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Exclusive: Michael Patrick Thornton, last on the New York stage opposite Jessica Chastain in 2023’s A Doll’s House, will return to Broadway in this fall’s much anticipated staging of Waiting For Godot starring Keanu Reeves, in his Broadway debut, and Alex Winter.

Thornton will play Lucky to Reeves’ Estragon and Winter’s Vladimir. Thornton’s casting reunites him with director Jamie Lloyd, who directed A Doll’s House. The actor played Dr. Rank in that Tony-nominated production.

Waiting For Godot will play Broadway’s Hudson Theatre with preview performances beginning Saturday, September 13, ahead of a Sunday, September 28 opening night. The strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, January 4, 2026 only.

Complete casting and design team for Waiting For Godot will be announced soon.

Thornton is an actor, improviser, writer, director, and co-founder of Chicago’s acclaimed The Gift Theatre. Currently, he stars in Obliteration, written by frequent collaborator Andrew Hinderaker and featuring Cyd Blakewell,...

Major spoilers for the entire story of "Wicked" — yes, the entire Broadway musical — lie ahead, so proceed down the yellow brick road with utmost caution!

Throughout "Wicked: Part One" — Jon M. Chu's delightful adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's acclaimed (and wildly successful) Broadway musical "Wicked" — we meet a fair number of characters whose stories will take some intense twists and turns in the movie's second half "Wicked: For Good." The most obvious, of course, is Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), a green-skinned and ambitious young sorceress who ends up enrolled at Shiz University and will eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West; right by her side is Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande-Butera), a peppy and pink-clad student who may or may not have legitimate magical abilities and who goes on to become Glinda the Good Witch. What you may not realize, though, is that we've also already...

Massive, massive spoilers for Act 2 of the Broadway musical "Wicked" — which is being adapted into "Wicked: For Good" — lie ahead! Stop reading if you want to avoid spoilers!

In the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz," Judy Garland's Dorothy Gale is flanked by three companions as she travels down the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard of Oz. These friends and protectors are known as the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), and the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and while Dorothy wants to ask the Wizard to send her home, the Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man have agendas of their own. The Lion wants to ask him for courage, the Scarecrow would really love a brain, and as for the Tin Man, he simply wants a working heart.

You're probably familiar with these characters because, well, "The Wizard of Oz" is one of the most famous movies...

If you're not familiar with the full story of "Wicked" — as in, anything past the events of the film "Wicked: Part One" — do not keep going down the yellow brick road! Major spoilers lie ahead!

If you're even a little bit familiar with "The Wizard of Oz" — the 1939 adaptation of L. Frank Baum's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" — you probably know the movie's four main players. You've got Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), a girl transported from Kansas to Oz thanks to a magical tornado, who ends up meeting the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) in the fantastical land. Nearly a century later, audiences returned to Oz thanks to Jon M. Chu's adaptation of the hit Broadway musical "Wicked," itself adapted from Gregory Maguire's 1995 Oz-centric prequel novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,...

Many have noticed the following trend in recent years, and it strikes everyone as incredibly odd. Whenever a major Hollywood studio pours millions into a high-profile movie musical, they insist on eschewing the fact that they have done so in the film's advertising. One might note that the early previews for Jon M. Chu's "Wicked" didn't feature any of the film's songs, despite being based on one of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time. Likewise, trailers for "Mufasa: The Lion King" didn't boast any of the film's songs, despite them having been written by Disney superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda. Earlier this year, previews from the musical rendition of "Mean Girls," also adapted from a Broadway show, didn't have any singing in them, and the ads for the 2023 hit "Wonka" were also song-free. 

This has led many pundits and critics to ask why Hollywood is manufacturing a stigma against musicals.

Wage disparity in Hollywood, especially with the gender pay gap, is an ongoing concern, but in the case of The Wizard of Oz, Toto the dog made more than some of the human actors. The Wizard of Oz is a timeless masterpiece brimming with imagination and whimsy, which boasts an ensemble of cherished characters. Among them is Judy Garland's captivating portrayal of Dorothy Gale, who embarks on a journey to find her way home with her loyal companion Toto. The film's release in 1939, also known as "Hollywood's Golden Year," saw numerous classics come to the big screen.

Within this lineup, The Wizard of Oz stands out due to its delightful songs, captivating characters, and the utilization of Technicolor technology. However, there are many controversies surrounding The Wizard of Oz, including stories of dangerous makeup and workplace harassment. The film also had significant wage gaps; Terry the dog, cast as Toto,...

by Chad Kennerk

Images courtesy of Ams Pictures.

