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43 years ago, the runaway box office success of "48 Hrs.," in which Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy bickered and brawled as they attempted to track down a couple of vicious escaped convicts, turned the buddy-cop subgenre into a formula goldmine. Before the 1980s drew to a close, films like "Running Scared," "Beverly Hills Cop," "Lethal Weapon," and "Red Heat" were able to work profitable variations on this very simple dynamic. Even though cops have never been more difficult to root for, the subgenre, as evidenced by the 2024 success of "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley," is still commercially appealing today.

While movies like "48 Hrs." and "Lethal Weapon" were powered by tightly constructed screenplays, the vast majority of buddy cop films got by on comedic anarchy. They actually had more in common with Richard Rush's gloriously shaggy "Freebie and the Bean" from 1974; two partners exchange profane repartee for a couple...

Costume designer Rosanna Norton, who received an Oscar nomination for the sci-fi classic Tron and also worked on Badlands, Carrie, The Stunt Man and Frankie and Johnny during her four-decade career, has died. She was 80.

Norton died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of bladder cancer, her granddaughter Mira Gonzalez told The Hollywood Reporter.

Norton also collaborated with Joe Dante on Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The ‘Burbs (1989) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and with Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker on Airplane! (1980) and Ruthless People (1986).

She worked with Terrence Malick on Badlands (1973), with Brian De Palma on Phantom of the Paradise (1974) and Carrie (1976), with Richard Rush on The Stunt Man (1980) and with Garry Marshall on Frankie and Johnny (1991).

She shared her Oscar nom for Steven Lisberger’s Tron (1982) with Elois Jenssen.

The oldest of four kids, Rosanna White was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 1944. Her mother, Ann Stanford,...

Rosanna Norton, the Oscar-nominated costume designer behind “Tron,” “Carrie,” “RoboCop,” and many more, died Wednesday. She was 80 years old.

The renowned designer and lifelong Angeleno died of cancer, TheWrap has learned. Costume designer Salvador Perez, who credited Norton as a longtime friend and mentor, shared the news on Instagram Thursday.

“We lost a legend,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself with Norton.

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Norton changed Carrie White (Sissy Spacek)’s iconic prom dress from red in the Stephen King novel to pink in the 1976 film to better contrast the bucket of blood dumped on her that unleashes her telekinetic rage.

In a 2016 interview with Birth Movies Death for the film’s 40th anniversary, Norton explained why she went with a 1930s-inspired look for the dress. “At the time, prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses and things were very fussy.

Over the past week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences terminated — briefly and, the organization insists, inadvertently — a longstanding courtesy that it had afforded to widows and widowers of people who had been members of the organization, sparking considerable backlash.

Since the 1990s, the Academy has allowed widows and widowers to continue to attend official member screenings in Los Angeles and New York, as they had been able to do with their spouse. But Irene Ramp, the widow of The Graduate screenwriter Buck Henry, says that she arrived at a screening last Saturday only to be told, “We don’t do that anymore.”

Ramp and some 300 others in her situation received written notice from the Academy this week that to “ensure priority access for our Academy members, a population that has grown to 11,000 and will continue to grow, our membership screenings must now be limited to Academy members and their non-press guests.

We’ve recently looked at the of Michael Crichton’s best works and it got me thinking about some of the other heavy hitting sci-fi writers. One of the best who also happens to have quite a few adaptations to his name is Philip K. Dick. If you aren’t a big reader, then the titles We Can Remember It For You Wholesale and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep may not ring a bell, but I’m sure that Total Recall and Blade Runner are right up this audience’s alley. You guys seemed to really enjoy the breakdowns on Jurassic Park, Congo, and Sphere so lets take a look at one of the biggest action movies of 1990 and its source material and unpack Total Recall. No, not the remake. Never the remake for that one. Pull that tracker out of your nostril as we find out what happened to this adaptation.

Intro: When you’re a hugely successful bodybuilder from a small village in Austria, and you’ve not only managed to successfully make the transition from pumping iron to pumping lead pipes into Aussie bad guys, the world is seemingly very much your oyster. Or so they say. As you’ll no doubt know nothing was standing in the Austrian Oak’s way when he set his mind to prove people wrong. Nobody, especially the studios, were convinced that he could win audiences over as a believable comedy performer, yet his unlikely partnership with the diminutive and awesome Danny DeVito in Twins proved that not only could Arnie bring the gags, but that he could also bring the box-office numbers to satiate the stuffy studio heads.

So, just where did his career go next? Now that Arnie had proved to people that he was box office gold for comedy, as well as action and sci-fi,...

