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Ever since King Kong swatted biplanes from the top of the Empire State Building in 1933, hairy creatures have occupied a place of honor in the cinematic pantheon. And in many cases, the Academy has recognized that fact: The original “King Kong” was shamefully overlooked at the Oscars, but the second-ever special award for makeup was given out in 1968 to “Planet of the Apes” — and the first time the award existed as a regular competitive category, the winner was Rick Baker for “An American Werewolf in London,” with subsequent winners including “Quest for Fire” (hairy cavemen!), “Harry and the Hendersons” (Bigfoot!), “The Wolfman” (another werewolf!) and, um, “Frida” (unibrow!).

On the visual effects side, meanwhile, the “Kong” successor “Mighty Joe Young” won in 1949, Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” remake won in 2005 and the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” series won in… Oh, wait, it shockingly never won, though its astonishing motion-capture...

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, has announced its list of December titles. The Tubi December 2024 slate features new Tubi Originals, TV series, and numerous action, art house, Black cinema, comedy, documentary, drama, horror, kids and family, romance, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller, and Western titles.

As a leading ad-supported video-on-demand service, the company engages diverse audiences through a personalized experience and the world’s largest content library of over 250,000 movies and TV episodes, a growing collection of exclusive Originals, and nearly 250 live channels.

You can watch the Tubi December 2024 lineup for free on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, and Cox Contour.

You can also watch the service on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on the Tubi site.

Tubi Originals...

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When you're young, your favorite movies can leave quite an impression on you. For a nine-year-old boy in New Zealand, it set him on the path towards becoming a filmmaker. Indeed, Peter Jackson's first viewing of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 epic "King Kong" on a tiny television screen inspired him to make movies. In a 2005 interview with NBC News, Jackson said the film had a "profound effect" on him and described its titular ape as "a very special little chap" who captured his heart. When he was 12, he even made a rubber Kong and cardboard model of the Empire State Building and tried to animate it using his parents' Super-8 camera.

What was it about "King Kong" that Peter Jackson loved so much? In an interview with Chud, he once described the film as "a wonderful piece of escapist entertainment.

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, has announced its list of October titles. The Tubi October 2024 slate features new Tubi Originals and numerous action, art house, Black cinema, comedy, documentary, drama, horror, kids and family, romance, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller, and Western titles.

As a leading ad-supported video-on-demand service, the company engages diverse audiences through a personalized experience and the world’s largest content library: over 200,000 movies and TV episodes, a growing collection of Tubi Originals, and nearly 250 Fast channels.

You can watch the Tubi October 2024 lineup for free on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, and Cox Contour.

You can also watch the service on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and on the Tubi site.

Tubi Originals

Documentary

Famously Haunted:...

There are few monster movies that can claim to have as much respect in cinema history, as well as just sheer scope of influence, as 1954's "Godzilla." Also known as "Gojira" in its native Japan, the heralded classic of the kaiju genre remains a haunting dissection of the atrocities of World War II through the lens of a nation contending with the horrors they faced, namely the atomic bomb. It's also, not for nothing, one heck of a showcase for old-school practical creature effects. The now-iconic titular monster was brought to life using a practical suit worn by Haruo Nakajima. A legend was born of that performance, but he paid the price during filming.

In the 2017 book "Godzilla on My Mind" by William M. Tsutsui, it's explained that the costume used in "Godzilla" was created using "a framework of bamboo stakes and wire, with thick overlays of latex and plentiful padding of urethane foam.

Back in 1996, the Twister cast, outside of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was largely unknown. At the time, not too many of them were famous. However, in the years since the film, much of that has changed and much of the Twister cast has gone on to fame both in front and behind the camera.

Helen Hunt was arguably the film’s biggest star in the cast back in ’96, but she wasn’t the first choice for the movie. Before the role of Dr. Jo Harding went to her, Jurassic Park standout Laura Dern, Bridget Fonda, and Kate Mulgrew almost wore the good doctor’s white tank top and reinforced mud-stompers. Initially, Tom Hanks eyed the role of Bill Harding but ultimately felt Twister wasn’t the right fit for his brand of character creation. Other actors floated for Bill Harding include Kevin Costner, Michael Keaton, Kurt Russell, Richard Gere,...

