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The first trailer has been revealed showing Billy Zane as Marlon Brando at the peak of his powers in upcoming biopic “Waltzing With Brando.”

The feature, which also stars Jon Heder, has been picked up by Vmi Worldwide for foreign sales.

Written and directed by Bill Fishman, the film is based on a memoir by Bernard Judge which takes place between 1969 and 1974 while Brando was preparing to film “The Godfather” and “Last Tango in Paris.” Alongside Zane and Heder, additional castmembers include the Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss, as well as Camille Razat (“Emily in Paris”), Alaina Huffman, Tia Carrera (“Waynes World”) and Mick Jagger’s son James Jagger.

“Waltzing With Brando” follows Brando (Zane) — then the most famous actor in the world — as he filmed “Mutiny on the Bounty” and bought a tiny and uninhabitable island in Tahiti. His intent was to escape his hectic Hollywood lifestyle and show the world the path to sustainability.

What are the defining traits of a character actor? Why is a shapeshifting virtuoso like Daniel Day-Lewis considered a full-blown movie star, while a chameleon-like genius like Giancarlo Esposito is routinely relegated to supporting player status? As previously discussed here at /Film, there are multiple factors at play: box office, deeply ingrained cultural notions of physical attractiveness, distinctive utility, and the Borgnine Paradox.

It should come as no surprise that my solo endeavor to arrive at a solid-ish definition of "character actor" is not the first in the history of the written word. There have been many, many attempts by whole groups of esteemed journalists to get at some kind of reasonable understanding of this term/concept, and, having read more than a few of them, I can assure you that there is no hard-fast rule. You could call just about everyone outside of Britney Spears a character actor --...

“You’ve never seen Catherine Hardwicke like this before” might as well be emblazoned on any and all marketing materials for the director’s diverse projects. From “Thirteen” to “Twilight,” “Red Riding Hood” to “The Nativity Story,” Hardwicke is constantly shifting gears, changing tones, mixing it up.

Since the breakout success of both Sundance award-winner “Thirteen” and the first “Twilight” film (a massive smash by any metric), Hardwicke has continued to evolve, even in an industry not always welcoming to women with big dreams. As she readies to debut her latest, the Toni Collette-starring fish-out-of-water comedy “Mafia Mamma,” Hardwicke is still pushing forward, even when it’s not easy. That’s just who she is.

“We still need that light to get shined a little brighter and put a little bit more attention on women’s films,” Hardwicke said during a recent Zoom interview with IndieWire. “We’re still fighting.

Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles, the American soul food restaurant chain with seven Los Angeles locations spanning from Pasadena to Hollywood, Long Beach and beyond, has officially closed its Mid-City location on Pico Boulevard after a 32-year run.

First founded by Harlem native Herb Hudson in 1975 when he opened the original Long Beach outpost, Roscoe’s’ iconic location on Pico and La Brea Avenue welcomed countless high-profile guests over the years, including Snoop Dogg, Larry King, David Beckham and U.S. President Barack Obama, who ended up with his own “Obama Special” on the menu. Consisting of three wings with a choice of waffle, potato salad or french fries), it replaced the original No. 9 “Country Boy” which he ordered during an unplanned visit to the restaurant amid his campaign for a second term in 2011.

A statement posted to the company’s Instagram account reads: “After over 30 years of...

Monkees singer and guitarist Michael Nesmith, a pop visionary who penned many of the group’s most enduring songs before laying the groundwork for country rock with the First National Band in the early Seventies, died Friday from natural causes. He was 78.

“With Infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes,” his family said in a statement. “We ask that you respect our privacy at this time and we thank you for the love and...

The legendary punk god joins us to talk about movies he finds unforgettable. Special appearance by his cat, Moon Unit.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Tapeheads (1988)

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979) – Eli Roth’s trailer commentary

A Face In The Crowd (1957) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Meet John Doe (1941)

Bob Roberts (1992)

Bachelor Party (1984)

Dangerously Close (1986)

Videodrome (1983) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

F/X (1986)

Hot Rods To Hell (1967)

Riot On Sunset Strip (1967)

While The City Sleeps (1956) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Spider-Man (2002)

The Killing (1956) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary

Serpent’s Egg (1977)

The Thin Man (1934)

Meet Nero Wolfe (1936)

The Hidden Eye (1945)

Eyes In The Night (1942)

Sudden Impact (1983) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary

Red Dawn (1984)

Warlock (1989)

The Dead Zone (1983) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

Secret Honor (1984)

The Player (1992) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary,...

Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin still recalls one viewer’s reaction to Jacob’s Ladder.

“I was stood outside the theatre on the very first day it opened in LA, waiting for the crowds to come out to see how they responded,” Rubin recalls. “As the credits started rolling this guy ran out, probably five feet from me, and yelled at nobody in particular: ‘If I ever meet the guy that wrote that movie, I’ll kill him.’”

It was an extraordinary reaction but, then again, Jacob’s Ladder is an extraordinary movie.

Released on November 2, 1990, the film was only a modest success at the box office, debuting at number one in the US before being knocked off the top spot by Child’s Play 2 just a week later. But while plastic dolls reigned supreme on the big screen, Jacob’s Ladder would have its day on home video, where it garnered a cult...

With an impressive list of highly successful original shows to its name, Amazon Prime Video is ringing in March with even more original content for fans. This month will mark the debut of series such as “The Widow,” a British show which follows the story of a woman (Kate Beckinsale) whose husband has just died in the Congo, and “Costume Quest,” a new animated show adapted from the popular video game of the same name which follows three characters who fight against nougat-eating monsters on Halloween.

