News

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.

All titles below begin streaming for free on October 1 unless otherwise noted:

Originals

Documentary

TMZ Presents:

Tragically Viral

– 10/11-

What happens when the quest for clicks goes too far? TMZ examines the dark & sometimes deadly side of social media in Tragically Viral.

Scariest Monsters In The World

-10/18-

Join us as we embark on this international countdown of the scariest monsters in the world – who will be on your list as the most creepy?

TMZ No Bs: Rich, Famous & Terrified Stars

-10/25-

TMZ examines some of the most downright terrifying experiences celebs have faced that prove being a celebrity isn’t all glitz & glamor.

Horror

Dante’S Hotel

-10/13-

When an unknown assailant preys on a haunted hotel’s patrons, an event planner teams up with a mysterious tenant who’s dark past is the key to freeing the cursed hotel

The Devil Comes To Kansas City

-...

Justin Hartley’s (This Is Us) new drama series The Never Game has a new name: Tracker. CBS announced the change and dropped a short teaser for the upcoming primetime series that will join the network’s lineup for the 2023-2024 season.

Season one of Tracker will also star Robin Weigert (Deadwood), Abby McEnany (Work in Progress), Eric Graise (Locke & Key), Fiona Rene, and two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell.

Ben H. Winters wrote the pilot, based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver. Hartley, Winters, Ken Olin, and Hilary Weisman Graham serve as executive producers. Olin, a four-time Emmy Award nominee for This Is Us, directed the pilot.

“I am overjoyed to give the first new show order for next season to this thrilling new series led by the incredibly talented Justin Hartley,” stated Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, when the series was announced in December...

Roger Ebert once wrote, “just because something is not done anymore doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing,” when describing Norman Jewison’s irrepressible romantic comedy “Only You.” This same sentiment can be applied to Angus MacLachlan’s latest family dramedy, “A Little Prayer,” a welcome throwback to adult-oriented movie fare of yore like “On Golden Pond,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” or “Passion Fish.

Continue reading ‘A Little Prayer’ Review: David Strathairn and Jane Levy Shine In Angus MacLachlan’s Throwback Family Dramedy at The Playlist.

Exclusive: Mary McDonnell, a two-time Oscar and two-time Emmy nominee, has been tapped as a lead opposite Justin Hartley in CBS drama pilot The Never Game, an adaptation of Jeffery Deaver’s novel, from director Ken Olin and 20th Television.

Written by Ben Winters, based on Deaver’s novel, The Never Game follows the adventures of Colter Shaw (Hartley), who was raised by his paranoid survivalist father to be an expert tracker, and who now makes his living as “rewardist,” traveling America in his Airstream trailer, helping families recover their lost loved ones and their other most precious things—all while staying one step ahead of the memories that haunt him, and the unanswered questions from his past.

McDonnell will play Mary Dove Shaw, Colter’s (Hartley) solid, strong, and uncompromising mother, who raised her three children on the remote California compound where her husband took them before his mysterious death.

Josh Olson shares his top 10 movies from his favorite movie year, 1992, with Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Star Wars (1977)

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

The Last Of The Mohicans (1992)

Thief (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Manhunter (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Last Of The Mohicans (1936)

The Player (1992) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Popeye (1980)

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Quintet (1979)

​HealtH (1980)

Come Back To the Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

Secret Honor (1984)

The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Touch Of Evil (1958) – Howard Rodman’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dead Alive a.k.a. Braindead (1992) – Mike Mendez’s trailer commentary

Meet The Feebles (1989) – Mike Mendez’s...

As 2021 mercifully winds down, the Criterion Channel have a (November) lineup that marks one of their most diverse selections in some time—films by the new masters Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Garrett Bradley, Dan Sallitt’s Fourteen (one of 2020’s best films) couched in a fantastic retrospective, and Criterion editions of old favorites.

Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.

See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.

300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015

5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968

Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017

Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015

America, Garrett Bradley, 2019

Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953

Angels Wear White,...

Exclusive: Oscar-nominated actress Alfre Woodard is joining New Line’s Salem’s Lot bunch in the big-screen take of the 1975 Stephen King vampire novel, we can tell you first.