Actress Charlize Theron poses for the "Breitling" 'Navitimer 36' and '32' watches, photographed by Matthew Brookes:

Theron played the female lead in the features "The Devil's Advocate" (1997), "Mighty Joe Young". 

She won an 'Oscar' playing the lead in "Monster" (2003), for which she won the Silver Bear and Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first South African to win an acting Oscar. She received another Oscar nomination for the drama "North Country" (2005). 

Theron also starred in action films "The Italian Job" (2003), "Hancock" (2008), "Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012), "Prometheus" (2012), "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015), "The Fate of the Furious" (2017), "Atomic Blonde" (2017), "The Old Guard" (2020), "F9" (2021) and "Fast X" (2023). 

She portrayed 'Megyn Kelly' in the drama "Bombshell" (2019), receiving her third 'Academy Award' nomination. 

She played 'Clea' in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", 'Lady Lesso' in "The School for Good and Evil" (2022) and has a cameo in Season...

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 8 - "Under the Cloak of War"

Lieutenant Ortegas, Dr. M'Benga, and Nurse Chapel struggle with the presence of Klingon Ambassador Dak'Rah on the Enterprise due to his past atrocities during the Klingon War. Dak'Rah claimed to be responsible for the brutal deaths of innocent civilians on J'Gal, earning him the nickname "the Butcher of J'Gal," but it is revealed that Dr. M'Benga was actually the one who committed those murders. The tension between M'Benga and Dak'Rah reaches a breaking point, resulting in M'Benga killing Dak'Rah in self-defense. This episode explores the lasting impact of war and the question of whether some actions can be forgiven.

Robert Wisdom plays the role of Klingon Ambassador Dak'Rah in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' "Under the Cloak of War." This episode follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise...

A strong argument could be made for King Kong being the most influential movie ever made. Kong’s progeny includes Mighty Joe Young, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, Ray Harryhausen films, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, many of the character-driven stop motion creations of the past ninety years, and dozens of authorized and unauthorized spin-offs, sequels, remakes, and rip-offs. The film inspired dozens, if not hundreds of directors, special effects artists, sound effects creators, composers, and film creators of all kinds, who have in turn inspired the next generation of filmmakers, and they the next. It is the first special-effects driven blockbuster of the sound era; a genre-crossing spectacular that introduced the world to some of cinema’s most iconic imagery and sound, the screen’s first true Scream Queen, and one of the all-time great gods and monsters of film history.

King Kong...

If there's one thing we can take away from modern blockbusters it's that, with rare exceptions, special effects just don't feel "special" anymore.

That's not to say that there aren't beautiful and convincing visual effects being produced in the world of cinema. "Top Gun: Maverick" seamlessly blends real aerial footage with CG recreations, to the extent that it's nearly impossible to tell what was really in front of the camera. "Avatar: The Way of Water," whatever its other flaws may be, is a sumptuous spectacle for the eyes, at once vibrant and colorful and creative.

But what so very many modern visual effects films have in common is that they take imagery that should be astounding for granted, treating the most incredible and impossible things the human mind could devise, and acting like it's just something everyone deals with every day. And the new superhero film "Shazam! Fury of the Gods...

Oliver Wood, whose work as a cinematographer included such big-budget action films as The Bourne Identity and two of its sequels, along with studio comedies like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, has died. He was 80.

Wood died Monday, Feb. 13, surrounded by loved ones at his Hollywood home following a battle with cancer, his agent Ann Murtha told The Hollywood Reporter.

He is known for working with a long list of prominent directors, including John Woo on Face/Off (1997); Adam McKay on Talladega Nights (2006), Step Brothers (2008), The Other Guys (2010) and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013); Edward Zwick on Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016); Antoine Fuqua on The Equalizer 2 (2018); and Daniel Espinosa on Safe House (2012), Child 44 (2015) and Morbius (2022). His work on Paul Greengrass’ The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) earned Wood a BAFTA Award nomination for best cinematography.

Born on Feb. 21, 1942, in London, Wood moved to New York City at age 19 and...

The “guy in a gorilla suit” is synonymous with cheap genre film quickies. If you had a budget of pocket lint and pennies, you could knock out a low rent schlockfest where your monster was some variant of an ape in no time flat.

