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Early on in the new version of “The Naked Gun,” there’s a moment that gives you that old “Naked Gun” feeling. Sgt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), a veteran L.A. cop of unorthodox methods, has just surveyed the scene of a fatal car crash that may have involved foul play. It’s time for the wrecked car to be hauled away, so to accomplish that task they use a vehicle attached to what looks like a giant version of one of those mechanical claws in an arcade game. The claw lifts the car halfway up and then, at the crucial moment, drops it. The joke is that Drebin and his colleagues all let out a disappointed “Ohhhhhh!,” the way a million parents have when the claw guided by their 7-year-old drops the plushie toy it’s trying to hoist (as happens just about every time). In its patented absurdity,...

This article contains spoilers for "Superman."

In James Gunn's "Superman," the charming and talented Skyler Gisondo plays Jimmy Olsen, the plucky reporter for the Daily Planet. He is depicted as something of a ladies man, the cute boy of the office, often drawing demure titters from his co-workers. Jimmy seems a little baffled by how attractive he is; he's no lothario. Jimmy is also secretly in contact with Eve (Sara Sampaio), Lex Luthor's girlfriend, which allows him access to vital information late in the film. 

Gisondo vibrated with "leading man" energy, and he once even (naturally) assumed that his audition for James Gunn was actually to play the role of Clark Kent. The only think keeping him from playing the Man of Steel, one might argue, are his boyish good looks. 

Gisondo is also no stranger to the world of superheroes or legacy characters. As a child, Gisondo...

Comedians long to be rock stars, they say, and rock stars dream of being comedians. For proof, look no further than band names that found their inspiration in TV comedies. The Simpsons and The Brady Bunch alone are responsible for at least seven band names between them.

Here are six bands that found their names tucked into the episodes of their favorite television laughers…

1 Fall Out Boy

The first time Fall Out Boy performed, they introduced themselves as Forget Me Not. When it was time for a more permanent alias, Pete Wentz argued for tongue-in-cheek names while Patrick Stump wanted something that referenced Tom Waits.

A bunch of names went on a list, including Fall Out Boy, an obscure reference to Radioactive Man’s youthful sidekick on The Simpsons. Friends voted on the name, and Fall Out Boy rose to the top.

Other bands with Simpsons-inspired names include the metalcore band Evergreen Terrace,...

Marilyn Howard Ellman, the youngest daughter of The Three Stooges star Curly Howard, died May 6 in Simi Valley of heart failure, her son Bradley Server told The Hollywood Reporter. She was 86.

With her parents divorced and her father often on the road at the height of his career in the early 1940s, Ellman only got to visit him maybe two weekends a month, her son noted. Later, she would spend time with him in the hospital after he had suffered a series of strokes, one of which forced him to leave The Three Stooges in 1946.

“My mom vividly remembers how much he loved animals,” Server said in a 2020 interview. “She would always play with a dog he had. And he absolutely adored this dog that stood by him until the end. You know, despite my grandfather’s big personality onscreen, I learned he was actually a shy, quiet man in private.

Like "The Little Rascals" and "Lassie" before them, the Three Stooges were once a regular part of Saturday morning network programming. 

The Three Stooges shorts date back to 1930, with the release of "Soup To Nuts," starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard. In 1932, Shemp left the act to work on solo material, and he was replaced by his younger brother Jerome Horowitz, aka Curly. The Moe-Larry-Curly lineup became the troupe's best-known, and, beginning in 1934, they began starring in a very long series of short films, starting with "The Woman Haters." The trio proceeded to star in 97 Three Stooges shorts, released through 1947. 

When Curly suffered a stroke in 1946, Shemp returned to the troupe, and the Stooges continued apace. From 1947 to 1955, the Moe-Larry-Shemp lineup starred in 77 additional shorts. Shemp, sadly, passed away in 1955, and he was replaced by Joe Besser, who starred in 16 shorts with Moe and Larry. Besser's stint with the Stooges was brief,...

Exclusive: Apple TV+’s Dark Matter has promoted Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale) to series regular for Season 2 as Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley) joins the ensemble led by Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly who also executive produce.

Based on the acclaimed book by Blake Crouch, Dark Matter follows Jason Dessen, (Edgerton) a physicist, professor, and family man who — one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago — is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmares when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to return to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Alice Braga, Oakes Fegley, Dayo Okeniyi and Jimmi Simpson also star.

As Deadline reported in 2022, Brugel joined the cast in the recurring role of ‘Blaire,...

The History Channel, America’s preferred method for putting dads to sleep in armchairs, used to produce a series called Hunting Hitler. The reality show floated the possibility that Hitler survived World War II and escaped to Argentina. Of course, if that were true, he’d be well over 100 years old, which would make the events of the show less of a “hunt” and more of an extended errand to collect some hypothetical bones.

