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I​f Hollywood is good at anything, it’s seeing what hits big at the box office and then churning out a hundred clones of that product until it gets driven into the ground. We see it all the time. One such incident came around the release of the 1978 film Halloween. Once it began to rack up box office numbers, everyone scrambled to put out their own slasher film, preferably built around a holiday. This led to a glut of slasher films – which, if you’re a slasher fan like myself, was a fantastic time to be alive. Let’s look at the best Halloween rip-offs.

O​fferings (1989)

Offerings might be the most egregious rip-off Halloween there could be. A young kid accidentally falls down a well while playing with a group of kids. Some of them scare him as he’s walking along the edge, and he hits his head.

George Lazenby was the first actor to play James Bond on the big screen after Sean Connery left the role. That might sound like a significant accomplishment, but Lazenby has been a walking punchline for decades for two very different reasons.

George Lazenby is the worst actor to play James Bond by far

Connery made Bond one of the most famous fictional characters of the 20th century through the first five 007 movies: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Love Twice. He left the franchise, only to be replaced by Lazenby for the following movie: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Lazenby had some big shoes to fill.

And fill them he did not. While 007 is supposed to be all about his wit and charm, Lazenby is wooden. Watching On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, it’s hard to imagine Lazenby getting the lead role in a...

The legendary actor, Donald Sutherland, has passed on and even though his passing is something to mourn, his legacy will live on and that is something to be most grateful for. Early life Donald McNichol Sutherland was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada in 1935. Sutherland worked in several different jobs before beginning his acting career, one of them being a radio DJ in his youth. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in engineering and was almost set on becoming an engineer. However, he also graduated with a degree in drama, and he chose arts over applied science. And aren’t we all so glad that he did? 1960s: Career starter Sutherland's first roles were very small parts in films such as the 1965 horror film ‘Dr. Terror's House of Horrors’, starring Christopher Lee. He also appeared on the small screen doing episodes of shows such as...

Fly Me to the Moon is a historical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti from a screenplay by Rose Gilroy. The 2024 film follows a romantic entanglement between a marketing executive and a NASA official, as he prepares for the Apollo 11 moon landing while she is given the task of filming a fake moon landing in case the real mission fails. Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in the lead roles with Woody Harrelson, Anna Garcia, Ray Romano, Jim Rash, Nick Dillenburg, Jessie Mueller, Noah Robbins, and Bill Barrett starring in supporting roles. If you loved the fake moon landing aspect of Fly Me to the Moon, here are some similar movies you can check out next.

Moonwalkers (Starz & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Alchemy

Moonwalkers is a crime comedy film directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet from a screenplay by Dean Craig. Based on the Apollo Moon landing hoax,...

By the time I got to work with William Keck at TV Guide Magazine, his tabloid days were long behind him. Sort of. Always with a twinkle in his eye, Keck still knew a good story when he found one — even if it caused a bit of a stir with celebrities or (more likely) the publicists employed to shield them from dogged reporters like him.

At TV Guide, I got to watch first-hand as Keck dug into the on-set turmoil during the final seasons of “Desperate Housewives” and create some ire with his own eyewitness accounts. And then there was the time that Victoria Principal promised Will an exclusive about why she wouldn’t appear on the “Dallas” revival. There’s no bigger “Dallas” fan than Keck, and it was a hot scoop — which she then gave to a competitor instead. Will didn’t take it well, taking to social...

The film industry lost another legendary actor as Hunger Games actor Donald Sutherland passed away on Thursday. Sutherland rose to prominence in the ’70s with the roles in The Dirty Dozen and M*A*S*H. However, he had a less prominent role in the former until one actor’s refusal to do a scene landed him a bigger part and the main role in the latter.

Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H | Ingo Preminger Productions

Sutherland had nearly 200 films to his name in his career and the role of Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H always had a special place in the audience’s hearts. Unfortunately, the actor never received an Academy Award in his lifetime, but received an Academy Honorary Award in 2017.

Donald Sutherland Should Thank One Unexpected Scene In The Dirty Dozen For His M*A*S*H Role...

In Robert Aldrich's 1967 World War II film "The Dirty Dozen," an ambitious army Major named John Reisman (Lee Marvin) is tasked with assembling 12 American soldiers who have all been thrown in military prison for their insubordination and tendencies toward violence. His job is to whip them into shape, as he intends to send them on a particularly dangerous mission: infiltrating a Nazi stronghold. It's easily one of the manliest films ever made, something Aldrich was good at; he also directed "Kiss Me Deadly," "The Longest Yard," and "The Flight of the Phoenix." It's a testament to Aldrich's talent that he also made famously femme films like "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?," and "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte."