The legendary 1939 film, and now, the stage and movie musical Wicked — based on Gregory Maguire’s novel — have added to the legacy of Frank L. Baum’s magical American tale and inspired generations to dream. The making of The Wizard of Oz is legend in its own right. Over the years, the desire to know more about the behind-the-scenes magic has unleashed a mountain of myths and misconceptions, along with some remarkable truths. Randy Schmidt is the writer and producer of the new documentary Mysteries of Oz: 85 Questions Answered. In celebration of the 85th anniversary of the 1939 film, this fast-paced documentary series counts down 85 questions tackling the lore and legacy of The Wizard of Oz.

Among the interviewees are Jane Lahr (daughter of actor Bert Lahr), Joey Luft (the son of Judy Garland), and Oz’s surviving cast members — former child actors Valerie Lee,...

People love to collect things. For some, it’s an affordable hobby, but for serious collectors, it can quickly become a pricey passion. That’s why there are so many types of collectors and collectibles to suit every interest and budget.

Recently, we covered the sale of an original Stormtrooper costume at auction. This time, we’re diving into the world of high-end movie memorabilia to explore some of the most luxurious items ever sold.

Thanks to insights from our friends at Public Desire, we’ve put together a list of the nine most expensive movie memorabilia of all time. Starting from 9th place and counting down to the most expensive piece in 1st place, you’ll get to see these iconic items—and their jaw-dropping price tags.

9. The dancefloor from Saturday Night Fever – $1.7 million (2020)

Saturday Night Fever, the iconic 1977 film, perfectly captured the disco era and became a cult classic.

We know that people like to collect things. Sometimes, it’s not that expensive if your appetites aren’t that big, but at times, being a proper collector can be a real strain on your budget. This is why there are various types of collectors and various types of collectibles to enjoy in that aspect.

We have recently reported about an original Stormtrooper costume set being sold out in an auction, but this time, we while staying on the same topic, we have decided to give you a slightly different perspective on the topic of movie memorabilia, and one that is more luxurious.

Thanks to our friends at Public Desire, whom we can thank for the information provided, we have decided to provide you with a list of the nine most expensive movie memorabilia of all time, starting with 9th place and finishing with the 1st, which is also going...

Julia Louis-Dreyfus began her career in comedy, as so many comedians do, with the Second City, the stalwart and long-lived comedy troupe based in Chicago. She was only 21, but Louis-Dreyfus gave such an impressive performance at a Second City event that she was immediately asked to join the cast of "Saturday Night Live." It seems that NBC talent scouts lurk at Second City performances all the time. She starred on "SNL" from 1982 until 1985, becoming friends with writer Larry David during her tenure. A few years later, David and comedian Jerry Seinfeld created the sitcom "Seinfeld," wherein Louis-Dreyfus starred as Jerry's friend Elaine.

"Seinfeld," once might recall, was something of a hit, lasting 180 episodes over nine seasons. Louis-Dreyfus was nominated for seven Emmys, winning one. She would go on to win another Emmy for her performance in "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and an additional nine Emmys for "Veep," eight of them for acting.

The Wizard of Oz is a key part of cinema history that is still enchanting audiences today. The 1939 movie is about a young girl named Dorothy (Judy Garland) who is caught in a tornado and sent to the land of Oz. With the help of her friends Glinda the Good Witch (Billie Burke), the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) Dorothy goes on a journey to meet the Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan), find a way back home, and escape the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

A decided classic, The Wizard of Oz's connection to the upcoming movie musical Wicked is more complicated than one might expect. The highly anticipated new film depicts the origins of the Wicked Witch, Dorothy's primary antagonist and the person the Wizard of Oz requests Dorothy kill before he sends her back to Kansas.

During the 1953 world premiere of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece, Waiting for Godot, at Paris’ Théâtre de Babylone, the curtain came down about 40 minutes into the first act as audience members whistled and hooted derisively. While the critics were accepting of the play, it presold few tickets for the American debut tour three years later in Washington and Philadelphia, prompting a move to Miami’s Coconut Grove Playhouse for a two-week run starring Bert Lahr and Tom Ewell. Promoted as “the laugh sensation of two continents,” it was greeted by vacationers with bafflement and described as a play where nothing happens. The reaction was so predictable that cabbies waited outside the theater for early exiters. Not surprisingly, the New York engagement was canceled.

“Nothing happens, that’s the thing. It’ll be interesting to see, when we put this up in front of an audience for the first time, how they respond.

