News

Bill Cobbs, the prolific and versatile actor known for performances in films such as The Brother From Another Planet, Night at the Museum, and The Bodyguard, has died. He was 90.

A member of Cobbs’ family confirmed his death on Facebook, saying the actor died “peacefully” at his home in California on Tuesday, June 25. “A beloved partner, big brother, uncle, surrogate parent, godfather and friend, Bill recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones,” the statement read. “As a family we are comforted knowing Bill has found...

Sad news to report today as it has been confirmed that legendary character actor Bill Cobbs has died at the age of 90. The actor’s publicist, Chuck I. Jones, told TMZ that Cobbs passed away at his home in Riverside. He recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Cobbs leaves behind an incredible body of work, with memorable roles in movies such as The Hudsucker Proxy, The Bodyguard, That Thing You Do!, Ghosts of Mississippi, Night at the Museum, and so much more.

After serving for eight years in the U.S. Air Force, Cobbs sold cars and worked for Ibm before he decided to give acting a try. After appearing in various theater productions, he made his feature film debut in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. “I came back home to see my mom and dad, and all our friends and neighbors went to see the movie, and everyone was waiting for my appearance,...

Bill Cobbs, the convincing character actor who had pivotal turns in such films as The Hudsucker Proxy, Sunshine State and Night at the Museum, has died. He was 90.

Cobbs died Tuesday night at his home in Riverside, his publicist, Chuck I. Jones, told TMZ.

A native of Cleveland who excelled at comedy as well as drama, Cobbs portrayed Whitney Houston’s manager in The Bodyguard (1992), the older brother of Medgar Evers in Rob Reiner’s Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), a jazz pianist in Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do! (1996) and the Master Tinker, builder of the Tin Woodsman, in Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).

He also played the wise coach who put a basketball-playing dog into the Timberwolves lineup in Air Bud (1997).

On television, Cobbs stood out as the sardonic bartender The Dutchman on the Dabney Coleman-starring The Slap Maxwell Story, the bus driver Tony on The Drew Carey Show,...

In the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Tuvix", a transporter accident fused the stern, logical Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ) with the jolly hobbit-like chef Neelix (Ethan Phillips) into a single being. This new being, who says he's named Tuvix (Tom Wright) possesses memories and personality traits from both Tuvok and Neelix, which is a matter of great consternation from Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the crew of the Voyager. Tuvix soon finds that he likes his new amalgam personality, finding happiness and agency as an individual. 

Soon, however, the Voyager engineers find a way to reverse the effects of the transporter accident and separate Tuvix back into his two constituent beings. Tuvix objects, of course. To do so would mean to murder him. Surely a newly created person has rights just as much as any other member of the crew, and Tuvix would like them to be protected. Notoriously among Trekkies,...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we’re honored to chat with iconic director John Sayles, whose essential crime epic Lone Star is now available from The Criterion Collection in both 4K Uhd + Blu-ray.

Our B-Sides today include Limbo, Amigo, and Go For Sisters. We also discuss Sayles’ parallel careers as a screenwriter and a novelist. He talks about the work he did on the Toshirô Mifune/Scott Glenn actioner The Challenge (director John Frankenheimer asking him to write new draft over a weekend before an impending strike); he discusses what he learned working for Roger Corman early in his career; which genre he’s still itching to direct; his love of the recent Godzilla Minus One; and the slew of scripts that never got made.

Ava DuVernay’s arts and social collective Array has announced its slate of summer programming, including an actor’s masterclass taught by Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts, a cinematic celebration of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the debut of two new commissioned projects from Array’s Law Enforcement Accountability Project (Leap).

The summer lineup is curated by Array’s SVP of public programming, Mercedes Cooper, and in keeping with the Array’s mission of “igniting social change through the cinematic arts,” all events are free to the public.

“Array’s focus on instigating narrative change through our non-profit Array Alliance allows us to gather audiences around issues aligned with our core mission and everyday work,” said Cooper in a statement announcing the lineup.