She’ll play Dr. Cody, who in the novel is a guy, Dr. Jimmy Cody. Cody assists Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman in the film), Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) and Matt Burke (Bill Camp) in fighting the spread of vampires. Spencer Treat Clark also stars as Mike Ryerson, as Deadline first reported. In King’s first New York Times No. 1 bestseller, author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.

Woodard recently starred in the critically acclaimed feature Clemency, for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and a Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. On the small screen,...

Exclusive: ABC is rounding out its recurring cast for its new Katey Sagal-starring series Rebel. Mary McDonnell, Adam Arkin, Matthew Glave and Jalen Thomas Brooks have joined the cast of the series created by Krista Vernoff inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today.

Rebel centers on Annie “Rebel” Bello (Sagal), a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She’s a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost.

Andy Garcia and Lex Scott Davis also star and Dan Bucatinsky recurs.

McDonnell will play Helen. Inspired by Rebel, Helen doesn’t let her own illness define her as she and her daughter fight for their lives and for justice.

Arkin, who also executive produces and directs the series, will play Mark Duncan,...

by Cláudio Alves

Alfre Woodard is one of the great American actresses of our time. If there were any doubts about that, last year's Clemency must have surely killed them for good. Still, for people obsessed with movie awards, Woodard's mastery might not be obvious. Her sole Academy Award nomination came in 1983 for a film that few remember, Cross Creek. The lack of recognition for that feature doesn't mean it doesn't deserve praise and it certainly doesn't reflect lackluster acting. But we're here to talk about a different performance.

The 1992 drama Passion Fish was up for Actress and Screenplay and it's easy to imagine that a third nomination for Woodard nearly materialized...

Happy birthday on November 8 to the great Alfre Woodard, one of the most esteemed actresses of her generation. Woodard first made her mark in theater as a breakthrough performer in the classic “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf” in 1977. From there, it was a quick transition to films and television, winning an Emmy in 1983 for her role in the NBC series “Hill Street Blues.” The same year, she earned her only Academy Award nomination (so far) for her touching performance in Martin Ritt‘s “Cross Creek.” As her film career grew, Woodard earned a Golden Globe nomination and was nominated twice for her big-screen work by the Screen Actors Guild.

SEEAlfre Woodard Interview: ‘Clemency’

But it was in television that Woodard make her greatest mark, being nominated for 18 Emmy Awards, winning four. Woodard has also won a Golden Globe Award for television (“Miss Evers’ Boys”) from two nominations,...

Happy birthday on November 8 to the great Alfre Woodard, one of the most esteemed actresses of her generation. Woodard first made her mark in theater as a breakthrough performer in the classic “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf” in 1977. From there, it was a quick transition to films and television, winning an Emmy in 1983 for her role in the NBC series “Hill Street Blues.” The same year, she earned her only Academy Award nomination (so far) for her touching performance in Martin Ritt‘s “Cross Creek.” As her film career grew, Woodard earned a Golden Globe nomination and was nominated twice for her big-screen work by the Screen Actors Guild.

But it was in television that Woodard make her greatest mark, being nominated for 18 Emmy Awards, winning four. Woodard has also won a Golden Globe Award for television (“Miss Evers’ Boys”) from two nominations,...

A quintet of leading ladies listed on Gold Derby’s combined odds list of Academy Award predictions all qualify as being overdue for a Oscar statuette. Most have been nominated before while one former vampire lover has never been in the running. Here, in order of their current placement among lead actress contenders on the site, are those who might go on to give a speech at the ceremony on Feb. 9, 2020.

1. Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”: The Irish actress follows in the bookish Civil War-era footsteps of Katharine Hepburn, June Allyson and Winona Ryder — the actresses who most notably played Jo, the headstrong and ambitious March sister — in the 1933, 1949 and 1994 big-screen adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s novel “Little Women.” Ryder was nominated for Lead Actress and Ronan just might do the same. She has been nominated for a supporting Oscar as a spiteful teen in 2007’s “Atonement” followed by...