Hell, John Landis did just that in the early 1970s with his film, Schlock.

The ape as a monster/antagonist/friend/hero has one hell of a cinematic legacy. Nowadays the Sharksploitation flick is the subgenre that gets all the attention for how outrageously endless it is. But apes did it first.

Cinema of the 90s is experiencing its moment of nostalgic rediscovery of late, and with that comes the opportunity to dig into films of that decade and view them through a modern lens. The 90s also had its fair share of ape-centric genre entertainment. We had the (rather good) remake of Mighty Joe Young,...

King Kong is going from Skull Island to Disney+.

The iconic movie monster, who first appeared in Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1933 masterpiece, will be headed to Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform in “King Kong” (working title). The project will be the first live-action series set in the Kong Universe, and hails from James Wan and his Atomic Monster production company and Stephany Folsom, who has worked on Disney projects like “Toy Story 4” and “Thor: Ragnarok.”

Well, I guess the news is out. I'm beyond excited to be working with these people on one of my favorite stories. #KingKong https://t.co/ibpAYGs6uc

— Stephany Folsom (@StephanyFolsom) August 23, 2022

According to early reports, the story will be set in modern times and partially set on Skull Island and the origins of a new Kong. The project will be based on IP from Merian C. Cooper’s original...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

The term box office bomb is thrown around quite a bit. At times, it is very well warranted. We've seen a couple of examples in 2022, such as "The Northman," an ambitious 90 million Viking movie from Robert Eggers that (very regrettably) only earned 68.7 million at the global box office. A bomb, to be sure. But sometimes, the term is used to describe something that is more of a disappointment as opposed to a bomb. Think of something like "Eternals" making just over 400 million against a 200 million budget. Undoubtedly a bummer by Marvel standards, but by no means a bomb.

I say all this to help paint a picture of the way movies are often described in relation to their commercial performance. But are...

Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, who was featured on the first season of Netflix’s Tiger King, was arrested this afternoon by the FBI, according to multiple reports. The reasons for his arrest in Horry County, South Carolina were not disclosed.

Antle, who was a magician before he founded his first private zoo, now owns and runs Myrtle Beach Safari which features big cats and other endangered species.

In 2020, Antle was charged in Virginia with two felony counts related to wildlife trafficking. He has also been the subject of allegations about inappropriate relationships with minors. He was further accused of operating a cult at his Myrtle Beach business. Antle denies the claims.

The zookeeper was hired as an animal expert on films like Dr. Dolittle and provided animals for movies such as Mighty Joe Young, The Jungle Book and The Jungle Book 2. Antle is also credited as a “principle animal trainer” on the Ace Ventura films.

Exclusive: Reid Miller (Joe Bell), Jonathan Silverman (Good Girls), Marguerite Moreau (Wet Hot American Summer) and Chris Mulkey (Twin Peaks) have signed on to star in the indie Feeling Randy, marking the solo directorial debut of veteran cinematographer Dean Lent.

The film inspired by Lent’s own youth follows Randy (Miller), who amid family turmoil, heads off with his high school buds on a road trip to uncover their emerging sexuality in 1970s California. Silverman and Moreau will play Randy’s parents, with Mulkey as his understanding teacher. Richard Riehle, Tyler Lawrence Gray, Kerrice Brooks, Shane Almagor, Blaine Kern III and O. Hibbs Wyman will round out the cast.

Lent penned the script, with Salome Breziner on board to produce under her Semblance banner. Production is underway in the Los Angeles area.

Miller is best known for starring alongside Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s drama Joe Bell for Roadside Attractions.

Director Ron Underwood discusses a few of his favorite westerns with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Mighty Joe Young (1998)

Speechless (1994)

Heart and Souls (1993)

Stealing Sinatra (2003)

City Slickers (1991)

Tremors (1990) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Tourist Trap (1979) – David DeCoteau’s trailer commentary

The Seduction (1982)

Puppet Master (1989)

The Boondock Saints (1999)

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)

Capricorn One (1977) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Back When We Were Grownups (2004)

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)

The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Red River (1948) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Johnny Guitar (1954) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Searchers (1956)

Seven Samurai (1954) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary

The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Westworld...