“With film and art as the doorway, this summer’s programs invite conversations around otherness, authority and privilege, love and loss, as well as Black masculinity,” she continued. “Our ongoing...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Afrofuturism

Curated by Ashley Clark, The Criterion Channel is putting the spotlight on Afrofuturism in a new series exploring, as Ytasha Womack writes, films that “combine elements of science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity, and magic realism with non-Western beliefs.” Along with a handful of shorts, the features include Space Is the Place (1974), Born in Flames (1983), The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Ornette: Made in America (1985), Yeelen (1987), Welcome II the Terrordome (1995), The Last Angel of History (1996), An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012), White Out, Black In (2014), Crumbs (2015), Once There Was Brasilia (2017), and Supa Modo (2018).

Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel

City Hall (Frederick Wiseman)

In the opening shot of Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery,...

Closing out a year in which we’ve needed The Criterion Channel more than ever, they’ve now announced their impressive December lineup. Topping the highlights is a trio of Terrence Malick films––Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The New World––along with interviews featuring actors Richard Gere, Sissy Spacek, and Martin Sheen; production designer Jack Fisk; costume designer Jacqueline West; cinematographers Haskell Wexler and John Bailey; and more.

Also in the lineup is an Afrofuturism series, featuring an introduction by programmer Ashley Clark, with work by Lizzie Borden, Shirley Clarke, Souleymane Cissé, John Akomfrah, Terence Nance, and more. There’s also Mariano Llinás’s 14-hour epic La flor, Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time, Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning, plus retrospectives dedicated to Mae West, Cary Grant, Barbra Streisand, and more.

Check out the lineup below and return every Friday for our weekly streaming picks.

Colin Firth Set to Star in New York Will Eat You Alive — STXFilms and Tencent Pictures have signed on Colin Firth to star in the tentatively titled New York Will Eat You Alive, the zombie action comedy based on the comic Zombie Brother. Todd Strauss-Schulson — known for Isn’t It Romantic — is attached to [...]

Continue reading: New York Will Eat You Alive: Colin Firth Set to Star in Tencent’s Adaptation of Zombie Brother...

We’ve got questions, and you’ve (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we’re lobbing queries left and right about shows including Perry Mason, Doom Patrol and Search Party!

1 | Didn’t it look like Harley Quinn‘s Superman was zapping the coronavirus? (Were it that easy!)

More from TVLineSearch Party Season 3 Finale Recap: The Verdict Is In -- Are Dory and Drew Heading for the Slammer?Performer of the Week: Matthew RhysDoom Patrol Recap: Size Matters -- Grade the Season 2 Premiere

2 | Do you think The Chi will ever give us the details on exactly how Brandon died?...

Reality format “Big Brother” is returning to screens in the Netherlands, the country where it all started, with original broadcaster Rtl after 14 years off air. It is being produced by Endemol Shine Netherlands.

The first ever episode of “Big Brother” aired in the Netherlands in September 1999, where it was created by Endemol founder John de Mol.

The format went on to become a global phenomenon, and has remained on air in Italy, Spain and the U.S. since launching there in 2000.

The deal marks the eighth comeback for “Big Brother” in the last 12 months with returns for the original format in Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Greece, Germany and Australia, where the new series launches tonight.

This year series in Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Italy and Australia were all produced with minimal Covid-19 disruption, with housemates informed and kept up to date with happenings in the outside world.

In a statement Endemol...