If The Fall Guy truly tried to sell you on an idea that isn't just the thermonuclear charisma of Ryan Gosling being enough to sell a movie, it's the notion that being a stunt performer is really cool. You get paid a good salary and live an extravagant lifestyle to do the actual superheroism for a movie star, while also living in relative anonymity when you're off-screen. This is, of course, as long as you can abide by the potential for egregious and life-changing injury, the lack of mainstream recognition and appreciation, plus the inherent instability in your chance for more work. Is that actually worth it? Not if you ask Richard Rush, the co-writer/director of The Stunt Man, a film that harbors no illusions about the danger and spiritual manipulation that's intrinsic not just to being a stunt performer, but intrinsic to surviving in the movie business at all.

“I knew daredevils — and I ain’t got nothing against ‘em — it’s just they’re all dead.”

So says the titular character of “The Stunt Man” to his trainer the first time his desire for mortality is put into question. The theme of death is a constant one in this 1980 film. It’s what propels the main character, Vietnam-Vet Cameron, to go on the run — the state in which we meet him at the beginning of the film. It’s what draws him to a movie set near the beach where dozens of bodies are ripped apart, sporting soldier’s uniforms from World War I, and buried across the sand. It’s what fascinates the film’s director, Eli Cross, whose need to draw reality out of a production that’s drowning in artifice places Cameron in the precarious position of both stuntman and muse. What begins as a...

Gosling does the dirty work in this entertaining action film, which has moments of tenderness with Blunt among the crashes, leaps and fireballs

You might need to get your indulgent smile firmly in place for this colossal action comedy – not unlike the adorable smirks on the faces of its male and female leads, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, who play the daredevil movie stuntman and the stern director with whom he is in love. It’s a goofy summer crowd-pleaser (and you can never have too many of those) that is very far from the edgier and more satirical mien of Richard Rush’s 1980 movie The Stunt Man, in which a Vietnam draft evader hides out on a movie location, doing dangerous stunts in return for anonymity. Actually, this one is loosely inspired by a 1980s TV show, also called The Fall Guy, about a stuntman with a parallel career...

David Anspaugh's 1986 sports drama "Hoosiers" has gone down in history as one of the most influential sports dramas ever made. Partly inspired by the real-life story of the 1954 Indiana state champions Milan High School, "Hoosiers" focuses on formerly-disgraced basketball coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), who gets a rare second chance to prove his mettle at Indiana's Hickory High School. The rather tight-knit town of Hickory seems a little too unforgiving towards Norman due to his sketchy past, but redemption finds its way to him via a David vs. Goliath situation that soon transforms into a classic underdog tale about dreaming big and achieving the impossible.

Some of the more saccharine themes in "Hoosiers" might feel a tad corny at times, but it is a film that brandishes sincere authenticity when it comes to the magic of unexpected second chances and the highs and lows of small-town sports. Moreover, a...

An action rom-com with all the elements for something iconic, David Leitch’s The Fall Guy features truly remarkable stunt work and charismatic performances by Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, yet buckles under the weight of its plot. Adapted from a 1981 action series that lasted five years, the film would have been best-served as a complete reboot jettisoning much of a plot that intrudes and ultimately means less time for Blunt and Gosling together.

What remains, though, is a love letter to the craft of stunt work with stuntman-turned-director Leitch providing a behind-the-scenes peek both on the set of the giant-budget action film Blunt’s Jody Moreno is directing and, later, during the film’s credit sequence. The Fall Guy, along with Richard Rush’s classic The Stunt Man and Dan Hartley’s thoughtful documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, are all excellent cases for creating a new Academy...

Hollywood stunt people are a breed apart. They look at a skyscraper, and wonder what floor from which they could plummet onto an airbag. They encounter a ravine, and instantly want to hop astride a motorcycle and jump it. They see a fellow stunt performer get blasted with fire extinguishers after being set ablaze, and think to themselves, "I could've stayed on fire longer than that." They're wild folk, and they can make the kind of movie magic you'll savor for a lifetime.

For movie lovers, stunt people like Dar Robinson, Vic Armstrong, and Evelyn Finley are as legendary as the stars they doubled. Among casual moviegoers, however, they aren't nearly as appreciated as they should be. So when films like Richard Rush's "The Stunt Man," Hal Needham's "Hooper," or David Leitch's forthcoming "The Fall Guy" (based on the classic 1980s TV series starring Lee Majors) crash into theaters,...