In Season Two, Hunting Hitler featured an exciting development: A random Argentinian guy produced an old photograph of an elderly man that he claimed was really Adolf Hitler. For some reason he kept this important piece of evidence in a box in his closet instead of, say, giving it to the press or doing literally anything with it other than handing it over to the random strangers who showed up at his door with a reality TV crew in tow.

The Three Stooges have always, and forever will be, the kings of slapstick comedy. Originally comprised of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard, the trio started as a vaudeville comedy act in the 1920s. In 1932, Shemp Howard departed from the group to pursue a solo career. Sequentially, he was replaced by Curly Howard, the younger brother of both Moe and Shemp. Thankfully, this change did not affect The Stooges' success and allowed them to comfortably transition into the film industry.

The Three Stooges short films were shot between 1934 and 1957 in association with Columbia Pictures. Despite the alternating cast members, the original black-and-white pieces are continuously revered by any comedy connoisseurs, mainly for their overly theatrical violence and clever one-liners. A handful of these one-liners turned into repeated quotes used throughout the entirety of the series, creating memorable catchphrases for fans to rejoice over at their appearance.

"I Resemble That...

With the Box Office success of the live-action remakes of iconic Disney animated films like The Little Mermaid, it was only a matter of time before the first Disney princess, Snow White, was given the live-action treatment. 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a massive moment in cinema history, being the first feature-length animated film. The Snow White remake is set to release on March 25, 2025, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.

However, Disney's live-action remake is not the first attempt at a live-action adaptation of the Snow White story. Throughout the last few decades, there have been several live-action interpretations. While some of these films followed the basic aspects of the Disney story, many of them interpreted the story differently, either taking inspiration from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale or adding their own interpretations to fit with the time in which it was made.

Grimm's Snow White...

The Stooges' constant cast turnover reveals personal issues and health problems that affected many of the performers. Moe Howard was the leader of the Stooges both on and off screen, and was committed to the group until his passing in 1975. Curly's shaven head and distinctive comedy style made him a fan favorite, but his declining health led to a shortened career and untimely death at the age of 48.

The Three Stooges are one of the most influential comedy groups in history, but their confusing membership calls for some clarification. The trio existed, in one form or another, for nearly 50 years. The need to keep earning money was partly influenced by the treacherous business practices of Columbia Pictures, who kept the performers on a fixed salary, keeping the massive profits from the shorts and never telling the Stooges just how popular they had become throughout their 24-year tenure at the studio.

The Three Stooges produced 190 short comedy films over five decades, with Moe Howard and Larry Fine remaining consistent for nearly 50 years. Some of the Stooges' sketches, like "You Nazty Spy!" and "They Stooge to Conga," used humor to highlight political and social issues of the time. The Stooges' physical comedy shines in sketches like "Punch Drunks" and "A Plumbing We Will Go," where their absurd plotlines lead to hilarious destruction.

The Three Stooges were active in Hollywood for five decades, producing 190 short comedy films that vary in quality. Over time, the Stooges' lineup changed on multiple occasions, though Moe Howard and Larry Fine remained consistent for nearly 50 years. In 1934, the trio of Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine signed a deal with Columbia Pictures, which would become their home to produce both short films and feature movies throughout their careers, reaching popularity in the era that few comedy groups have ever achieved.

With A24's Dicks: The Musical, co-writers and co-stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp have done the unthinkable: they've brought the now-bygone era of unabashedly crass, lowbrow humor back to the big screen – although it's arguable that many films masquerading as "serious-minded" have been filling the same void of idiocy for a while now.

Dicks is precisely the type of movie that one could expect back when the Farrelly brothers still dealt in particularly refined garbage (pronounced gar-bahj). Sharp's character, Craig Tiddle, even sports a deflated pompom cut that lies somewhere between Lloyd Christmas and Moe Howard. But just as much as one branch of the double helix is Dumb and Dumber and the crass comedy vernacular of creative cussing disguised as a script, the other branch is devoted to an evident love of musicals – namely, the ability to break into song to say what mere words sans accompaniment cannot.

The Force may have been strong with Luke Skywalker, but Mark Hamill is certain that he will be hanging up his lightsaber once and for all. Not only that, but he’s confident that the Star Wars saga will be just fine without the beloved Jedi.

Mark Hamill has been chatting about Luke Skywalker a lot lately, with one notable take saying he’s open to being replaced by a younger actor. But now he has doubled down, saying maybe the character doesn’t need to be in the series anymore at all. “You never say never. I just don’t see any reason to [play him again]. Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don’t need Luke anymore.” Hamill’s wording certainly catches attention, as he’s not saying “they don’t need me anymore” but specifically Luke, who served as the...