The second member of the Dirty Dozen was a character named Vernon L. Pinkley, played by the late, great Donald Sutherland. There is a scene wherein Reisman asks Pinkley -- at the last...

Acting legend Donald Sutherland died at the age of 88. The well-respected and beloved actor was the star of such classic movies as Mash, Klute, Ordinary People, ‘Hunger Games,’ and The Dirty Dozen. His work spanned many decades and he was honored with awards for his talent. He was the father of Keifer Sutherland, and CAA Media Finance exec Roeg Sutherland.

Here are all the latest details.

Donald Sutherland – Kiefer Sutherland YouTube Donald Sutherland Died In Miami

On Thursday, Deadline reported that the award-winning actor died in Miami after a long illness. He was 88 years of age. Donald Sutherland was born on July 17, 1935, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Acting since his 20s, his 60-year career was in both movies and television. He had over 200 credits to his name. Best of all, he was able to share the screen with his actor son Keifer Sutherland in Forsaken.

On Twitter, Keifer wrote,...

Donald Sutherland, the beloved actor who starred in scores of films from The Dirty Dozen, Mash and Klute to Animal House and Ordinary People to Pride & Prejudice and The Hunger Games franchise and won an Emmy for Citizen X, died Thursday in Miami after a long illness. He was 88.

The 2017 Honorary Oscar recipient also is the father of Emmy-winning 24 and Designated Survivor actor Kiefer Sutherland and veteran CAA Media Finance exec Roeg Sutherland. CAA confirmed the news to Deadline.

Related: Remembering Donald Sutherland: A Career In Photos

In some of his most well-known roles, he perfected a laconic, wry and dead-serious delivery. Such was the case for characters including the cool-headed amateur murder investigator John Klute, opposite Jane Fonda’s terrified and erratic call girl Bree Daniels in Klute; as Hawkeye Pierce in the film Mash, where he played opposite Elliott Gould’s cut-up Trapper John; and in Nicolas Roeg...

Richard Foronjy, who spent more than eight years in prison before he turned to acting and appeared in such films as Serpico, Midnight Run, Repo Man and Carlito’s Way, died Sunday, his family announced. He was 86.

Foronjy said he was arrested more than 20 times for “forgery, bank robbery, credit card rip-offs, assorted crimes and skullduggery … [guilty of] almost everything except drugs and homicide,” he said in a 1987 interview with Upi’s Vernon Scott.

The Brooklyn native was convicted only once, but that got him an 8½-year stretch in the New York prisons Sing Sing and Attica before he was released when he was 32.

In Hollywood, not surprisingly, Foronjy specialized in portraying cops and crooks.

He was a cop killer in his screen debut, Serpico (1973), and cops in The Morning After (1986) and Prince of the City (1981), all for Sidney Lumet. “I was especially good at playing cops, no doubt because I got to...

“It was all me, James. It’s always been me,” the villain played by Christoph Waltz reveals to super spy James Bond. “The author of all your pain.”

The name of that author? Ernst Stavro Blofeld. When Waltz revealed himself as Blofeld in 2015’s Spectre, he reversed a problem that had plagued the Bond franchise for decades: the long absence of 007’s greatest recurring arch-enemy and the huge stakes that came along with his every appearance.

How could the man who escaped every death trap and seduced every woman lose his man? How did the notoriously controlling Eon Productions, which owns the rights to Ian Fleming’s novels, let one of its most important characters slip through its hands?

Turns out, the true author of Bond’s pain is the copyright office and the he said/she said litigation that slows down big budget productions.

The Birth of Blofeld

Ernst...

We have seen multiple adaptations of Superman in various media franchises, from live-action to video games. However, not a lot of them have received as much acclaim as Superman: The Animated Series did.

Lex Luthor | Source: Superman: The Animated Series

A lot of talented actors and designers were also associated with the project back in the 90s. However, when it came to creating a character design for the iconic villain of Lex Luthor, instead of trying to design the character like the comics, the designers tried to copy the badass look of this iconic James Bond villain from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

The design of Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series was based on Telly Savalas

Superman is arguably one of the most popular superheroes of all time. The Kryptonian resident is one of those characters that fit the perfect definition of a Superhero and is one...

As far as conspiracy theories go, very few have had as much of a life as the notion that NASA faked the Apollo moon landing. In some ways, one can understand why people felt this way, as it was one of the most critical events in human history, and the only witness was a TV camera. Back then, people distrusted anything they couldn’t see with their own eyes. In the seventies, conspiracy theories started to get famous, especially as far as the government went, with this the era of Watergate. People no longer trusted authority, and into this fraught environment came Capricorn One, a sci-fi-tinged conspiracy thriller that was one of the most popular films of 1977 but has since been largely forgotten – save for a small cult of devoted fans.