It was 40 years ago, in June 1981, that Clash of the Titans, the last film to feature the stop-motion animation effects of Ray Harryhausen, was released.

Starring a then-unknown Harry Hamlin, along with veteran stars like Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Burgess Meredith, and Ursula Andress, the film was loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus (Hamlin), weaving in strands of other mythologies and legends and putting its hero into conflict with creatures like the Kraken, Calibos, Medusa the Gorgon and a two-headed dog named Dioskilos.

“Greek and Roman myths contained characters and fantastic creatures that were ideal for cinematic adventures,” wrote Harryhausen in his memoir, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life. “If some of the adventures were combined with 20th century storytelling, a timeless narrative could be constructed that would appeal to both young and old.”

Harryhausen was already a filmmaking legend by the time he began work on Clash of the Titans.

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...

The world lost a true titan of visual effects when Ray Harryhausen passed away back in 2013, but the legendary artist lives on through his amazing contributions to cinema. Today would have been Harryhausen's 100th birthday, and Turner Classic Movies is honoring the great "Dynamation" creator with a marathon of some of the most memorable movies Harryhausen helped bring to life.

Beginning tonight at 8:00pm on TCM, the Ray Harryhausen 100th birthday tribute marathon will include The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Mysterious Island, Mighty Joe Young, and Clash of the Titans.

Harryhausen's stop-motion animation has no doubt influenced and inspired generations of filmmakers, and TCM's marathon looks to honor one of cinema's greatest innovators by highlighting his immortal work.

For more information, you can view the full schedule at TCM's official website:

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html?tz=est&sdate=2020-06-29

The...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...

Before “Tiger King” became a water-cooler sensation, a key character in Netflix’s bizarre true-crime documentary had his own moment in the spotlight.

“Tiger King” enthusiasts discovered that Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, an animal trainer who worked closely with series’ central character Joe Exotic, had a surprising connection to Britney Spears. As fate would have it, Antle was on stage with the pop star during her infamous MTV Video Music Awards performance in 2001, where Spears was draped in a seven-foot long python to sing “I’m a Slave 4 U.” In the performance, which has since cemented its place in pop culture, Antle can be seen standing in a cage handling tigers.

Antle has ties to Hollywood, having worked as an animal expert on films like “Dr. Dolittle” and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” He appeared frequently on late night talk shows and also provided creatures for movies including “The War,” “The Jungle Book,...

Britney Spears’ performance at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards is one of the most iconic moments in 21st Century pop culture. The image of Spears performing “I’m a Slave 4 U” while holding a seven-foot albino Burmese python around her neck is one of the pop singer’s most definitive looks, and it turns out that 2001 Vma moment has a surprise connection to Netflix’s 2020 docuseries sensation “Tiger King.” Spears’ performance also featured a tiger that was handled by none other than Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, one of the most memorable “Tiger King” subjects. Writer and podcast host Evan Ross Katz discovered the connection between Spears and Doc Antle and shared a photo on social media of the two together right before the Vma performance.

“Tiger King” viewers already know Doc Antle has a deep connection to Hollywood, as the Netflix series makes mention of the animal trainer’s work on...

Charlize Theron, who is currently garnering some of the best notices of her career for her portrayal of Megyn Kelly in Jay Roach's Bombshell, is only 44 — but at the 23rd Hollywood Film Awards on Sunday, Nov. 3, the South African will collect a career achievement award, organizers of the event announced Tuesday.

Theron emerged on the Hollywood scene in the late 1990s in films such as The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), but truly made her name with a rave-reviewed Oscar-winning turn in Monster (2003). She garnered another Oscar nom ...

Charlize Theron, who is currently garnering some of the best notices of her career for her portrayal of Megyn Kelly in Jay Roach's Bombshell, is only 44 — but at the 23rd Hollywood Film Awards on Sunday, Nov. 3, the South African will collect a career achievement award, organizers of the event announced Tuesday.

Theron emerged on the Hollywood scene in the late 1990s in films such as The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), but truly made her name with a rave-reviewed Oscar-winning turn in Monster (2003). She garnered another Oscar nom ...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...

