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There is a pecking order in Hollywood that determines which actors and directors get first crack at the hottest material in town. When agents and managers (relying on the perspicacity of their underpaid assistants and readers) come across a script that could be a launching pad for a billion-dollar franchise or an awards season thoroughbred, they fire that sucker off to their top client (even if they're not exactly right for the lead role). This is how you get Tom Cruise embarrassing himself in "Far and Away" with the worst Irish accent you'll ever hear outside of a community theater production of "The Plough and the Stars" (and even then).

But every A-list screenwriter's gotta start somewhere, and if you find yourself in a fertile creative environment that hasn't been completely overrun with apex industry predators, you might uncover a...

Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Tracy Pollan, Matthew Modine, Robert Downey Jr. | Written and Directed by John Sayles

You have probably heard the statement ‘You can’t help who you fall in love with’. Sometimes you just can’t help it! Even Elvis sang about this with his classic song ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love with You’. You probably heard ‘girls love the bad boys’. A lot of times, this is true. There have been many romantic films about those kinds of love stories.

In 1983, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and director John Sayles Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996), helmed the romantic comedy-drama Baby It’s You. And now Fun City Editions, who have been releasing some great Blu-rays like Party Girl, Falling in Love, and Breaking Glass, have released Sayles’ rom-com, giving it its time to shine on Blu-ray!

Jill (Rosanna Arquette) is headed for college. Sheik’s a drop-out,...

The partnership between Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese has resulted in some of the most highly acclaimed films in Hollywood history, earning them both widespread critical acclaim. But do you know which movie marked the beginning of a groundbreaking collaboration that ultimately led to their success in the entertainment industry?

Robert De Niro was nominated for Best Supporting Actor

Well, it was none other than the 1973 crime drama Mean Streets that has been deemed as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant to this date. De Niro’s portrayal of Johnny Boy Civello earned him high praise and accolades. However, all this might not have been possible, and this movie would have looked significantly different if De Niro had made a different decision.

Robert De Niro was offered many roles in Mean Streets

Robert De Niro recently graced The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to celebrate 23 years of the Tribeca Festival...

This Saturday evening at 8:00 Pm on Oxygen, viewers are in for a gripping and emotional episode of “Prosecuting Evil With Kelly Siegler” with Season 1’s “The Most Innocent Victim.” The narrative unfolds around Amy Robinson, a teenager with Turner’s Syndrome, who takes her first steps towards independence by landing a job at her local grocery store.

However, what starts as a journey towards self-reliance takes a tragic turn when Amy befriends a co-worker with a secret past. The episode delves into the heart-wrenching story of innocence shattered, exploring the complexities of the human experience and the pursuit of justice in the face of tragedy.

Tune in at 8:00 Pm for a powerful and thought-provoking evening with “Prosecuting Evil With Kelly Siegler.” It’s a must-watch for those captivated by true crime narratives that unravel the intricacies of the legal system and the human stories behind the cases on Oxygen.

There’s a scene in the 2010 film Eat Pray Love where Julia Roberts’s character Liz basks in the experience of eating a guilt-free pizza. It was an important character moment for her–and for many audience members. And whatever your specific dietary preferences or requirements may be, we hope that you’ll enjoy whatever your guilt-free “pizza moment” is this Thanksgiving, surrounded by friends and family (chosen or otherwise.)

Food, of course, has played as major a role in cinema as any other basic human biological function, from the sprawling bowls of pasta in the works of Martin Scorsese, to the last decade’s trend of thoughtfully investigative health-leaning food docs such as Food Inc. and Forks Over Knives. Today, though, we’re leaving the scare-mongering at the kids’ table and indulging in some seriously calorie-dense, celebratory depictions of food on film.

So cinch up that lobster bib and...

Thanks to his latest, :a[Killers Of The Flower Moon]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/killers-of-the-flower-moon/' } heading to cinemas next week, Martin Scorsese is back at the top of cinephiles' minds (as if he ever truly leaves it). So what better time for one of his classic movies — which also happens to feature Robert De Niro in a memorable role — to return to screens itself in a sparkling new 4K restoration? Scorsese fans will be happy then, to learn that Mean Streets is celebrating 50 years with a re-release.

Set in Little Italy, Mean Streets follows guilt-ridden small-time ringleader Charlie (Harvey Keitel) as he deals with the debts owed by his dangerously volatile best pal, Johnny Boy (De Niro), and pressure from his headstrong girlfriend, Teresa (Amy Robinson).

The new 4K digital restoration is approved by Scorsese and his regular collaborator, editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Originally released in 1973, the...

In the fall of 1983, one could already make a plausible case for Martin Scorsese as one of the greatest living American filmmakers based on “Mean Streets,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Taxi Driver,” “Italianamerican,” “The Last Waltz,” “Raging Bull,” and “The King of Comedy.” But as the holidays approached, Scorsese’s career was in trouble.

After establishing himself with a series of lean, mean masterpieces shot on tight schedules, the director’s productions had grown in a scale disproportionate to their financial success; “New York, New York,” “Raging Bull,” and “The King of Comedy” had all taken around a hundred days to shoot, and while all three are acknowledged as classics today, they received mixed reviews at the time and “Raging Bull” barely broke even at the box office — “New York, New York” and “The King of Comedy” were flat-out flops.

Scorsese spent most of 1983 preparing what was intended to...

Forget “Annie Hall” or “Sex and the City.” For a certain generation of audiences, Martin Scorsese’s 1985 “After Hours” made you want to move to New York City.

“It’s like, wow, that place is so exciting and you never know what’s around the next corner and who I’m going to bump into and how I’m almost going to die and the subway fare will get raised in the middle of the night,” “After Hours” producer Amy Robinson said in a recent interview with IndieWire.