The film is directed by Best Movie You Never Saw favorite Peter Hyams, who also made Outland, 2010, Running Scared,...

Robert Aldrich's "The Dirty Dozen" is the daddiest of dad movies. A box office smash upon its theatrical release in 1967, it was the proto-"men-on-a-mission" movie. Lee Marvin stars as a World War II U.S. Army major ordered to lead a pack of disposable military prisoners on a suicide mission to slaughter numerous high-ranking Nazi officers. The film brought together some of the most macho men on the planet to play the (not entirely) doomed soldiers: Charles Bronson, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas, and, of course, recently retired Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown. It was a testosterone-fueled must-see that inspired three made-for-tv sequels and a load of imitators (including Enzo G. Castellari's "The Inglorious Bastards" and Quentin Tarantino's endearingly misspelled "Inglourious Basterds").

It's been homaged and ripped off so many times over the last 57 years that a straight-up remake would hardly be sacrilege. In fact, given...

James Bond is currently in limbo. Following the end of the Daniel Craig era, no one is quite sure what long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have in store for the next 007 installment, and it might be some time before we find out.

In the meantime, several actors have been touted as frontrunners to don the tux. But what about the villain? Bond antagonists are almost as important as the man himself, and there's no shortage of actors who'd be willing to play one. Brian Cox, for example, mistakenly thought he was about to be the next Bond villain when he got the call for "007: Road to a Million." Speaking to Jimmy Fallon (via The Hollywood Reporter), Cox said, "For years I thought, 'Yeah, I'd love to be a James Bond villain. It'd be really interesting.' And I thought, 'This is my moment.' But it wasn't.

Andre Braugher, who starred in the laugh-out-loud television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street, passed away on Monday. He was 61.

Braugher’s publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed the news of his passing to Variety.

Andre Braugher shined as Captain Raymond Holt on the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. By far, my favorite character in the series, Braugher’s performance as the stoic and sinisterly sassy Captain Holt is the stuff of legend. Alongside his co-stars, Braugher helped lead the series from 2013 until 2021. Not typically known for his comedic chops before landing the role of Captain Holt, Braugher left his comfort zone in the rearview to surprise everyone with an unforgettable and consistently hilarious performance.

A Chicago native, Braugher excelled at playing cops with integrity on television. He began his career playing a detective opposite Telly Savalas in a string of Kojak telefilms. Before long, he landed a pivotal role in Glory,...

Refresh for latest… André Braugher was an actor’s actor — one who absorbed a character and, like a superstar athlete, made the cast around him better.

As the showbiz community digests the terrible news of his death today at 61, reactions from friends, former castmates and others are hitting social media. Read a sampling of them below.

The versatile Braugher was a two-time Emmy winner and 11-time nominee who amassed more than 100 TV and film credits over a 35-year screen career. He started out playing a detective opposite Telly Savalas in a string of Kojak telefilms, and during that era Braugher hit the big screen with a key role in Glory, Edward Zwick’s 1989 Civil War-set film starring Matthew Broderick that would land Denzel Washington his first Oscar.

Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries

That would lead to his signature role in the criminally underwatched 1990s NBC...

Development continues on a feature film adaptation of the CBS cop TV series  "Kojak" starring actor Vin Diesel, who produces with Samantha Vincent for One Race Films:

The original "Kojak" TV series was created by Oscar winner Abby Mann, as a gritty police procedural, focusing on institutionalized prejudice and civil rights of suspects and witnesses, starring actor Telly Savalas ("The Dirty Dozen") as New York City 'Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak'.

The series aired October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978.

"...'Lieutenant Theodore ('Theo') Kojak (Savalas) is a dapper, New York City policeman, fond of 'Tootsie Roll Pops' and using the catchphrase, 'Who loves ya, baby?'.

"Stubborn and tenacious in his investigation of crimes, he also displays a dark, cynical wit and a tendency to bend the rules if it brings a criminal to justice..."

Click the images to enlarge...

A TV series based on Universal’s “Cape Fear” is in the works with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Nick Antosca.

The show, which is in development from UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Amblin, would mark Scorsese and Spielberg’s first ever TV project together. They executive produce with Antosca, who is also the showrunner and created true crime and horror dramas like “Channel Zero,” “The Act” and “Brand New Cherry Flavor.” Other executive producers include Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey from Amblin Television and Alex Hedlund from Eat the Cat.

Here’s the logline for the “Cape Fear” re-imagining: “A storm is coming for a pair of married attorneys when an infamous killer from their past gets released after years in prison. A tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century.”

The original “Cape Fear” was released in 1962, was...