The Wizard of Oz is available on many different platforms online. The 1939 fantasy musical is adapted from the L. Frank Baum children's novel of the same name, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton. It was both a commercial and critical success, grossing $29.7 million against its $2.8 million budget and going on to win two Oscars, for Best Score and Best Original Song (for the iconic tune "Over the Rainbow"), in addition to three other nominations, including Best Picture.

The success of The Wizard of Oz has led to the creation of many sequels, prequels, remakes, and follow-ups in the nearly 90 years since its premiere. This includes 2024's Wicked, which is an adaptation of the stage musical adapting the prequel novel by Gregory Maguire, as well as the 1978 musical adaptation The Wiz, the 1985 sequel Return to Oz, the 2013 Sam Raimi prequel Oz the Great and Powerful,...

Forget about being in Kansas because the beloved 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz is about to hit the big screen at the Sphere in Vegas. According to the NY Post, James Dolans $80 million vision to recreate The Wizard of Oz into an immersive experience at the Sphere will be a digitally-enhanced, sensory spectacle. The 102-minute film will be cut down to 80 minutes. Perhaps the most stunning part about the movie being played at the Sphere will be the films seamless transition from black and white into Technicolor when Dorothy crosses into the land of Oz. This captivating visual experience will be enhanced even further with state-of-the-art sound technology plugged into each seat, making the whooshing sound of the tornado all too real.

Since the Sphere is already prepped for concerts, the songs Dorothy sings with the other heart-warming characters like Scarecrow, Tin Man, and The Cowardly Lion will be nothing short of breathtaking.

June Walker Rogers, a singer, dancer and comedian who performed on Broadway and television and wrote several musicals and a book about how to survive in show business, has died. She was 97.

She died July 8 at her home in Westport, Connecticut, her family announced.

Born in Steubenville, Ohio, and raised in Queens, June L. Walker started dancing at age 5 and soon had a nightclub act, appearing on bills with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Prima, Don Rickles, Rodney Dangerfield and, when he was known as the singer “Calypso Gene,” Louis Farrakhan.

After being placed in an accelerated pilot program for gifted children in the New York school system, she graduated from high school at 15. She accepted a scholarship to Columbia University but left college to make her Broadway debut in 1944 in the comedy revue Laffing Room Only, starring Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson.

The platinum blond returned...

Few films have had as lasting a cultural impact as The Wizard of Oz. A box office bomb when it was released in 1939, it quickly morphed into a beloved family classic whose most famous imagery the Yellow Brick Road, the Emerald City, the ruby red slippers have become iconic. There's hardly a person who doesn't know the story of Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), a Kansas farm girl who's transported to a magical land and embarks on a journey home with a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a Tin Man (Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), pursued along the way by the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and guided along by the Good Witch of the East (Billie Burke). Its impact can be found across music, movies, and Broadway shows, including David Lynch's blood-soaked, sexually explicit Palme d'Or winner, Wild at Heart.

Jerry Herman’s musical “Hello, Dolly!” dominated the 18th Tony Awards which took place at the New York Hilton on May 24, 1964. “Hello, Dolly!” entered the ceremony with 11 nominations and walked out with ten awards including best musical, best actress for Carol Channing, original score for Herman and for Gower Champion’s choreography and direction.

Other musicals in contention for multiple awards that year were “High Spirits,” based on Noel Coward’s classic comedy “Blithe Spirit,” “Funny Girl,” which transformed Barbra Streisand into a Broadway superstar, and “110 in the Shade,” based on the straight play “The Rainmaker.”

Bert Lahr, best known as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” won lead actor in a musical for “Foxy,” based on Ben Jonson’s “Volpone.” The musical was not a hit closed after 72 performances. Also nominated in the category was Bob Fosse for a short-lived revival of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey.

Hollywood's Golden Age brought fame to stars like Judy Garland, but behind the scenes, dark stories emerged. Movies like The Wizard of Oz had troubling production tales, including Garland's forced diet and pill usage. Shocking incidents behind the scenes of Golden Age films, from unsafe conditions to cast feuds, were often kept hidden.

Warning: This article contains mentions of violence, death, and the mistreatment of minors.

Hollywood's Golden Age of cinema produced some of the most legendary movies of all time, but some of these flicks had incredibly dark stories from behind the scenes. The Golden Age of Hollywood spanned from the 1920s to the 1960s, after the world of cinema began to move from silent movies and began using synchronized sound, often referred to as "talkies." During this time, some of the biggest stars in cinematic history made their debut to the world.