If you're a movie or TV viewer, you've seen Chris Diamantopoulos. Probably many times. If you're an animation nerd, you've heard Chris Diamantopoulos. Again, probably many times. Anyone who is pop culture-literate in the year 2023 has encountered the actor in some capacity -- even if you don't know his name, you know his face. But you can be forgiven for not recognizing his voice, because his chameleonic voiceover work suggests the work of a dozen different actors.

After cutting his teeth on the Broadway stage, Diamantopoulos smashed into film and television and has seemingly never stopped working. You may know him from roles on major TV series like "CSI," "24," "The Sopranos" and "Arrested Development," where he eased into those shows' distinct tones with ease. He was the sound guy who tempted Pam away from Jim in the final season of "The Office." He was that guy from the horse...

C3 Entertainment, rights holders to "The Three Stooges" slapstick comedy brand, continue to develop the feature "The Three Little Stooges", starring young teens, who will hit each other with hammers and poke each other in the eyes, as the original 'Curly Howard', 'Larry Fine' and 'Moe Howard':

After a nation-wide casting call, Luke Clark has been cast as 'Little Curly', Liam Dow as 'Little Larry' and Gordy Destjour as 'Little Moe'.

Screenplay for the live-action feature is written by Harris Goldberg ("Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo") and Sean McNamara ("Even Stevens").

"Keeping 'The Three Stooges' legacy alive for new generations is vital for the franchise," said C3 Entertainment.

"We are excited to bring 'The Three Little Stooges' to life to entertain kids, families and our global fan base..."

Click the images to enlarge…...

Click here to read the full article.

A federal judge has ordered the arrest of Rovier Carrington, who’s facing a perjury charge for falsely accusing late Paramount chief Brad Grey of rape, for missing court hearings in his criminal case. Carrington says he failed to appear because he’s immunocompromised and was recommended not to travel.

“The Court gave Mr. Carrington plenty of chances,” reads the order issued on Friday.

In 2018, Carrington sued Viacom for 50 million alleging a corporate scheme to cover up being raped by Grey and exploited by former MTV chief Brian Graden. He claimed they tricked him into signing a nondisclosure agreement and said he had the emails to support the allegations. The case fell apart when the authenticity of the emails were called into question, leading to Carrington losing his attorney. He tried to withdraw his case but the matter was referred to the Justice Department,...

When HBO Max announced its Green Lantern live-action television series, speculation ran rampant on how the DC galactic superhero mantle would be handled after Ryan Reynolds starred in the notorious 2011 film flop. However, that speculation has just narrowed, with the casting of headliner Finn Wittrock. The catch? Rather than playing famous hero Hal Jordan, Wittrock will instead star as machismo-addled antihero Guy Gardner, who will eventually be joined by other ring-wielders from the comic lore. It’s an intriguing development that will undoubtedly define the tone of the series.

Who is Guy Gardner? While that might sound like an easy question to longtime DC Comics readers, initiate fans only familiar with Green Lantern’s film and television iterations are likely unaware of the powder keg of un-pc repartee that the classic character’s live-action arrival prospectively wields for the eventually assembled onscreen ensemble. In fact, Gardner is so prominent that...

As the temps show little signs of cooling (and Fall’s less than four weeks away), another way to pass the hours in the “great indoors” (a very familiar locale for the last five months or so) is to scoop up a beloved literary classic, blow the dust off, and dive right in to revisit another faraway time. Or, for those more adventurous folk, head down to the just reopened movie theatres for the latest big-screen adaptation. Yes, this work has inspired countless artists over its 170 plus years’ history. One such writer/filmmaker, who’s been quite the award magnet in televised media over the last couple of decades, has decided to put his “spin” on this classic to both honor the original tome and breathe “new life” into it for today’s movie audiences. That may account for his “addition” to the title (which had been just the main...

“Jojo Rabbit” dares to be a slice of Third Reich hipster whimsy about an awkward lad and budding 10-year-old Hitler youth (Roman Griffin Davis), whose faithful imaginary companion is none other than a rather buffoonish iteration of Der Fuhrer himself. As played by the dark satire’s half-Jewish writer/director Taika Waititi in khaki pantaloons and askew mini-mustache, this demented dictator starts out as a goofy father substitute who encourages Jojo to be a good Nazi as he struggles to learn such skills as killing rabbits and throwing a grenade – an act that ends rather badly. But by the end, this alt-world Adolf grows resentful that his reign in the real life has come to an end while Jojo literally gives the hateful being the heave-ho and banishes him from his life forever.

See‘Jojo Rabbit’ is a strong contender in 11 Oscar categories

Film fans and history buffs know all...

Tony Sokol Mar 27, 2019

The best jokes work on two levels, and John and Yoko's Bed Peace still works fifty years later.