If you haven’t seen this existential screwball classic about paranoid android computer programmer Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) and his dark night of the soul in lower Manhattan, a more recent film serves as a useful retrospective primer: Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid” and especially its Hieroynomous-Bosch-on-bath-salts first hour, set in a downtown hellscape spinning off the orbit of 40-something-year-old virgin...

Recently Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning director behind “The Shape of Water,” “Nightmare Alley” and “Pinocchio,” said that collecting physical media, in the midst of streamers unceremoniously deleting thousands of titles, is nothing short of a “moral imperative.” And we agree. Each month new home video releases – of both classic films and newer titles – come out. And each one is cause for celebration. With that in mind, we want to highlight the very best titles of every month.

Here are the biggest and best releases for July 2023.

Paramount Pictures

“The Truman Show” (out now)

While there are no new extras on this edition of “The Truman Show,” Peter Weir’s minor masterpiece is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, with the same collection of bonus material that accompanied its previous Blu-ray release. But the movie gets a big upgrade where it counts – in both the picture quality (thanks to a new...

Martin Scorsese was at a crossroads in 1985. The King of Comedy had tanked at the box office, and Paramount had recently pulled the plug on his passion project, The Last Temptation of Christ, weeks before production was set to begin. So when the script for After Hours came across his desk via actor-producer Griffin Dunne and producer Amy Robinson, who had appeared in Mean Streets, Scorsese jumped at the chance to helm a small-scale, low-budget black comedy set in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood.

After Hours comes full circle by opening and closing at the workplace of bored data entry drone Paul Hackett (Dunne). In between, Paul’s nightmarish nightlong odyssey sees him repeatedly returning to the same handful of locations and oddball individuals, spiraling ever deeper into an infernal realm of anxiety, paranoia, and free-floating guilt. In this regard, the film shares themes and motifs with other titles...

After Hours poster Image: Warner Bros. Martin Scorsese is an august lion of cinema now, best known for his hard-hitting dramas (and his occasional vivisections of Marvel movies), but The Wolf of Wall Street was no crazy outlier—Scorsese has always had a wicked sense of humor. Rich supporting evidence...

Griffin Dunne and John Heard in After HoursImage: Warner Bros.

Martin Scorsese is an august lion of cinema now, best known for his hard-hitting dramas (and his occasional vivisections of Marvel movies), but The Wolf of Wall Street was no crazy outlier—Scorsese has always had a wicked sense of humor.

Exclusive: The Wire writer/producer George Pelecanos, who has had an informal home at HBO for nearly two decades, has made it official with a recently signed two-year overall deal. Under the pact, Pelecanos will develop and produce original content for the network. He also will continue his co-showrunner duties on limited series We Own This City, and has set his first project — a drama series based on John D. MacDonald’s novel The Last One Left and inspired by actual events, which he will co-write with Megan Abbott and serve as showrunner. The project hails from Archer Gray Productions, Amy Robinson Productions, Toluca Pictures and MGM Television.

The logline: In 1967 Miami, a pleasure cruiser carrying a wealthy deal-maker and his guests explodes en route to the Bahamas with only the captain found alive. The mysterious Gold Coast resident Crissy Harkinson may know far more about...

These fugitives on the run aren’t innocent young lovers. Still wanted for anti-war violence from years before, an ex-radical couple struggles to remain free just as their children become old enough to think for themselves. Screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Sidney Lumet’s fascinating movie is a sympathetic look at an untenable lifestyle.

Running on Empty

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1988 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney, David Margulies, Lynne Thigpen, Bobo Lewis, Daniel Dassin.

Cinematography: Gerry Fisher

Film Editor: Andrew Mondshein

Original Music: Tony Mottola

Written by Naomi Foner

Produced by Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson

Directed by Sidney Lumet

1988 suddenly seems much farther in the past than it did just a few months ago. The small town high school in Running on Empty has a dedicated, classically trained music teacher on the payroll. He earns enough to afford a rather nice house. The public school system is not being undermined, with all the wealthy students going to new kinds of exclusive, alternative schools siphoning off public money. We all have our own ideas about what ‘making America great again’ means, I suppose.

It doesn’t happen any more, but we used to read about ex- radicals from the Vietnam War days surfacing to turn themselves in. Not that many were directly involved in violent acts, but some had lived for decades under assumed identities, while their wanted photos were posted down at the Post Office. Some of them tried to raise families.

“We are all outlaws in the eyes of America.

Everything they say we are, we are.

. . . And we are very proud of ourselves.”

— The Jefferson Airplane

Naomi Foner’s Running on Empty is basically a ‘what comes next?’ chapter in the lives of former political public enemies like The Weather Underground. An unusual family is on the lam. The parents are militant radicals from the Nixon years, who went underground when one of their bombs maimed a janitor. Now they are nearing their forties, and must move from town to town whenever they think the Feds have picked up their trail. The couple chose their life and has accepted the consequences, but where does that leave their growing children, who are likewise forced to live like gypsies under assumed names?

I should think that this good movie would have a tough time in today’s market. If the online mob harps on Wonder Woman for promoting non-traditional values, what would they make of a movie ‘glorifying terrorism?’ Half of America still wants to see Jane Fonda strung up by her thumbs, and death threats for ‘enemies’ singled out on the web are now routine. Our channels of information are so jammed with stories elbowing each other for attention, I don’t think anybody could rouse the general public to even consider the problems of this kind of fugitive. Who has time for scurrilous pleas for sympathy for ‘undeserving’ people, when the public responds better to patriotic pieces about veterans . . . or cute animals?