The director of Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies, Pearl Jam’s Jeremy and many more reflects on his career and some of the movies that made him.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Arlington Road (1999)

The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Firewall (2006)

The Orphanage (2007)

Nostalgia (2018)

Avatar (2009)

Titanic (1997)

Chef (2014)

The Laundromat (2019)

Honeymoon In Vegas (1992)

Demonlover (2003)

Under The Sand (2000)

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

Under The Skin (2013)

The Great Beauty (2013)

Slap Shot (1977)

Network (1976)

Straw Dogs (1971)

The Pawnbroker (1964)

Star Wars (1977)

The Exorcist (1973)

Jaws (1975)

The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973)

All The President’s Men (1976)

Liquid Sky (1982)

The Brother From Another Planet (1984)

City Of Hope (1991)

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Snowpiercer (2013)

The Flintstones (1994)

Matinee (1993)

Batman (1989)

Transformers (2007)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Psycho (1960)

Psycho (1998)

Mandy (2018)

Phantom Thread (2017)

Magnolia (1999)

Boogie Nights (1997)

The Master (2012)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Mustang (2019)

Inherent Vice (2014)

The New World (2005)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

The Last Word (2017)

Cocaine Cowboys (2006)

The Burglar (1957)

What Lies Beneath...

When John Sayles wrote and directed Matewan in 1987, he was already a hero to those of us following American independent film, both for his witty, energetic genre screenplays and for his self-financed directorial efforts. His movies as writer-director, which also included a detour into studio filmmaking with the exquisite coming of age drama Baby It’s You, were major inspirations for an entire generation of aspiring filmmakers, because they gave us a high standard of excellence to reach for yet also seemed […]...

When John Sayles wrote and directed Matewan in 1987, he was already a hero to those of us following American independent film, both for his witty, energetic genre screenplays and for his self-financed directorial efforts. His movies as writer-director, which also included a detour into studio filmmaking with the exquisite coming of age drama Baby It’s You, were major inspirations for an entire generation of aspiring filmmakers, because they gave us a high standard of excellence to reach for yet also seemed […]...

Before “Big,” before “Bachelor Party” — heck, before even “Bosom Buddies” — Tom Hanks studied theater at Chabot College and performed three seasons in the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, walking the boards in “Hamlet”. But that was all more than 40 years ago, and so much has happened since that it may as well be a different Hanks — one with two Oscars and a formidable serious-actor reputation to his credit — who tackles the tragicomic role of Falstaff in the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ presentation of “Henry IV,” making what is billed as his “Los Angeles stage debut.”

The show itself — technically two separate history plays, mercifully condensed into a single three-hour production that, frankly, could stand to be shorter still — continues to be performed today due not to any particular interest in its eponymous monarch, but as a credit to Falstaff, by far the most amusing in Shakespeare’s great panoply of characters,...

Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.

Film Society of Lincoln Center

A retrospective of the great, perpetually underseen Raúl Ruiz winds down its second part.

Anthology Film Archives

Films by Elaine May, Albert Brooks, Pialat, and Zulowski play in “Valentine’s Day Massacre.”

Erich von Stroheim’s Greed will play on Saturday and Sunday.

Metrograph

Retrospectives Alex Ross Perry and St.

Independent film veteran Ira Deutchman has received the first annual Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the distribution and exhibition of independent films. The award was created by advertising company Spotlight Cinema Networks in partnership with the Art House Convergence.

Read More: Why Indie Producing Veteran Ira Deutchman Is Moving From Films to Broadway

Deutchman has been distributing, marketing and making independent films for more than 40 years, working on some of the most successful and acclaimed indie titles of our time. He received the award Tuesday night at a dinner following Art House Convergence’s annual conference.

“Ira Deutchman is a legendary figure in the world of independent film distribution, marketing and production,” Spotlight Cinema Networks chief executive officer Jerry Rakfeldt said in a statement. “His creativity, passion and business acumen have helped shape, nurture and expand the independent film industry.”

Deutchman has worked on more than 150 films,...

Multiplexes across the country are going to be invaded this weekend by Arrival, a moving sci-fi drama starring Amy Adams as a linguist who helps the U.S. government communicate with mysterious visitors from another world. The film represents Hollywood's latest attempt to speculate on what might happen if we're ever actually contacted by extraterrestrials. Will they be green-skinned warlords with creepy antennae? Grayish waifs who come bearing gifts? Sexy supermodels with nefarious agendas? Or something else altogether?

