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There's long been a divide between what's popular with general audiences and what's popular with the Academy Award voters. Popular, beloved directors like Alfred Hitchcock famously never won an Oscar, for instance, just as actor Samuel L. Jackson has never won one despite starring in seemingly every big movie ever. One particularly fun example of this phenomenon came with Kurt Russell's 1984 movie "Swing Shift," a box office bomb that grossed $6.6 million on a $15 million budget.

Why did it bomb? The general consensus was that the movie failed to live up to its promising premise. The movie was about the labor shortage during WWII, where women found unexpected power in the workforce before being pushed back into traditional roles the moment the war was over. The movie captured the feeling of the time period well and featured a few hard-hitting moments, but it didn't nail it in the way that...

While many are growing tired of remakes, there are some that stand out in the crowd, such as Timothée Chalamet's version of Willy Wonka in Wonka (2023). Most wouldn't say it was better than the original 1971 film, but its 82% Rotten Tomatoes score isn't bad. Perhaps that'll be the case forAmazon MGM Studios' reimagination of David Mamet's 1987 House of Games. To increase its chances of being good, Dcu stars Viola Davis (Suicide Squad), who is also an Academy Award winner, and Primetime Emmy Award winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II(Aquaman)will lead and produce the upcoming project.

What can contribute to the success of a remake of a classic production? From ensuring not too much of the original story is changed to selecting the perfect cast, crew, and more, there has to be something that stands out. For this remake of House of Games, having a veteran star like Viola Davis...

Would you like to play a game? No. Not Saw. I’m talking about the House of Games, with Viola Davis and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the feature’s star players. According to Deadline, a reimagining of David Mamet’s 1987 crime thriller is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. In addition to leading the film, Davis will produce through her Juvee Productions studio alongside Julius Tennon, Melanie Clark, and Abdul-Mateen II via his House Eleven10 banner.

In David Mamet’s directorial debut, House of Games, a psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men. Mamet wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Katz, while Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, and Lilia Skala led the cast.

Viola Davis’ latest feature, G20, featured the Emmy-winning actress as President Danielle Sutton. In the action-packed film,...

House of Games is getting a remake at Amazon MGM Studios. The acclaimed 1987 neo-noir will be reimagined for the 21st century with two former stars of the DC Extended Universe.

According to Deadline, Viola Davis and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are set to star in a reimagining of House of Games, which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios.Additionally, the actors will produce the remake through their respective production banners, Juvee Productions and House Eleven10. While they have achieved success outside the superhero genre, Davis and Abdul-Matteen II are still perhaps best known for their involvement in the Dceu, with the former starring as A.R.G.U.S. agent Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and Black Adam, and the latter as Black Manta in the Aquaman duology.

The original House of Games was written by David Mamet, who also helmed the feature as his directorial debut.

Exclusive: Viola Davis and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are set to star and produce in a reimagining of the 1987 MGM feature film House of Games, which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. The actors will produce through their respective production banners, Davis for Juvee Productions alongside Julius Tennon and Melanie Clark, and Abdul-Mateen II for House Eleven10.

David Mamet wrote the original feature, which also served as his directorial debut. It follows psychiatrist Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse), who gets caught up in the world of gambling while trying to help one of her patients, Mike Mancuso (Joe Mantegna), deal with anxiety.

In 2017, Davis was named by Time 100 as one of the world’s most influential people and, in 2022, was honored with the Public Counsel’s William O Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice causes. Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille honor at...

Robert Benton, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter turned director who co-wrote Bonnie and Clyde and directed Kramer vs. Kramer, has passed away at 92. His longtime assistant and manager, Marisa Forzano, told The New York Times that Benton died on Sunday in his Manhattan home. Benton’s influence in Hollywood is vast, with writing credits for such classics as the 1984 Period Drama Places in the Heart and Richard Donner’s Superman (with Mario Puzo and Leslie Newman), starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman.

With Places in the Heart, a coming-of-age drama Robert Benton wrote and directed, the filmmaker shared an autobiographical epic based on his grandmother’s arduous experiences during the Depression in Texas. Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, and Danny Glover lead the 1930s-set film, which focuses on a widow with two small children who tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the...

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This May, Hulu is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the highly anticipated return of Nine Perfect Strangers to the much-anticipated streaming release of Pamela Anderson‘s The Last Showgirl. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Hulu this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the seven best films that are coming to Hulu in May 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Attack the Block (May 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91% Credit – Optimum Releasing

Attack the Block is a British sci-fi comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish. The 2011 film is set on a council estate in South London, and it follows a group of teenagers as they fight against alien invaders to save themselves. Attack the Block stars John Boyega,...