Janet Landgard, who starred in 1968’s “The Swimmer” alongside Burt Lancaster and played Paul Petersen’s love interest for three seasons on “The Donna Reed Show,” has died. She was 75.

Petersen shared the news of co-star Landgard’s death on Facebook, noting that cancer “took her life earlier this week.” He added that Landgard was “the best TV girlfriend my alternate ego, Jeff Stone, ever had on the last three years of ‘The Donna Reed Show.’ Janet was gorgeous, inside and out… We were always close no matter the time or distance.”

Landgard was born on Dec. 2, 1947, in Pasadena, Calif. She made her onscreen debut in 1963 on “The Donna Reed Show,” playing a girl named Sabrina in one episode of the sitcom’s fifth season. She also guested on ABC’s “My Three Sons” that year.

Landgard returned to portray Jeff’s (Petersen) girlfriend Karen on 11 episodes of “The Donna Reed Show...

Janet Landgard, who played Paul Petersen’s love interest for three seasons on The Donna Reed Show and later costarred with Burt Lancaster in film drama The Swimmer, died Nov. 6 at age 75 of brain cancer, according to several friends on social media.

On Facebook, actor Petersen called her “The best TV girlfriend my alternate ego, Jeff Stone, ever had. Janet was gorgeous, inside and out … a flawless Scandinavian beauty that literally stunned jaded Hollywood types into silence. We were always close no matter the time or distance.”

Born on Dec. 2, 1947, Landgard was raised in Pasadena and worked for the William Adrian Modeling Agency. She made her onscreen debut in 1963 on The Donna Reed Show while still in high school, playing a girl named Sabrina on a fifth-season episode. She also appeared on ABC’s My Three Sons that year.

That led to a recurring role as Petersen’s girlfriend, Karen,...

Janet Landgard, who accompanied Burt Lancaster on a portion of his bizarre tour of backyard swimming pools in the acclaimed 1968 drama The Swimmer, has died. She was 75.

Landgard died this week after a very brief bout with brain cancer, actor Paul Petersen told The Hollywood Reporter. She recurred as his love interest on the final three seasons of the ABC family comedy The Donna Reed Show.

On Facebook, Petersen called her “the best TV girlfriend my alternate ego, Jeff Stone, ever had. Janet was gorgeous, inside and out … a flawless Scandinavian beauty that literally stunned jaded Hollywood types into silence. We were always close no matter the time or distance.”

In Columbia Pictures’ The Swimmer — directed by Frank Perry and adapted by his then-wife, Eleanor Perry, from a John Cheever short story in The New Yorker — Landgard was memorable as Julie Ann Hooper, who used to babysit Ned Merrill’s...

Who loves ya, baby? A half century ago now — on October 24, 1973 — Kojak debuted on CBS, with the late Telly Savalas playing the tough-guy NYPD detective TV Guide Magazine once named the 18th greatest television character in the history of the medium. To celebrate Kojak’s 50th anniversary, here are 10 fascinating facts about the cop drama. 1. It started with a TV movie based on real-life murders. TV writer Abby Mann introduced Savalas’ Kojak — spelled “Kojack” at the time — in the 1973 CBS movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders. That movie was inspired by Justice in the Back Room, Sewyn Raab’s book about the Wylie-Hoffert murders. In both the real-life case and the TV movie, a Black teen was falsely accused of the murder of two white women. The real case — in which George Whitmore Jr. was convicted for killings he didn’t commit — ended up a factor in the Supreme Court ruling that...

What’s the first thing you think of when you picture Patrick Stewart? You can say Poop from The Emoji Movie all you want but we all know you immediately saw his bald head. Like Yul Brynner, Telly Savalas and Bruce Willis, the cueball look is one of Patrick Stewart’s trademarks. As it turns out, the 83-year-old actor has been perfecting it since he was a teenager.

Patrick Stewart opened up about his premature baldness in his new book, “Making It So: A Memoir”, available from Simon & Schuster. “By the age of nineteen, I was as bald on top as I am now.” But Stewart remained hopeful – at least where his career was concerned. “What I cared about, though, was dating. Attractive young women, I assumed, were not going to want to go out with a young bald guy–not like what’s become socially acceptable, even desirable,...

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of imagination but of cinematic imperfections. It is the middle ground between reality and illusion, between what is intended and what is captured on film. This is the dimension of mistakes and oversights. It is an area which we call "The Production Zone." In it, mirrors reflect mistakes, film equipment appears at the periphery of vision, continuity wavers, editing stumbles, and stock footage mismatches.

As you journey through this realm, you'll uncover imperfections often overlooked in the iconic series "The Twilight Zone." Known for thought-provoking tales, the series wasn't immune to production hiccups, gaffes, and glitches.