Exclusive: The Alienist writer John Sayles is developing a limited series set in the world of televangelism with Agc Television.

Sayles, who has been nominated for a best screenwriting Oscar for Passion Fish and Lone Star, is developing Electric Church with Black Mirror director John Hillcoat on board to direct.

Sayles co-created the project with Marc-Edouard Leon. The drama tells the true story behind the rise of the Christian Right. In the 1980’s, larger-than-life personalities such as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell ruled the airwaves. They were rich, they were idolized, they epitomized religious excess. The series will explore how their paths collided in an epic saga that would change the face of American politics.

Sayles will exec produce with Hillcoat, Agc Studios founder Stuart Ford, Agc Television President Lourdes Diaz and Agc’s Head of Film Greg Shapiro with Jonathan Pavesi producing.

The deal...

TNT’s “The Alienist” follows the investigation into a series of grisly murders that haunt a team of investigators. In that sense it’s not unlike HBO’s anthology “True Detective.” The first season of that drama won 5 Emmys out of 12 nominations in 2014, including one for Cary Joji Fukunaga‘s direction. Now Fukunaga is an executive producer and writer for “The Alienist,” so will he return to the Emmy race? If so he’ll be migrating to new categories: his season of “True Detective” was entered as a drama at the Emmys, but “The Alienist” is expected to compete as a limited series.

Apart from Fukunaga’s participation and similarities in tone, “The Alienist” is a quite different series, but it might appeal to many of the same television academy members who voted for “True Detective” or other crime series like “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Night Of.” Where season one...

Did you know the earliest Oscar year which boasts 20 acting nominees who are still with us is 1992? It's the 25th anniversary of that year and that's the furthest back in time you can go from which all the acting nominees are still walking this earth. With the very noticeable exception of long retired Gene Hackman (no one has been able to convince him to come back to the movies -- and directors have tried!) most of them are still working, too. The lesson is simple: cherish your favorite actors while they're with us because no one lasts forever... except through their art!

The nominees that year were:

Leading

Actress Leading

Actor Supporting

Actress Supporting

Actor Deneuve

Indochine Downey Jr

Chaplin Davis

Husbands & Wives Davidson

Crying Game McDonnell

Passion Fish Eastwood

Unforgiven Plowright

Enchanted April Hackman

Unforgiven ★ Pfeiffer

Love Field Rea

Crying Game Redgrave

Howards End Nicholson

A Few Good Men...

Seth Metoyer,

MoreHorror.com

Donnie Darko is one of my all time favorite movies and the news from Arror Films has me stoked!

In celebration for its fifteenth anniversary, director Richard Kelly and Arrow Films are releasing a 4k restoration of the film.

The movie will be shown in select theaters beginning March 31st. Check out all the dates and times from the official releases below.

From The Press Release

Arrow Films has announced the March 31st domestic theatrical debut of the 4K restoration of Richard Kelly's cult hit Donnie Darko. Following a wildly successful re-release in the UK for its fifteenth anniversary, the film will return to theaters in cities across the United States. Fifteen years before "Stranger Things" combined science-fiction, Spielberg-ian touches and 80s nostalgia to much acclaim, Kelly set the template and the benchmark with his debut feature, Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems,...

Arrow Films has announced that the 4K restoration of Richard Kelly's cult film Donnie Darko will be making its domestic theatrical debut. This version of this film had a successful rerelease in the UK for its 15th anniversary, and it is now set to be released in the Us on March 31st.

I remember being blown away by this movie when I first saw it in theaters when it was released. I loved it. Unfortunately, Kelly never made anything as good as it again. As a longtime fan of the film, I'm excited about the opportunity of to see it in theaters again.

You can see all of the details about the rerelease below and I also included the trailer:

15 years before Stranger Things combined science-fiction, Spielbergian touches and ’80s nostalgia to much acclaim, Kelly set the template and the benchmark with his debut feature, Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems,...