Fifty years ago this week, Beatle John Lennon invited the press to come to bed with him and his new bride, the avant garde artist Yoko Ono. Expecting to witness "the century's most uncensored love-in," media representatives were surprised to find they merely contracted "hair peace." No, the musician who popularized the forward comb of Moe Howard of the Three Stooges wasn't giving away Beatle wigs. He and his wife skipped their honeymoon to become the world's clowns for peace. Lennon, a sometime satirist and consummate wit, knew he'd been accused of armchair liberalism and went a step further. Leave the sit-in protests to students, he and Ono staged a "bed-in."

The newlyweds would actually stage two such happenings to promote world peace during the Vietnam War, the first...

2Nd Update, 2:20 Pm: The man who sued ex-MTV exec Brian Graden and the late Brad Grey for $100 million in May alleging sexual assault has asked the court to ax the lawsuit. Rovier Carrington petitioned a federal court last week to drop the suit, but Judge Katherine Polk Failla instead ruled Tuesday that the plaintiff must file an official motion to dismiss the case. Read details about the lawsuit below.

Updated 4:06 Pm with statement from Brian Graden’s attorney: “We take allegations of this sort seriously, and are reviewing the complaint,” Viacom spokesperson Jeremy Zweig said today in response to a $100 million lawsuit alleging sexual assault and corporate blacklisting by former Paramount boss Brad Grey and other nefarious actions.

“The instant case, is yet another example of depravity existing throughout an industry now synonymous with sexual deviancy,” the multi-claim complaint from Rovier Carrington filed today in New York Supreme Court claims.

The Best of The Three Stooges

DVD

Time-Life

1934 – 1959 / 1.33:1 / Over 45 Hours (!)/ Street Date – June 6, 2018

Starring Moe Howard, Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Joe DeRita

Cinematography by Benjamin Kline, Gert Andersen, Ray Cory

Directed by Jules White

Garden variety slapstick has always been fraught with physical peril but The Three Stooges took the concept to medieval levels, their persona defined by equal parts vaudeville and the Spanish Inquisition.

With clothes seemingly hijacked from clotheslines and manners borrowed from feral raccoons, the scrappy trio were nothing if not street survivors – always on the dole or making do with hardscrabble day jobs. Their raw brand of comedy, all simmering anger and violent outbursts, was the embodiment of depression-era resentment.

Ticket buyers loved them, so much so that Columbia president Harry Cohn used them as a bargaining chip when striking deals with hungry theater owners – if exhibitors wanted The Three Stooges, they were stuck with Blondie Plays Cupid.

C3 Entertainment, rights holders to "The Three Stooges" slapstick comedy brand, will produce the feature "The Three Little Stooges", starring young teens as the original 'Curly Howard', 'Larry Fine' and 'Moe Howard':

After a nation-wide casting call, Luke Clark has been cast as 'Little Curly', Liam Dow as 'Little Larry' and Gordy Destjour as 'Little Moe'. 

Screenplay for the live-action feature is written by Harris Goldberg ("Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo") and Sean McNamara ("Even Stevens").

"Keeping 'The Three Stooges' legacy alive for new generations is vital for the franchise," said C3 Entertainment. 

"We are excited to bring 'The Three Little Stooges' to life to entertain kids, families and our global fan base..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Three Stooges"...

Find "The Three Stooges" Comic Books Here...

“Sharp Edges” (as in blades) is the perfect title for a documentary about Tonya Harding. But who would have had the prescience to think of that title a decade before her infamy? Last year, when “I, Tonya” came out, there were those (like me) who flipped for it, and those who didn’t. The appearance this week of “Sharp Edges,” a documentary about Harding made in 1986, eight years before the incident that made her famous, isn’t likely to change minds in either camp. Yet as an “I, Tonya” believer, I watched this fascinating found object of a movie, directed by Sandra Luckow as her senior-thesis project at Yale, eager to see if it supported or undercut the vision of Tonya Harding and her demons put forth by Craig Gillespie’s audacious awards-bait docudrama. What it reveals, to me, is how close to the truth of Harding’s life “I,...

MGM wasn’t the most current studio in 1957, as can be seen by this throwback to another era, a semi-screwball romantic comedy with big stars and directed in high style by Vincente Minnelli. Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall party like it’s 1939, and with the musical-comedy help of the irrepressible Dolores Gray, almost pull it off.

Designing Woman

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 117 min. / Street Date June 19, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Gray, Sam Levene, Tom Helmore, Mickey Shaughnessy, Jesse White, Chuck Connors, Alvy Moore.

Cinematography: John Alton

Film Editor: Adrienne Fazan

Art Direction: E. Preston Ames, William A. Horning

Original Music: André Previn

Written by George Wells

Produced by Dore Schary, George Wells

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

1957 was definitely the end of an era at MGM. With next to nobody on the payroll, it could no longer claim to possess All the Stars in Heaven.