Part “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” part “Mighty Joe Young,” and part “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” — to cite three of writer-director Chris Butler’s most explicit references — “Missing Link” is a sweet, touching, and seriously fun adventure comedy about two lost souls who are struggling to reconcile yesterday with tomorrow in their bid to belong in a world that refuses to make room for them. Set in the Victorian era but progressive in almost every major aspect of its narrative and design, Laika’s fifth feature may lack the weight and urgency of the studio’s previous work, but it reaffirms the studio’s commitment to a future that comes in all shapes and sizes.

Thank God for Laika. At a time when convenience has become the determining factor of most artistic consumption, intellectual property is prized over actual creativity, and the great animation houses are either stuck in some kind...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

The foundation established by legendary special effects visionary Ray Harryhausen is pleased to announce a joint effort with Morningside Productions, the company of late film producer Charles Schneer. Discovery of new materials in the vast archives of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation will be the basis of a spectacularly new and original theatrical motion picture in the style of such Harryhausen/Schneer classics such as Clash of the Titans, the duo's most significant box office collaboration from 1981.

This project, tentatively entitled Force of the Trojans, is based on a screenplay by Beverley Cross, and original production art and sculptures conceived by Ray Harryhausen that are on par with some of his most iconic screen creatures.

Force of the Trojans will embody the spirit of the original Harryhausen films with all the fun, vibrant action, epic scope and dedication to craftsmanship that...

In today’s film news roundup, Jason Reitman wins the John Cassavetes award, the documentary “Race Against Time” gets a release and the Ray Harryhausen Foundation is planning “Force of the Trojans.”

Film Festivals

The Denver Film Festival has selected Jason Reitman as the recipient of its 2018 John Cassavetes Award for his work as a director, producer and writer.

The award was established in collaboration with Cassavetes’ spouse Gena Rowlands in 1989 and is presented to a film artist who has made a significant contribution to the world of filmmaking and whose work reflects the spirit of the late Cassavetes.

Reitman will screen his latest film, “The Front Runner,” on Nov. 8 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, followed by the presentation of the award. Reitman will be joined by his co-writers Matt Bai and Jay Carson for an onstage conversation about the film.

Reitman received Academy Award nominations for producing, directing...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

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A fascinating collection of posters from Ray Harryhausen’s movies, from Mighty Joe Young to Clash of the Titans.

Harryhausen - The Movie Posters showcases the posters from all of Ray’s movies, from 1949’s Mighty Joe Young, to Clash of the Titans in 1981.

There has never been a book published devoted solely to the promotional art associated with the films themselves.

Featuring posters from all over the world, as well as commentary from the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation, this is an essential addition to any fan’s library.

Richard Holliss is a freelance journalist specialising in the media. His work includes documentaries on animation, science fiction and film comedy for BBC Network Radio. He's the author of The Disney Studio Story and The James Bond Fact File, and has also written reviews and features...

Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard have all roamed this land with the dinosaurs, but now it's in danger of being ravaged by Mother Nature ... so everyone's gotta get the hell out. The Kualoa Ranch in Oahu, Hawaii -- a famous filming location known for "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic World" -- has canceled all of its tours and closed its facilities as the island prepares to take a possible direct hit from Hurricane Lane.

This year, a record 928 people were invited to join the motion picture academy and will be eligible to vote for the 2019 Oscars. Compare this intake to the totals of the previous four years: 774 in 2017; 683 in 2016; 322 in 2015; and 271 in 2014.

While Academy Awards nominees are automatically eligible for consideration, the rest of the candidates must go through a fairly cumbersome process. A candidate must meet certain branch specific requirements before even being eligible.

For example, actors must “have a minimum of three theatrical feature film credits, in all of which the roles played were scripted roles, one of which was released in the past five years, and all of which are of a caliber that reflect the high standards of the Academy.” For writers, directors and producers they need have just two of these credits.

The executive committee of the branch must endorse the application before forwarding it to the Board of Governors for final approval.

In an astonishing move to swell the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership ranks, a record 928 artists and executives from 59 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call; this year, they did not invite Kobe Bryant although he won an Oscar for animated short “Dear Basketball.”

Clearly, people of color (38 percent) and women (49 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members also come from overseas.

In 2017, the Academy invited 744 new members.

Seventeen Oscar winners are among the new invited members (Melissa Etheridge) and 92 Oscar nominees. Nine of the 17 branches invited more women than men. The percentage of women in the Academy has risen from...