Always watching for signs of F.B.I. surveillance, young Danny Pope (River Phoenix) alerts the rest of his family through pre-arranged signals. Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti & Judd Hirsch) abandon their jobs, their belongings and even their dog and flee to a new state with Danny and their other son Harry (Jonas Abry). With new identities they start new lives. Arthur and Annie find off-the-books employment as a cook and a medical receptionist and the boys are enrolled in school with ‘previous transcripts on the way.’ We see the unusual preparations that must be made, with secret arrangements so that any family member can alert the others if they’re found out; we also see that the family is supported to some degree by a network of post-radical (or still radical?) sympathizers, such as a doctor (David Marguiles) who tends to political fugitives. But the Popes are cut off from their own families. Annie’s disapproving father (Steven Hill) can only see her in an extraordinary circumstance arranged by a third party. Potential trouble comes when former comrade Gus Winant (L.M. Kit Carson) drops by. He’d like to sleep with his old flame Annie, and is carrying guns in the assumption that Arthur will agree to rob a bank with him. But a more troubling problem is closer to home. Young Danny has inherited his mother’s musical talent, and his teacher Mr. Phillips (Ed Crowley) is encouraging him to apply to Julliard in New York. Danny is also stuck on Phillips’ teenage daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton), a girl to whom he might be ready to commit. As far as Arthur is concerned, Danny can’t do any of those things because his first duty is to help his family in the undercover life. Annie doesn’t know what to do. If she leaves her son behind, she may never see him again.

Practically speaking, Running on Empty will only play well to a certain segment of the public. Are you the kind that sympathizes with draft deserters that fled to Canada, or the kind that wants to hand them long terms in prison? The Popes aren’t victims of injustice, at least not directly; they knew what they were doing when they went militant, and the injuries they caused can’t simply be dismissed as youthful idealism. They are also hopelessly associated with fanatics they inspired, like the Sla. And there’s no statute of limitations on armed insurrection. I think almost all of the radical fugitives that went underground are now accounted for. Some served prison time and others got off because courtroom prosecutions would reveal or publicize the government’s own illegal doings. Running on Empty dramatizes what might have been reality for just a few of these ‘outlaws in the eyes of America.’ Some radicals reportedly found it easy to live undetected while still on various Most Wanted lists. Others found ways to turn themselves in, square themselves with the authorities and re-commence academic lives interrupted years before to oppose the government. *

Running on Empty is a fascinating show, with a cast that clearly had to work hard to make their characters believable. Christine Lahti puts up with her bossy, security-minded husband. He himself gets drunk one night and starts shouting his real name loud enough to wake the neighbors. Judd Hirsch and director Lumet know that these can’t be ordinary people. He doesn’t try to make them Ozzie and Harriet types, somehow (sniff!) trapped by their youthful mistakes. No, they’re still promoting various Union and social justice causes here and there, although Arthur must back away whenever he becomes visible enough to appear in a news photo. Every year they celebrate a birthday to Sam, the man struck by their bomb. It’s not a joke, but a ritual so they won’t forget their crime.

At the center of the movie is the cult actor River Phoenix, who graduated briefly to good roles after his appearance as an adolescent space voyager in the fantasy film Explorers. Phoenix is excellent as Danny, a kid raised to never let down his guard. The show begins with Danny detecting a plainclothes tail and executing what must be ‘escape plan 9.’ The family is out of town in a matter of minutes. Danny’s a sensitive, smart guy. If he plays by the rules, he must keep himself a complete mystery to his new girlfriend Lorna. The boy is committed to his family, but feels the pull to go off on his own, where a decent future awaits. In a way, it’s not a situation wholly unique to these former radicals. This must happen all the time when someone breaks away from a strongly structured family, or a religious cult.

The movie’s tension level doubles when Danny takes the forbidden step of telling Lorna everything. How many of us living normal lives (well, reasonably normal lives) could trust our sweethearts with such a volatile secret: “I and my whole family are fugitives from justice. Anybody helping us is a potential accomplice. Just by letting you know, I’m putting you in legal jeopardy. Will you turn me in, or become a criminal with me?”

At this age Martha Plimpton might remind one of a teenage Lauren Bacall. A survivor of Goonies, she is featured in what I think is the best Cannon film, Shy People. Plimpton and Phoenix have several worthy melodramatic romantic scenes to play, and they’re excellent together.

With the ace director Sidney Lumet in charge the strange relationships seem credible, even when the flaky, reckless Gus Winant breezes through. The former radical patriot is now nothing but an outlaw bum. In a nice choice, Gus is played by L.M. Kit Carson, the original fake counterculture hero in the classic experimental faux-documentary David Holzman’s Diary. With dangerous idiots like Gus on the loose, the Popes can’t even consider themselves part of a noble creed. Some of their old colleagues are indeed armed and dangerous.

I don’t think the Popes would stand a chance of evading the cops in today’s security state. One can no longer simply find the name of a dead infant and apply for a new birth certificate and passport. The Popes aren’t hiding in a shack in the woods, but are out and about in the public, working and rubbing elbows with schools and doctors. I guess that back in the 1980s Arthur could become a cook and Annie a receptionist without references, but it’s less likely now, when one can’t buy bubble gum without leaving a data trail. Traffic and security surveillance cameras are now everywhere. Billions of smart-phone photos are taken at public gatherings, and routinely posted on the web. A high-level security agency could be (is?) scanning the web with face recognition software.

Sidney Lumet wrote that his movies Running on Empty and Daniel had the same theme: “Who pays for the passion and commitment of the parents?” This is an even-handed and insightful drama. Lumet made a wide range of great entertainments, and some of the best- ever ‘New York Jewish Liberal Movies.’ He’s also one of the few directors who could take on fundamentally controversial material like this, and continue to maintain a busy career.