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is famous for its blend of comedy and drama, silly rubber monster suits, and '90s dance sequences. But it's perhaps most famous of all for its villains. That's not just because they're super memorable, but also because of how the use of seasonal villains on "Buffy" completely changed the way most serialized TV was written. That format will surely continue in the recently reported "Buffy" sequel series at Hulu.

The concept of the "Big Bad" of a season overshadowing all the smaller "monster of the week" episodes and tying together a cohesive story with a climactic finale every year basically came from "Buffy." That narrative model, which had worked in various forms in the comic book medium for years, gave the show a distinctive feel on TV in the late '90s and early 2000s. It also became hugely influential for the whole medium of dramatic television.

Zosia Mamet comes from a long lineage of folks making names for themselves in some capacity in the entertainment field. As one can probably tell from her last name, she's the daughter of playwright and screenwriter David Mamet, who's behind such works as "Glengarry Glen Ross" and the 1997 political satire "Wag the Dog." Mamet's mother, Lindsay Crouse, is an actor, while her grandfather on that side of the family is Russel Crouse, another playwright.

It almost seems like Mamet was destined for big things with that lineage, and she's certainly made a name for herself over the past decade of consistent work. From dramas to comedies (but mostly comedies), she's done it all, especially after breaking out with her role of Shoshanna Shapiro on "Girls."

These are the best Mamet movies and TV shows yet, but don't worry. Despite providing one of the most ridiculous moments in "Madame Web," her...

Audiences can be very quick to judge TV characters, to the point that their first impression can often turn out to be entirely wrong, with the realization that they were great all along. This can easily happen to characters who oppose the protagonist in some way, as viewers naturally root for the lead and see anyone who is blocking their goals as a threat. However, as the characters' motivations become clearer, everyone soon comes to the realization that they harshly and unfairly judged them.

Many of the best TV characters ever started off unpopular yet managed to redeem themselves throughout the series. In some cases, annoying TV characters managed to become fan favorites as viewers got to know and understand their backstories, motivations, and likable characteristics. The long-form nature of television has allowed for more nuanced portrayals of complex characters whose likable nature and positive traits only reveal themselves over...

Netflix's The Decameron (2024) is a unique historical comedy inspired by 14th century Italian short stories by Giovanni Boccaccio. The humor, romance, and historical backdrop of The Decameron have drawn comparisons to Bridgerton. The Decameron features a talented ensemble that includes Tony Hale, Zosia Mamet, Tanya Reynolds, and more.

Netflixs The Decameron (2024) follows a unique, hilarious group of characters to an Italian villa in 1348 as they try and escape the Black Death in Florence. The series was inspired by the 14th century Italian short-story collection of the same name by Giovanni Boccaccio. Though they have their differences, the romance and historical setting have led people to compare Netflixs The Decameron and Bridgerton. The Decamerons raunchy humor makes it a sex comedy as well, with the villa characters often just as, if not more concerned with sex and romance as staying alive.

That is partially what makes The Decameron stand out among other medieval TV shows.

Carol Littleton, one of four people who will receive awards from the Motion Picture Academy at Tuesday night’s Governors Awards, is part of an unusual statistic. She’s a film editor, a job that over the course of movie history has been done largely by men, who have been nominated for and won about 86% of all the editing Oscars.

And yet only three people have been named recipients of Honorary Academy Awards for film editing, and all three have been women. Margaret Booth, who began her career with D.W. Griffith and edited well into her 80s, received the first-ever Honorary Oscar for editing in 1977, while Anne V. Coates, who won an Oscar for “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, was given an honorary award in 2016.

Littleton will be the third, in recognition of a career that has included “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,” “The Big Chill,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “Benny & Joon” and “Margot at the Wedding.

Foreshadowing played a significant role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with major plot points hinted at in advance, from relationships to character deaths and twists. The supernatural theme of the show served as a metaphor for real-life teenage struggles, making it relatable and engaging for viewers. Key moments of foreshadowing occurred throughout the series, sometimes seasons in advance, highlighting the attention to detail that contributed to the show's enduring legacy.

During its seven-season run, Buffy the Vampire Slayer foreshadowed some of its most significant future plot points. Some major Buffy the Vampire Slayer deaths, twists, and reveals were hinted at before they happened, from Easter eggs to overlooked one-liners. And, while some moments of foreshadowing occur seasons before the event, some take place in the same episode. This showcases the attention to detail that contributed to the enduring legacy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows Buffy Summers...