In an astonishing move to swell the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership ranks, a record 928 artists and executives from 59 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to invite to join the Academy, but the Board of Governors makes the final call; this year, they did not invite Kobe Bryant to join although he won an Oscar for animated short “Dear Basketball.”

Clearly, people of color (38 percent) and women (49 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members also come from overseas.

In 2017, the Academy invited 744 new members.

Seventeen Oscar winners are among the new members and 92 Oscar nominees. Nine of the 17 branches invited more women than men. The percentage of women in the Academy has risen...

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is out with its 2018 list of invitations for membership. Here is the list of the record 928 folks from 59 countries. Note that 10 individuals (noted by an asterisk) have been invited to join the Academy by multiple branches; they must select one branch upon accepting membership.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy at invitation-only receptions in the fall.

Actors

Hiam Abbass – “Blade Runner 2049,” “The Visitor”

Damián Alcázar – “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “El Crimen del Padre Amaro”

Naveen Andrews – “Mighty Joe Young,” “The English Patient”

Gemma Arterton – “Their Finest,” “Quantum of Solace”

Zawe Ashton – “Nocturnal Animals,” “Blitz”

Eileen Atkins – “Gosford Park,” “Cold Mountain”

Hank Azaria – “Anastasia,” “The Birdcage”

Doona Bae – “Cloud Atlas,” “The Host”

Christine Baranski – “Miss Sloane,” “Mamma Mia!”

Carlos Bardem – “Assassin’s Creed,” “Che”

Irene Bedard – “Smoke Signals,” “Pocahontas”

Bill Bellamy – “Any Given Sunday,” “love jones”

Haley Bennett – “Thank You for Your Service,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited a record number of new members, extending invites to 928 people.

The Academy topped last year’s record of 774 new members. It invited 683 members in 2016 and 322 in 2015, which were also record numbers.

The expansion of Academy membership to more than 9,200 stems from an ongoing effort to diversify its ranks following uproar over the lack of African-American nominees in 2015 and 2016, which culminated in 2016’s #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Two weeks after the widely criticized nominations were announced, AMPAS announced a goal to double the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.

If all the 2018 invitees accept, the overall membership would be 9,226.

Monday’s invitations, if accepted, will result in 38% of the Oscars’ governing body’s new class being comprised of people of color, increasing their representation from 13% in 2017 to 16%.

Meanwhile, the new class is 49% female, boosting the total representation of women...

For the third consecutive year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has broken its own records and will invite a large, diverse and international group of film professionals to join the organization and vote for the Oscars, the Academy announced on Monday.

The record-shattering list of 928 who will be invited to join includes Emilia Clarke, Ann Dowd, Miles Teller, Evan Rachel Wood, Lena Headey, Harry Shearer and Jada Pinkett Smith. It follows the invitation of a record 683 new members in 2016, and then a new-record 774 members in 2017.

“Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling was also invited, as were directors Sean Baker, Luca Guadagnino, Ruben Ostlund, Lee Chang-dong and Chloe Zhao.

Also Read: No Kobe, No Problem: Oscars Academy's Class of 2018 on Track to Be as Big and Diverse as Last 2 Years'

Kendrick Lamar, who wrote music for “Black Panther,” was invited to join the Music Branch.

The invitations will go...

Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975, age: 42) is a South African and American actress and film producer. She is known for starring in the films That Thing You Do! (1996), The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999), The Italian Job (2003), Monster (2003), North Country (2005), Hancock (2008), and The Road (2009). Theron […]

Source: uInterview

The post Charlize Theron Bio: In Her Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos appeared first on uInterview.

Most people think that snobby Oscar voters through the decades have turned their backs on the horror genre. Not so. True, far more horror flicks have been nominated for Oscars — including many Alfred Hitchcock movies — than have won. Hitch was nominated six times for Best Director and never took home a gold statue, which is why he was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1968. “Thank you,” he said, and walked offstage.

We scoured the record books to find 25 Oscar-winning horror movies, and herewith rank them for you.

After heated arguments among the IndieWire staff, we threw out a dozen or so monster movies (“King Kong,” “Mighty Joe Young,” “Jurassic Park”), ghost films (“Ghost”) and scary psychological thrillers like Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” that just didn’t feel like horror flicks to us.