The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of Running on Empty is a good encoding of what was already a very good Wac Mod disc from just two years ago. The improved picture and sound reveals the expected quality of a top Sidney Lumet product. The small town we see is very attractive, a political landscape completely different from the corporate/banking rapacious wasteland of last year’s Hell or High Water. ‘Radicals unselfishly trying to stop a war in 1971’ is still anathema, while Mr. and Mrs. U.S.A. now considers it justifiable for ‘radicals to selfishly try to rescue their ruined finances.’

Madonna is on the soundtrack for a scene in Daniel’s music class. The final James Taylor song Fire and Rain works extremely well in context: “. . . and I always thought that I’d see you again.”

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,

Running on Empty Blu-ray rates:

Movie: Excellent

Video: Excellent

Sound: Excellent

Supplements: none

Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English (feature only)

Packaging: Keep case

Reviewed: June 21, 2017

(5451empt)

* I remember a major case from 2001. A radical who had evaded capture for thirty years finalized arrangements to turn herself in, after a delicate negotiation aimed at running her quietly through the legal system to let her get on with her life. She was reportedly not personally responsible for any violent acts, and under her assumed identity had worked for decades in a socially productive job. I followed her story for a couple of days in the newspaper . . . and then 9/11 happened. In the storm of security-minded post-attack chaos that followed, her story thread just vanished from the media-scape. I don’t have a clue what happened to her next. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse for a former Enemy of the State.

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Joan Micklin Silver applies sensitive direction to Ann Beattie’s novel about a lonely guy trying to win back his girlfriend, and going about it in all the wrong ways. John Heard is excellent as Charles, who can’t understand why Laura (Mary Beth Hurt) has gone back to her husband and child. The whole thing plays out during a snowy winter in Salt Lake City… which is not the place to expect unrealistic romantic dreams to come true.

Chilly Scenes of Winter

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Head Over Heels / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring: John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, Gloria Grahame, Nora Heflin, Jerry Hardin, Tarah Nutter, Mark Metcalf, Allen Joseph, Frances Bay, Griffin Dunne, Anne Beattie.

Cinematography: Bobby Byrne

Film Editor: Cynthia Scheider

Original Music: Ken Lauber

From the novel by Ann Beattie

Produced by Griffin Dunne,...

I first encountered Griffin Dunne, now 58, as one of the New York producers, with partner Amy Robinson, of Joan Micklin Silver's "Chilly Scenes of Winter." He went on to produce "Baby It's You" and "Running on Empty" as he pursued an acting career, starring in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" and John Landis's "An American Werewolf in London," and more recently, "House of Lies," "Red Band Society," "The Discovers" and "Dallas Buyers Club."  Read: Griffin Dunne Talks Acting, "The Discoverers" Dunne is also a director; among a string of decent indie features, his 1995 debut short film "Duke of Groove" was nominated for an Oscar, and he's been directing "The Good Wife" and writing a feature that he'd like to direct. Mostly he's been fine-tuning the doc about Joan Didion, now that he's finished interviewing her. "She was really...

The literary works of American author John D. MacDonald could be said to have a very specific tone. With published titles including The Executioners – from which the film Cape Fear was adapted – his stories conjure suspenseful, sinister atmospheres in hardboiled narratives. There are, then, few people better suited to adapt his work for film than Dennis Lehane – himself the noted author of original novels Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Shutter Island. The story he has adapted is A Deep Blue Good-by featuring the character of Travis McGee, and it is a project with franchise potential – particularly since it seems to have caught the eye of Christian Bale.

Travis McGee is a hard-nosed salvage consultant, who makes his living recovering stolen property – keeping half the value as his fee, with a view to funding an early retirement. In A Deep Blue Good-by, McGee finds himself on the trail of the powerful and evil Junior Allen,...

Circling through various stages of development for some time, it looks like John D. MacDonald’s best-selling series is finally about to make it to the big screen, with Christian Bale eyeing the lead in The Deep Blue Goodbye.

The 1964 novel is the first of twenty-one in the Travis McGee series, and has previously had the likes of Oliver Stone and Paul Greengrass in the director’s chair, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead.

DiCaprio is still on board as a producer, but talks have commenced with Christian Bale to star as the hero, Travis McGee. And though there’s no offer yet, Bale is reported to have agreed to star, and an offer is expected shortly.

James Mangold, coming off the back of helming The Wolverine, has just closed his deal to direct, and DiCaprio will be producing alongside Jennifer Davisson Killoran (The Ides of March, Out of the Furnace...

Christian Bale has reportedly expressed interest in playing Travis McGee in the upcoming The Deep Blue Good-By.

According to Variety, Bale has been approached by 20th Century Fox, director James Mangold and producer Leonardo DiCaprio to take the role.

Although the actor has yet to receive an official offer, he is said to be interested in taking on the role of McGee.

McGee is the protagonist of a 21-book series by John D MacDonald, which is now on course to be adapted for the big screen.

The main character is described as a "salvage consultant", who lives on a houseboat and has a talent for attracting women and trouble.

There has been no comment from Bale or his representatives.

Bale and Mangold have previously worked together on 3:10 to Yuma.

The Deep Blue Good-By will be produced by DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson-Killoran and Amy Robinson, while Dennis Lehane wrote the most recent draft of the script.

I first encountered Griffin Dunne, now 58, as one of the New York producers, with partner Amy Robinson, of Joan Micklin Silver's "Chilly Scenes of Winter." He went on to a strong producing ("Baby It's You," "Running on Empty") and acting career, starring in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" and John Landis's "An American Werewolf in London," and more recently, the occasional character turn in television ("House of Lies") and such films as "Dallas Buyers Club." And this week he ably carries the new family comedy "The Discoverers" from New York politico and academic turned writer-director Justin Schwartz, who cast Dunne as a washed-up professor--natch--who drags his two reluctant teenagers ("Californication" star Madeleine Martin and "American Horror Story"'s Devon Graye) on an unexpected Lewis & Clarke Oregon road trip. Dunne gets to use his chops as a slapstick comedian in "The Discoverers," which opens in Los Angeles this Friday.

