by casting Michael Shannon as the titular killer, Benecio Del Toro as his mobster...

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

New set photos of Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried in Andrew Niccol's 'Now' have emerged.

According to The Sun (a source that always requires a handful of salt), the new James Bond film will be called 'Red Sky At Night' and that the film's producers want Rachel Weisz to play Bond's arch enemy.

A book about the life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, titled 'The Most Dangerous Man in the World,' has already been optioned for the big screen.

'Easy A' director Will Gluck will produce (though likely not direct) a remake of the '80s comedy 'About Last Night...' through his Olive Bridge Productions.

'The Iceman,' based on the life of famed hitman Richard Kuklinski is off to a great start by casting Michael Shannon as the titular killer, Benecio Del Toro as his mobster...

A biography of Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, is being shopped around for a feature film version.

Variety reports the biography, written by Andrew Fowler and titled "The Most Dangerous Man in the World" details Assange's life and the 2006 launch of his controversial website. The book is set to be released later this year.

Fowler is an Australian reporter who has interviewed Assange multiple times during the whole controversy. 

The producers, already attached to a film version, are looking for a whole team to bring the biography to life on the screen.

Now, the real question is - who should play Assange?  We vote Paul Bettany. See the resemblance?...

One of last years most intriguing people was undoubtedly Julian Assange. Whether you thought was he was doing was right or wrong, there was no way you weren.t hearing about him and everything he.s allegedly done. To help pay for his ever mounting legal fees, Assange took a deal in which he would receive $1 million in exchange for his autobiography. There was a lot of controversy around this, as people immediately called him out for profiting on the secrets of the government and blah blah blah people complaining about stuff they don.t need to complain about. Anyway, another biography was written by Australian reporter Andrew Fowler called The Most Dangerous Man in the World, which THR says has been optioned - though that.s as far into the process they.ve gotten. Producers Barry Josephson and Michelle Krumm landed the deal, but they have hired no screenwriters,...

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

Andrew Fowler's biography on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been optioned for the big screen. Bill Hader should be pleased. 'The Most Dangerous Man in the World' -- which is being developed into a drama-thriller already being compared to 'All the President's Men -- is set to publish later this year and follows Assange from childhood to the events leading up to the WikiLeaks controversy.

Continue Reading...

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

Andrew Fowler's biography on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been optioned for the big screen. Bill Hader should be pleased. 'The Most Dangerous Man in the World' -- which is being developed into a drama-thriller already being compared to 'All the President's Men -- is set to publish later this year and follows Assange from childhood to the events leading up to the WikiLeaks controversy.

Continue Reading...

Film studio secures screen rights to forthcoming biography about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

It has all the ingredients for a big-screen tale of intrigue and conspiracy: the plucky underdog vying to buck the system, sexual complications and powerful government forces with secrets to hide.

WikiLeaks: the Movie moved a step closer to reality yesterday after studio executives picked up the screen rights to the forthcoming Julian Assange biography The Most Dangerous Man in the World by award-winning Australian writer Andrew Fowler. The book details Assange's life from his childhood on Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia, all the way through to his founding of the whistleblower website in 2006 to publish classified material.

Assange has been labelled "a high-tech terrorist" by his foes and "the internet's freedom fighter" by his supporters. In November, WikiLeaks scored its most high-profile coup to date when it partnered with the Guardian to publish over 250,000 secret Us diplomatic cables.

The film rights to an as-yet-unpublished book about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have been purchased. Barry Josephson (Enchanted) and Michelle Krumm (All Good Things, Bobby) have secured a deal to produce a film adaptation of Australian writer Andrew Fowler's biography of Assange, The Most Dangerous Man In The World. Krumm told Variety: "As soon as I met Andrew and read a few chapters (more)...

Well this isn't a total surprise considering how much news the man's made this year, but I do have to wonder what a biopic about Wikileaks founder and Us public enemy number one Julian Assange would look like in practice. The film will be an adaptation of Andrew Fowler's biography of the man called "Assange, The Most Dangerous Man in the World." For those of you living under a rock, Assange made headlines this year after his website Wikileaks released hundreds of thousands of war...

Variety is reporting that a movie about the life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is in the works and is described as a suspenseful drama/thriller. The film will be based on an upcoming biography "The Most Dangerous Man in the World" by Australian reporter Andrew Fowler. The book is an in-depth look at Assange from his childhood to the current day that focuses on his anti-secrecy "revolution." Assange founded the Wiki-Leaks website in 2006 and has published secret Us diplomatic material about American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as toxic waste dumping in Africa, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and Church of Scientology manuals. "As soon as I met Andrew and read a few chapters of his profound book, I knew that -- with his incredibly extensive depth of knowledge -- it would enable us to bring a thought-provoking thriller to the screen," said producer Michelle Krumm.

A biopic thriller about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is in the works at Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Prouctions reports Variety.