Robert Patrick, a pioneering playwright in the Off Off Broadway movement who later won wider acclaim for the 1975 Broadway staging of his play Kennedy’s Children, died in his sleep at home in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 23. He was 85.

His death was announced by Jason Jenn, a longtime friend and associate.

The Broadway production of Kennedy’s Children starred Shirley Knight, who won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, beating out a competitive roster that included Meryl Streep, Mary Beth Hurt and Lois Nettleton.

The play, which focused on a group of former 1960s activists reuniting and reminiscing in a Lower East Side bar, was adapted by Patrick for a 1982 TV movie that starred Knight, Jane Alexander, Lindsay Crouse and Brad Dourif, among others.

Robert Patrick O’Connor was born in Kilgore, Texas to migrant workers, later joining the Air Force for a stint cut short when a poem...

A reboot of the 1977 drama series, Fantasy Island is set at a luxury resort where couples can live out their wildest dreams. However, nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems, and the magical location seeks to teach rather than simply pamper. Roselyn Sánchez stars as the island's caretaker, Elena Roarke, who assists the guests during their transformations in an effort to preserve Mr. Roarke's original legacy.

Season 2, Episode 10 is titled "War of The Roses (And The Hutchinsons)" and airs Monday, April 17th on Fox. Fans of The Wonder Years are in for a treat, as Dan Lauria and Alley Mills once again step into the role of a married couple. Although both have worked on several other projects, Lauria and Mills are most notably known for playing Jack and Norma Arnold.

Related: How Fantasy Island 2021 Connects To The Original Show (& Movie)

Alley Mills and Dan Lauria chat exclusively...

"There is a land of the living, and the land of the dead, and the bridge is love – the only survival, the only meaning." Quiver Distr. has released an official trailer for an indie dramedy titled Chantilly Bridge, the latest from filmmaker Linda Yellen. The film is a follow-up to her feature Chantilly Lace from 1993, which was shot at the Sundance resort, a 30-years-later look (though the movie says it's 25 years later) at these same friends and what they're up to nowadays. Years later, the same brilliant actresses from Chantilly Lace return to bring their characters to life again in Chantilly Bridge. In a rare cinematic experience that travels back and forth between films, the characters' memories implode on the present. With unpredictable humor and searing honesty they confront old resentments, celebrate milestones, and rediscover the unbreakable bond among friends who knew each other when, there for each other now.

Exclusive: Luke Tennie (Shrinking) has boarded Oscar nom RaMell Ross’ feature The Nickel Boys, based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name.

The film from MGM’s Orion Pictures is based on the true story of a Florida reform school that damaged the lives of thousands of children over more than a century. Its protagonist is Elwood Curtis, a Black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee who is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, then finding himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors.

Tennie will play Griff, a student boxer at Nickel Academy. He joins an ensemble including Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater and Fred Hechinger. Ross and Louverture Films’ Joslyn Barnes adapted the screenplay. Plan B Entertainment, Anonymous Content and Barnes are producing, with Whitehead serving as exec producer.

Tennie will next be seen starring opposite Jason Segel...

From an opinion essay in The New York Times by Lindsay Crouse titled “Fandom Is Out of Control”:

What drives a grown person to travel to a courthouse in Virginia to hurl insults at someone she has never met, about behavior she didn’t witness and money she is not owed?

Crouse is referring, of course, to the bizarre public support for Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard. And most of Crouse’s essay is about that trial and the public reaction to it. But this is just the latest example of fans going full-blown toxic with their “love” in recent years, which also includes racist abuse by fans of actor Moses Ingram merely for the fact that she, a Black woman, was cast in the new Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (just the latest nightmare from Star Wars fans who seem more on the side of...

Exclusive: NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal is booking theaters in Los Angeles this weekend for free screenings of The Queen of Basketball, in honor of Lusia “Lucy” Harris, the late subject of the Oscar-shortlisted documentary.

Harris, who led Delta State University in Mississippi to three national championships in the 1970s and became the first woman ever officially drafted by an NBA team, died unexpectedly last week at the age of 66.

Harris is the first woman to score in Olympic basketball competition – she was the leading scorer and rebounder on the silver medal-winning U.S. women’s squad at the Montreal Games in 1976 – and holds the distinction of being the first Black woman inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Fellow Hall of Fame center O’Neal serves as an executive producer of the short documentary directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ben Proudfoot.

“I am extremely saddened at the sudden loss of the...