C3 Entertainment, rights holders to the "Three Stooges" slapstick comedy brand, will produce the feature "The Three Little Stooges", starring young teens as the original 'Curly Howard', 'Larry Fine' and 'Moe Howard':

After a nation-wide casting call, Luke Clark has been cast as 'Little Curly', Liam Dow as 'Little Larry' and Gordy Destjour as 'Little Moe'. 

Screenplay for the live-action feature is written by Harris Goldberg ("Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo") and Sean McNamara ("Even Stevens").

"Keeping 'The Three Stooges' legacy alive for new generations is vital for the franchise," said C3 Entertainment. 

"We are excited to bring 'The Three Little Stooges' to life to entertain kids, families and our global fan base..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the "Three Stooges"...

Update: Viacom has released an official statement to IndieWire about the lawsuit against the company: “We take allegations of this sort seriously, and are reviewing the complaint.”

Earlier: Rovier Carrington, who says he is the great-grandson of “Three Stooges” star Moe Howard, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Viacom, late Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey, and former MTV executive Brian Graden. The court documents accuse Grey of raping Carrington, and claim Graden engaged in aggravated sexual abuse, stole Carrington’s idea for a gay reality dating show, and destroyed his career. Carrington seeks $50 million in actual and compensatory damages, and another $50 million in exemplary and punitive damages.

According to the lawsuit, Grey was driving Carrington home from a business dinner and said he would kill Carrington’s potential entertainment career if he did not have sex with him. He allegedly pulled Carrington’s pants down and performed oral sex on him.

A man who says he’s the great-grandson of Moe Howard, of the legendary “Three Stooges” vaudeville comedy team, filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the late Paramount chief Brad Grey of having raped him. In the suit, obtained by TheWrap, Rovier Carrington also accuses Brian Graden, a former head of programming at MTV Networks, of sexual misconduct.

Carrington said in the legal filing that he was also tricked by Viacom into signing a non-disclosure agreement over his misconduct claims. He is demanding $100 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court.

The lawsuit also contends that Graden stole his idea for a gay reality dating show after the two engaged in a two year relationship.

Also Read: Charlie Rose Faces Backlash Over Proposed #MeToo Redemption Series: 'My Feed Is Just Anger'

In his lawsuit, Carrington said that he was sexually assaulted by Brad Grey, the late CEO and chairman of Paramount Pictures.

According to Carrington, Grey invited him to a dinner. Grey then drove Carrington home and parked his car. It was then, according to the lawsuit, Grey “began kissing Carrington all over his face, neck and mouth.”

When Carrington rebuffed his advances, Grey became violent, the lawsuit said, as he slammed Carrington’s face into the window.

“The abruptness of Grey’s personality from dinner until that moment completely took [Carrington] off-guard and he did not know how to react,” states the complaint. “Grey indicated to Carrington, that if he did not have sex with him, he would destroy any chance [he] had of building a career in the entertainment industry.”

Also Read: Bill Mechanic's Academy Exit Blasts CEO Dawn Hudson, Inclusion Efforts, #MeToo Response

Carrington claims that Grey then pulled his pants down and performed oral sex on him, and eventually anally raped him.

“Carrington as expected, was conflated; crying, scared and did not want to go through with having sex,” the complaint went on to say. “Grey demanded Carrington drink alcohol to make it easier, at which point he proceeded to pour the spirit down Carrington’s throat, ripped off his clothes, and proceeded to anally rape him, without a condom.”

Following the encounter, Carrington claims he was asked by Viacom’s human resource department to sign a non-disclosure agreement. To sweeten the deal, the documents say, he was promised an envelope filled with money. Carrington said that after he declined the offer, he was blacklisted by Viacom.

A rep for Viacom told TheWrap in a statement: “We take allegations of this sort seriously, and are reviewing the complaint.”

Grey, a former Hollywood talent manager was the head of Paramount from 2005 to 2017. He died of cancer shortly after leaving his job at age 59.

Also Read: Tony Robbins Dragged Over #MeToo Comments: 'Biggest Pile of Dog S-' (Video)

Carrington said during that time he came into contact with Brian Graden through a gay dating site. Graden, best known for helping Matt Stone and Trey Parker develop the hit animated series “South Park,” was running MTV at the time and launching the Logo Network for Viacom.

“Graden indicated to Carrington that if he wished to move forward with his reality show, and come off Viacom’s banned list, that he would be required to have sex with Graden, Carrington agreed, as having sex with Graden was now his only option if he wanted to work in the entertainment industry,” the lawsuit states.

Graden’s lawyer, Larry Stein, told TheWrap in a statement: “This sensationalized and meritless lawsuit is particularly egregious as it attacks two respected executives, one of whom is an industry icon whose death prevents him from defending himself, and the other, who has had a long, sterling and unblemished career free of any implication of inappropriate behavior personally or professionally. The complaint, which reads more like fiction than fact, seems to be based more upon Mr. Carrington’s entitled belief that he is ‘Hollywood royalty’ with a ‘pedigree of a star’ because he claims his great grandfather was one of the Three Stooges, than on facts. It is unfortunately too common for wannabes to hold on to their entitlement, but uncommon for such claims to make headlines by use of hyperbole and baseless allegations of rape and conspiratorial extortionist conduct. The complaint ends just as it started, wildly untethered to reality, seeking damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We are confident that Mr. Graden will be fully vindicated and Mr. Carrington will be exposed for what and who he truly is.”