The production companies have optioned feature rights to Andrew Fowler's upcoming biography "The Most Dangerous Man in the World" which is described as in-depth look at Assange from his childhood growing up on Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia to the current day with his anti-secrecy Wiki-Leaks "revolution."

Assange founded the Wiki-Leaks site in 2006 and has published secret U.S. diplomatic cables about American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and materials about toxic waste dumping in Africa and Guantanamo Bay procedures plus Church of Scientology manuals.

Fowler first interviewed Assange last May. Michelle Krumm ("All Good Things," "Bobby") will produce the film along with Barry Josephson ("Enchanted," Fox's "Bones"). L.H. Adonis will co-produce.

Julian Assange, a founder of controversial website WikiLeaks, is apparently an interesting subject for filmmakers. His life is about to be turned into a big screen project, according to Variety. Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Productions have optioned an upcoming biography of Assange.

Entitled "The Most Dangerous Man in the World", the book is written by Andrew Fowler and covers major events in Assange's life from his childhood leading up to his website WikiLeaks which was launched in 2006. The reporter for the Australian news show "Foreign Correspondent" has repeatedly interviewed Assange, including a famous report last June released shortly after Assange was said to have gone into hiding.

Michelle Krumm, Barry Josephson and L.H. Adonis are producing the project which is being developed as a drama/thriller. There is still no word on a planned release date for this untitled Julian Assange biopic.

Julian Assange is currently under house arrest in England.

WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has stirred global controversy by releasing classified documents and communication wires between top government officials, will get his story told on the big screen.

Variety reports that Australian reporter Andrew Fowler’s upcoming biography, “The Most Dangerous Man in the World,” which chronicles the anti-secrecy advocate’s childhood through to present day, has been jointly optioned by Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Productions.

Since founding the Wiki-Leaks site in 2006, Assange has published secret cables about everything from American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to Church of Scientology manuals.

L.H. Adonis, Michell Krumm and Barry Josephson will handle producing duties.

“As soon as I met Andrew and read a few chapters of his profound book, I knew that — with his incredibly extensive depth of knowledge — it would enable us to bring a thought-provoking thriller to the screen,” Krumm said.

Josephson said, “Like...

Julian Assange is about to get the Mark Zuckerberg treatment. The upcoming biography "The Most Dangerous Man In The World" by journalist Andrew Fowler has been optioned by Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krum Productions with the intent to turn Assange's life story into a "suspenseful drama thriller", though Variety only places "thriller" behind quotation marks, suggesting there's merit in a strike-while-the-iron-is-hot movie about a hot topic story that hasn't fully played out, as long as it's a drama. Or "drama." Assange, who the American public somehow vilifies more than any hate-speech spewing retard on right wing radio, founded WikiLeaks in…...

It was only a matter of time.

And for sure it was inevitable because of almost daily stories about WikiLeaks and against Julian Assange which gracing the front pages each day.

Of course, I guess you already know we’re talking about the WikiLeaks movie!

Just what we were all waiting for. So, guys are you ready for this?

Precisely, biopic on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is heading for the big screen.

According to Variety, Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Prods. have optioned feature rights to upcoming biography The Most Dangerous Man in the World.

The book was written by Australian reporter Andrew Fowler who interviewed Assange last May.

The Most Dangerous Man in the World is an in depth look at Assange from his childhood to current day with the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks revolution.

The biography will be published later this year by Melbourne University Publishing Ltd.

Michelle Krumm will...

Because what the man really needs is yet more publicity, someone has decided to start putting together a biopic of unnaturally pale WikiLeaks front man Julian Assange, which the producers are hyping up as “a suspenseful drama thriller.”Barry Josephson and Michelle Krumm have pooled their respective production companies’ resources to nab the film rights to Aussie reporter Andrew Fowler’s biography of Assange, The Most Dangerous Man in the World.The book will apparently offer a heavily-researched peek into Assange’s life from childhood to the present, including his founding of WikiLeaks in 2006 and the controversial storm he and his team stirred by releasing secret Us diplomatic documents, corporate info about toxic waste dumping and even some internal Scientology manuals. Frankly, you would think that last one would make him more afraid of a response than any legal claims.Talking of, he’s currently under house arrest in the UK,...

The secretive founder of Wikileaks, now under house arrest in England, is going Hollywood - a biopic about Julian Assange is in the works. Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Productions have optioned a still-to-be-published biography of Assange, written by the Australian journalist Andrew Fowler. That book, “The Most Dangerous Man In The World,” is scheduled to be released later this year by Melbourne University Publishing Ltd. Assange, who founded Wikileaks in 2006, most recently released American diplomatic cables. He has recently said that he plans to release documents about a large U.S.