Since the 1950s, movies have sent so many aliens to Earth that...

Still doing it his way: Sayles today.

By Mark Cerulli

The interview was set for 10:30 Am. Usually they run a few minutes late as the celebrity works his way through a call list. When the moment arrives an assistant handles the intros. Not this time. At precisely 10:30:00, the phone rang and iconic Indie filmmaker John Sayles introduced himself. And why not? A no-nonsense, get- it -done type of auteur, Sayles handles his own publicity calls and was keen to discuss his remarkable and varied career in advance of a weekend retrospective at La’s Cinefamily February 18 - 20.

Sayles broke into the business, like so many before him, by working with genre legend Roger Corman who figuratively and literally wrote the book on low budget filmmaking. “I got very lucky, didn’t realize it at the time, “Sayles recalls. “I wrote three screenplays (Piranha, The Lady in Red...

In today's roundup of news and views: Charles Mudede on John Sayles's The Brother from Another Planet, André Gregory and Wallace Shawn's list of top ten Criterion releases, Terrence Rafferty on Bernhard Wicki’s The Bridge, Mike D'Angelo on John Ford and Native Americans, Philippa Snow on Ana Lily Armirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, Patrick Wang on Lisa Joyce's performance in Jonathan Demme's A Master Builder, Kevin Hatch on Bruce Conner, Ryan Gilbey on Wim Wenders, interviews with Jia Zhangke, Hannah Gross and Deragh Campbell—and more. » - David Hudson...

In today's roundup of news and views: Charles Mudede on John Sayles's The Brother from Another Planet, André Gregory and Wallace Shawn's list of top ten Criterion releases, Terrence Rafferty on Bernhard Wicki’s The Bridge, Mike D'Angelo on John Ford and Native Americans, Philippa Snow on Ana Lily Armirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, Patrick Wang on Lisa Joyce's performance in Jonathan Demme's A Master Builder, Kevin Hatch on Bruce Conner, Ryan Gilbey on Wim Wenders, interviews with Jia Zhangke, Hannah Gross and Deragh Campbell—and more. » - David Hudson...

What's in Netflix's '80s grab bag? Swoony Merchant-Ivory films; a trio of John Hughes romantic comedies; early films with Sean Penn and Matt Dillon; Oscar-winning turns by Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Daniel Day-Lewis; and a few classics you already know by heart.

Mixed in are probably a few critically acclaimed films you've never seen but always meant to, whether it's B-movie fun like "Big Trouble in Little China" or ultra-arty Nc-17 fare like "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover."

(Availability subject to change. DeLorean and pink prom dress not included.)

1. "A Room with a View" (1986) Nr

Helena Bonham Carter is torn between freethinker Julian Sands and stuffy fiancé Daniel Day-Lewis in this sumptuous (and very funny) Merchant-Ivory period romance.

2. "The Accused" (1988) R

It's tough viewing, but Jodie Foster is mesmerizing as a rape victim who faces down her assailants in court.

3. "Bad Boys" (1983) R

Sean Penn...

"What if?" is the burning question our favorite sci-fi movies ask: What if Earth was invaded by aliens or giant spiders? What makes us human once we start bending the laws of genetics and robotics? And if we worked out really really hard, would we ever have Linda Hamilton's arms in "Terminator 2"?

Here are some of the best of the sci-fi genre now streaming on Netflix, including Chris Evans in "Snowpiercer," Bruce Willis in "The Fifth Element" and plenty of Godzilla and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

1. "Antiviral" (2012) Nr

David Cronenberg's son, Brandon, makes his film debut with this gore-filled horror flick about a company who deals in viruses collected from celebrities since people want to be infected with the same diseases as the ultra-famous.

2. "Barbarella" (1968) PG

The cult film, starring Jane Fonda as the sexy space babe of the title, may be overlong, but it's an eye-popping must-see '60s flashback.