Question the facade of the extraordinary as we explore elusive mistakes -- 14 in total -- across beloved episodes in this "land of shadow and substance." Will you emerge unscathed from this journey into cinematic blunders? Or, like its characters, be forever changed by what you see?...

This article contains spoilers

Superman is on the lookout for Lex Luthor. Even though the criminal mastermind only appears in public under one of his many wigs, Superman knows that Lex Luthor is bald. So when he sees a hairless man on the street, Superman accosts the pedestrian only to see not Gene Hackman’s menacing smile, but detective/lollipop enthusiast Theo Kojak, played by Telly Savalas. Superman pauses for a moment for the audience to roar in laughter when they recognize the popular television character, who pulls out his sucker to utter his famed catchphrase, “Who loves ya, baby!”

Granted, this scene did not make the final version of 1978’s Superman, the start of the first wave of superhero movies, but it was in one of the movie’s later drafts, and while Donner was able to limit the cameos in his movie to low-key appearances by Kirk Alyn...

Jim Brown, the NFL Hall of Famer and Civil Rights activist who turned to acting and appeared in films and TV shows ranging from The Dirty Dozen and I Spy to Draft Day, Mars Attacks! and The A-Team, died Thursday night in Los Angeles. His wife, Monique Brown, said in an Instagram post that he died peacefully, but she did not provide a cause.

Brown is considered among the greatest football players of all time. Drafted sixth overall in 1957 by the Cleveland Browns out of Syracuse University, his bruising running style redefined the running back position. As a rookie, he ran for 237 yards in a game against the Los Angeles Rams — a record that would stand until the 1970s.

Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries

Among his myriad NFL records and milestones, he was the first to top 100 career rushing touchdowns and set single-season and career rushing...

Gordon Lightfoot wasn’t necessarily one of the biggest names in folk music and classic rock history. Still, the Canadian singer-songwriter left behind a significant legacy and a huge net worth when he died on May 1, 2023.

Gordon Lightfoot | Scott Dudelson/Getty Images Gordon Lightfoot’s had a $40 million net worth when he died

A fruitful decades-long career ended when Lightfoot died of natural causes at a Toronto hospital (per his verified Facebook page). He was 84.

Lightfoot found music as his muse in the late 1950s, started his recording career in the 1960s, and achieved his commercial peak in the 1970s. Yet he continued recording albums and playing live into the 2020s. He released the album Solo in 2020 and toured in 2022. However, Lightfoot canceled his 2023 tour.

The years of making and selling records, writing popular and heavily covered songs, and touring behind his music paid off. Lightfoot amassed a $40 million net...

Robert Aldrich's great war film "The Dirty Dozen" wasn't the first men-on-a-mission movie, but it is generally held up today at the apotheosis of the form. The tale of the U.S. Army's most vicious convicts getting assigned to a suicide mission deep behind enemy lines during World War II, with the promise of a pardon should they survive, is stocked with the toughest of the tough guys of the late 1960s. Lee Marvin heads up the brass-knuckle ensemble as the no-nonsense Major John Reisman, who's stuck with the unenviable task of shaping up a unit of anti-authoritarian malcontents or straight-up psychopaths. With troublemakers and nose-breakers like Charles Bronson, George Kennedy, Jim Brown, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, and John Cassavetes along for the ride, "The Dirty Dozen" became more than just the perfect "men-on-a-mission" movie: it was the ultimate guy flick.

We call them "Dad Movies" nowadays. They're the...

Chucky, Annabelle, M3gan Photo: Brendan Meadows (Syfy) America loves its toys to death, at least if movies are any indication. Since the 1987 introduction of the murderous doll Chucky, killer toys have been a staple of the cineplex. Despite the modest returns of the Child’s Play series, Chucky continued to...

Click here to read the full article.

Stuart Margolin, the character actor and James Garner buddy best known for portraying the smarmy yet sweet con man Evelyn “Angel” Martin on The Rockford Files, has died. He was 82.

Margolin died Monday, his stepson, actor Max Martini (The Unit), reported on Instagram. Another stepson, director Christopher Martini, told THR that Margolin died of natural causes in Staunton, Virginia.

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Margolin also brought his manic, manipulative persona to the Blake Edwards films S.O.B. (1981), as a star’s (Julie Andrews) insidious personal assistant, and A Fine Mess (1986), as a bumbling crook in the filmmaker’s homage to slapstick.

Margolin appeared opposite Charles Bronson in The Stone Killer (1973) and Death Wish (1974) — both directed by Michael Winner — playing a contractor who arranges mob hits in the former and the guy who gives Bronson...