Ten years ago, the New York Times embarked on an experiment to incorporate short documentary films into its opinion section and quickly established itself as an alternative to HBO Documentary Films, then the most prominent distributor of short documentaries, growing along with the market for these short nonfiction films in its first decade.

Errol Morris, Jessica Yu and Alex Gibney made shorts for “New York Times: Op-Docs” its inaugural year and since that time its roster has expanded to include Garrett Bradley and Laura Poitras, who expanded their respective op-docs into features that garnered favor with Oscar voters: Poitras’ Oscar-winning documentary “CitizenFour” was born out of “The Program” (2012), while Bradley’s Oscar nominated “Time” grew out of her 2016 op-doc short titled “Alone.” Four op-docs shorts have received Oscar nominations, including “Walk Run Cha-Cha” and “A Concerto Is a Conversation” the past two consecutive years, and the program’s docs have...

BroadwayWorld has teamed up with renowned caricature artist Ken Fallin, a life-long theater enthusiast, who has drawn many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Below, check out his illustration of the cast of Mornings at Seven Alma Cuervo, Jonathan Spivey, John Rubinstein, Keri Safran, Patty McCormack, Dan Lauria, Tony Roberts, Alley Mills and Lindsay Crouse, currently playing off-Broadway at the Theatre at Saint Clements.

Exclusive: NBA great Shaquille O’Neal is joining a new team—the one behind the award-winning documentary The Queen of Basketball.

The Hall of Fame center and four-time NBA champ has signed on as an executive producer of the New York Times Op-doc short, which tells the story of Lusia “Lucy” Harris, one of the greatest women basketball players in U.S. history. Harris’ name is little known even to many with deep knowledge of the game, despite her incredible accomplishments—winning three national titles in college and a silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal (she was the first woman to score a basket in Olympic history).

Harris also became the first woman ever officially drafted by an NBA team, when the New Orleans Jazz (now the Utah Jazz) selected her in 1977 in the 7th round. She was inducted into both the pro basketball Hall of Fame and the...

Alley Mills will be reunited with her The Wonder Years husband Dan Lauria in the new Off Broadway production of Paul Osborn’s classic stage comedy Morning’s At Seven, a reteaming that comes as Mills replaces the recently injured Judith Ivey.

Mills, who stars on CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful, joins Lauria and other Morning’s At Seven cast members Lindsay Crouse, Alma Cuervo, Tony Roberts, John Rubinstein, Keri Safran, Jonathan Spivey and Patty McCormack (the latter most famously remembered as evil little Rhoda Penmark from 1956’s The Bad Seed).

The original Wonder Years mom was cast in the role of Arry after Ivey left the production due a torn tendon. (Nancy Ringham was a temporary replacement until Mills could join.)

“We are thrilled to have Alley Mills join our Morning’s At Seven family,” said producer Julian Schlossberg in a statement. “In the theatre, anything can happen,...

Sidney Lumet’s harrowing film is a true-life account of a NY narcotics detective- turned government informant; its length and intensity can be emotionally overpowering. Treat Williams is the idealistic cop who blows up his whole life and ends up betraying all the people he hoped to protect. He doesn’t seem to understand the ruthless, opportunistic nature of ‘systemic reform’ as he goes from good guy to the object of hate for both crooks and cops, and a target for the very same system that welcomed his help. The Wac made an excellent choice with this one — it’s one of the most deserving, underappreciated films of the early 1980s.

Prince of the City

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 167 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date August 24, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, Carmine Caridi, Tony Page, Norman Parker, Paul Roebling, Bob Balaban,...

TV director Dan Attias discusses his favorite cinematic moments with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

White Dog (1982)

Silver Bullet (1985)

Witness (1985)

The Verdict (1982)

Scent Of A Woman (1992)

The Piano (1993)

The Pawnbroker (1965)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

True Romance (1993)

Infested (2002)

A History Of Violence (2005)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary links

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary, John Landis’s trailer commentary

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion review

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion review

12 Angry Men (1957)

Dodes’ka-den (1970)

Memento (2000)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Other Notable Items

Phillips Club in NYC

Tfh Guru Alan Spencer

Sledge Hammer! TV series (1986-1988)

The Garland in...

Joan Micklin Silver, who forged her own way as a female director in the 1970s and ’80s and helmed seven features including “Crossing Delancey” and “Hester Street,” died Thursday in Manhattan. She was 85.

Her daughter, Claudia Silver, told the New York Times the cause was vascular dementia.