James Mangold is in negotiations to direct an adaptation of John D. MacDonald's 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-by, which was the first in a long-running series of books that centered on Travis McGee.

Travis McGee lives on a houseboat in Fort Lauderdale dubbed The Busted Flush, taking on "salvage consultant" jobs whenever he is running low on money, recovering lost items for clients for half of the profits. When he meets the battered Lois, he tries to track down her abusive boyfriend, a journey which becomes far more violent and complicated than he imagined. The character, who appeared in 21 of John D. MacDonald's books, is seen as the precursor to other popular literary heroes such as Jack Reacher and Spenser: For Hire, who has a penchant of helping out damsels in distress during his adventures.

Leonardo DiCaprio was previously attached to play Travis McGee back in May, but he is no longer starring.

Leonardo DiCaprio is saying ‘goodbye’ to 20th Century Fox's Travis McGee movie “The Deep Blue Good-by,” which James Mangold is now in negotiations to direct. The project had been developed as a starring vehicle for DiCaprio, who will now simply produce with his Appian Way partner Jennifer Davisson-Killoran, Amy Robinson and Chernin Entertainment. DiCaprio's schedule prevented him from starring in the movie, which the “Wolf of Wall Street” star recused himself from before talks with Mangold started, so the director had nothing to do with DiCaprio's exit. Also read: Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar Loss Inspires #PoorLeo Memes (Photos) “Mystic River” author Dennis Lehane wrote the.

Exclusive: James Mangold is negotiating to direct The Deep Blue Good-By, the 1964 John D. MacDonald novel that kicked off series of mystery novels with character Travis McGee. This has long been eyed by Fox as the launch of a star-driven franchise based on the beach bum McGee, a forerunner of muscular solitary heroes like Jack Reacher and Spenser For Hire, helping (and romancing) damsels in distress as he kicks ass against the powerful. The film was originally set as a star vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio. That’s not going to happen now, as DiCaprio has plenty of work in front of him and this film, with a most recent script draft by Mystic River novelist Dennis Lehane, is certainly ready to go. DiCaprio and his Appian Way partner Jennifer Davisson-Killoran are producing with Amy Robinson and Chernin Entertainment. Previous script drafts were done by Dana Stevens and Kario Salem. Mangold,...

Author Dennis Lehane ("Shutter Island") has been hired to pen the script for the sleuth drama "Travis McGee" at 20th Century Fox.

The film will be based on John D. McDonald's "Deep Blue Good-by," one of nearly two dozen mystery books featuring the character of Travis Magee and set around Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Leonardo DiCaprio was once attached and things are being worked out to get him back. Peter Chernin and Amy Robinson will produce.

Source: Variety...

Leonardo DiCaprio is reuniting with Shutter Island author Dennis Lehane for the 20th Century Fox crime drama Travis McGee. Dennis Lehane will write the adapted screenplay, based on the 1964 John D. MacDonald novel The Deep Blue Good-By, with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the title character. Here's an official description of the novel below.

"Travis McGee -- He's a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He's also a knight errant who's wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out and his rule is simple: he'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half..."

This project will mark the first time that author/screenwriter Dennis Lehane is adapting another writer's work, although he has written episodes of The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and Castle. Leonardo DiCaprio starred in Shutter Island, an...

Chicago – Warner Brothers has been unleashing catalog titles on Blu-ray at a rate that would strain the bank account of pro athletes. Every week lately sees a wave of movies that have never been on Blu-ray before joining the HD revolution. This quartet is particularly varied with one timeless classic, an underrated performance from an underrated actor, and two moderate action movies. Pick your favorite. My order of preference is as follows:

Mean Streets

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

“Mean Streets”

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Martin Scorsese’s breakthrough film is easily the best flick in this collection, one that actually makes my top 100 of all time. And it has lost None of its power in the four decades since it was first released. With one of Robert De Niro’s best performances, a confident style that announced the presence of one of cinema’s best directors, and a perfect HD transfer, “Mean Streets” is a must-own.

Ok, this is definitely something very interesting, and we know you’re going to like it, so check this out! According to the latest reports, an adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s novel titled The Deep Blue Good-By is coming, and as you already guess – it could easily be a new franchise!

On the other hand, there are already some rumors that Leonardo DiCaprio is going to star as a leading man, Travis McGee! Sounds good or what?

The Deep Blue Good-by is the first of 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by American author John D. MacDonald. Commissioned in 1964 by Fawcett Publications editor Knox Burger, the book establishes for the series an investigative protagonist in a residential Florida base – as well as a cyclical form: All McGee novel titles have a color in them.

The novel features McGee as a “salvage consultant” who reluctantly leaves his Florida houseboat to...

Paul Greengrass has had to set aside his Martin Luther King Jr assassination film Memphis for at least a year. There are a number of projects that he is considering to fill the time. According to Deadline, Greengrass is leaning heavily towards an adaptation of John D. MacDonald's The Deep Blue Good-by series of novels with character Travis McGee. Dana Stevens and Kario Salem wrote the script for the film for 20th Century Fox with Appian Way partners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson-Killoran. They are serving as producers along with Amy Robinson and Peter Chernin. It's being developed as a possible starring vehicle for DiCaprio and may be turned into a franchise.

Oliver Stone had been seriously considering the project before he signed on to direct Savages. DiCaprio is currenlty filming Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar and is set to move on to star in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby...