There are times when something that’s almost human is more terrifying than an actual monster. After all, uneasiness often stems from things that come eerily close to resembling humanity. Roboticist Masahiro Mori explained why people feel this way with his 1970 essay about the “uncanny valley” effect, and ever since, society has better understood why they feel uncomfortable around things such as lifelike dolls.

The living doll shows up infrequently in the horror genre, but when it does, people take notice. They’re ultimately torn between curiosity and repulsion as these puppets gain sentience and carry out their sinister missions. Chucky and others have all skittered across the big screen, but these stories, from five different anthology series, are a reminder of how toy terror also lives on television.

The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

Living Doll

Even on its last legs, Twilight Zone — by then, the series had already dropped the...

Jennifer Aniston remembered her father, actor John Aniston, “as one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew,” after he died last week.

The elder Aniston — best known for his decades-long work on the soap opera Days of Our Lives — died last Friday, Nov. 11, at the age of 89. A cause of death wasn’t given.

Jennifer announced her father’s death on Instagram Monday, writing, “You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace – and without pain.

John Aniston, the charming Greece-born actor who for more than three decades portrayed the ruthless Victor Kiriakis on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 89.

The father of actress Jennifer Aniston died Friday, his daughter announced.

“Sweet papa …⁣ John Anthony Aniston,” the Friends megastar wrote in a tribute post on Instagram Monday, “You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now.”

She ended the post: “I’ll love you till the end of time.”

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A post shared by Jennifer Aniston (@jenniferaniston)

Aniston had played a different character, a doctor, on Days of Our Lives in 1969-70, then worked on two other daytime serials,...

Henry Silva, who starred in Johnny Cool, fought Frank Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate and was one of Sinatra’s fellow thieves in Ocean’s 11, among dozens of screen roles spanning a half-century, died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. He was 95.

An actor whose distinctive face often led to typecasting as the heavy, his 130-plus film and TV credits also include The Bravados, starring Gregory Peck (1958); Cinderfella, with Jerry Lewis (1960); the Rat Pack-led Western Sergeants 3 (1962); Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979); Love and Bullets with Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland and Rod Steiger (1979); the Burt Reynolds pics Sharky’s Machine (1981) and Cannonball Run II (1982); Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990); Steven Seagal’s first film Above the Law (1988); and Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai with Forest Whitaker (1999).

Along with the title role opposite Elizabeth Montgomery in Johnny Cool...

Hello, everyone! We’re back with the final round of horror and sci-fi home media releases for the month of August, and we’ve got quite a few killer titles headed home today. Scream Factory is giving Paul Schrader’s Cat People remake a 4K overhaul in a brand-new Collector’s Edition release, and Severin Films is keeping busy with several titles today as well, including All About Evil and Fearless, and if you haven’t had a chance to check it out for yourself yet, Jane Schoenbrun’s extremely unsettling We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is headed to Blu-ray this week as well.

Other titles being released on August 30th include Arrow Video’s Giallo Essentials: 3-Disc Limited Edition Collection, Lux Aeterna, Satan’s Children, Jack Be Nimble featuring Alexis Arquette, The Oregonian, Raw Nerve, and Shriek of the Mutilated.

All About Evil: 2-Disc Special Edition

It's...

Director Sergio Sollima sets the template for twenty years of violent action cinema for Rough Tough Charles Bronson. Precise stunt scenes and clever direction are at the service of a script that can’t produce a convincing line of dialogue. It’s a mishmosh of sex, bullets and car chases. Bronson is betrayed by his love for Jill Ireland, and Telly Savalas is shoehorned in as a (surprise!) nasty gangster. Much of it does play like gangbusters — the opening and closing especially — and the dynamic title instrumental is one of maestro Ennio Morricone’s best.

Violent City

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1970 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 109 + 96 min. / Città violenta, The Family, Final Shot / Street Date May 17, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Michel Constantin, Telly Savalas, Umberto Orsini.

Cinematography: Aldo Tonti

Production Design: Francesco Bronzi

Art Director: Franco Fumigalli

Film Editor: Nino Baragli

Stunts: Rémy Julienne, Goffredo Unger

Original...

Writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade ("Skyfall") continue updating the CBS TV series "Kojak" as a feature film for Universal, starring actor Vin Diesel, who will also co-produce with Samantha Vincent for One Race Films.

The original "Kojak" TV series was created by Oscar winner Abby Mann, as a gritty police procedural, focusing on institutionalized prejudice and civil rights of suspects and witnesses, starring actor Telly Savalas ("The Dirty Dozen") as New York City 'Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak'.

The series aired October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978.

"...'Lieutenant Theodore ('Theo') Kojak (Savalas) is a dapper, New York City policeman, fond of 'Tootsie Roll Pops' and using the catchphrase, 'Who loves ya, baby?'.