Hollywood's Golden Age set up its actors to become known worldwide,...

Victor Fleming's mid-film director switch saved both The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind from production troubles in 1939. The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind faced cursed productions and notorious crew changes plaguing their filming processes. Despite The Wizard of Oz's lasting legacy, Gone with the Wind emerged as the bigger hit with a higher box office haul and more Oscar wins.

The exact same behind-the-scenes change saved the classic Hollywood films The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind from troubled productions in 1939. At face value, The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind couldn't be any more different. The Wizard of Oz is a wondrous musical fantasy film that follows Kansas native Dorothy Gail's wild adventure through the magical land of Oz, and Gone with the Wind is an epic historical romance set in the American South following the torrid...

Director changes mid-film have saved classics like The Wizard of Oz and Jaws, enhancing their success. Even big-budget movies like Gone with the Wind and Spartacus have seen director changes for a better outcome. An insightful takeaway centers on the fact that sometimes a director change can save a film from failure.

There have been certain occasions when the making of a film was just not working out as planned, and it became a necessity to replace the movie’s director while production was already underway. While this was always likely a massive decision for the movie’s producers to make, it was sometimes the only way to save a film from a doomed production and ensure that the end product could make it to theaters. In some cases, the original director left the film under contentious circumstances but, for those involved, it was the only way to ensure the movie was completed.

Film prop theft is a common occurrence, leading to a proliferation in the black market and custom insurance coverage. Movie props, once deemed worthless, now hold sentimental and monetary value to private collectors and museums. The stolen Judy Garland ruby slippers were worth millions despite not being decked out in rubies, which is why the criminals stole them.

As we've followed over the last decade, the great Judy Garland shoe caper has taken its fair share of twists and turns. But none expected it would culminate in an ending straight out of a Scooby-Doo episode. It all started with the break-in at the Minnesota site displaying Judy Garlands's size-five ruby slippers from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

The centerpiece of the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA, the magical slippers were on loan, a temporary stopover in Garland's hometown. They wouldn't be seen for over a decade.

The Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz sold for over $3 million at auction, emphasizing its cultural and historical significance. The costume was constructed using real lion skin and fur, sparking disbelief and raising concerns about animal cruelty in the film industry. The dark side of Hollywood's Golden Age is revealed through stories of mistreatment, including dangerous working conditions and abuse of Judy Garland during the filming of The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz stands as a hallmark in the annals of cinema, which is further proven by the auction of the Cowardly Lion outfit. The 1939 movie is renowned for its groundbreaking use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, and memorable music. As Wizard of Oz main character Dorothy, alongside the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and her beloved dog Toto, embark on their journey through the magical Land of Oz, they meet Bert Lahr's the Cowardly Lion, portrayed with endearing vulnerability.

Great movie quotes capture the essence of a film and can be recognized even out of context. The circumstances and delivery of a quote can enhance its impact and popularity. Movie quotes have the power to express complex emotions and themes in a concise and memorable way.

Some movie quotes are so famous that even people who haven't seen the movies they come from will be able to recognize them instantly. The best quotes can summarize the entire thrust of a movie, revealing the themes and the tone with just a few words. Great delivery helps a quote catch on, but the circumstances are often more important. Any great movie can have outstanding quotes, as long as the script does all the work required to set up a poignant moment.

The best movie quotes can be stripped from their context and still hold meaning. This is how quotes work their way into the cultural lexicon.

Greta Gerwig's Barbie draws inspiration from outside sources, including previous films, to establish its story and vision. The movie includes allusions to The Matrix and 2001: A Space Odyssey, fitting with Barbie's themes of defying conventions. Barbie contains several subtle references to The Wizard of Oz, and Stereotypical Barbie's journey mirrors that of Dorothy.

Barbie includes everything from toy references to pop culture Easter eggs, and Greta Gerwig's 2023 hit perfectly parallels an 84-year-old movie in an incredibly subtle way. Given Barbie's toy inspiration, it's no secret that the Margot Robbie-led movie pulls from outside sources to establish its story. The film doesn't just use Mattel's lineup of dolls to form its vision either; it also follows the setup of movies that came before it, particularly those about finding oneself and defying conventions.

Among Barbie's many references and Easter eggs are allusions to The Matrix and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Earlier this year, NBC pulled out all the stops for it special “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.” And on Dec. 21, CBS is throwing a birthday party for one of its biggest stars, Dick Van Dyke, who headlined the landmark 1961-66 sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show” as well as the lighthearted detective series “Diagnosis, Murder,” which ran from 1993-2000.

“Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” is a two-hour valentine to the actor, who celebrated his birthday on Dec. 13, featuring special guests such as Jane Seymour, Rob Reiner, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen and testimonials from Carol Burnett, Mark Hamill and “Mary Poppins” herself, Julie Andrews. Song-and-dance also play an important part of the special. Van Dyke earned a Tony in 1961 for “Bye Bye Birdie” and reprised his role in the 1963 musical. He introduced the Oscar-winning tune “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from 1964’s “Mary Poppins” as well as the...

Iconic films like The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind would face major hurdles if made today, with safety concerns and controversial themes. Movies like Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre pushed boundaries in their time, but their portrayal of certain characters would be seen as harmful by modern standards. Films like Jaws and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial benefitted from limitations in special effects, but advancements in CGI mean their stories would be different if made today.

Given the changing standards and values in Hollywood, several iconic movies would likely come out very differently if they were made today. That's only natural, considering that filmmaking is meant to evolve and shift with the years. Every decade has its classic releases which endure, not only as great movies, but as defining cultural moments. As such, any film that had a major cultural impact is important; it tells a vital...

There’s no place like prison?

A federal grand jury today indicted a man in the 2005 theft of a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Terry Martin is charged with one count of stealing a major artwork — specifically facing a charge of theft of an object of cultural heritage from the care, custody or control of a museum.

The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis, did not give Martin’s age or hometown, nor did it suggest a potential maximum prison term. It alleges that he stole the revered footwear from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Mn. At the time, the slippers were insured for $1 million, but a current fair-market appraisal value the slippers at $3.5 million, the Justice Department said.

A pair of the ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ on...

The cast of The Wizard of Oz is full of iconic actors bringing L. Frank Baum's beloved characters to life. Given its classic status and its frequent inclusion on lists of the greatest movies ever made, almost everyone in the world has seen The Wizard of Oz. However, aside from its shining star, Judy Garland, not every viewer is familiar with the rest of the movie's cast or knows which other projects they've appeared in. Many of the performers in The Wizard of Oz were taken from the stages of Broadway and vaudeville, while others had lucrative film careers. Partly thanks to this movie, most are now considered screen legends.

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most famous movies ever made. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won the Oscars for Best Original Score, for Herbert Stothart, and Best Original Song for “Over the Rainbow.

You wish to have the curse reversed? You’ll need to win a Tony first! Brian d’Arcy James gave an impressive performance as the Baker in the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods.” Despite an impressive stage career, James has never won a Tony Award. That could all change thanks to one of the biggest hits of the 2022-23 Broadway season, and he would break a major Tony stat in the process.

James has amassed a whopping 15 Broadway credits over the course of his career, including “Into the Woods.” He scored his first Tony nomination for the musical “Sweet Smell of Success” in 2002 before picking up additional bids as the titular ogre in “Shrek the Musical” (2010) and for the farce “Something Rotten!” (2015).

The actor also had a hand in shaping characters from two Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning musicals. He originated the roles of Dan...

TV’s Norman Lear produced William Friedkin’s good-natured farce about early American burlesque houses and the inadvertent invention of the striptease. Jason Robards plays a fast talking vaudevillian and Britt Ekland is Rachel Schpitendavel, a showbiz hopeful who hits the big time by losing her clothes. The supporting cast is a who’s who of comedians including Elliott Gould, Norman Wisdom, and the great Bert Lahr.

The post The Night They Raided Minsky’s appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

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Kenya Barris is set to do a fresh take on The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Barris will reimagine the Oscar-winning fantasy musical, which starred Judy Garland, Billie Burke, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Warner Bros. Pictures owns the rights to the 1939 Hollywood classic.

Barris will also produce Wizard of Oz through his production banner, Khalabo Ink Society.

Warner Bros. was developing an animated Wizard of Oz retelling, working with veteran scribe Mark Burton. The film, from Toto’s perspective, was to be based on a children’s book by War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo, which tells the story of Dorothy’s trip through Oz through the eyes of her faithful dog.

Elsewhere, Snoop Dogg and Barris are teaming for The Underdoggs comedy for MGM, with Charles Stone to direct, and MGM and Barris are...

One of the most anticipated honors to be handed out Sunday at the 75th annual Tony Awards is Angela Lansbury’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The big question is: Why did it take so long?