Paul Greengrass having his Martin Luther King film Memphis cancelled by Universal was something that I was disappointed to see. He’s one of the more interesting directors of his generation, and his interest in politics made him a great choice to take on the influential civil rights leader. He doesn’t seem to be letting it slow him down, though, as Deadline reports that the director might make his next film an adaptation of John D. MacDonald‘s novel The Deep Blue Good-by, with Memphis being pushed back by at least a year.

The film is being set up at 20th Century Fox, with Appian Way partners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson-Killoran, who would be producing with Amy Robinson, Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark. DiCaprio could play the lead, and it may commence a franchise. Oliver Stone was going to direct with the actor in the lead, but has since moved on to Savages.

Exclusive: Paul Greengrass will push back for at least a year his Martin Luther King Jr assassination film Memphis. I’m told he’s now looking at several projects to do next, and the front-runner is The Deep Blue Good-by, one of the John D. MacDonald series of novels with character Travis McGee. It’s being put together at 20th Century Fox with Appian Way partners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson-Killoran, who are producing with Amy Robinson and Peter Chernin. Dana Stevens and Kario Salem wrote the script. The project has been developed as a potential star vehicle for DiCaprio and perhaps the start of a franchise.

The picture was seriously considered by Oliver Stone before he committed to direct an adaptation of the Don Winslow novel Savages. Timing could be a big factor for DiCaprio, who is shooting the Clint Eastwood-directed J. Edgar and then will follow playing...

Exclusive: Paul Greengrass will push for at least a year on his Martin Luther King Jr. assassination film Memphis. I'm told he's looking at several projects, and the front-runner is The Deep Blue Good-by, the John D. MacDonald novel series that is being put together at 20th Century Fox with Appian Way partners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson-Killoran, who are producing with Amy Robinson and Peter Chernin. Dana Stevens and Kario Salem wrote the script. The project has been developed as a potential star vehicle for DiCaprio and perhaps the start of a franchise. The picture was seriously considered by Oliver Stone before he committed to direct an adaptation of the Don Winslow novel Savages. Timing could be a big factor for DiCaprio, who is shooting the Clint Eastwood-directed J. Edgar and then will follow playing the title character of the Baz Luhrmann-directed The Great Gatsby. DiCaprio has...

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Total Images: (0)');">Travis McGee based on John D. MacDonald's novel, The Deep Blue Good-By is a 2011 Oliver Stone's project that has Leonardo DiCaprio in the leading role as Travis McGee. Travis McGee is the fictional character created by MacDonald in a series of mystery books starting with The Deep Blue Good-By in 1964 and The Lonely Silver Rain in 1984, a total of 21 novels.Stone is directing the Dana Stevens' script and Peter Chernin, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Amy Robinson, and Leonardo DiCaprio are producing.The tentative release date is set for 2011.

We already wrote about Leonardo DiCaprio’s possible next movie J. Edgar Hoover Biopic, but now it seems like he’s signed to play the leading role in an upcoming project Deep Blue Good-By, that will be directed by well-known Oliver Stone.

This is an adaptation of the John D. MacDonald mystery novel series that were first published in 1964.

So actually, the novel tracks the Florida-based “salvage consultant” as he reluctantly leaves his houseboat to go in search of a treasure hidden by a soldier after World War II. Travis McGee is the shaggy hero of 21 detective novels written by John D. MacDonald and could be the perfect thing to start with for another Fox franchise.

The movie will be based on the first book in the series, The Deep Blue Good-by, published in 1964, and of course, Leonardo DiCaprio will be McGee. It sounds like an interesting mistery thing, and...

Oscar winning director Oliver Stone ("Platoon", "JFK", "The Doors", "Wall Street", "Born On The Fourth Of July") will direct Leonardo DiCaprio in the upcoming novel adaptation "The Deep Blue Good-By".

The film will follow a Florida based Salvage Consultant who ventures off in search of a treasure hidden by a World War 2 soldier.

DiCaprio will play the lead character Travis McGee.  The book is actually the first of 21 that feature McGee as the hero, so there is obvious mega series potential with this project if the first one is received well.

The screenplay has been written by Dana Stevens ("City of Angels") and Kario Salem ("The Score") with Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Robinson and Peter Chernin producing.  No official word yet on other casting in the film or an expected start date for shooting.

Source: Obsessed With Film

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Oliver Stone has agreed to develop and possibly direct 20th Century Fox.s "Travis McGee," with Leonardo DiCaprio starring."McGee" is based on a fictional detective created by American author John D. MacDonald.DiCaprio would play the detective, a self-described beach bum who lives on a houseboat in Florida. The film would follow the plot from the first of MacDonald's 21 books, "The Deep Blue Goodbye," which has McGee searching for a World War II treasure. According to Variety, the script was written by Dana Stevens.Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment would produce with Amy Robinson along with DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran through their Appian Way production company. Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,"which was also done for Fox, will make its world premiere...

Oliver Stone is set to develop and possibly direct the detective thriller "Travis McGee" for 20th Century Fox says Variety.

John D. MacDonald's character creation is a beach bum and scrappy private dick who lives on a houseboat in Florida and takes random cases.

The McGee film, penned by Dana Stevens, is based on the first book in the series "The Deep Blue Goodbye" in which he searches for missing World War II treasure.

Leonardo Di Caprio, Peter Chernin, Amy Robinson and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are set to produce. Di Caprio was previously set to star, no word if that's still the case.

Oliver Stone, director of 20th Century Fox's upcoming sequel "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is coming aboard to develop and possibly take the helm for "Travis McGee" which is based on the John D. MacDonald-created fictional detective . Leonardo DiCaprio has already been cast to play the beach-bum detective who lives on a houseboat in Florida and takes random cases. Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment is attached to produce along with Amy Robinson, DiCaprio of Appian Way and Jennifer Davisson Killoran. According to Variety, Film would take its storyline from the first of MacDonald's books - "The Deep Blue Goodbye." Here. the detective searches for a World War II treasure. Dana Stevens adapted the screenplay.