Arrow Films recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of Donnie Darko with a new 4K restoration, and after taking it on the road in the UK, Arrow Films has now announced a Us theatrical re-release of the cult film:

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA - Arrow Films has announced the March 31st domestic theatrical debut of the 4K restoration of Richard Kelly's cult hit Donnie Darko. Following a wildly successful re-release in the UK for its fifteenth anniversary, the film will return to theaters in cities across the United States. Fifteen years before "Stranger Things" combined science-fiction, Spielberg-ian touches and 80s nostalgia to much acclaim, Kelly set the template and the benchmark with his debut feature, Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems, it would slowly find its audience and emerge as arguably the first cult classic of the new millennium. The 4K restoration of Donnie Darko will premiere...

1916 Happy Centennial to Best Actor winner Peter Finch (Network), one of only two posthumous acting winners in Oscar history. The other is Heath Ledger. (Curiously they were both Australian)

1924 Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita, 8½) is born in Italy. Becomes one of the all time great movie stars by his mid 30s. His career spans over 50 years of cinema.

1933 Greer Garson weds Edward Snelson, first of three husbands, though the cohabitation is brief. Ten years later she famously marries her screen son in Mrs Miniver.

1934 ...And God Created Brigitte Bardot in Paris

1945 Mildred Pierce opens. Joan Crawford will win Best Actress for this fabulous noir melodrama

1949 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis first film together My Friend Irma

1950 American indie icon John Sayles is born in New York. Among his most famous films: Return of the Secaucus 7, Passion Fish, and Lone Star

1951 Franchot Tone marries Barbara Payton, his third wife, a disastrous marriage for both.

By Todd Garbarini

This weekend of August 12 through 14th, the Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles will be presenting a series of classic western films that will also feature special guests who are scheduled to come and speak about their work in the films. We strongly suggest checking with the theatre’s schedule to see which other guests are added.

From the press release:

Anniversary Classics Western Weekend

August 12-14 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills

5 Classic Westerns with special guests throughout the weekend

Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics presents our tribute to the sagebrush genre with the Anniversary Classics Western Weekend, a five film round-up ​of some of the most celebrated westerns in movie history. The star-studded lineup features John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Kevin Costner, Montgomery Clift, Natalie Wood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef and others.

In possibly the most interesting film news of the day (if not the week), stalwart American indie writer/director John Sayles (Brother From Another Planet, Lone Star, Passion Fish) will be writing and directing Django Lives!, the third installment of the Django series, once again starring Franco Nero. As reported on A.V. Club, the film is set 50 years after the first film, with Django now working as a horse handler and extra on the set of D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. This seems to tie in with the themes of much of Sayles' indie films dealing with race relations in the Us. Sayles is one of my favourite American directors, creating films such as those above and others like Men With Guns and Go...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The year that gave us Gremlins, Ghostbusters and The Temple Of Doom also gave us these 20 underappreciated movies...

It's been said that 1984 was a vintage year for movies, and looking back, it's easy to see why. The likes of Ghostbusters and Gremlins served up comedy, action and the macabre in equal measure. James Cameron's The Terminator cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger's star status and gave us one of the greatest sci-fi action movies of the decade.

This was also the year where the Coen brothers made their screen debut with the stunning thriller Blood Simple, and when the Zucker brothers followed up Airplane! with the equally hilarious Top Secret! And we still haven't even mentioned Beverly Hills Cop, This Is Spinal Tap, The Karate Kid, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and the unexpectedly successful romantic comedy, Splash. Then there was Milos Forman's sumptuous period drama Amadeus, which...

You've probably seen all the '90s movies, like "Pulp Fiction," "Clueless" and "Wayne's World" that Netflix has to offer, but there are also plenty of lesser-known gems available to stream. Sit down and enjoy these indies, first films by famous directors and some other great '90s movies you might have missed.

1. "Big Night" (1996) R

A great movie (co-directed by stars Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott) about two Italian brothers in 1950s running an unsuccessful restaurant who go all out when a celebrity's visit promises to save their business.

2. "Boys Don't Cry" (1999) R

Hilary Swank won her first Best Actress Oscar for her searing portrayal of a woman who lives life as a man, until her secret is found out by her redneck friends.