The 2024 Oscar nominations have been announced, and while there were plenty of snubs and surprises, some entries were unanimously expected to dominate across categories. Among them is Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," which received 10 nominations in total, including Best Picture, Directing, Cinematography, Film Editing, and more. The outpouring of love for Scorsese's latest work is deserved, especially with Lily Gladstone earning a historic nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, making her the first Native American woman to earn a nomination in that category (and the first Indigenous woman to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture).

Scorsese's brilliance as a filmmaker cannot be overstated for obvious reasons, and his Oscar nomination for Best Director was an inevitability, given how layered and scathing his depiction of the Reign of Terror was in a film that demands depth and nuance. This is...

Sharon Farrell, who starred as the mother of a murderous infant in It’s Alive and contributed strong supporting turns opposite James Garner and Steve McQueen, respectively, in the 1969 films Marlowe and The Reivers, has died. She was 82.

Farrell died unexpectedly May 15 of natural causes at a hospital in Orange County, her son, Chance Boyer, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Farrell also played a movie hairstylist in Richard Rush‘s The Stunt Man (1980), the ex-wife of Chuck Norris’ Texas Ranger in Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) and the mother of the cheerleader portrayed by Amanda Peterson in Can’t Buy Me Love (1987).

On television, Farrell recurred as Det. Lori Wilson on the final season (1979-80) of CBS’ Hawaii Five-o and was Florence Webster, mother of Tricia Cast’s Nina Webster, on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1991-97.

In the horror thriller It’s Alive (1974), written and directed by Larry Cohen and...

Alan Arkin, an Oscar-winning actor for “Little Miss Sunshine” with a body of work that spans seven decades of stage and screen acting, died June 29 at his home in Carlsbad, Calif, Variety has confirmed. He was 89.

Arkin’s sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony said in a joint statement, “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”

Arkin, who was known for projecting a characteristically dry wit but could play tragedy with equal efficacy, won his Oscar for his supporting performance in the indie comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” in 2007; he scored an encore nomination for his punchy and profane turn in Ben Affleck’s best picture winner “Argo.” Arkin picked up two earlier nominations in his film career, for “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming...

Gary Kent, an actor, director and, most notably, stuntman whose career is thought to have been an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, died Thursday at an assisted care facility in Austin, Texas. He was 89.

Born on June 7, 1933, in Walla Walla, Washington, Kent’s early film credits include 1959’s Battle Flame, and roles in other low-budget films of the 1960s including The Black Klansman (1966) and biker film The Savage Seven (1968). In 1969, he served as a stunt double for Bruce Dern in the now-cult-classic Richard Rush-directed exploitation film Psych-Out.

Among his other credits were such drive-in movie favorites as Peter Bogdanovich’s first film Targets (1968), featuring Boris Karloff, 1970’s Hell’s Bloody Devils and, the following year, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant and Angels’ Wild Women.

Though he had numerous small acting parts through the era, his most endurable contributions to Hollywood would come as a...

Gary Kent, the actor, director and stunt performer who also served as one of the inspirations for Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth character in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” died on May 25 in Austin, Texas, The Austin Chronicle confirmed. He was 89.

Kent began his career as a seasoned stunt performer after to traveling to Los Angeles in 1958. Ahead of doubling for Jack Nicholson in Monte Hellman’s “Ride in the Whirlwind” and “The Shooting,” Kent worked in film production offices and acted on the side, appearing in “Legion of the Doomed,” “King of the Wild Stallions,” “Battle Flame,” “The Thrill Killers” and “The Black Klansman.”

Soon after his stuntman debut in 1965, Kent appeared as a gas tank worker in Peter Bogdanovich’s debut feature film “Targets,” then worked on “Hell’s Bloody Devils,” “The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant” “Angels’ Wild Women” and Richard Rush’s “Psych-Out,” racking up injuries along the way.

Gary Kent, the iconic B-movie stunt performer, actor and director who worked with Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Rush and Monte Hellman and served as an inspiration for Brad Pitt’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, has died. He was 89.

Kent died Thursday evening at an assisted care facility in Austin, his son Chris Kent told The Hollywood Reporter.

Kent suffered two of his most painful injuries as a stunt performer in Rush films. He sliced up his arm on broken glass during a barfight fracas in Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) and was run over by an out-of-control motorcycle in The Savage Seven (1968), where he shared scenes with Penny Marshall.

His half-century stunt career came to an end on the set of Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) when he tumbled down a hill and damaged his leg, but he kept at it as a stunt coordinator, working as recently...