Every week, Indiewire chief film critic Eric Kohn singles out a movie available for free streaming from our parent company SnagFilms' library and tells you why you should watch it now. No matter what form they take, aliens provide a reliable metaphor for outsiders. In “Under the Skin,” Scarlett Johansson inhabits a cryptic extraterrestrial perspective on sexuality and identity that yields more questions than answers, which is exactly why it holds such dramatic appeal: By seeing the world from an alien perspective, the strange nature of social constructs become clearer than ever. While Jonathan Glazer’s sensuous tale is certainly a unique vision, “Under the Skin” has company in the realm of movies that use extraterrestrials to a symbolic end. John Sayles’ 1984 drama "The Brother From Another Planet" features Joe Morton—most recently known for playing Olivia Pope’s dad on "Scandal"—as an alien who crash-lands in Harlem. Even...

When Scandal aired its Season 2 cliffhanger of a finale, Olivia (Kerry Washington) found herself tossed into a car with a mysterious and malicious CIA operative named Rowan (Joe Morton). She looked at him surprised, and said, “Dad?”

That one word sent shockwaves through the Scandal –verse, with fans taking to Twitter to gasp at the twist. Could the man that was supposedly plotting Washington fixer Olivia’s death really be her own father?

See Why Aziz Ansari Picked Scandal as His Favorite TV Show

While the revelation was a shock to fans,...

An intriguing-sounding event taking place tonight, at the 2nd annual BlackStar Film Festival in Philly, which is currently underway. The detes: BlackStar Film Festival and King Britt present The Brother From Another Planet (re-contextualized) at Johnny Brenda's. The Brother From Another Planet (re-contextualized) is a concept idea to provide a more abstract view of the cult classic. Using advanced visual remixing techniques, we intend to deconstruct the viewpoint into a more freeform storyline, which the audience can interpret in their way. Simultaneously, Afrofuturist instrumentalists, will improvise a live score, while the visuals are deconstructed, allowing for a very open and spacious...

Joe Morton as scientist Mike Dyson in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as well as The Brother in The Brother from Another Planet are two onscreen images of him that have stuck with me most, even though the revered actor has done a lot of other work, and is quite consistent, even though you may not always see his name on the marquee, or his face on posters.  Not this time however. From director Mark Heller, and writer Louis Crugnali comes a drama titled The Mulberry Tree, which tells the story of a young man (Crugnali) forced to face his past as he gets to know a convicted murderer dying of AIDS (played by Joe Morton) at the Rhode...

The Brother From Another Planet

Directed by John Sayles

Written by John Sayles

USA, 1984

A black, mute extraterrestrial with three toes and a detachable eye, played by Joe Morton (Terminator 2 Judgment Day), crash lands in Harlem, and spends his days working at an arcade and hanging out at local pubs, while hiding out from a group of “Men In Black.”

The film was written and directed by John Sayles (Lonestar, Return of the Secaucus 7 ), who once made a career in writing genre movies including the original Piranha, Alligator and The Howling. Brother was the fourth film in the director’s canon, released just after E.T., only unlike Spielberg’s hit, Brother was the independent urban take on the alien movie. Replacing the suburbs with Harlem and special effects with social commentary, Sayles manages a lot with a brisk $400,000 budget. Most people would think I’m crazy for placing...

By Rick Klaw

(March 2011)

With the March trifecta of “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Mars Needs Moms” and “Paul,” moviedom continues its longstanding tradition of alien movies. As early as 1902 with Georges Méliès’ groundbreaking film “A Trip to the Moon” (“Le voyage dans la lune”), otherworldly beings have appeared in movies, but not until the 1950s and the inherent xenophobia and paranoia of the Cold War and Atomic Age did they capture the imagination of the moviegoing public.

As with any genre, or subgenre in this case, a vast majority of the films are mediocre or downright bad. Over the past 90 years, largely forgettable movies such as “Independence Day,” “Communion,” “Megamind,” “The Brother from Another Planet” and “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” briefly infiltrated the public consciousness. Very few of the stories deserve to survive beyond their initial exposure, but in this edition of Editors’ Choice, you will find 10 sensational alien...