The 1975 independent film “Hester Street” was the story of a Jewish immigrant couple in the 1890s. The low-budget black and white film, in Yiddish with English subtitles, proved a hard sell to studios, and was eventually financed by her husband, real estate developer Raphael D. Silver. It won rave reviews and earned $5 million at the box office, an impressive amount at the time. The 21-year old Carol Kane was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her role as the wife, Gitl.

The 1988 romantic comedy “Crossing Delancey” was also set in Manhattan’s Lower East Side Jewish community. Starring Amy Irving, Sylvia Miles and Peter Riegert,...

Magnolia Pictures has acquired the worldwide rights, excluding Canada, to Lance Oppenheim’s documentary feature debut “Some Kind of Heaven.”

The film, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, was produced by Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa and Los Angeles Media Fund, which also financed the film.

“Some Kind of Heaven” profiles The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community, located in Central Florida. The Villages is often called the “Disneyland for Retirees,” and the film follows a married couple, a widow and a bachelor who search for Eden.

Also Read: Frank Zappa Documentary From Alex Winter Acquired by Magnolia

Magnolia is planning an early 2021 release.

“‘Some Kind of Heaven’ is a remarkable achievement from a striking new voice in film,” Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles said. “Lance Oppenheim demonstrates an incredible command of his craft and more importantly, a clear-eyed vision of the world around him. It also makes me want to learn pickleball.

Exclusive: Magnolia Pictures have acquired worldwide rights excluding Canada to the Sundance breakout Some Kind of Heaven. The documentary marks the documentary feature debut of Lance Oppenheim and puts a Floridian sun-kissed spotlight on the surreal world of The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community. Some Kind of Heaven is produced by Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Media Fund. Magnolia is planning an early 2021 release.

After bowing at Sundance in January, the docu received love from critics and audiences alike before hitting the festival circuit. The Villages is sometimes referred to as the “Disneyland for Retirees”. Some Kind of Heaven follows retirees newly arrived at the fountain of youth including a married couple, a widow, and a bachelor search for Eden and a second bite at the apple, only to discover each of the deadly sins out on full display. From synchronized swimming to pickleball,...

Here's What's Popping This Week On Nightly Pop The Podcast: Kris Picks Her Favorite, Gaga's Love Game & Beckham's Obsession - Nightly Pop 02/27/2020 What would you do if your ex started dating Lady Gaga? That happened to NY Times editor Lindsay Crouse and she wrote an article about it. Plus, find out who the "Kuwtk" momager's current fave of the day of her all her daughters in a new interview with Ellen. Plus David Beckham talks about his love of Legos. And so much more on "Nightly Pop." Take a listen. Kim and Kourtney Kardashian Brawl, Critics vs. Malika & Oprah Doesn't Sext - Nightly Pop 02/26/20 The Kardashian sisters get physicals in the new Kuwtk...

You know the feeling when you see your ex with someone new? Now, imagine that someone new was Lady Gaga.  Such was the case for Lindsay Crouse. At the start of this month, the Grammy winner's increasingly visible romance with Michael Polansky sparked headlines over Super Bowl 2020 weekend, culminating in the new couple making matters Instagram official. "We had so much fun in Miami," the Oscar winner wrote of their weekend getaway in a caption for a photo of the triple threat cuddled up on Polansky's lap. Meanwhile, Crouse, a New York Times Opinion senior staff editor, was getting texts. As she recalled in a piece penned for the website titled, "My Ex-Boyfriend's...

“You like me!” It’s been 35 years since Sally Field‘s memorable Oscar speech. Hosted by Jack Lemmon, the 57th Academy Awards ceremony in March of 1985 saw several significant nominees and winners, and a film about a classic composer was the big winner.

She’s been mimicked, parodied and accused of extreme sappiest. But it cannot be denied that Field gave one of the most enduring Oscar speeches in the history of the awards show. Although she had won five years before for “Norma Rae,” Field expressed that the first time around, she was so stunned she couldn’t take it all in. However, this time she exuded pure joy, and many of us at some point have said something to the effect of “. . . this time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact you like me. Right now, you like me!”

SEESally Field movies: 15 greatest films ranked...

For Sama, Waad al-Kateab’s striking documentary about the start of the protests against the Assad regime in Syria, won the Best Feature prize at the International Documentary Association’s Ida Awards.

Al-Kateab shot hundreds of hours of footage over a course of the five-year siege that offered an unflinching view of life in war; the twentysomething economics student married one of the last doctors in her hometown of Aleppo, and they had a daughter, Sama, as the city crumbled around her.

Other winners Saturday at a ceremony on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles included HBO’s Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland, which won for Best Multipart Documentary, and Homecoming, Beyoncé’s Coachella concert film for Netflix.