3. "Clueless" (1995) PG-13

How many times have you seen Alicia Silverstone make over her friends and try to play matchmaker? Not enough!

4. "Croupier" (1998) Nr

The movie...

Alfre Woodard has been voted the President of the United States—at least on television! The Oscar nominee has a new role as President Constance Payton, the nation's first female, African-American president, on NBC's political drama, State of Affairs! As leader of the free world, Payton has a ton of responsibility on her shoulders, but luckily she has the help of her daily briefer, skillful CIA analyst Charleston Tucker (Katherine Heigl). Btw, this show has some major girl power! Woodard's successful career as an actress spans almost four decades and she has countless brilliant performances under her belt, including parts in 12 Years a Slave, Cross Creek and Passion Fish. Take a look back...

Busy week as usual. Seven highlights, in case you missed them...

Alfre Woodard - we talked to the great actress about her favorite roles from 12 Years a Slave to Passion Fish

Stage Door catfights - Anne Marie finally made it to the classics in her Katharine Hepburn retrospective. This one is deeply pleasureable

La Confidential - this "Best Shot" edition didn't have the turnout of Eternal Sunshine but it sure was interesting to see this movie again after all these years. Such stellar performances 

Tom vs. Dickie - Jude and Matt were warring again in this Italian edition of "beauty vs. beast" in which both of them are both beauties and beasts. Have you voted yet?

Jai Courtney - the next big thing or the next shrug? 

Women's History Month - profiles of great actresses as real life women 

X-Men Days of Future Past - we yes no maybe so'ed...

In Go For Sisters, the new movie from legendary independent filmmaker John Sayles, two childhood friends cross paths again at fragile moments in each other’s adult lives. Fontayne (Yolonda Ross) is a recovering drug addict just out of jail; Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) is her new parole officer. But while Bernice should immediately recuse herself from the renewed relationship, she comes to rely on Fontayne — and her underworld contacts — when her son goes missing near the Mexican border. Together, the women recruit a disgraced Lapd detective (Edward James Olmos) who they hope can help them navigate the underbelly of Tijuana and rescue the young man.

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 31 Oct 2013 - 07:01

We train our sights on the year 1996, and the 25 underappreciated films it has to offer...

Independence Day managed to revive both the alien invasion movie and the disaster flick in 1996, and just about every other mainstream picture released that year lived in its saucer-shaped shadow.

Yet beyond the aerial battles of Independence Day, the flying cows in Twister, and the high-wire antics of Tom Cruise in Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible, there sat an entire library of lesser-known and underappreciated movies.

As part of our attempts to highlight the unsung greats of the 90s, here's our selection of 25 such films from 1996 - the year chess champion Garry Kasparov lost to the might of the computer Deep Blue, and the year comedy star Jim Carrey starred in an unexpectedly dark tale of obsession...

25. The Cable Guy

We can't sit here and...

Independent filmmaker John Sayles returns to crime thriller territory with his upcoming film "Go For Sisters."  The film follows estranged friends Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) and Fontayne (Yolanda) as they take their rekindled relationship as parole officer to recently-released subject through the shifty Mexican border underworld of trafficking and murder in order to find Bernice's son. The two enlist the help of ex-lapd detective Freddy Suarez in order to navigate through every seedy thread in the great crime tapestry of clues that stands between Bernice and her son. Sayles' latest addition to a steadily expanding filmography from "Lone Star" to "Passion Fish" is depicted through the most recent trailer as a dually emphasized relationship and crime tale of an unlikely reunion spiraling through an even more unlikely turn of events. "Go For Sisters" is set to be released theatrically November 8, 2013 in NY and on November 15 in L.A.  For Eric Kohn's review of the film.

During the late '70s and early '80s, John Sayles gained fame penning horror films like Piranha, Alligator and The Howling. He gradually transitioned to nonhorror fare with award-nominated films like Lone Star and Passion Fish and he hasn't slowed down a bit. Sayles' latest film Go for Sisters stars Edward James Olmos as a disgraced ex-lapd detective who dives into the underbelly of Tijuana to search for a missing boy. In the process, he encounters a "complex web of human traffickers, smugglers and corrupt cops." The film is getting a gradual theatrical release beginning November 8 in New York and then Los Angeles on November 15. The film will then expand to other markets throughout November and December. Sign up for a Fan Alert so you know when...

