News

Clockwise from top left: The Wicker Man (Warner Bros.), Vanilla Sky (Paramont), Oldboy (FilmDistrict), The Toy (Columbia)Image: AVClub

In Hollywood, it often seems that the sincerest form of flattery is to remake a foreign film. Domestic versions of international hits are a long-running thing in a town where familiarity assumes success,...

Daniel Goldberg, the frequent Ivan Reitman and Todd Phillips collaborator who co-wrote and produced the Bill Murray starrers Stripes and Meatballs and shepherded other films including Space Jam, Old School, Road Trip and the Hangover trilogy, has died. He was 74.

Goldberg died Wednesday in Los Angeles, his brother, Deuce Bigalow screenwriter Harris Goldberg, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was a gentle, lovely guy, he was my hero,” Harris said. “He was everything I measured myself against.”

No cause of death was immediately available.

Survivors also include his wife, British Columbia native Ilona Herzberg, a producer on films including The River Wild, Evan Almighty, Waterworld, Rachel Getting Married and Feds, the 1988 comedy that starred Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross and was the only feature her husband directed in Hollywood.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Goldberg was the older son of Irwin, an aeronautical engineer, and Audrey, an artist.

He met Reitman...

Daniel Goldberg, who produced all three The Hangover films, Space Jam, Old School and many others and co-wrote movies including the Bill Murray comedies Stripes and Meatballs, died today in Los Angeles. He was 74.

Filmmaker Jason Reitman, whose late father Ivan Reitman directed Stripes and Meatballs and had known Goldberg since their college days in the 1960s, confirmed the news to Deadline but did not provide other details.

Goldberg and Ivan Reitman collaborated for more than 30 years, working together on features including the animated Heavy Metal (1981); toon/live-action hybrid Space Jam (1996), starring Michael Jordan alongside Looney Toons characters; 1994’s Junior, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the world’s first pregnant man, along with Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson; the 1997 Robin Williams-Billy Crystal comedy Fathers’ Day; the 1998 Harrison Ford-Anne Heche adventure pic Six Days Seven Nights; Howard Stern’s Private Parts, which the shock jock infamously promoted at...

If there is one lesson that Hollywood never seems to learn, it's that having at least one big star attached to a movie doesn't guarantee box office success. In fact, there are few things a movie studio can do to make sure that their latest release does gangbusters at the box office. They can drop money on a glitzy marketing campaign centering a film's big stars all they want, but, if a movie doesn't look particularly intriguing to audiences, it doesn't matter all that much.

That is likely at the center of why "Fathers' Day," a 1997 star vehicle for Robin Williams and Billy Crystal directed by Ivan Reitman was a massive flop. The plot was a bit of a strange one, with the two actors playing strangers who were brought together to locate a missing boy they were led to believe was their long-lost son. Then again, a movie being...

It is with a heavy heart we report the sudden death of filmmaker Ivan Reitman at the age of 75.

The ‘Ghostbusters’ director passed away in his sleep on the 12th of February, as yet, the cause of death is yet to be announced.

Jason Reitman, Catherine Reitman, and Caroline Reitman in a joint statement said: “Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life. We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world. While we mourn privately, we hope those who knew him through his films will remember him always.”

Born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Canada, Reitman rose to prominence during the ’70s with his work as a Producer on films such as ‘National Lampoon’s Animal House’ before jumping to direct with ‘Foxy Lady.’ Before too long,...

The TV industry said a final goodbye to the late comedian Robin Williams on Monday night. Billy Crystal delivered a touching tribute to his longtime friend as the capper to the In Memoriam segment of the Emmy Awards, which featured a performance by Grammy-nominated singer Sara Bareilles, singing the melancholy Charlie Chaplin song, "Smile." "He made us laugh, hard," Crystal said while standing under a super-sized portrait of Williams. "Every time you saw him. ... He made us laugh big-time." Crystal recounted several anecdotes about his departed friend, including the late star's lack of knowledge about baseball and the wonderful way...