20th Century Fox is developing The Deep Blue Goodbye , an adaptation of the John D. MacDonald mystery novel series that has Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star. Peter Chernin joins Appian Way's DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran as producers on the project written by Dana Stevens ( For Love of the Game ). Amy Robinson also is involved in a producing capacity. DiCaprio is in line to play Travis McGee, a self-described beach bum who lives aboard 52-foot houseboat the Busted Flush and alleviates his cash-flow problems by hiring on as a "salvage consultant." He recovers property for clients, taking a hefty percentage and getting into a lot of danger and romance in sun-drenched Florida.

24-year-old star Amy Adams was seen attending the Los Angeles premiere of her new flick "Julie & Julia" at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California on Monday, July 27. Donning a beautiful white dress paired with white shoes, Adams happily posed for pics at the event's red carpet.

Joining her to come to the premiere was Meryl Streep, the depicter of Julia Child on the film. Other cast of the flick, including Jane Lynch and Mary Lynn Rajskub, were all in attendance.

In addition to the film's cast members, "Twilight" actress Ashley Greene was also seen coming to the event. Then, Giada de Laurentiis, who becomes the host of TV show entitled "Giada at Home", hit the venue by wearing a purple tank top matched with black trousers.

"Julie & Julia" is a biography-drama movie which is helmed by Nora Ephron, who also produces it along with Laurence Mark, Amy Robinson, and Eric Steel.

The Tribeca Film Festival has selected 27 projects for its Tribeca All Access, program which is designed to nurture relationships between film industry executives and filmmakers from traditionally underrepresented communities. From April 20-25, the participating directors and screenwriters will present their upcoming works to more than 100 potential investors, development execs, producers and agents.

There are 24 U.S.-based filmmakers involved in the 27 projects, which were selected from a pool of more than 475 submissions. Six projects came through international associations.

The 2009 Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award Narrative jurors are Viola Davis, Sanaa Lathan, Anne Carey, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Luis Guzman, Darnell Martin, Lance Reddick and Amy Robinson; the 2009 Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award Documentary jurors are Ellen Kuras, Fenton Bailey and Lola Ogunnaike.

For the second year, Taa will include international delegates by featuring six projects through its associations with the U.K. Film Council, Screen Australia (formerly Australian Film Commission) and Canadian Film Center.

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, David Proval, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus, Cesare Danova

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

“It’s all bullshit except the pain. The pain of hell. The burn from a lighted match increased a million times. Infinite. Now, ya don’t fuck around with the infinite. There’s no way you do that. The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart… your soul, the spiritual side. And ya know…...

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Kindred Media Group, headed by president Jeffrey D. Erb, has acquired North American distribution rights to Michael Hoffman's Game 6, starring Michael Keaton and Robert Downey Jr. Based on an original screenplay by novelist Don DeLillo and directed by Michael Hoffman, the film is produced by Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne, Leslie Urdang and Christina Weiss Lurie. It will open in major markets including Los Angeles, Boston and New York on March 3.

Olympia Dukakis, The Station Agent writer-director Thomas McCarthy, Judy Greer, Will Arnett, Jim Gaffigan and Naseeruddin Shah have joined Edie Falco, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Tony Shalhoub in Serenade Films/Sly Dog Films' digital feature The Great New Wonderful for helmer Danny Leiner. Penned by playwright Sam Catlin, the dark comedy weaves five stories against the backdrop of an anxious and uncertain post-Sept. 11 New York. Shooting starts this week in the Big Apple. Leiner, who recently finished work on New Line Cinema's Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, is producing New Wonderful with partner Matt Tauber through their new production outfit Sly Dog Films. Serenade Films is financing, with the company's Leslie Urdang, Michael Nozik, Amy Robinson and Michael Hoffman serving as producers.

Industry veterans Leslie Urdang, Michael Nozik, Michael Hoffman and Amy Robinson have teamed to launch Serenade Films. The new production outfit will focus on financing and producing digital and high-definition video feature films. The company announced its formation with one feature film in the packaging stages, The Great New Wonderful to be directed by Danny Leiner (Dude, Where's My Car?) from a screenplay by Sam Catlin with Tony Shalhoub and Edie Falco starring. Eyeing a first-quarter 2004 start, the film weaves five stories against the backdrop of an uncertain post-Sept. 11 New York. UTA is packaging the project. "We are like the Jet Blue of the film industry -- no frills, but we offer filmmakers an opportunity to make movies they are passionate about -- and we have the flexibility to move quickly when all the elements come together," Serenade founder and partner Urdang said. "There's no bureaucracy; we are truly independent."...

NEW YORK -- Joe Pantoliano and Tony Goldwyn, actors and co-presidents of the nonprofit Creative Coalition, unveiled Wednesday the formation of the coalition's New York Runaway Production Task Force. According to the group, the task force will focus on "combating the negative economic impact that runaway film and television production has on New York," which costs the U.S. economy overall "as much as $10 billion per year." Said Pantoliano: "Most of us in the entertainment industry have been aware of the runaway production problem for years. Now, lawmakers in Washington, and in state capitals across the country, are taking notice and starting to take steps to reverse the trend. The purpose of this task force is to ensure that New York is at the forefront of these efforts." Joining the new task force are Miramax Films and United Artists, as well as the Screen Actors Guild, New York State AFL-CIO, Silvercup Studios and Tribeca Enterprises. Also on board are: Amy Robinson Prods.; Con Edison; The County Chamber of Commerce of Westchester County, New York; The Durst Organization; Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce; the Hotel Association of New York City; the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce; the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting; the New York Hotel Trades Council; the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & TV Development; Sachs Consulting; and the Westchester County Film Office. Founded in 1989, and based in New York, the Creative Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community.