Good news for those who wish to know what their Twitter feed’s jacking off to: the Criterion Channel are launching an erotic thriller series that includes De Palma’s Dressed to Kill and Body Double, the Wachowskis’ Bound, and so many other movies to stir up that ceaseless, fruitless “why do movies have sex scenes?” discourse. (Better or worse than middle-age film critics implying they have a hard-on? I’m so indignant at being forced to choose.) Similarly lurid, if not a bit more frightening, is a David Lynch retro that includes the Criterion editions of Lost Highway and Inland Empire (about which I spoke to Lynch last year), a series of shorts, and a one-month-only engagement for Dune, a film that should be there in perpetuity.

Retrospectives of Harold Lloyd, Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons, and shorts by Fanta Régina Nacro round out the big debuts,...

Diane McBain, whose career playing spoiled rich girls included turns as the yacht owner Daphne Dutton on the ABC crime show Surfside 6 and an author stalking Elvis Presley in Spinout, has died. She was 81.

McBain died Wednesday morning at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills after a battle with liver cancer, her friend and writing partner, Michael Gregg Michaud, told The Hollywood Reporter.

McBain also guest-starred on four episodes of ABC’s Batman, first as a hat shop assistant who’s in cahoots with David Wayne’s Mad Hatter in 1966 and then as stamp company proprietor Pinky Pinkston — she wore only pink and had a pink dog — on the memorable 1967 installment that featured The Green Hornet (Van Williams) and Kato (Bruce Lee).

In her first film, McBain appeared with Richard Burton in Vincent Sherman’s Ice Storm (1960), then starred alongside Troy Donahue and Claudette Colbert...

Spend enough time charting the corners of any subgenre and you’ll quickly discover that not all entries are created equal. Due to the sexually charged nature of Erotic Thrillers, a common mistake that Hollywood suits make is believing that so long as there’s an adequate amount of sex and skin, the mechanics of the plot and the characters don’t matter.

What’s wild about Richard Rush’s 1994 film Color of Night is that it both does and does not fall into this trap. There is sex, yes, and it is ridiculous, but the carnal relations are condensed into a single part of the film, leaving long stretches of the thriller without its accompanying eroticism. And while there are a few murders, the thrills are also spread out and tend to be fleeting.

Which begs the question: without the sex and without the thrills, what becomes of an Erotic Thriller?...

With the death this week of Ralph “Sonny” Barger, national president of famed motorcycle club the Hells Angels, a piece of vibrant American pop culture history recedes farther into the past.

It’s hard to appreciate today, but when Barger founded the Oakland chapter in 1957, the mythology of the outlaw biker had already been emblazoned on the national consciousness through the Hells Angels’ impact on fashion, movies and music, as a symbol of rebellion. Barger’s death on June 29 at the age of 83 made international headlines because of that reach.

Barger was the face of the Hells Angels for decades, but the origin story of the Hells Angels began nearly a decade before when the club was founded in Fontana, Calif., in 1948. The mythos of the rebel clad in black leather astride their prized “hogs,” as their often-chopped Harley-Davidson motorcycles are known, is now entrenched in the public’s imagination.

Grant Cramer sits at his office desk. On the wall behind him hangs framed movie posters: Willy’s Wonderland (2021), which he produced, and a poster of The Stunt Man (1980) autographed by its director, Richard Rush, who was a mentor to him. Cramer’s career in show business spans 40 years and includes film and television acting, producing, and writing. His dirty blond hair is pulled back into a ponytail. He sports a beard, and he has that kind of smile that spreads throughout his entire face and crinkles his eyes. He’s generous with his time, and over the next hour, we talk horror, killer klowns, absurdity, acting, Hollywood politics, and living a life in the present with gratitude and passion.

Cramer’s first film role was in the 1980 psychological slasher New Year’s Evil. “I’ve always loved the Sam Raimi-type whacky horror: a little goofy, and a little bit tongue in cheek,...

Don Jones, a soundman and stuntman who went on to write and direct the low-budget films Schoolgirls in Chains, Sweater Girls and The Forest, had died. He was 83.

Jones died Tuesday in Los Angeles near his San Fernando Valley home of nearly 40 years after recently suffering a stroke, his daughter, Coeli Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Jones worked sound for Larry Peerce on One Potato, Two Potato (1964), did stunts for Monte Hellman in Ride in the Whirlwind (1966) and for Richard Rush on A Man Called Dagger (1968) and served as the cinematographer on The House of Seven Corpses (1974), starring John Ireland.

His horror films Schoolgirls in ...

Don Jones, a soundman and stuntman who went on to write and direct the low-budget films Schoolgirls in Chains, Sweater Girls and The Forest, had died. He was 83.