An old friend will help the Emmys say goodbye to Robin Williams. Billy Crystal will pay tribute to the late comedian, who was found dead in his home Aug. 11, during the In Memoriam segment of the 66th Emmy Awards (airing Monday at 8 p.m. Et/5 p.m. Pt on NBC). The segment will also feature a performance by Grammy-nominated singer Sara Bareilles. Photos: Remembering Robin Williams - His Life and LegacyCrystal and Williams, together with Whoopi Goldberg, were longtime co-hosts on HBO's Comic Relief specials benefitting the homeless. The two men also starred in the 1997 film Fathers' Day.Crystal has...

Robin Williams' longtime friend and "Comic Relief" co-host Billy Crystal will lead the previously announced tribute to the late actor at the Emmy Awards next week. Emmy Awards executive producer Don Mischer revealed the news today at the red-carpet launch event outside L.A.'s Nokia Theater, where the Emmys will be held. "We felt we needed to do something powerful and memorable," Mischer told E! Online. "Billy seemed like the perfect choice." "Plans for the In Memoriam segment are in discussion," he added. "While we are all still coming to terms with this week's tragic news, we are working to give Robin Williams the proper and meaningful remembrance he so well deserves." Crystal will speak in tribute to Williams at the telecast. He was relatively silent following the tragic news of the actor-comedian's death last week, tweeting "No words." Along with Whoopi Goldberg, Crystal and Williams teamed up...

"Suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems." - Robin Williams, "World's Greatest Dad" This is a very emotional "Ask Drew." This is, I would suspect, the closest you're ever going to see to me losing it on camera completely. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when there was a Robin Williams question, since it's still so fresh and so raw for so many people, but I couldn't have known just how hard it would be to talk about him. I mean, I have stared at the blinking cursor on my blank document page for almost two days now, grappling with one question: how in the hell do you even remotely begin to sum up someone as huge as Robin Williams? We could start from the personal angle. I could tell you about the occasional e-mails I got from him when I was at Ain't It Cool, or the...

While we're over here lauding new JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson for overhauling the department store's outdated offerings - he not only bagged collaborations with style titans Cynthia Rowley and Vivienne Tam, but he rolled out a few gay-friendy ad campaigns - Donna Jones isn't so excited about the changes.

JCPenney's Fathers' Day Ad Features Same-Sex Couple (And Their Super Adorbz Kids)

Today in Weird: Nick Wooster Named Creative Director at JCPenney

F*Ck Yes: One Million Moms Gives Up On Getting Ellen DeGeneres Fired From JCPenney

Name not ringing a bell? It shouldn't, because Jones is just a former JCPenney shopper from Mikado, Michigan who is "frumpy and proud." She's also one of about a dozen shoppers who are upset with JCPenney for trying to get back on the sartorial fast-track.

"He’s working hard to 'de-frump' the store without considering that many if not most of its customers might...

For all the action and special effects you can stuff into a film, one of the most appealing things to an audience can be seeing two of their favorite stars face off for the first time. Think Pacino & De Niro in "Heat." Diesel and The Rock in "Fast Five." Crystal and Williams in "Father's Day." Ok, maybe not the last one. As such, there's one film that, ever since its announcement, looks to be the true successor to that coffee shop scene in Michael Mann's classic, a team-up so enticing that it can only be a license to print money. Wahlberg. Bieber. Boom. Two tickets and a large popcorn, please.  Yes, the former teen heartthrob Mark Wahlberg, and current teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, have, since April, been planning a collaboration, a drama from "How To Make It In America" creator Ian Edelman that takes place in the gritty world of street basketball.

Robin Williams has tied the knot with graphic designer Susan Schneider. The Happy Feet actor married Schneider in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena, California on Sunday, reports Us Weekly. Guests apparently included directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and his Fathers' Day co-star Billy Crystal. The actor is said to have met Schneider after his heart surgery in 2009. It is Williams's third marriage after the divorce to his second (more)...