Netflix won a leading three awards, including Best Director for American Factory co-directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert and Abstract: The Art of Design as Best Episodic Series.

Here’s the full...

“For Sama,” Waad al-Kateab’s wrenching story of raising a young daughter in war-torn Syria, has been named the best nonfiction film of 2019 at the International Documentary Association’s 35th annual Ida Documentary Awards, which were handed out on Saturday night on the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.

Al-Kateab, who directed “For Sama” with Edward Watts, also received the Ida Awards Courage Under Fire Award at the ceremony. Last week, the film also won the top award at the British Independent Film Awards, a rarity for a documentary.

Steven Bognar and Julie Reichert received the Best Director Award, the first time the Ida has handed out that particular prize, for their look at the culture clash when a Chinese company took over an American auto glass factory in Ohio in “American Factory.”

Also Read: 'For Sama' Film Review: Syrian Documentary Finds Wrenching Personal Take on Conflict

Two...

Between The Lines (1977) will be screening at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E Lockwood Ave) on Thursday, Nov 14 at 7:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Harper Barnes, former film critic of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&a. This is a Free event.

In Between The Lines at the offices of a Boston alternative newspaper, the staff members enjoy a positive and open-minded work environment. Music critic Max (Jeff Goldblum) uses his influence to score dates, while news reporter Harry (John Heard) is involved with the lovely Abbie (Lindsay Crouse), the publication’s lead photographer. However, it seems as though their relatively carefree days are numbered when the owner of a major publishing company buys the paper, leading to more money but even more changes. The film’s astonishingly deep cast also includes Bruno Kirby, Gwen Welles,...

“They say that Rock & Roll are here to stay. But where? Certainly not at my place, it’s too small.”

Between The Lines (1977) will be screening at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 E Lockwood Ave)on Thursday, Nov 14 at 7:30pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Harper Barnes, former film critic of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&a. Look for an interview with Harper Barnes tomorrow night here at We Are Movie Geeks. This is a Free event.

In Between The Lines at the offices of a Boston alternative newspaper, the staff members enjoy a positive and open-minded work environment. Music critic Max (Jeff Goldblum) uses his influence to score dates, while news reporter Harry (John Heard) is involved with the lovely Abbie (Lindsay Crouse), the publication’s lead photographer. However, it seems as though their relatively...

The award comes with €10,000 cash prize and was presented at the Marché’s Doc Day.

Lina Soualem’s Their Algeria won the inaugural documentary works-in-progress prize at the Cannes Marche’s Doc Corner.

The award, which comes with €10,000 cash prize, is supported by International Emerging Film Talent Association (Iefta) and was presented at the Doc Lovers Mixer which closed Doc Day on Tues (May 21).

Their Algeria, part of the Palestinian Showcase, was one of the of 24 docs-in-progress from six countries participating in the Marché’s ‘Docs-in-Progress Showcases at the Doc Corner’ program. The countries were Argentina, Canada, Chile, Norway, Palestine and South Africa.

“Have I ever missed a deadline?” “Constantly.” Over forty years after making its debut, Joan Micklin Silver’s sophomore feature — following her low-budget 1975 historical drama “Hester Street” — “Between the Lines” is more timely than ever. The zippy, lived-in dramedy chronicles the intersecting lives of a pack of staffers at a Boston alt-weekly that’s already full of drama before it kicks into its central plot: what happens when the paper seems destined to fall prey to a corporate takeover.

As the staff grapples with the possibility that their lives (and livelihoods) are about to be forever changed, the film digs into plenty of still-intriguing ideas about the responsibility of the press, what it means to grow up, and how to hold on to your youthful zest when real-life responsibilities won’t stop calling.

The film features Jeff Goldblum in one of his earliest roles — after “Next Stop, Greenwich Village,” before...

The 9th Annual TCM Film Festival recently ended its takeover of Hollywood’s famed Chinese Theater and its vicinity. For four days the festival filled the large theater as well as the small upstairs multiplexes with classic films from many decades as well as a plethora of Oscar winners discussing their work — and of course tons of film fans from all over the world. The festival still seems to be finding its feet a bit after the tragic loss of Robert Osborne last year. (I had to wonder what Osborne would have to say about raunchy films like “Animal House” and “The Big Lebowski” being the prime attractions on the main screen on two evenings.)

While no match for Osborne, Ben Mankiewicz has become a great host for the festival and provided many in depth interviews. On the negative side it is still baffling why Illeana Douglas is so critically...