Jones died Tuesday in Los Angeles near his San Fernando Valley home of nearly 40 years after recently suffering a stroke, his daughter, Coeli Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Jones worked sound for Larry Peerce on One Potato, Two Potato (1964), did stunts for Monte Hellman in Ride in the Whirlwind (1966) and for Richard Rush on A Man Called Dagger (1968) and served as the cinematographer on The House of Seven Corpses (1974), starring John Ireland.

His horror films Schoolgirls in ...

Who will be included for the special “In Memoriam” segment for Sunday night’s Oscars 2021 ceremony? With last year’s Academy Awards happening over 14 months ago, it means an even larger number of film veterans have died. Producers will hopefully be offering a longer remembrance and not leaving out people for the sake of time.

Superstar actor Chadwick Boseman died late last summer and is a nominee as Best Actor for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Previous Oscar winners from acting categories show who will likely be honored include Sean Connery, Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Past acting nominees include Hal Holbrook, Ian Holm, Shirley Knight, George Segal, Cicely Tyson, Max von Sydow and Stuart Whitman.

SEE2021 Oscars presenters: Last year’s winners Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, Brad Pitt returning

Almost all of the near 100 people on the list below were Academy members.

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By Todd Garbarini

Film director Richard Rush, perhaps best known for his unorthodox and original 1980 film The Stunt Man, passed away in Los Angeles, CA on Thursday, April 8, 2021 just one week shy of what would have been his 92nd birthday following years of health issues. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Claude (née Claude Cuveraux); his son, Anthony; and his grandson, Shayne.

Mr. Rush was born on Monday, April 15, 1929 in New York City and broke into the film industry through the UCLA film program and later worked for producer and director Roger Corman as the co-writer and director of Too Soon to Love (1960), alternatively titled High School Honeymoon, about high school sweethearts who go all the way and the girl ends up pregnant. This was heady subject matter for the time and Jack Nicholson has a small role in the film.

Subversive film director fascinated by the counterculture, who won critical acclaim for The Stunt Man

With admirers including Stanley Kubrick, François Truffaut and Quentin Tarantino, Richard Rush could with some justification be called the directors’ director. Whether making cheap, hastily-shot exploitation films for Roger Corman’s Aip (American International Pictures) or starry comedies for major studios, Rush, who has died aged 91, had a subversive sensibility, as well as a sympathetic fascination with the counterculture.

His outstanding achievement was The Stunt Man (1980), a devilishly inventive film about film-making. Based on the novel by Paul Brodeur, it concerns a fugitive who stumbles unwittingly on to a movie set, gets hired as a stunt performer, and starts to believe that the flamboyant, maniacal director, who is shooting a first world war picture, is trying to kill him.

The film-maker’s early underground work included Hells Angels on Wheels before he entered the mainstream with hits such as Freebie and the Bean

Richard Rush, the Oscar-nominated director of Freebie and the Bean and The Stunt Man, has died aged 91, reportedly of natural causes.

His wife Claudia confirmed the news, saying: “To those who were privileged to know and love him, he will be even more warmly remembered, and missed, for his integrity, his loyalty, his endless generosity of spirit and his boundless support and mentorship of other film-makers, writers or indeed anyone who ever dared to, in the words of his Stunt Man hero Eli Cross, ‘tilt at a windmill’.”...

Richard Rush, the director of “The Stunt Man,” died April 8 at the age of 91, and if you look up his credits he has only 14 of them (and one was an episode of “The Mod Squad”). In a career that spanned 35 years, he made just a dozen features. Yet to an unusual degree, he meant every one of them. Maybe to a fault: As he noted in “The Sinister Saga of Making ‘The Stunt Man,'” his documentary look back at the fabled cult film about filmmaking, Rush gave away the rights to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and turned down “Jaws.” He was very choosy. Yet when you watch his movies, you always see them peering around corners and glancing ahead, anticipating the world that was coming.

In the most famous sequence in “The Stunt Man,” Steve Railsback, as a fugitive hired to be a Hollywood stunt man (though...

Refresh for updates…On Monday, a number of prominent Hollywood figures took to social media to mourn the closure of Arclight Cinemas.

“Well this sucks,” tweeted Knives Out and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. “Every single person who worked at the Arclight loved movies, and you felt it. Sending love to every usher, manager and projectionist who rocked that blue shirt and made it such a special place.”

Meanwhile, Barry Jenkins—the Oscar winner behind Moonlight, and upcoming Amazon series The Underground Railroad—simply tweeted, “F**K.”

Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood, too, felt the hurt, tweeting, “This is so painful. The Arclight is my go-to. Clean, great sound, assigned stadium seating, great popcorn, usher movie introductions. A true movie-going experience.”