Have you bought the card and beer yet? Well, this Sunday is Fathers' Day, so it's time to celebrate the men who have made us who we are today. No, we're not talking about our real dads. We mean the blokes off the telly who have made us laugh, cry and taught us everything we need to know about the birds and bees. From Homer's words (more)...

In a surprising move, distinctly voiced veteran character actor Jared Harris has apparently been offered the role of Professor Moriarty in the upcoming "Sherlock Holmes" sequel at Warner Bros. Pictures reports Latino Review (and later confirmed by Deadline).

The 49-year-old British actor, son of the legendary Richard Harris ("Harry Potter," "Gladiator"), has seemingly beat out bigger name actors like Daniel Day Lewis, Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe who've all been rumoured for the villain role. Harris has acted and won various awards for his work on stage, in television and across many independent and mainstream movies over the past two decades.

His most notable roles of late have been as Lane Pryce on "Mad Men", the first season's main antagonist David Jones Roberts on "Fringe", the indomitable Captain Mike in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", and as Andy Warhol in "I Shot Andy Warhol".

His other credits include "Igby Goes Down,...

David Beckham and popstar Peter Andre have topped a new poll to find the Top 10 celebrity dads. The former England football captain headed up the list, which was researched by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, ahead of Fathers' Day at the weekend. According to the poll, 58% of voters believe that Beckham makes a great parent because he is "committed to his family". Meanwhile, 61% claimed that they "feel sorry" for Peter Andre following his (more)...

I like to play devil's advocate sometimes, and so I'll always take an opportunity to disagree with Dustin solely for the purpose of introducing a Blog Trends roundup. But this time it's easy. I have nothing bad to say about Ivan Reitman and I look forward to his fourth take on the Ghostbusters franchise.

Yes, fourth, because I've always accepted Evolution as basically a remake of Ghostbusters, only with aliens -- or whatever you'd consider them -- rather than ghosts.

Maybe it helps that I've never seen My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Fathers' Day, Six Days Seven Nights or Junior. All I know is Dave is the best Shakespearean comedy sort of political satire ever made (I think). And, though I'll certainly get a lot of shit for saying this, I like Twins more than Stripes. Seriously, what's funny about a bootcamp farce that's more Lol than the idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito being twins?...

Midcentury designers Ray and Charles Eames were famous for emerging on top of a dragging post-war economy by working with inexpensive materials and affordable manufacturers. But the foundation for the husband-and-wife designers, created by their daughter Lucia Eames in 2004 to honor their legacies, still needs to make up for low endowment in a downturn. This weekend, a silent auction will be held to raise money for the Eames Foundation, with 13 pretty unique items up for grabs. Although some of the items are slightly more exclusive than the Eameses likely intended--they adhered to the notion that good design should be accessible to all--some of these are truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for a rabid design fan. Have a designing dad? It is Fathers' Day, after all!

Eames Studio Overnight: Spend a night in the pristine midcentury modern studio (not the famous house, but the similar adjacent studio). One night for two people starts...

California residents are fighting for their right to hike as yet another of the state's institutions is threatened by its ongoing budgetary woes. After a weeks-long standoff between lawmakers and Governor Schwarzenegger over the state's budget, the proposed budget that's now pushing for approval is one that will effectively terminate funding for California State Parks, closing 220 parks up and down the Golden State (on the not-so-bright side, 59 state parks would stay open). This isn't even the first time this has happened: Last year, a similar proposal to close 48 parks was revised at the last minute, keeping them open for picnics.

The California State Parks Foundation quickly declared a Save Our State Parks Weekend (also known as the more urgent Sos Weekend) which will happen statewide June 20 to June 21. During this weekend, the campaign asks citizens to visit a park and take photos of themselves, and to wear green ribbons in show of solidarity.