In Ed Harris‘s over-40-year career he has surprisingly never won an Oscar or an Emmy, despite four nominations from the motion picture academy and two from the TV academy. Emmy voters can start to make up for that this year as the second season of HBO’s “Westworld” premieres on Sunday, April 22. In honor of his return to the small screen, let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen performances. Tour through our photo gallery above of Harris’s 15 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.

Harris received his first Oscar nomination in 1995 after almost two decades in front of the camera: Best Supporting Actor for “Apollo 13.” He subsequently competed for “The Truman Show” (Best Supporting Actor in 1998), “Pollock” (Best Actor in 2000), and “The Hours” (Best Supporting Actor in 2002). He didn’t win any of those, and he hasn’t been nominated since,...

And thus, a new era began.

Buffy Season Four is a controversial Season amongst fans. To put it simply – it’s not the favourite for many. This was a bit of an interesting year for the show – for one thing, it lost two of its principle cast members to a newly launched spin-off, the familiar high school location was no more and the characters were officially adults. Times were moving on for Buffy, and the things that we had gotten used to were going to have to change.

Thus, the show moved onto the life of a Slayer at College, and the adventures that ensued. Adventures that are a little, well, daft at times. Don’t get me wrong – Season Four is by no means a failure, and does hit some serious heights on occasion. If anything, it lacks the consistency of Season Three and the brilliance of Season Two.

Over the last few decades – thanks in part to movies and TV shows like Dazed and Confused, Boogie Nights, Anchorman and HBO's Vinyl – there’s been a pronounced pop cultural tendency to reduce the 1970s to little more than a fabulous parade of campy signifiers like mirrored disco balls, brightly-painted muscle cars, platform shoes, bellbottomed jeans, tube tops, Afro hairdos, pornstaches and piles of cocaine.

It's an understandable impulse, of course. (Who doesn't love Afros or piles of cocaine?) But taking such a superficial approach to the seventies means glossing over the grittier,...

Philip Laverty Nov 10, 2016

From The Edge and The Untouchables, to the mighty Glengarry Glen Ross: a salute to the movie writing of David Mamet.

Spoilers ahead for The Untouchables, The Spanish Prisoner, and House Of Games

There's a moment in 1992’s Glengarry Glen Ross when Alec Baldwin, sent from head office on what he calls a “mission of mercy”, opens his motivational speech to an office of real estate salesmen by turning on Jack Lemmon’s Shelley 'The Machine' Levene.

“Put that coffee down,” he demands as Lemmon pours himself what he, probably reasonably, considers to be a well-earned cup of Joe.

“Coffee’s for closers only,” Baldwin points out, using the term for someone who can make a successful sale. The person who can close it.

“Your name’s Levene?” he asks a few moments later. “You call yourself a salesman, you son of a bitch?”

The callous disdain of this moment,...

Nathaniel talks to Sheila O'Malley, one of the best film critics on acting, as they reflect on recent Smackdown adventures, the chaos of acting careers, and the problems with "best" designations.

Index (43 minutes)

00:01 Acting training, Geraldine Page, and critics who "get" acting

06:45 Glenn Close and Robert Redford Reveries in The Natural

14:00 The quality of acting fields & self-selecting "Oscar movies"

20:45 Romancing the Stone and the "realm of fantasy" versus the "gritty" farm wife movies. Why do some movies hold up so well over time?

27:00 Peggy Ashcroft and Lindsay Crouse. Plus: making out with Ed Harris.

33:00 The rumors about Swing Shift and Jonathan Demme's original cut. Did we lose a masterpiece?

40:18 Sheila's connection to Gena Rowland's Honorary Oscar.

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?...

Presenting the Supporting Actress Class of '84. The Academy looked way back in time for this vintage collecting characters from the 1920s through the 1940s: a British senior on an excursion to see "the real" India, a Depression era beautician, the ex-girl of a ballplayer, and a former singer working in a factory during World War II. The sole contemporary character was a chain-smoking furious mother from Greenwich Village...

Glenn Close and Geraldine Page were the regulars... about to lose again!

1984 

Supporting Actress Smackdown  

The Nominees: The 1984 Supporting Actress list skewed more mature than usual. Lindsay Crouse, surely buoyed by the love for Best Picture player Places in the Heart, and the promising new star Christine Lahti who was the least familiar face to moviegoers at the time, were the youngest, both in their mid 30s. Glenn Close, on her third consecutive nomination in the category, and Geraldine Page with...