But fans can also look forward to continuations of their favorite Prime Originals, including the fourth and final season of “Catastrophe” and the second season of “Tin Star.” And despite all its new shows, Amazon is also giving love to classic favorites, adding titles such as “Double Jeopardy,” “Tapeheads,” and “Black Sheep” to its ever-growing roster.

See the full list of titles below. They...

My guest for this month is Herb van der Poll, and he’s joined me to discuss the film he chose for me, the 1992 American-British satirical mockumentary film Bob Roberts. You can follow the show on Twitter @cinemagadfly.

Show notes:

The cast is seriously insane, with Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Gore Vidal, John Cusack, Peter Gallagher, Alan Rickman, and Susan Sarandon Oh and also James Spader, Helen Hunt, Jack Black, Jeremy Piven and his sister Shira, and Bob Balaban Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know we have an election happening The film shows some strong parallels to the presidency of George W. Bush Ray Wise, of course, was famously Laura Palmer’s dad on one of my all time favorite shows, Twin Peaks In this film, he and Alan Rickman play Dick Cheney and Karl Rove type figures Folk music is often in the service of liberal causes,...

Our pick of some of the actor's most memorable performances. What would you add to the list?

John Cusack, star of The Paperboy (read Peter Bradshaw's review here), is one of the few 80s teen stars to have made a genuinely successful transition to adult cinema. From early supporting roles in Sixteen Candles and Stand By Me, through critically acclaimed turns in The Grifters and The Player, to parodying his 80s-self in Hot Tub Time Machine, he's consistently sought out roles that play to his strengths as an actor.

Here are some highlights from his film career, including recommendations from @guardianfilm Twitter followers @Hollywdbabylon, @owenkeats, ‏@missalison, @workdick, ‏@Daniel_Moores, @mwarrilow and @grantcollinson.

What would you add to the list?

1. Roadside Prophets

In this cult film from 1992, Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys and John Doe of the La punk band X play a pair of bikers on a road trip...

Jessica Walter has a diverse acting career for more than 50 years, ranging from film to television and every single genre in between. She’s appeared on a multitude of television series from The Alfred Hitchcock Hour to Columbo. In the 90′s, she could be heard on the prehistoric sitcom, Dinosaurs, as the pained upon wife, Fran Sinclair. As of late, she can be seen (and heard) everywhere on the TV Land sitcom, Retired at 35, and as the voice of Malory Archer, on the hit FX series, Archer. She’s also returning to her massively loved role as cold-hearted, and perky Lucille Bluth on the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix in May. She’s also got a long film career as well with roles ranging from Play Misty for Me, to roles in my favorite films growing up, Tapeheads and Pcu. She’s just as whip-funny and warm as she comes off,...

"Soul Train" creator and host Don Cornelius hardly ever set foot in front of a movie camera, yet he helped shape a whole era of filmmaking by popularizing the sounds and styles of black America in the early 1970s. Cornelius, who died this morning at age 75, was a key tastemaker of the blaxploitation era, bringing its sophisticated and streetwise R&B music and its flamboyant polyester fashions into America's living rooms every week. He even appeared as himself (doing emcee duty at a nightclub) in one classic blaxploitation movie, 1973's "Cleopatra Jones." Of course, when most men wore shiny three-piece suits in those movies, they were playing pimps and drug dealers, while Cornelius, wearing the same outfits on "Soul Train," presented himself as a legitimate (if no less intimidating) and successful entrepreneur. His smooth delivery and rumbling baritone, made him an icon of cool with a hint of menace. Cornellius...

Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood premiered at SXSW just a few days ago and Hardwicke and Rrh’s lead actor Shiloh Fernandez were in town promoting the film and doing interviews. I have not seen most of Hardwicke’s films but I am very aware she did production design for one of my favorite films ever, Tapeheads (she also designed the film’s logo). So, what did I do? I bought a VHS version of Tapeheads on eBay and during my interview gave it to her.

Read more on SXSW 2011 Video Interview: Red Riding Hood director Catherine Hardwicke and actor Shiloh Fernandez…...

Usama Alshaibi’s Profane debuted in Berlin last week and the film already garnered a review by Ceven Knowles. To be honest, I haven’t read it yet because I’m waiting to see the film first without preconceptions. But, I think it’s a positive write-up.Actually, there are lots of write-ups coming from the Berlinale. On Electric Sheep, Pamela Jahn and Alison Frank review films Road to Nowhere, The Devil’s Double, Tomboy and Dance Town.Robert Koehler has several write-ups. First, he says Miranda July’s The Future isn’t good, but Marie Losier’s The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye is excellent. Then, this round-up of several films makes the fest sound pretty dismal overall.Kinemastik reviews some Berlinale short films.Clint Enns has a completely excellent review of Jaimz Asmundson’s phenomenal short film The Magus, cluing us in on many of the fine...

It’s another packed podcast for you this week, as we orally assault the week’s top films and movie news.

I’m joined by /Film’s Brendon Connelly and HeyUGuys writer Andy Petrou as we talk through John Cusack’s forthcoming nostalgia laced comedy Hot Tub Time Machine and work our way around Sandra Bullock’s Oscar winning turn in The Blind Side.

As with last week’s podcast the three of us champion a film we want to pull from the depths of obscurity and recommend to you, and the trailers to each of them can be found below, and there’s a suitably varied selection on this week’s show.

As always do leave your comments and suggestions below, we want to make this podcast as good as it can be so please do get involved.

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