Read More

Read Comments...

One of the SXSW screenings I eagerly awaited was the new film from indie director John Sayles. Go for Sisters depicts two childhood friends who meet up again as adults: parole officer Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton, The Practice) and parolee/recovering addict Fontayne (Yolonda Ross, Treme). Bernice requests Fontayne's help in finding her ex-marine son Rodney, and former police detective Freddy Suárez (Edward James Olmos) soon joins their search.

Watching the movie, a few elements reminded me of Sayles' earlier feature Passion Fish (one of my favorite films); both films share the themes of redemption and relationships between women. But Go for Sisters is an original, artfully blending humor and drama as these three journey to Mexico from California. The performances here are what you expect from a Sayles film: powerful and understated. Especially impressive is Ross as Fontayne, who keeps denigrating herself as an unworthy person -- since she served...

This past weekend was a good one for celebrated cinematographer Roger Deakins. He took home both the British Academy of Film and Television Award for Best Cinematography and the American Society of Cinematographers award, both for his work on Skyfall. They're two more accolades for a man who has a ton of them - though, curiously, despite eleven career nominations, he's never taken home an Oscar. Perhaps this is the year. Anyway, despite a career filled with iconic work - most often in service of the Coen Brothers or Sam Mendes - Deakins still has a handful of less heralded films on his C.V. Here's a quick look at some of the Roger Deakins movies you might not normally think of when you think of Roger Deakins. Passion Fish (1992) John Sayles used Deakins's skill with light to create murky interiors for Mary McDonnell's boarded-up recluse. The film was...

With Academy Awards voting underway, EW’s Prize Fighter is kicking off the “Consider This” series, asking folks with Oscar histories of their own to share their personal favorites of the year. Alfre Woodard, who had a supporting actress nomination in 1983 for Cross Creek and is best known for the movies Scrooged, Passion Fish and Primal Fear, wrote this essay about her love of Middle of Nowhere, an indie love story about a nurse struggling to maintain her relationship to a husband in prison, only to find herself falling for another man:

In Middle of Nowhere, we experience an exquisite,...

A great 1990s duet: Passionfish with McDonnell & WoodardCraig here with Take Three. Today: Alfre Woodard

Take One: Passion Fish (1992)

After dismissing a string of unsuitable nurses, recently paralysed TV actress May-Alice (Mary McDonnell) opts to hire Alfre Woodard’s mysterious Chantelle in John Sayles’ Bayou drama Passion Fish. Chantelle enters the film out of nowhere, off a bus and into May-Alice’s house. She doesn’t let on any overt details about her life, but there’s a hint of intrigue about her, something amiss and troubling. It's evident in the slightly trembling nervous manner in which Chantelle goes about her new position. McDonnell’s icy actress will gradually thaw as a result of her dependency, but not before she attempts to make life miserable for Chantelle – who’s having none of it.

Chantelle is headstrong and defiant and she doesn’t suffer defeat readily. Woodard embodies these traits, but...

Independent filmmaker John Sayles has always been a one-man band. He writes, directs and edits his movies, gravitating to topics rarely taken on by Hollywood: class conflict, race and American imperialism. Sometimes his films are a heady brew of smart writing, compelling plots and standout performances, as in “Passion Fish” and “Lone Star.” Of late, though, not so much. His newest, “Amigo,” sounds better in theory than it plays in practice. This disappointingly listless historical drama is set in the rural Philippines during the barely remembered Philippine-American War (1899-1902). Following the American victory over...