Roland Emmerich, the writer-director behind films including Midway and Independence Day, thanked ArcLight and Pacific Theatres (which is also closing) for the “many wonderful cinematic experiences” they provided.

Richard Rush, the writer, director and producer who earned two Oscar nominations for his work on the deliciously dark Peter O’Toole comedy The Stunt Man, has died. He was 91.

Rush died Thursday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his wife, Claude, told The Hollywood Reporter. He demonstrated an incredible “will to live” and survived 18 years with a heart transplant, she noted.

Early in his career, Rush directed the youth-targeted flicks Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) and Psych-Out (1968) — both featuring a brash, young Jack Nicholson — and went on to helm and produce one of the first ...

Richard Rush, the writer, director and producer who earned two Oscar nominations for his work on the deliciously dark Peter O’Toole comedy The Stunt Man, has died. He was 91.

Rush died Thursday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his wife, Claude, told The Hollywood Reporter. He demonstrated an incredible “will to live” and survived 18 years with a heart transplant, she noted.

Early in his career, Rush directed the youth-targeted flicks Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) and Psych-Out (1968) — both featuring a brash, young Jack Nicholson — and went on to helm and produce one of the first ...

Richard Rush, who picked up two Oscar nominations, best director and adapted screenplay, for his extraordinary 1980 film “The Stunt Man,” starring Peter O’Toole, died April 8 in Los Angeles. He was 91.

His wife Claude said he had been suffering from longtime health issues but that he died comfortably at home. She said in a statement, “He will be remembered for a string of landmark films in the 1960s and ’70s, culminating with his 1980 multi-Oscar-nominated classic, ‘The Stunt Man,’ which is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. To those who were privileged to know and love him, he will be even more warmly remembered, and missed, for his integrity, his loyalty, his endless generosity of spirit and his boundless support and mentorship of other filmmakers, writers or indeed anyone who ever dared to, in the words of his ‘Stunt Man’ hero Eli Cross, ’tilt at a windmill.

Tune in and drop out. Seek altered states of reality and a quest for the truth. The era is the 1960s and 1970s. LSD was not just a drug, but a connector to the deeper meaning. Hippie exploitation films are free in style and form, the genre is not a rigorously researched cinephile favorite. In fact, it is a term used mostly by B-movie and grindhouse enthusiasts in internet forums. The cultural revolution of the 1960s fought against social conservatism and war, and the cinema of the time depicted these tensions with films bearing messages of the dangers of revolution and hallucinogens.In its most basic definition, these films live within the realm of the exploitation genre and heavily feature LSD and hippies. The films depict the various trips experienced by characters, on a scale of positive to negative. In the wake of the Manson murders in 1969, the media amplified...

Shirley Knight, who was twice Oscar nominated for best supporting actress, for “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” (1960) and “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962), and won a Tony and three Emmys, died on Wednesday of natural causes in San Marcos, Texas. She was 83.

Her daughter, actress Kaitlin Hopkins, paid tribute to Knight in a lengthy Facebook post.

Knight continued to work as she approached 80, reprising her role as Mom in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” in 2015 after appearing in the 2009 original.

In 1997’s “As Good as It Gets,” starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, Knight played the mother of Hunt’s character; the New York Times called her performance “tenderly funny.”

Other film credits of recent vintage include Luis Mandoki’s “Angel Eyes” (2001), starring Jennifer Lopez; thriller “The Salton Sea” (2002); “Grandma’s Boy” (2006); Rebecca Miller’s “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (2009), with Robin Wright; “Our Idiot Brother” (2011), toplined by...

The persistent rumor that legendary director Quentin Tarantino would be directing a Star Trek movie is something that sounds too good to be true, and sadly that is looking more and more likely to be the case. The idea of Tarantino helming a story set in the Star Trek universe is so crazy that it would probably end up working incredibly well. Who would not want to see the lightning-quick dialogue of a Tarantino script spill out from the mouths of a group of Klingons? Unfortunately, whilst discussing his newest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino confirmed that he probably won't ever boldly go where no man has gone before.

"I think they might make that movie, but I just don't think I'm going to direct it. It's a good idea. They should definitely do it and I'll be happy to come in and give them some notes on the first rough cut.

By Todd Garbarini

The 1960s and 1970s had their share of genre films that were popular with audiences. One of the most prolific was the biker film which, along with the horror film, were showcased to many audiences through the beloved and nearly extinct drive-in theatres. The genre reached a level of respectability in 1969 with the release of Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider which played at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to gross an estimated 160 times its production budget of $375,000. Little wonder why producers and filmmakers alike jumped on the biker film bandwagon. Easy Rider helped put Jack Nicholson on the map following his appearances in Richard Rush’s Hell’s Angels on Wheels (1967) and the then-forthcoming The Rebel Rousers (1970) by Martin B. Cohen.