By Rick Klaw

(March 2011)

With the March trifecta of “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Mars Needs Moms” and “Paul,” moviedom continues its longstanding tradition of alien movies. As early as 1902 with Georges Méliès’ groundbreaking film “A Trip to the Moon” (“Le voyage dans la lune”), otherworldly beings have appeared in movies, but not until the 1950s and the inherent xenophobia and paranoia of the Cold War and Atomic Age did they capture the imagination of the moviegoing public.

As with any genre, or subgenre in this case, a vast majority of the films are mediocre or downright bad. Over the past 90 years, largely forgettable movies such as “Independence Day,” “Communion,” “Megamind,” “The Brother from Another Planet” and “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” briefly infiltrated the public consciousness. Very few of the stories deserve to survive beyond their initial exposure, but in this edition of Editors’ Choice, you will find 10 sensational alien...

From 'Armageddon' to 'Under the Cherry Moon,' 'Ye took cues from all over.

By James Montgomery

Kanye West and Selita Ebanks in "Runaway"

Photo: Def Jam

Here at MTV News, we like to cover the story from all angles, which is why, one day after publishing our high-culture cheat sheet for Kanye West's "Runaway" film, we're back with the lowbrow accompaniment. It's somewhat fitting, because while West's film is no doubt arty and abstract, it's also a big-budget, popcorn event too, the kind of thing that's littered with fast cars and explosions and lyrical nods to the Kings of Leon and Alec Baldwin.

So, really, we'd be doing a disservice — to West, his fans and Alec Baldwin — if we didn't do a pop-culture cheat sheet for the film. So here, alphabetized for your perusing pleasure, is our list of the films, fruits and, uh, fleshy...

From 'Armageddon' to 'Under the Cherry Moon,' 'Ye took cues from all over.

By James Montgomery

Kanye West and Selita Ebanks in "Runaway"

Photo: Def Jam

Here at MTV News, we like to cover the story from all angles, which is why, one day after publishing our high-culture cheat sheet for Kanye West's "Runaway" film, we're back with the lowbrow accompaniment. It's somewhat fitting, because while West's film is no doubt arty and abstract, it's also a big-budget, popcorn event too, the kind of thing that's littered with fast cars and explosions and lyrical nods to the Kings of Leon and Alec Baldwin.

So, really, we'd be doing a disservice — to West, his fans and Alec Baldwin — if we didn't do a pop-culture cheat sheet for the film. So here, alphabetized for your perusing pleasure, is our list of the films, fruits and, uh, fleshy...

We've already argued that 1982 was a terrific year for geeky movies - but, wonders Jeff, did 1984 top it?

Earlier this week, it was put forth on this site by Ryan Lambie that 1982 was a great year to be a geek at the movies. While it's hard to disagree with this, it's my contention that the 84 vintage was even more refined.

Need nostalgic refreshment? Take a sip of these...

The Terminator

Somewhere between the original Conan and this film, Ah-Nuld became a bona fide mega-star (see Conan The Destroyer below). With this first instalment in the Terminator franchise, James Cameron showed that he knew how to craft a movie that's basically one extended chase sequence wrapped around a highbrow concept lifted from some Harlan Ellison-penned episodes of The Outer Limits. Relentless, cut so tightly you could bounce coins off it, and with Schwarzenegger at his emotionless best, it's the kind...

Like many filmmakers, John Sayles got his start in horror, writing scripts for Piranha, Alligator, and even The Howling. But where others used modest beginnings to springboard into superstardom, Sayles continued modestly, becoming the leading name in indie film and creating a relatively small but wildly diverse catalog of films. He merged wacky aliens with racial commentary in The Brother from Another Planet, tackled sports history for Eight Men Out, detailed Latin America struggles in Men with Guns, and even offered some George Dubya satire with Silver City. Yet within that diversity, he became known for his ability to weave a myriad of disparate characters into one solitary and dynamic plot.