Carrington is seeking $50 million in actual and compensatory damages and another $50 million in exemplary and punitive damages.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Read original story Brad Grey, Brian Graden Accused of Rape, Sexual Exploitation in $100 Million Lawsuit At TheWrap...

A self-described Hollywood “It boy” has sued producer Brian Graden, alleging that the former MTV executive used the lure of a potential reality TV series to extort sex.

Rovier Carrington filed the suit in New York Supreme Court. It accuses Graden, a former head of programming at MTV, of destroying his career and stealing his idea for a gay reality dating show. The suit states that Carrington and Graden had a two-year sexual relationship, during which time Graden promised to help produce various reality shows that Carrington was working on.

Carrington also alleges that he was sexually assaulted by Brad Grey, the late CEO and chairman of Paramount Pictures. He contends that Grey blacklisted him from working at Viacom after Carrington refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Carrington said he initially agreed to have sex with Graden because Graden agreed to help him work at Viacom again.

“Graden indicated to...

A man who says he's the great-grandson of Three Stooges star Moe Howard has brought a shocking lawsuit that accuses late Paramount chief Brad Grey of raping him. The complaint details extraordinary contact with high-level executives in the entertainment industry, alleges that a nondisclosure agreement was achieved through trickery and demands $100 million in damages. It was filed on Tuesday in New York.

Rovier Carrington says he was wealthy, young and handsome, and grew up among Hollywood's elite. He wanted to work in entertainment like those he socialized with, so in 2010, Carrington alleges he wrote, starred in and produced...

A man who says he's the great-grandson of <em>Three Stooges</em> star Moe Howard has brought a shocking lawsuit that accuses late Paramount chief Brad Grey of raping him. The complaint details extraordinary contact with high-level executives in the entertainment industry, alleges that a nondisclosure agreement was achieved through trickery and demands $100 million in damages. It was filed on Tuesday in New York.

Rovier Carrington says he was wealthy, young and handsome, and grew up among Hollywood's elite. He wanted to work in entertainment like those he socialized with, so in 2010, Carrington alleges he wrote, starred in and ...

The Three Stooges Collection –

Volumes 1 and 2

Blu ray

Mill Creek Entertainment

1941-1965 / 1:33, 1:85 / Street Date April 21, 2015

Starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Joe DeRita

Cinematography by Franz Planer, Scotty Welbourne, William P. Whitley

Written by Raphael Hayes, Norman Maurer

Directed by Sidney Salkow, Edward Bernds, Norman Maurer

A frenetic mix of baggy-pants vaudeville and the Spanish Inquisition, the eye-poking exploits of The Three Stooges have appalled faint-hearted sophisticates and overprotective mothers for close to a century.

The team’s lowdown influence still lingers – not in the brutal roughhousing demonstrated by the lads in their most frantic moments but in their low class assault on upper class sensibilities – from the semen-sculpted hair-do of the Farrelly Brothers’s There’s Something About Mary to Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass to the mortifying contagion of diarrhea suffered by Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids, the Stooge abides.

And then there’s the Farrelly’s ode to brainlessness,...

For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to attend a Beatles concert in the 1960s, Ron Howard’s Eight Days a Week just might be the next best thing. The 2016 documentary traces the band’s rise from a cramped and dank cellar in Liverpool to record breaking television appearances, jam packed stadiums, and—ultimately—rock immortality. Lovingly assembled through rare and often unseen fan home movie footage, Howard’s film also draws on more familiar material—restored to the highest echelons of HD— and new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. All told, it’s a joyous...

Kirsten Howard Aug 8, 2017

Producer Jonathan Sothcott talks about running an independent film company in the UK, finding the right project and a post-Brexit industry.

Jonathan Sothcott has had a hand in producing a whole lot of independent films here in the UK over the last decade. You may have even seen a fair few of them yourself, especially if you’re a Danny Dyer completest.

See related Game Of Thrones season 6 recap Game Of Thrones spinoffs: HBO not keen to "overexploit it” Game Of Thrones: 8 ideas for prequel spinoffs

He’s the man behind Hereford Films, the production and financing company he runs with partner Damien Morley. If that name rings a bell, it might well be because Morley owns a modelling agency that takes care of most of the Page 3 girls, and the entrepreneur has even recently launched a bid to buy the Page 3 brand off The Sun himself.