Defining a horror movie is subjective. Is it about gore and guts and supernatural beings, or how it makes you feel?...

By Jacob Oller

King Kong had nothing on him. Because he made it. ou may know the name Ray Harryhausen as someone who was a stop-motion pioneer, but the first project Harryhausen ever worked on was as Willis H. O’Brien‘s assistant animator. O’Brien created dinosaur and ape effects for films like King Kong and Mighty Joe Young, but […]

The article The King of Clay: Willis H. O’Brien’s Stop-Motion Reality appeared first on Film School Rejects.

*Sigh* — Not a day goes by that I don’t miss my escaped brontosaurus. This wonder movie of the silent era, which pits five intrepid explorers against Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fantastic South American plateau where marvelous animals from the dawn of time still live. Blackhawk Films and Lobster’s latest digital restoration includes footage never before seen, in original tints; it’s dedicated to film restorer David Shepard.

The Lost World

Deluxe Blu-ray Edition

Flicker Alley

1925 / Color / 1:37 Silent Ap / 110 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / 39.95

Starring: Wallace Beery, Lloyd Hughes, Bessie Love, Lewis Stone, Alma Bennett, Arthur Hoyt, Margaret McWade, Bull Montana, Frank Finch Smiles, Jules Cowles, George Bunny, Leo White.

Cinematography: Arthur Edeson

Writing credits: Marion Fairfax from the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

New Music Score: Robert Israel

Technical Director: Willis O’Brien, assistants & effects men Marcel Delgado, Ralph Hammeras, Fred Jackman, Devereaux Jennings, Hans Koenekamp,...

A Mixed Bag In A Big Box

By Darren Allison

‘I was there; I was in that picture, fighting the Cyclops on the beach, running from the dragon! I was enthralled. It's one of my strongest childhood memories.’ It’s very hard to argue with director John Landis’s vivid account of his earliest memories and the fantasy films of Ray Harryhausen and producer Charles H. Schneer. They seemed to touch us all in an indelible manner and took us into a fantasy realm far beyond our imagination. Indicator has (for the first time in the UK) combined the three Sinbad adventures in one very handsomely produced package. It’s a magical box that has very little trouble in sending us on a journey, and back to a place called innocence…

The Seventh voyage of Sinbad (1958) was something of a revelation back in its day. Ray Harryhausen’s pioneering stop-motion...

By Todd Garbarini

Mark Robson’s 1957 film Peyton Place celebrates its 60th anniversary with a special screening at the Royal Theatre in Los Angeles. The film, which runs 157 minutes, stars Lana Turner, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Terry More, and Hope Lange.

Please Note: Actress Terry Moore is currently scheduled to appear at the screening as part of a Q & A regarding the film and her career.

From the press release:

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

Peyton Place (1957)

60th Anniversary Screening

Wednesday, July 12, at 7:00 Pm at the Royal Theatre

Q & A with Co-Star Terry Moore

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 60th anniversary screening of 'Peyton Place,' the smash hit movie version of Grace Metalious’s best-selling novel. The film earned nine top Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

If you missed Long Live The King when it played last November at The St. Louis International Film Festival, you can now watch it on Amazon Video and YouTube! The 2016 documentary Long Live The King explores the enduring fascination with one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history: the mighty King Kong. Long Live The King is produced and directed by Frank Dietz and Trish Geiger, the creative team behind the award-winning Beast Wishes (the 20112 documentary about Bob and Kathy Burns, the goodwill ambassadors of science fiction film fandom. Long Live The King devotes primary attention to the 1933 classic, celebrating the contributions of filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot, writer Edgar Wallace, and especially stop-motion innovator Willis O’Brien. But Kong’s legacy is also fully detailed: the sequel “Son of Kong,” the cinematic kin “Mighty Joe Young,” the Dino DeLaurentis and Peter Jackson remakes,...

Rabid, and Clive Barker's Nightbreed are just a couple of films in the lineup for Shout! Factory TV's 5 Nights of Fear. Prepare thyself. Also in today's Horror Highlights: a new Beistle Cat special edition pin from Creepy Co., details on Horror Movie Night podcast's fundraiser to raise money for FamilyStrong4ALS, and Jasmine release details.