But Limbo is a film of an utterly different sort. Shot in 1999, it took the same ideas that have always interested Sayles -- real people and environments free of the rosy Hollywood sheen -- and didn't allow the web to be woven together.

Netflix knows where it's at when it comes to the rental biz; more and more, folks want to stay at home and watch movies instantly. We don't even want to wait for those happy little red envelopes any more. Nope, if it's not on our Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or computer, we get all squirrelly. (Okay, maybe that last part is just me.) And IFC is also on the cutting edge of home entertainment in its steadily growing on-demand offerings, including their IFC Festival Direct program, where you can watch a selection of movies that have played during recent festivals, and the In Theaters + On Demand program, which offers at-home viewers the chance to see indie flicks the same day they premiere in what's usually limited release.

Now Netflix and IFC have sealed the deal for a partnership that gives Netflix access to 53 IFC releases to be streamed online to whichever platform you like,...

Jason Anders/Starlog: So let's talk about your childhood and what it was like to grow up with your father serving as a U.S. army intelligence officer; what was it like for you to spend parts of your childhood in West Germany and Okinawa, how did that impact your life, and do you remember at what point you considered acting a pursuable passion?

Joe Morton: First off, my father was not an intelligence officer. He was a captain in the artillery but, essentially, his job was to integrate the arm forces overseas. We are speaking about the years between 1951 to 1958. That means my father showed up, with my mother and I in tow, to what ever post he was assigned to ... racially unannounced. That time of my life was fiercely strange and difficult. My father was constantly battling his white superior officers as well as the white enlisted...

There's something a bit familiar about the premise of District 9 -- namely, the part where the human makes friends with the alien. Now, District 9 is a terrific movie, and director Neill Blomkamp delivered a lot of action, violence, pathos and kick-ass special effects on a relatively small budget.

But aliens? We've been friends with aliens before. In fact, this week marks the 25th anniversary DVD/Blu-ray release of The Last Starfighter, a low-budget fan favorite that sought to cash in on the popularity of both Star Wars and video games by sending an unsuspecting teen hero on a mission to save a distant galaxy. His recruiter-slash-buddy was Centauri, an intergalactic con man (played by Robert Preston, riffing on his Music Man persona in his last role).

Some of our other favorite aliens-as-friends movies:

1. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) -- Poor old Klaatu (Michael Rennie). He's just a...

Established 1974! Our news column requested better digital images two days ago, but they didn’t show up. They must be in the mail.

Updates

This week the U.S. Postal Service issued a set of new first-class stamps honoring pioneering TV shows of the 1950s and early ’60s. They’re led by our people, namely Rod Serling (repping The Twilight Zone), Alfred Hitchcock (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) and Clayton Moore & Trigger (The Lone Ranger). Other classics saluted include I Love Lucy, Dragnet, The Honeymooners, Howdy Doody, Perry Mason, Lassie, You Bet Your Life, The Red Skelton Show, Hopalong Cassidy and Kukla, Fran & Ollie. Postal rules, by the way, ensure that no Living person appear on a stamp so it’s up to deceased people, two late horses, a dead dog and three puppets to carry the classic TV imagery.

Looks like Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, the fantasy...

In the '80s and '90s, I fell for Joe Morton. I watched him rock the stage in New York City, and he became my favorite, smart, unbeatable action star in Executive Decision. (One of the most underrated actors out there, and worth a lot more than Eureka.) And then in 2002, I fell for the work of John Sayles, diving into Casa de los babys and soon after, Silver City. But one night, as my eyes scanned the old section of my local rental haunt, I spotted a title: The Brother from Another Planet. I pulled it off the shelf and was shocked that by sheer coincidence, I'd discovered one of Sayles' first films, starring my beloved Joe.

The film focuses on a mute, three-toed alien (Morton) who crashes into New York City, gets transplanted to Harlem, and tries to avoid the two alien Men in Black trying to...