Chicago – He was all Chicago, from his birth on the West Side to his passing on the North Side, blocks from Wrigley Field and his beloved Chicago Cubs. Howard Fagenholz’s family owned the Marigold Bowl near the corner of Grace and Broadway from 1941 through 2004. He was a lifelong entertainer at the bowling alley, combining his bellicose and sentimental virtues as a bartender and counter worker there, which earned him the nickname “Uncle Howard.” Fagenholz died in his sleep of natural causes on June 30th, 2017. He was 88.

Howard Fagenholz of Marigold Bowl, Chicago

Photo credit: Fagenholz Family

He was born to lawyer Fred Fagenholz and the former Myrtle Arkin in 1928. His mother’s family was close to the George Halas family, so Howard was used to having Chicago Bears football players like Sid Luckman hanging around – he was at old Comiskey Park watching the Bears vs. the Chicago Cardinals when...

Variety is reporting that Adam West, star of the 60's television show Batman as well as his voice work on shows such as Family Guy, has died at the age of 88. He passed away after a short battle with leukemia.

I first became aware of Adam West when reruns of Batman hit the airwaves soon after the 1989 film. His deadpan take on Bruce Wayne and Batman were quite different to the tone that the modern movies took. The show was intended to make you smile at the camp and silliness you saw on screen. What made it work for me was the seriousness the actors brought to the roles. Adam West got the most laughs as Batman by playing it straight.

Mr. West faced the woes of typecasting that such an iconic role could bring onto an actor. He found work through voice over roles and through personal appearances which kept the money rolling in.

No, there's nothing particularly revelatory here. But director Ron Howard, who put together the 2013 Jay-z concert pic Made in America, catches the exhilarating kick of Beatlemania as the band toured 15 countries from 1963 to 1966. Everything is here, from the band's hysteria-making American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show to Lennon's controversial remark that the Beatles "are more popular than Jesus." Paul McCartney provides context: "By the end, it became quite complicated. But at the beginning, things were really simple." True, that.

In fresh interviews, McCartney and Ringo Starr offer comments...

He’s riffed on countless action movie tropes across Sony’s Jump Street series and will soon rub shoulders with the Men in Black. But for his latest, Channing Tatum is in line to join Jillian Bell for Disney’s long-rumored Splash remake, which will flip the tables by having the mermaid as a man and the human as a woman.

It’s a twist that was already in the cards and today, Deadline has made it official; whereas Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah headlined Ron Howard’s cult hit as human and mermaid, respectively, Tatum and Jillian Bell are part of Disney’s gender-swapped version, which has already enlisted the support of both Howard and Brian Glazer as producers.

According to Deadline, the overhauled Splash redo hails from Channing Tatum himself, while Marja-Lewis Ryan is the scribe on board to make that ambitious idea a reality. Detractors may claim...

I had a close friend and brother-in-arms named Larry Schlam, an attorney who specialized in juvenile rights. He later became a law professor and a lecturer on that same issue. He had been a doo-wop singer in Brooklyn, but that has no relevance to this topic. As it comes to us all, Larry died last year.

Back in 1971 or 1972, I was with Larry at his office in downtown Chicago. We were working late – to the extent that we were actually working – and I left around 10 Pm. As I walked towards the elevators, I saw one about to close and, like many late-evening neurotics, I was convinced that was the last elevator for the night. I shouted “Please hold the elevator!” and a giant mitt popped out to hold the door open. I trotted into the booth, turned to thank my benefactor, and found myself face-to-face with Muhammad Ali.

I did...

Some years ago I was contacted by Paul Howard, the son of Moe Howard, to ask if I would participate in a documentary he was making about his famous father, the eye-poking, head-banging leader of The Three Stooges. Of course, I said yes. In subsequent conversations Paul revealed that it had taken him many years to come to terms with being the offspring of a Stooge. That piqued my curiosity, and if you’re a lifelong Stooge fan (like me) I think you’ll have the same reaction to the finished product, a nine-part series called The Three Stooges: Hey Moe! Hey Dad!, which is now available in an elaborate boxed DVD set. Paul and his filmmaking partner, Frank Basile, cover all...

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Truth in film takes another jolly beating in Disneynature's Monkey Kingdom, a documentary-like nature flick with the last-century chutzpah to pass off its marvelous footage of some months in the life of a single-mom macaque as a full-fledged princess story, with three acts, a tearful exile, and her ascent, in the final reels, to the throne. (Oops, spoiler for the anthropomorphized-monkey movie.) It's something like a Cinderella story: Simian starlet Mya boasts a likable face and a bobbed fringe of hair that suggests a ginger Moe Howard, but she's at the bottom of the Tasty Fig Tree of Life, eating scraps while her monkey-band's royalty chews fresh fruit in the top branches. The upper caste includes three red-faced sisters who, in movie narrative terms, are Heathers or Mean...