Shout! Factory TV's Five Nights of Fear Details: Press Release: "Scream Factory™ is celebrating five years of fear with the special screening event 5 Nights of Fear airing on Shout! Factory TV. In celebration of the now-iconic horror brand’s fifth anniversary, Scream Factory will present nightly screenings of cult favorite films Nightbreed, Bad Moon, The Exorcist III, Hellhole, and Rabid. 5 Nights of Fear will air from Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 16 each evening at 10 p.m. Et/7 p.m. Pt at http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/, and on Pluto TV Channel 512.

On Monday, the terrifying celebration...

Join us for some old-school 16mm Movie Madness! – It’s our monthly 16Mm Double Feature Night at The Way Out Club (2525 Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis)! Join Tom Stockman and Roger from “Roger’s Reels’ for complete films projected on 16mm film. The show is Tuesday May 2nd and starts at 8pm. Admission is Free though we will be setting out a jar to take donations for the National Children’s Cancer Society.

First up Is Mighty Joe Young (1949)

The producer –director team of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack attempted to recreate the magic of King Kong in 1949 with Mighty Joe Young, which followed the Kong story closely but this time with more humor, affection and a big ape that kids could see as a hero. Again Robert Armstrong leads a safari to an isolated land to find a new attraction and again discovers a giant ape attached...

"Is this the moving picture ship?"—Opening line of King Kong (1933)You can get close to madness trying to fit the entire cultural legacy of the original King Kong into a single box. Even setting aside the two Hollywood remakes, you're still left with hastily made or quickly buried sequels, follow-ups like Mighty Joe Young (1949), a Universal Studios ride, a direct-to-video cartoon, a children’s TV series, and a set of 1960s Japanese-American co-productions—Kingu Kongu!—which saw the big ape square off against Godzilla and "Mechani-Kong" in showdowns with worse special effects than the film that preceded them by thirty years. Apologies for anything I've left out, because by this point King Kong is a cottage industry unto itself, an old-fashioned self-perpetuating Hollywood myth that's morphed in meaning and presentation but never entirely gone away. The sight of King Kong atop the Empire State Building, with its a mixture...

Gwangi! Ready your rifles and lariats because this is one of the best. Harryhausen’s happiest dinos- à go-go epic comes thundering back in HD heralded by Jerome Moross’s impressive music score. Unless you count The Animal World, all of the stop-motion magician’s feature films are now available in quality Blu-rays.

The Valley of Gwangi

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith, Freda Jackson, Gustavo Rojo.

Cinematography: Erwin Hillier

Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen

Art Direction: Gil Parrondo

Film Editor: Henry Richardson

Original Music: Jerome Moross

Written by William E. Bast

Produced by Charles H. Schneer

Directed by Jim O’Connolly

“Ladies and Gentlemen, what you are about to see has never been seen before, I Repeat, has never been seen before by human eyes!”

In just the last month three...

Later this month, the mighty Kong returns to the big screen! To celebrate, we’re looking back at all the major primate appearances in film.

For as long as films were being made, humans have starred alongside primates. Unlike other animals, their human-like qualities can lend a sense of comedy or horror. Throughout the history of film, primates have been used to fulfill certain roles. In the early days, they were often a form of antagonist, carrying out dastardly deeds or causing mayhem. More common is the primate cast in a role of mischief, causing all sorts of comedic hijincks. While most primate roles were portrayed by live animals, it was not uncommon for men to dress up in ape suits for roles where the primates needed to carry out specific actions. Later, the advent of CGI has led to men mimicking primates in real time to create a motion-capture performance.

Hollywood is mourning Bill Paxton.  After news broke of his unexpected passing at 61 years old, the actors' beloved co-stars have flocked to social media to pay tribute to the man they've often graced the silver screen with.  His 1998 Mighty Joe Young colleague Charlize Theron remembered him as "one of the finest actors." "You were a great friend to me, Bill. And one of the finest actors to share a set with," she tweeted Sunday. "Sending so much love to Bill Paxton's family." Helen Hunt, who starred with him in the 1996 hit Twister, told fans he made that movie "great." "He acted his heart out. What a talented...