Lee Madden’s 1970 outing Angel Unchained came on the heels, or tires if you will, of Easy Rider and tells a familiar story that dates back many years,...

'Stuntmen don't fear death, they defy it!' That's the motto behind iconic Hollywood stuntman Gary Kent. He serves as one of the inspirations behind Bard Pitt's character in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Kent is now profiled in the high flying, danger ducking new documentary Danger God, which will leave you breathless. Wild Eye Releasing has our first look at the trailer.

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has been tearing up the box office for the past two weeks, and it has ignited quite a bit of conversation, perhaps more than any other movie released this summer. At the heart of this Tinseltown fantasia rests the relationship between fading Western star Rick Dalton and his longtime stuntman Cliff Booth. Both characters have been culled from numerous inspirations, with Gary Kent one of the many to help fuel the tales we see play out.

To get everyone in the mood for his ninth film, director and cult film guru Quentin Tarantino has something special in mind for the Sony Movie Channel. From the 5th of August Tarantino’s ‘Swinging Sixties-a-Movie Marathon’ will showcase nine films which perfectly set the tone for Once Upon a Time …in Hollywood, which comes out in cinemas on the 14th of August.

Each of these films has been specially curated, having influenced the director’s new film, and will play individually or as double features. As always with the director, there are some surprises here. In amongst ’60s classics Easy Rider and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice are secret agent specials, violent Westerns and a little bit of love in all its complicated forms. In short – it’s a masterclass in movie mood – just the thing to dive into before you take a trip back to the...

Quentin Tarantino is curating a film series inspired by his new movie “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” that will air later this month on the Sony Movie Channel, Sony Pictures Television announced Monday.

The film series is titled “Swinging Sixties, a Movie Marathon,” which will include nine films from the Columbia Pictures library that were released from 1958 to 1970. All of the movies were handpicked by Tarantino, and each film served as a specific influence on his latest movie, which follows an actor during a changing Hollywood in 1969.

Films such as “Easy Rider,” “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” “Hammerhead” and more will begin airing on the Sony Movie Channel starting July 21, with two films airing each night until July 25.

Also Read: Critics Love 'Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood' - but Saying Why Might Spoil Everything

Tarantino will also hold conversations with film writer and historian Kim...

Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino has teamed with Sony Pictures Television on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Quentin Tarantino Present the Swinging Sixties. It’s a series of 10 films personally curated by Tarantino, including Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Easy Rider — all of which served as a specific influence in the creation of his upcoming 1969-set film.

The 10 films from the Columbia Pictures library, dating from 1958-70, will air over consecutive nights in more than 80 territories worldwide beginning about one week before Sony’s July 26 theatrical release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in each market. Interstitial segments featuring specially created conversations between Tarantino and film writer and historian Kim Morgan will accompany each film, along with a first look at scenes from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The film series will premiere in the U.S. on Sony Movie Channel from July 21-25, with two films airing...

Review by Roger Carpenter

We all have so-called “guilty pleasures” in life and I guess my affinity for Color of Night would be considered a guilty pleasure. This film, which has been reviled by critics and viewers alike since it’s 1994 release, and won several Razzie awards upon its release, is one of my favorite films. I absolutely love this film. It’s not a guilty pleasure for me at all because I feel no guilt whatsoever in admitting my love for this film. I cannot tell you how excited I was when I received a screener copy from Kino-Lorber in my mail. So, now that my admission is out of the way, let’s talk about the release itself.

Director Richard Rush, who had not directed a film for 14 years after the success of 1980’s Peter O’Toole vehicle The Stuntman , was tapped to direct Color of Night. Rush...

Peter Medak’s new documentary “The Ghost of Peter Sellers,” about the catastrophic production of the actor’s failed 1973 pirate comedy “Ghost in the Noonday Sun,” begins with a little back-patting.

Medak, who also directed the classic films “The Ruling Class” and “The Changeling,” says he’s fairly certain that no filmmaker has ever made a movie about the making of his own movie before. “It’s incredible,” he remarks. And also “completely insane.”

That statement isn’t strictly true. Richard Rush made a documentary about his Oscar-nominated drama “The Stunt Man” called “The Sinister Saga of Making ‘The Stunt Man,'” and Richard Stanley catalogued his catastrophic production of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” (which was eventually finished by John Frankenheimer) in “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s ‘Island of Dr. Moreau.'” But it’s always intriguing, regardless, to look back at what was, what could have been,...