"Stubborn and tenacious in his investigation of crimes, he also displays a dark, cynical wit and a tendency to bend the rules if it brings a criminal to justice..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Writer, director David Ayer continues to develop a new take on "The Dirty Dozen", based on the E.M. Nathanson novel, that originally was inspired by death row WW2 Allied soldiers dubbed the 'Filthy Thirteen', assigned and trained as demolition saboteurs to destroy enemy targets behind the lines:

Director Robert Aldrich's 1967 feature, starred Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Clint Walker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Trini López and Donald Sutherland.

Ayer is also noted for the WWII tank movie "Fury".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Dirty Dozen"...

Writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade ("Skyfall") will update the CBS TV series "Kojak" as a feature film for Universal, starring actor Vin Diesel, who will also co-produce with Samantha Vincent for One Race Films.

The original "Kojak" TV series was created by Oscar winner Abby Mann, as a gritty police procedural, focusing on institutionalized prejudice and civil rights of suspects and witnesses, starring actor Telly Savalas ("The Dirty Dozen") as New York City 'Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak'.

The series aired October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978.

"...'Lieutenant Theodore ('Theo') Kojak (Savalas) is a dapper, New York City policeman, fond of 'Tootsie Roll Pops' and using the catchphrase, 'Who loves ya, baby?'.

"Stubborn and tenacious in his investigation of crimes, he also displays a dark, cynical wit and a tendency to bend the rules if it brings a criminal to justice..."

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As Deadline broke Monday, Beyoncé has now been officially confirmed to sing in one of the slots of Best Original Song contenders on the 94th Oscars on Sunday. As noted in the Deadline article, speculation is her performance of the nominated song (co-written with Dixson) called “Be Alive” from King Richard will take place via satellite from a Compton tennis court. That aspect, however, was not in the Academy’s long-awaited announcement today of plans for the Best Song presentations on the ABC Oscarcast.

As my colleague Mike Fleming noted, the formal announcement would come after voting closed Tuesday, and indeed it did — exactly at 5 p.m. Pt, which is the same moment ballots had to be in to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The campaign is over. All that is left now is the show itself.

The Best Song performance lineup as expected also includes Billie Eilish and Finneas with “No Time To Die,...

Retro-active: The Best From The Cinema Retro Archives

Review – Naked City: The Complete Series

Rlj Entertainment / 6,063 minutes

By Harvey F. Chartrand

Naked City was like no other TV series before or since – Michel Moriarty, star of Law and Order, once told this reviewer.

Inspired by Jules Dassin's 1948 film of the same name, Naked City centers on the detectives of the NYPD’s 65th Precinct, but the criminals and New York City itself often played as prominent a role in the dramas as the series regulars. Like the film it was based on, Naked City (1958- 1963) was shot almost entirely on location. The first season ran as a half-hour show under the title The Naked City, starring James Franciscus and John McIntire playing, respectively, Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon—the same roles essayed by Don Taylor and Barry Fitzgerald in the film.

The Naked City also starred Harry Bellaver as Det.

Veteran filmmakers Michael Relph and Basil Dearden try a hip ‘n’ flip costume comedy about an 1899 consortium that’s the equivalent of Murder Inc.: Killings for hire done with veddy proper civility and good taste. The charming Oliver Reed and Diana Rigg lead a notable cast — Telly Savalas, Curd Jürgens, Philippe Noiret, Beryl Reid, Clive Revill — through mayhem-filled chases in several European capitals. Tossed off in tongue-in-cheek style, it’s shallow but cute, and if you like the stars it can be a lark. Its saving grace is the spirited Ms. Rigg.

The Assassination Bureau

Region-Free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 86

1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / The Assassination Bureau Limited / Street Date October 29, 2021 / Available from [Imprint] or Amazon /

Starring: Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Curd Jürgens, Philippe Noiret, Warren Mitchell, Beryl Reid, Clive Revill, Kenneth Griffith, Vernon Dobtcheff, Annabella Incontrera, Jess Conrad, George Coulouris.

Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth

Art Director: Michael Relph

Film...

It has been awhile since I’ve written about Italian legend, Mario Bava. I have no idea why, but every so often images from his films dance through my mind and spin off into the ether. That’s the way phantasms work, I suppose. And now I have the troubled, confusing, and intoxicating Lisa and the Devil (1974) to add to my collection of Bava ghostery.

The film opened in Cannes in 1973, then played overseas the following year. Lisa, a languid, lurid, fever dream, was a dud. Producer Alfredo Leone and Bava’s burgeoning filmmaker son Lamberto shot and added exorcism footage of Lisa (all the rage at the time) while removing some of Papa Bava’s original film. Re-released in 1975 as The House of Exorcism, it too was dud. And bad.