Now 96, the beloved Lansbury has won five competitive Tony and was nominated for two more. She’s also one of the leading interpreters of the work of composers Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman. Her Broadway career is best described with the lyric from Herman’s 1966 musical “Mame: “You came, you saw, your conquered and absolutely nothing is the same…we think you’re just sensational!”

In fact, she’s been sensational since making her film debut at 18 in 1944’s “Gaslight,” received her first of three Oscar nominations — she earned an Honorary Oscar in 2013 — and starred for 12 seasons as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on ‘Murder, She Wrote.” And she brought her musical talents to movie and TV...

Few costumes in movie history are as iconic as the blue and white checkered dress that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz.” MGM’s classic film was one of the first movies to be filmed in Technicolor, and the initial reveal of Garland’s Dorothy stepping out into the colorful Land of Oz is instantly recognizable both for its narrative significance and the technological breakthrough that it signified.

Many film memorabilia collectors would kill to get their hands on such an important piece, but while Garland wore several versions of the dress while filming, only one has been thought to remain in existence. Until now.

The New York Times reported that a second dress worn by Garland was recently unearthed at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 1973, the dress was given to Father Gilbert Hartke, a priest who was in charge of the school’s drama department.

Carleton Carpenter, who performed on stage and screen alongside stars such as Debbie Reynolds in “Two Weeks With Love” and Judy Garland in “Summer Stock,” died Monday in Warwick, N.Y., according to his reps. He was 95.

Carpenter was a multi-hyphenate artist whose career spanned eight decades. His 1950 duet with Debbie Reynolds covering the song “Aba Daba Honeymoon” sold more than a million copies. He performed in countless radio, television and film productions and on stages on- and off-Broadway. He even went on to write a number of books, including his 2017 memoir, “The Absolute Joy of Work.”

Born Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. on July 10, 1926 in Bennington, Vt., Carpenter attended Bennington High School and served as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended the National High School Institute for Theatre Arts at Northwestern University and began his performance career as a clown and magician at carnivals.

It is a sea of red. Its architect calls it his “magic lantern.” Some movie buffs tabbed it the “Death Star.”

After standing empty for more than two years, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ grandiose 1,000-seat spherical theater opened Thursday to standing ovations, and a few skeptical reviews. Following a morning of ribbon cutting and official speeches, excited audiences wallowed in the period magic of The Wizard of Oz backed by a full symphony orchestra.

Leaders of the Motion Picture Academy and civic officials, having been battered for years for delays and overages, had a right to view it all as a minor miracle. The theater itself represents an exercise in cinematic optimism at a moment when theaters around the nation stand forlorn.

The David Geffen Theater, in all its splash, is the mirror opposite of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, which it succeeds. The Goldwyn was a stodgy structure...

Professor Marvel’s crystal ball probably didn’t predict that the Avengers could go on to star in The Wizard of Oz, but a deepfake called The Avengers of Oz, posted back in March by NextFace, manages to get the job done.

The clip, which re-imagines the classic 1939 musical fantasy film using deepfake tech, casts Tom Holland as Dorothy, Robert Downey Jr as Scarecrow, Chris Pratt as Tin-Man and Chris Hemsworth as the Cowardly Lion, roles that were originally played by Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr respectively.

You can watch The Avengers of Oz below, but it cannot be unseen.

A deepfake earlier this year that imagined Holland and Downey Jr as Marty and Doc Brown in Back to the Future instead of Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd initially provoked a negative response from the young actor, though he later found the fun in it.

Mother of mercy, did the movies mark the beginning of Rico? The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was named after the character Rico Bandello in what is largely considered to be the first gangster movie, Little Caesar. While Edward G. Robinson’s Rico wasn’t specifically Al Capone in that film, the real-life gangster’s signature cigar fumes are all over it. Josh Trank replaced the Cuban Corona with a carrot in the recent Vertical Entertainment film Capone, which stars Tom Hardy as the title character in his twilight years, suffering from a premature burial. The aging mobster’s memories were buried by the syphilis microbe, and along with it went the clues to his buried treasure.

That speculative biopic also depicts Capone as a film aficionado. He sings along with Bert Lahr’s incomparable “If I Were King of the Forest,” from The Wizard of Oz, and educates...

In “Capone,” Tom Hardy, as the aging, broken-down, not-all-there Al Capone, acts under a corpse-gray mask of desiccated-mobster makeup, and he speaks in a bullfrog croak so raspy it sounds like he’s only got one or two vocal cords left, and that they’ve been burnt to a crisp. It’s 1946, and Capone’s days as the legendary underworld kingpin of Chicago are long gone; so are the eleven years he spent in prison for tax evasion. He’s now 47, a retired gangster, comfortable but ailing, teetering towards death as he drifts through the days at his creamy mansion in Palm Island, Florida, surrounded by federal agents who are watching his every move.