On August 2, the legendary Peter O’Toole would have turned 86. One of the most esteemed actors of his generation, he also holds the dubious record of earning the most Best Actor Oscar nominations (eight) without a win. O’Toole’s trophy case isn’t exactly bare — he won three Golden Globe Awards from eight nominations and received an honorary Academy Award for his lengthy career.

And as younger generations begin to discover his work, his reputation has only grown over the years, particularly for his big splash on the world’s film stage for his performance in “Lawrence of Arabia,” work that is astonishing in its complexity.

In honor of this great actor’s birthday, let’s take a photo gallery tour of his career and rank his 12 greatest film performances from worst to best.

SEEHonorary Oscars: Full gallery of acting recipients includes Charlie Chaplin, Peter O’Toole, Angela Lansbury...

By Todd Garbarini

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Legendary film director Richard Rush, actor Steve Railsback and actress Sharron Farrell to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mr. Rush’s The Stunt Man,, They will be among the nearly 70 celebrities who will be appearing together at the upcoming Hollywood Show which will include personal appearances, autograph signings, and photo opportunities. Celebrities will be appearing on both Saturday, April 28th and Sunday April 29th. A special preview night will be held on Friday, April 27th although no celebrities will be in attendance. This event will take place at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel at 5400 West Century Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045

Mr. Rush will be appearing only on Saturday, April 28th and will be charging $30.00 to sign photos and other memorabilia, and $50.00 to sign posters. This is the first time that he has ever made an appearance at a convention.

Here’s how one pushed the limits of good taste in 1974. James Caan and Alan Arkin run the gamut of racist, raunchy, sexist & homophobic jokes as bad boy cops breaking the rules, and director Richard Rush delivers some impressive, expensive action stunts on location in San Francisco. Does it get a pass because it’s ‘outrageous?’ The public surely thought so. If the star chemistry works the excess won’t matter. With Valerie Harper, Loretta Swit and Jack Kruschen.

Freebie and the Bean

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1974 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 113 min. / Street Date August 8, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Alan Arkin, James Caan, Valerie Harper, Loretta Swit, Jack Kruschen, Mike Kellin, Paul Koslo, Linda Marsh, Alex Rocco.

Cinematography: Laszlo Kovacs

Film Editors: Michael MacLean, Fredric Steinkamp

Original Music: Dominic Frontiere

Written by Robert Kaufman, Floyd Mutrux

Produced and Directed by Richard Rush

‘Buddy’ pictures have been around forever, but I...

Hells Angels On Wheels La Screening with Richard Rush and Sabrina Scharf in Person

By Todd Garbarini

Richard Rush’s 1967 film Hells Angels on Wheels celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special screening at the Noho 7 Theatre in Los Angeles. Starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, Sabrina Scharf, Jana Taylor and Jack Starrett, the film runs 95 minutes and is one of several films that Mr. Rush directed Mr. Nicholson in, the others being Too Soon to Love (1960) and Psycho-Out (1968). This is a rare opportunity to see this film on the big screen.

Please Note: Director Richard Rush and actress Sabrina Scharf are scheduled to appear in person for a Q & A following the screening.

From the press release:

Hells Angels On Wheels (1967)

Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 7:30 Pm

A bunch of hairy guys on Harleys are causing trouble again in this, one of the best-remembered examples of the biker flicks of the 1960's.

Simon Brew Feb 3, 2017

When Basic Instinct hit big, Hollywood went hunting for more erotic thrillers. Er, it found some. Includes Kevin Spacey with odd hair.

When a movie hits big out of the blue, it’s unwritten Hollywood law that the imitators aren’t too far behind. That’s why, after American Pie brought Porky’s-esque sex-tinged (late) teen comedies back to prominence in 1999, the box office was flooded with similar fare for years after. The Blair Witch Project, meanwhile, hit out of nowhere, and found footage horror is only now dying away. The late Wes Craven, meanwhile, wryly noted just how quickly Hollywood had cashed in on the success of 1996’s Scream, when spoof Scary Movie popped out the year after.

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Going back to 1992, though, and it was the turn of the erotic thriller to enjoy its resurgence.

Color of Night (1994) Director: Richard Rush Stars: Bruce Willis, Jane March, Ruben Blades This weekend, Emily Blunt is getting caught up in a scary and sexy mystery as The Girl On The Train, so Awfully Good Movies is pulling out its magnifying glass--and pulling down its pants--to solve the mystery of the 1994 Razzie-winning erotic thriller Color Of Night, starring Bruce Willis! Yes, Bruce... Read More...