The biography of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is being optioned for a feature film version, reports Variety . Entitled "The Most Dangerous Man in the World" and written by Andrew Fowler, the book is set to be released this year (on a still unspecified date) and details the life of Assange and his controversial website, launched in 2006. Fowler, a reporter for the Australian news show "Foreign Correspondent" has repeatedly interviewed fellow Australian Assange, including a famous report last June released shortly after Assange was said to have gone into hiding. Producers on the project in include Michelle Krumm, Barry Josephson and, co-producing, L.H. Adonis.

Ready for more Gregory Peck? As though you could ever have enough. Make time to check out J. Lee Thompson's The Chairman, another intense - but of course, amusingly dated - political thriller. The international military political tangle of The Chairman is just as opaque and messy as the one in Night People, only set in a different part of the world. Still true: Commies are bad. Also still true: Gregory Peck is the man.

The Chinese have isolated a magic enzyme that allows them to grow wheat in the jungle and pineapple in the snow. This empowers Mao-dictated red China with the ability to strong arm the rest of the hungry world, but luckily we in the Western world have our own super weapon: Gregory Peck (of course). This time he happens to be a genius chemist, so America (with a little participation from Britain and the Soviet...

Welcome to Part One of my exploration of how Gregory Peck is an all-American ass kicker. I have recently learned via watching Fox Movie Channel that before Will Smith took up the mantle of saving the world, Gregory Peck used to hold the job. Except where Will usually defends the whole world from threats posed by aliens, robots, or zombies, Gregory Peck used to guard America in particular from villainous international foes. And international human foes can be pretty scary. Like zombie scary. Which is why we're lucky that Gregory Peck took care of business in the Night People in 1954 and that he was still taking care of business 15 years later in The Chairman. (Which I'll get to in Part Two.)

I initially watched the Nunnally Johnson film Night People simply because the title is so good. It's set in occupied Berlin in the 50s, and the military political situation is super tense.

Ready for more Gregory Peck? As though you could ever have enough. Make time to check out The Chairman, another intense - but of course, amusingly dated - political thriller. The international military political tangle of The Chairman is just as opaque and messy as the one in Night People, only set in a different part of the world. Still true: Commies are bad. Also still true: Gregory Peck is the man.

The Chinese have isolated a magic enzyme that allows them to grow wheat in the jungle and pineapple in the snow. This empowers Mao-dictated red China with the ability to strong arm the rest of the hungry world, but luckily we in the Western world have our own super weapon: Gregory Peck (of course). This time he happens to be a genius chemist, so America (with a little participation from Britain and the Soviet Union) sends him in...

Welcome to Part One of my exploration of how Gregory Peck is an all-American ass kicker. I have recently learned via watching Fox Movie Channel that before Will Smith took up the mantle of saving the world, Gregory Peck used to hold the job. Except where Will usually defends the whole world from threats posed by aliens, robots, or zombies, Gregory Peck used to guard America in particular from villainous international foes. And international human foes can be pretty scary. Like zombie scary. Which is why we're lucky that Gregory Peck took care of business in Night People in 1954 and that he was still taking care of business 15 years later in The Chairman. (Which I'll get to in Part Two.)

I initially watched Night People because the title is so good. It's set in occupied Berlin in the 50s, and the military political situation is super tense. Gregory Peck plays Colonel Van Dyke,...

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was one of the high profile TV series and feature films that Mort Abrahams was associated with.

Producer and film executive Mort Abrahams has died at age 93. Abrahams' impressive resume includes producing the hit TV series Route 66 as well as numerous episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. His big screen credits include Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Chairman, Doctor Doolittle and The American Film Theatre feature films.  Cinema Retro reader Rory Monteith has provided the following exclusive statement which he obtained from Mr. Abrahams' daughter-in-law:

"Mort Abrahams, the retired TV and movie producer, who produced the

original "Planet of the Apes," (and, I think, two of the others) passed

away in his Studio City home on May 28, 2009. I know this because I am

his daughter-in-law, and his widow just telephoned me. He died early

this morning, with his...

Mort Abrahams, a producer and production executive on TV and film projects ranging from "Route 66" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." to "The Iceman Cometh" and "A Delicate Balance," died May 28 in Sherman Oaks of natural causes. He was 93.

As a producer at Music Corporation of America in the 1950s, Abrahams was an exec producer on early TV shows including "Suspicion," "Kraft Suspense Theatre" and "G.E. Theatre," hosted by Ronald Reagan.

For Herbert B. Leonard Prods. and ABC, he produced the on-the-road adventure "Route 66" in 1962-63 and the spy-themed "U.N.C.L.E." in 1964-65.

Abrahams left for Arthur Jacobs' Apjac Prods. in 1966 for a job as executive vp to handle production and/or writing chores on films such as "Doctor Dolittle" (1967), "Planet of the Apes" (1968), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969), "The Chairman" (1969) starring Gregory Peck and "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (1970).

From 1969-71, he was vp in...