Written and directed by Josh Trank, “Capone” is a portrait of the mobster as a burnt-out husk. Hardy’s Capone, who everyone calls Fonz (for Alphonse — the use of “Al” is strictly verboten), is blotchy and pasty,...

You knew this was coming. The 40th annual Golden Raspberry Awards dishonored the cinematic feline felony known as”Cats” with eight nominations, including one for no less than Dame Judi Dench herself. In fact, the organization even felt the need to describe her Old Deuteronomy as looking suspiciously similar to the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz.” Somewhere, Bert Lahr is crying.

But incredibly, there were two other 2019 releases that proved egregious enough to also be pelted with eight nominations: Sylvester Stallone‘s “Rambo: Last Blood” and Tyler Perry‘s 12th and purportedly last appearance in a wig and dress, “A Medea Family Funeral.”

As per usual, the competitors for disgraced excellence were announced on the eve of the Academy Awards, which airs live on ABC on Sunday. The cheeky Razzies also had the nerve to slap around two other Oscars winners besides Dame Judi: Anne Hathaway, up for both “The Hustle” and “Serenity,...

Michael Winterbottom’s entertaining mockumentary about a high-street fashion tycoon presents a hideous carnival of obscene wealth, vanity and moral squalor

That exhilaratingly prolific film-maker Michael Winterbottom – working with additional material from Sean Gray from The Thick of It – has served up a breezy, funny, unsubtle scattershot satire-melodrama all about the moral squalor of the super-rich. They are epitomised by a fictional high-street fashion mogul called Sir Richard “Greedy” McCreadie as he prepares for a monumentally tasteless, Fyre festival-ish, Roman-themed 60th birthday party on the plutocrats’ island of Mykonos. (Rome in Greece? Why not?)

McCreadie has just suffered a nightmare of bad publicity following a catastrophic performance in front of a parliamentary select committee, and all the celebs are starting to pull out of his bash. One star who will be there is Clarence, a real, live lion for a re-creation of the Coloseum scene from the movie Gladiator. There...

Burbank, CA, August 22, 2019 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1939’s acclaimed and beloved classic The Wizard of Oz will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on October 29th. Directed by Victor Fleming (Gone With the Wind) and starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gayle, The Wizard of Oz is widely considered to be one of the most influential films in cinematic history.

Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz officially premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1939's acclaimed and beloved classic The Wizard of Oz will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on October 29th. Directed by Victor Fleming (Gone With the Wind) and starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gayle, The Wizard of Oz is widely considered to be one of the most influential films in cinematic history.

Adapted from L. Frank Baum's timeless children's tale about a Kansas girl's journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz officially premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman. Frank Morgan was seen in six different roles,...

Robert “Bob” Ullman, a longtime Broadway and Off Broadway press agent whose career spanned Ethel Merman, A Chorus Line, Curse of the Starving Class and many others, died of cardiac arrest on July 31 in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. He was 97.

His death was announced by longtime friend (and former Broadway press agent) Rev. Joshua Ellis.

Among the many Broadway productions on which Ullman worked were Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals.

Actors and theater greats with whom Ullman worked include Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, James Dean, Dame Edith Evans, Geraldine Page, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Rosemary Harris, James Earl Jones, Sam Waterston, Colleen Dewhurst,...

Chicago – The Windy City is off to see the Wizard again, as the Grant Park Music Festival celebrates the 80th Anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park. The festivities include a costume party, hosted by Linda Kollmeyer (“The Lottery Lady”), followed by the presentation with a live orchestra accompaniment – on the Park’s giant Led screen – of the classic 1939 film.

The event is free and open to the public in both the “seating bowl” area and lawn, and begins at 6:30pm with the costume party, with the screening at 8pm. For more information, click here.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Millennium Park

Photo credit: Warner Home Video

At the time of the late 1930s filming of “The Wizard of Oz,” the idea of an event children’s film was brand new. The film stars Judy Garland in...

Harvey Sabinson, one of Broadway’s legendary press agents and a former long-time executive director of The Broadway League, died on April 18 of natural causes at his residence in Sarasota, Florida. He was 94 years old. Sabinson capped a 50-year career in the theater when he was honored with a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1995. That year he stepped down as executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, (now known as the Broadway League) a national trade association of theatrical producers, presenters and theatre operators. Sabinson joined the organization early in 1976, when it was known as the League of New York Theatres and Producers, as director of special projects. Prior to this appointment, he spent 30 years as a theatrical publicist, beginning shortly after his discharge from Army service during World War II, during which time he received a Purple Heart. He became executive director in 1982. In...