"Autumn in New York" is a blatantly manipulative tear-jerker that's "sincere" in an antiseptic, pristine way. The theory here -- and not being employed the first time in Hollywood history -- is that when you cast glamorous stars, the pain their characters suffer will hit an audience harder, that viewers will take their calamities more to heart. Suckers for sentimental movies may well embrace "Autumn", but the grindingly mechanical nature of the drama will wear down even those most eager for a good weep.

MGM opened "Autumn" on Friday without benefit of an advance press screening, even though such films are usually critic-proof. Outlook is iffy after the first week, not because of critics but word-of-mouth.

Directing her second film, the accomplished actress Joan Chen does a competent job, and her stars, Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, do not let her down. (The script does.) But if there are tears in any critic's eye, it stems from sadness that Chen, after her breathtakingly unsentimental directorial debut in "Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl", would make a such a misguided film that is not only "Xiu Xiu"'s polar opposite but dishearteningly inert.

Gere plays an aging-well playboy and New York restaurateur who has never met a woman he didn't love -- and leave. Ryder is his "perfect" match: a 22-year-old -- with Ryder playing seven years younger than she is -- guaranteed to be a quickie: She is fatally ill.

There are more than a few jokes about the May-December romance. Ryder's "I collect antiques" is one of the better ones. And much talk -- in fact, downright incessant talk -- about her imminent demise.

Writer Allison Burnett has clearly never heard of subtext. Every scene is right on the money with characters verbalizing their every thought. And the film's father-confessor-cum-bartender, Anthony LaPaglia, neatly sums up the central relationship: "Maybe it makes a sick girl happy and a desperate man think."

Gere and Ryder play their scenes together either with giddy passion or somber intensity that makes you want to like the film more than you do. There was probably a solid idea here about a couple freed from the confines of time to explore dimensions of the male-female dynamic seldom probed. But this couple wastes all that precious time with shallow chat.

Cinematographer Changwei Gu's cool colors and gloomy lighting fit the mood, as do Gabriel Yared's wistful melodies. All production values are first rate.

AUTUMN IN NEW YORK

MGM

A Lakeshore Entertainment and

Gary Lucchesi/Amy Robinson production

Producers: Amy Robinson, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg

Director: Joan Chen

Writer: Allison Burnett

Executive producers: Ted Tannebaum, Ron Bozman

Director of photography: Changwei Gu

Production designer: Mark Friedberg

Music: Gabriel Yared

Co-producer: Andre Lamal

Costume designer: Carol Oditz

Editor: Ruby Yang

Color/stereo

Cast:

Will: Richard Gere

Charlotte: Winona Ryder

John: Anthony LaPaglia

Dolly: Elaine Stritch

Lisa: Vera Farmiga

Sarah: Sherry Stringfield

Dr. Sibley: Mary Beth Hurt

Running time -- 105 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...

"Drive Me Crazy" is a sweet but very slight teen comedy that despite its contempo look feels like a throwback to another era. The film should play well to young females, especially with Melissa Joan Hart -- starting her fourth season in the title role of ABC's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" -- as the film's star. But "Drive Me Crazy" is definitely bucking a trend in teen movies, which these days either lean heavily on raunchiness ("American Pie") or mean-spiritedness ("Cruel Intentions").

Hart plays a high school senior, one of the campus elite, who is mortified when the star basketball player fails to ask her to the school's centennial celebration. Fast running out of acceptable candidates, she reluctantly decides to create her own date out of the grunge-loving boy next door.

Her neighbor (Adrian Grenier, who played the title role in festival hit "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole") only goes along with the scheme in hopes of making the girlfriend who just dumped him (Ali Larter) jealous.

But the sight of Grenier in a new haircut and with-it clothes perplexes his weirdo friends, who fear he has joined the "other" side. And, predictably, the two young people wind up liking each other more than they ever could have imagined.

Writer Rob Thomas, working from Todd Strasser's novel "How I Created My Perfect Prom Date," sprinkles the simple story with mildly amusing secondary characters, including Designated Dave (Mark Webber), so named because he's head of the drive-safe program; his video-geek pal (Kris Park); a coed Keri Lynn Pratt) trying very hard to be popular; and a girlfriend of Hart's Susan May Pratt) with her own malevolent agenda. The movie winds up with everyone learning a life lesson about the nature of true friendship.

The director is John Schultz, whose "Bandwagon" traveled the film festival circuit a couple of years ago. His work here is straightforward and uninspired. Similarly, technical credits are adequate if unexceptional.

One major plus is a soundtrack that includes the Backstreet Boys hit "I Want It That Way" and Britney Spears' "(You Drive Me) Crazy," the song that suggested the film's title.

DRIVE ME CRAZY

20th Century Fox

An Amy Robinson production

Producer: Amy Robinson

Director: John Schultz

Writer: Rob Thomas

Based on the novel by: Todd Strasser

Co-producer: Nancy Paloian-Breznikar

Director of photography: Kees Van Oostrum

Production designer: Aaron Osborne

Music: Greg Kendall

Costume designer: Genevieve Tyrrell

Editor: John Pace

Color/stereo

Cast:

Nicole Maris: Melissa Joan Hart

Chase Hammond: Adrian Grenier

Mr. Maris: Stephen Collins

Alicia: Susan May Pratt

Dave: Mark Webber

Ray Neeley: Kris Park

Brad: Gabriel Carpenter

Dulcie: Ali Larter

Dee Vine: Keri Lynn Pratt

Running time -- 91 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...