Whereas Lisa and the Devil is not bad. In fact, it is quite good, different, and unique; the original...

[Editor’s note: The following post contains extensive spoilers for “No Time to Die.”]

What an exit! Daniel Craig literally went out with a bang as James Bond in “No Time to Die.” And he made us cry as never before. But his shocking death was necessary in completing his character arc and providing closure after all the heartbreak he endured. It was also important for the franchise to have a clean break before introducing the seventh 007.

But Craig’s tortured Bond finally found salvation at the end of his five-film journey. He saved the world from Safin’s (Rami Malek) targeted DNA bio-weapon, especially those closest to him: lover Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) and their young daughter, Mathilde (Lisa-Dorah Sonnet).

Craig’s unique run as Bond has been like watching one continuous movie: the “Casino Royale” origin story established him as a newbie 007, who was extremely rough around the edges; the “Quantum of Solace” sequel tied up the emotional...

In the lead up to the announcement of this year’s Golden Globe nominations, we at Gold Derby were forecasting that the Hulu series, “Ramy,” would pick up three nominations. We thought creator and star, Ramy Yousef, would be back in the Best TV Comedy Actor category after winning it last year as well as getting nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best TV Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali. In the end, only Yousef scored a nomination (and a corresponding nom at SAG the following day), but he could still end up pulling off a repeat win here for a couple of reasons.

SEEWhen are the Golden Globe Awards? Everything to know about the 2021 Golden Globes

The biggest reason not to count out Yousef is because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association loves to have repeat winners on the Musical/Comedy side of their television awards. In total, 16 performers have won...

At the upcoming Golde Globes, a TV series about a disastrous futuristic space cruise around Jupiter and an inclusive film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 19th-century set “David Copperfield” both hope to compete for comedy trophies. Though they share little in common on the surface, “Avenue 5” and “The Personal History of David Copperfield” both hail from satirical mastermind Armando Iannucci. The Emmy-winning writer and director was behind the films “In The Loop” and “The Death of Stalin” and TV series “The Thick of It” and “Veep,” and his latest works could impressively score both TV and film nominations this year.

Though Iannucci has no Globes to his name, his TV brainchild “Veep” scored seven bids over its seven-season run, including five for star Julia Louis-Dreyfus and two for Best Comedy Series. Although his features have had success elsewhere — “In the Loop” scored a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination for Iannucci and his co-writers,...

Writer, director David Ayer continues to develop a new take on "The Dirty Dozen", based on the E.M. Nathanson novel, that originally was inspired by death row WW2 Allied soldiers dubbed the 'Filthy Thirteen', assigned and trained as demolition saboteurs to destroy enemy targets behind the lines:

Director Robert Aldrich's 1967 feature, starred Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Clint Walker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Trini López and Donald Sutherland.

Ayer is also noted for the WWII tank movie "Fury".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Dirty Dozen"...

Pairing‌ ‌wine‌ ‌with‌ ‌movies!‌ ‌See‌ ‌the‌ ‌trailers‌ ‌and‌ ‌hear‌ ‌the‌ ‌fascinating‌ ‌commentary‌ ‌for‌ ‌these‌ ‌movies‌ ‌and‌ ‌many‌ ‌more‌ ‌at‌ ‌Trailers‌ ‌From‌ ‌Hell.‌ ‌This week, we find wine pairings for three films starring the late Robert Shaw. Whether you know him as Henry VIII, Doyle Lonnegan or Quint, he was a special talent and deserves a special toast. After all, he has a pub bearing his name in his home town near Manchester – however it is currently closed during the pandemic.

In 1973’s The Hireling, Robert Shaw plays a chauffeur who flips for the upper-crust woman in the back seat of the Rolls, Sarah Miles. Set in post-wwi England, all the characters seem to be dealing with one post-traumatic depression or another. Shaw does not get the girl – that might have been considered “jumping the shark.” That opportunity comes along in the next movie.

Chauffeurs and wine go together like pub crawls and designated drivers.

Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. Crime is a hot topic in the movies, but be careful – you don’t always know who the criminals are.

Clay Pigeon didn’t exactly set 1971 on fire, but if it had it would have been liable for more serious crimes than artistic ones. Plus, in the pairing-wine-with-movies biz, it’s always touch-and-go when dealing with a movie involving substance abuse. The laughs don’t exactly fall out of the balcony.

This movie starred Tom Stern, who also co-directed with Lane Slate. You may know Stern as the one-time husband of Samantha Eggar, or he may be on your radar for being what IMDb calls the “Orson Welles of ‘60s biker movies.” Citizen Knucklehead, anyone?

In Clay Pigeon, he was a Vietnam vet who wanted to kick hard drugs.