Scene from Amigo. Photo by Mary Cybulski, Courtesy Variance Films/Anarchists' Convention The iconic John Sayles is a director known for his iconoclasm. His 17 feature films are tough to categorize, with subjects ranging from a sleepy Irish fishing village (The Secret of Roan Inish) to the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal (Eight Men Out) to a Texas border town (Lone Star) to the Louisiana bayou (Passion Fish); what they have in common are complex characters in situations where the right thing to do is not always cut-and-dried. In his latest film, Amigo, Sayles traveled to the Philippines, where he cast local actors (Filipino star Joel Torre among them) alongside Americans (Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt, DJ Qualls) to portray two of the many sides of the Philippine-American War. What war, you say? That was exactly Sayles' reaction when he first learned about this not-in-history books conflict, which lasted 2 to 14 years, depending ...

A war movie made for $1.5 million--is that even possible? Certainly not in terms of the Hollywood fare we.re used to, but John Sayles has never made your average Hollywood fare. The director of Matewan, Passion Fish and Lone Star has brought a tight, low-budget focus to the war movie with Amigo, a story set during one of the most overlooked American conflicts, the Phillippine-American war. Sayles narrows the story down to a single baryo and what happens when Us troops take over. Lt. Compton (Garret Dillahunt) is the man in charge and names Rafael (Joel Torre), the village leader, his chief liaison to the people, as Rafael.s declared his opposition to the Spaniards. Trouble is, after the invasion, Rafael.s son runs off to join his uncle and the local band of rebels. While Rafael works to both appease the intruding Americans and keep his loved ones safe,...

Academy Award nominated actress Alfre Woodard (Cross Creek), Passion Fish), Field of Dreams writer-director Phil Alden Robinson, and cinematographer John Bailey (The Accidental Tourist, As Good As It Gets) are among eight members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who will be traveling to Kenya and Rwanda "for an educational and cultural exchange with African filmmakers, students and the local creative communities," the Academy has announced. The AMPAS delegation will arrive in Nairobi on Saturday, July 9, and travel to Kigali on Sunday, July 17; they will return to the U.S. on Sunday, July 24. Also in the Academy delegation will be producer Stephanie Allain (Black Snake Moan, We the Peeples), sound mixer Willie Burton (The Color Purple, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), editor Carol Littleton (Places in the Heart, The Manchurian Candidate); production designer Wynn Thomas (Mars Attacks!, Wag the Dog); and Academy director of exhibitions and special events Ellen Harrington.

There aren't many directors like John Sayles. The man may have begun his career working for Roger Corman, and he has made a living doing studio rewrite gigs (many uncredited) over the years. But he has also carved out a unique career as a director of films that aren't quite like those made by anyone else. He had a great run of films from the mid-'80s to the late '90s (Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, Passion Fish, The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star and Men With Guns) and has made several films with the great actor Chris Cooper. Their latest is Amigo, set during the Philippine-American war. The film premiered to mixed reception at Tiff last year, and now you can see the latest trailer below. Sadly, this trailer is pretty terrilbe -- the voiceover is awful, and the way the footage is cut underscores...

Sometimes when prepping for interviews you can jot down film titles and pick a few key bits to ask about. Every filmography will yield a few rich areas for potential questions. But what to do when the filmography is so imposing. To read Roger Deakins filmography is to become lost, not in titles and potential avenues of discussion, but in images. It's hard to concentrate when your mind's eye flies from the white snow of Fargo to the shadowy menace of A Beautiful Mind's paranoid bits, to the rich color of Kundun, to the desolate dusty beauty of both Jarhead and Wall•E and on through hi recent string of westerns. And that's just scratching the surface of the images that the filmography calls to mind. In cinematography, Roger Deakins has few peers.

Roger Deakins and True Grit, which won him his ninth Oscar nomination

So, if I struggled for questions,...

Katie Jacobs To Make Feature Directorial Debut Though talk quieted since last August when Sony announced they would be adapting Sheila Weller’s “Girls Like Us,” a book about the careers of musical artists Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King, for the big screen, the project is heating back up. THR reports that John Sayles, Oscar-nominated writer of “Passion Fish” and “Lone Star,” has been hired to pen the adaptation. Additionally, first-time feature director Katie Jacobs, a producer and director on the hit Fox show “House,” will helm and produce the project, along with producers Lorenzo Dibonaventura, Amy Pascal and…...