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1984 is coming your way on Wednesday August 31st with Dame Peggy Ashcroft defending her Oscar from the other side. Will the panel co-sign that Oscar win or throw their votes to Christine Lahti, Lindsay Crouse, or legendary Oscar regulars in the form or either Glenn Close or Geraldine Page. Please remember that readers are the collective sixth panelist so I expect your answers to these questions in the comments (as well as your ballots - details on what to send me here).

Meet The Panelists

Please give a hearty welcome to two first time Smackdowners

Noah Tsika

Noah Tsika is the Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Queens College, Cuny. He has also written two books on cinema: Nollywood Stars: Media and Migration in West Africa and the Diaspora and Pink 2.0: Encoding Queer Cinema on the Internet. 

Follow Noah on Twitter 

Sheila O'Malley...

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1984 is just 8 days away! All of the titles are available to stream online, albeit mostly with rental fees.

The Nominees were...

Dame Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India  iTunes | Amazon 

Glenn Close, The Natural iTunes | Amazon

Lindsay Crouse, Places in the Heart iTunes | Amazon

Christine Lahti, Swing Shift iTunes | Amazon

Geraldine Page, The Pope of Greenwich Village Amazon Prime  

Readers are our final panelist for the Smackdown so if you'd like to vote send Nathaniel an email with 1984 in the header line and your votes by Friday August 26th. Each performance you've seen should be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 hearts (1 being terrible 5 being stupendous) -- Remember to only vote for performances that you've seen! The votes are weighted to reflect numbers of voters per movies so no actress has an unfair advantage. ...

You thought we'd forgotten the Smackdowns. We have not! Here's what's coming this season. You know you want to join in the movie merriment! We're giving you a headstart so you can get to watching these 13 movies for the first time (or revisiting them) over your summer vacations. More details to follow as we get closer to the actual Smackdowns. 

Sunday July 31st

The Best Supporting Actresses of 1977

The Oscar went to the legendary but controversial Vanessa Redgrave for Julia and while she might be impossible to beat, the movies are all juicy in this category. Tuesday Weld co-stars in the provocative Looking for Mr Goodbar, Melinda Dillon was part of the fine cast of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Quinn Cumming charmed voters in The Goodbye Girl, and Leslie Browne, a dancer, debuted in Oscar's all time biggest loser The Turning Point (nominated for 11 Oscars but it lost every category!

Zosia Mamet candidly wrote about her eating disorder for Glamour in 2014, and now she's opening up again about how her mother's own issues with her body influenced Mamet's struggles.

"When I was growing up, my mother [actress Lindsay Crouse] was always on some sort of diet, and everything I was fed was nonfat or sugar free," the Girls star writes in the March issue of Glamour. "When I was hungry, her first response was, 'Are you sure?' I dreaded shopping. My mother would say to me, 'Zosia, let's look in the husky section.'"

Mamet, 28, says she was always jealous of her Crouse's lithe,...

The Australian International Documentary Conference has unveiled the program and international guests for this year's business stream. .

Aidc 2016.s Business Sessions will cover such areas as international funding strategies, the opportunities presented by Video On Demand (VOD) services, developing and selling factual formats, and the secrets of successful production houses..

Highlight sessions include Demystifying VOD, with Kinonation.s Roger Jackson; Taking Your Format To The World, a masterclass with Nz format expert Julie Christie; Patchwork Commissioning, an international funding how-to moderated by WildBear Entertainment.s Veronica Fury; and Docbusters, a session that explores how cinema on demand is allowing feature documentaries to blitz the box office.

Aidc Business Sessions are available only to All Access and Day Pass holders. A full schedule can be found on the Sessions page of the Aidc website.

Aidc Roundtables give attendees a rare chance to meet top decision makers and participate in highly focused discussions in an informal setting.

The Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) has announced its 2016 screening program..

Cult documentary Catfish will be screened with a live audio commentary by Zac Stuart-Pontier, the film's editor, and Marc Smerling, its producer.

The duo most recently worked together on HBO's The Jinx..

Also screening is The Hunting Ground, Kirby Dick's indictment of rape culture on American campuses, and The Memory of Justice, Marcel Ophüls' exploration of justice in the twentieth century, from the Nuremberg Trials to Algeria and Vietnam..

Aidc will also showcase Op-Docs, The New York Times' short documentary department, screening the banner's best docs, introduced by Op-Docs Commissioning Editor Lindsay Crouse..

The conference will also host an exclusive screening of Sherpa, followed by a Q&A with the film's director, writer and co-producer Jennifer Peedom and producers Bridget Ikin and John Smithson..

Also screening exclusively for delegates will be Black As, a new series following...