A spectacular yearlong journey into movie history begins in January when Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) present The Wizard of Oz in more than 500 movie theaters nationwide on January 27, 29 and 30, a three-day cinematic celebration of the iconic film's 80th anniversary and the start of the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics series.

One of the most well-known and best-loved films in Hollywood history, The Wizard of Oz will be accompanied by fascinating insights from TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz, both before and after the film, offering a memorable moviegoing experience for families and fans of all ages. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charlie Grapewin, Clara Bandick and "The Munchkins" star in what has been called "the most influential film of all time."

Throughout 2019, the TCM Big Screen Classics series will see 14 unforgettable films return to movie theaters, including My Fair Lady,...

Film fans can take a yearlong journey through Hollywood history in 2019 when Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) come together for the fourth annual "TCM Big Screen Classics," presenting 14 film favorites throughout the year, spanning seven decades.

From the Golden Age of Hollywood to groundbreaking movies from the seventies, eighties and nineties, the TCM Big Screen Classics series combines each film with little-known facts and insight provided by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz. In addition, every film is presented in its original aspect ratio, offering audiences the chance to see these movies on the big screen just as they were originally enjoyed.

The lineup for the 2019 "TCM Big Screen Classics" includes:

&#8226 The Wizard of Oz - 1/27, 29 & 30&#8226 My Fair Lady - 2/17 & 20&#8226 To Kill a Mockingbird - 3/24 & 27&#8226 Ben-Hur - 4/14 & 17 &#8226 True Grit - 5/5 & 8&#8226 Steel Magnolias - 5/19, 21 & 22&#8226 Field of Dreams - 6/16 & 18&#8226 Glory - 7/21 & 24 &#8226 Hello, Dolly! - 8/11 & 14&#8226 Lawrence of Arabia - 9/1 & 4&#8226 The Shawshank Redemption...

Harvey Fierstein’s glorious voice, that frog with a human stuck in it, remains so powerful you might swear you still hear it, loud and, well, loud in a Torch Song that can often only shout over the Harvey-shaped hole at its center.

Last year’s hit Off Broadway revival, Torch Song (nee Torch Song Trilogy, the award-gathering marvel from 1982 that introduced Fierstein to the world) opens at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater tonight, its oh-so-cute bunny slippers in place. Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Oscar-winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) reprise their Off Broadway performances as the big-hearted drag queen Arnold Beckoff and his caustic, disapproving but down-deep lovin’ Ma.

Okay, so the slippers fit better than the roles that were custom-made way back when by Fierstein and a soon-to-be-Golden Estelle Getty. And no some of the gags don’t land. Urie is too trim for big-boned jokes, Ruehl...

Chicago – Norman Lear is one of the greatest TV creators of the 20th Century, and beyond. The producer was a titan of 1970s television, with shows like “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “Maude” and “Sanford and Son.” He is the topic of a new film documentary, “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”

Lear is the embodiment of television history, having worked in the medium since its advent in the 1950s. He began with partner Ed Simmons, writing for shows like the “Ford Star Revue” and “The Colgate Comedy Hour” (with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, he produced television that was common at the time – star oriented and non-controversial – while also writing and producing movie satire like “Divorce, American Style” and “Cold Turkey,” with partner Bud Yorkin. In the late 1960s, he began to work on a pilot called “Justice for All,” featuring a bigoted character named “Archie Justice.

Pat O'Brien movies on TCM: 'The Front Page,' 'Oil for the Lamps of China' Remember Pat O'Brien? In case you don't, you're not alone despite the fact that O'Brien was featured – in both large and small roles – in about 100 films, from the dawn of the sound era to 1981. That in addition to nearly 50 television appearances, from the early '50s to the early '80s. Never a top star or a critics' favorite, O'Brien was nevertheless one of the busiest Hollywood leading men – and second leads – of the 1930s. In that decade alone, mostly at Warner Bros., he was seen in nearly 60 films, from Bs (Hell's House, The Final Edition) to classics (American Madness, Angels with Dirty Faces). Turner Classic Movies is showing nine of those today, Nov. 11, '15, in honor of what would have been the Milwaukee-born O'Brien's 116th birthday. Pat O'Brien and James Cagney Spencer Tracy had Katharine Hepburn.