John Sayles ("Passion Fish," "Lone Star") has been hired to adapt Sheila Weller's 2008 bestseller "Girls Like Us" for Sony Pictures reports Risky Biz Blog.

The story traces the personal histories of singer-songwriters Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King from childhood through their professional careers.

"House" producer Katie Jacobs will produce and make her directorial debut on the project. Lorenzo Dibonaventura, Amy Pascal and Elizabeth Cantillon will produce.

Regional combined auditions are a way for actors—particularly the young and inexperienced—to be seen by an array of theaters and other producing organizations at once. Not all combined auditions are alike, however. If you're considering attending one, your first step is to do some research. They've Got PossibilitiesSome regional combined auditions are huge affairs with a built-in screening process. For instance, the spring auditions of the Southeastern Theatre Conference—to be held in Atlanta in 2011—attract about 800 actors and 90 companies. But as April J'Callahan Marshall, Setc's director of professional theater services, points out, actors who don't meet certain criteria (they're still in school, for example) must first pass muster at a preliminary audition at the state level.At the other end of the spectrum are the Institute of Outdoor Drama auditions, now at their new home in Greenville, N.C. Here eight to 10 producers of outdoor theater, several of them local,...

Do you enjoy complex plotting? Subtle subtexts? Movies in which scantily clad people don’t get bitten to pieces by fish? Then you should think twice—actually, make it thrice—before seeing Piranha 3D, which opens this Friday.

Directed by French horror auteur Alexandre Aja (Mirrors, 2006′s The Hills Have Eyes remake) the film’s cast features both an Academy Award winner in Richard Dreyfuss, who cameos as his Matt Hooper character from Jaws in all but name, and an Oscar nominee in Elisabeth Shue, who plays the movie’s sheriff-heroine. But this Arizona-shot tale of prehistoric piranhas feasting upon...

If we could kiss, cuddle, and embrace Shout! Factory until we both weep, I think that we would. After reading the following news, we're fairly certain you'll want to join in on our video induced love fest.

From the Press Release

Just when you thought it was safe to take a dip in the water again…they’re baaaack! This summer rediscover two enduring Roger Corman underwater thrillers filled with unstoppable action and edge-of-your-seat suspense as Joe Dante’s Piranha and Humanoids from the Deep, directed by Barbara Peters, debut August 3, 2010 for the first time on Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Factory, in association with New Horizons Picture Corporation. These two definitive Special Edition home entertainment releases from Roger Corman’s Cult Classics are sure to cause a feeding frenzy among thrill seekers and loyal fans of Roger Corman and Joe Dante. Piranha Special Edition offers two highly...

I regret to inform that I had to bow out of StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Smackdown for 1992. I haven't participated in a long time and I had really hoped to. 1992's women offer a wealth of Oscar discussables and tropes: the wisecracking dame, the old biddy, the longsuffering spouse, the maligned winner, the nominee who maybe isn't being thanked for the performance she's nominated for but for her entire year, the Woody Allen player, Oscar's perceived anglophilia versus its perceived nationalism.

The nominees were:

Judy Davis, Husbands and WivesJoan Plowright, Enchanted AprilVanessa Redgrave, Howards EndMiranda Richardson, Damages

Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny

My vote would have gone to Judy Davis (Husbands and Wives) and by quite a large margin. To drive the point home further, she is roughly tied with Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights) for my favorite supporting actress performance of the 1990s altogether. Unless you count Michelle's Catwoman (Batman Returns) as supporting.

A random sampling of actresses from premieres, parties and events this past week...

[original images]

Amy Adams may be playing a nun currently but she still steps out looking like a cartoon princess. I think it's been much too long since we've seen Alfre Woodard, don't you? Have you seen Passion Fish (1992)? It's been on my mind lately for some reason. Cate Blanchett apparently just stepped out of a time machine direct from the set of Björk's "Who Is It?" video. But that's a compliment. Anything that reminds us of Björk is very welcome, indeed. I've been noticing that Marisa Tomei's red carpet wear is getting increasingly outre as the weather gets colder. If she keeps this up she might be in Tilda territory by the time the Oscars roll around in February. One can always dream. I can't wait for you all to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button...