At its best, comics is like a family, where people in the field are known by their first names by fans and peers alike. Jerry, Joe (well, several Joes, actually, but context always makes it clear which one), Will, Bob, Bill, Stan, Jack, Steve, Marie, Carmine, Len, Marv, Flo.

Irwin.

Irwin Hasen was my friend, just as he was a lot of people’s friend. Of course, millions of people knew Irwin through his comics (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Wildcat, the Fox, and, of course, Dondi). But because he had no children and no local relatives, Irwin’s friends and companions were his cartooning contemporaries, the cartoonists he mentored, and a steady stream of admirers, thirty to fifty years his junior, who crossed his path in various ways. Some were fans, some fellow comics pros. Some were descendants of his contemporaries, seeking information about and connection with their parents or grandparents through Irwin,...

The bowl cut is (as best summarized by Gary Larson), nature’s way of saying “do not touch.” This is the haircut of a child (worse, a child with zero fashion sense). If worn by a child, don’t touch, because hey- that’s not your child. On an adult, don’t touch, because whomever sports the bowl cut may not be of sound mind or body. Or they could be Jim Carrey, filming a Dumb and Dumber sequel. Lloyd Christmas has returned, and with him, the rattling rattlesnake tail of the haircut world. But Lloyd isn’t the only one to take his fashion cues from a salad bowl- he’s one of many in a long line of bowl-cutted heroes, American patriots who’ve upheld a ruler-straight hairline for nearly a century. Let’s take a look at a few, shall we? Moe Howard, The Three Stooges The Great Depression was a dour period in...

The legendary movie palace The Redford Theatre in Detroit presents a Three Stooges film festival this weekend. Here is the press release:

It’s October and Halloween is only a few weeks away. What better way to start getting ready for that scary holiday than a “Three Stooges Horror Festival”? Join us this weekend for a few frights and loads of hilarity as the Stooges roll through six of their spookiest shorts. “Mummy's Dummies” finds the boys selling used chariots in ancient Egypt (and not quite on the up and up). Soon they find themselves appearing in front of King Rootentootin, (a large and rotund Vernon Dent). Hilarity follows. Strangely, in another one of our features, “We Want Our Mummy”, we find the Stooges back in Egypt several centuries later, looking for the mummy of that same King Rootentootin — who is discovered to be a midget. Go figure. That latter...

2014 has been a year of many anniversaries for The Beatles. Back in February, millions tuned in for The Night That Changed America, CBS’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the band’s arrival in the United States. Earlier this month, A Hard Day’s Night returned for a brief stay in theatres, in honor of that musical’s half-centennial.

Now, as bursts of Beatlemania return to the popular culture, director Ron Howard is in talks to direct a documentary about the Fab Four, focusing on their touring years in the UK, the Us and 13 other countries. Not much is known about the doc just yet, but it is said to make extensive use of concert footage, some shot from fans in the crowd at several of their 166 live concerts.

“[The Beatles'] impact on popular culture and the human experience cannot be exaggerated,” Howard says. “They were so exceptional yet so relatable.

Like most of America at the time, director Ron Howard was first exposed to The Beatles when he saw them on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. After seeing that appearance, he told his parents he wanted a Beatles wig. Fast-forward a few decades, and Howard is relaying that story to a producer on the set […]

The post Ron Howard to Direct Official Beatles Documentary appeared first on /Film.

The world of cinema certainly has had its share of sympathetic bumbling and stumbling characters rich in both comedic and tragic layers and anything else in between. Some of these movie misfits are misunderstood and actually more aware then they appear. The combination of being slow-witted, clumsy, awkward, inept, unstable–it all has its entertaining points in the hapless scheme of things. Importantly, these bumbling and stumbling film figureheads generate a kind of loose-minded and in some cases underlying poignancy that resonates so soundly for global moviegoers to observe with embraced enthusiasm.

So let us take a look at a selection of klutzy candidates (both in seriousness and silliness) that inspire us to chuckle and root for in the column Whoops…Did I Do That?: Top 10 Film Bumblers and Stumblers (Note: the listing of the choices below are not in any particular order of preference):

1.) Forrest Gump from...

"I mean, the guy is a fucking Komodo dragon, but he has the bangs of Ken Burns?" The whole table laughs, and Billy Bob Thornton smiles, knowing he's just nailed it. The subject is a hired killer; specifically, the horrible, Moe Howard-ish bowl haircut that this professional hit man sports. Sitting across from Thornton in a Midtown conference room, Colin Hanks stares up at the ceiling and then adds "He's like a human ficus plant. Put the guy in a corner, and you wouldn't even notice him."

61 Reasons to...

One of the rights comics creators have been fighting for lo these many decades has been obtaining ownership of their work, or at least getting some control and a decent percentage. We think this is fair and necessary… as do even a few modern publishers.

Much of this revolves around how our copyright and trademark laws work. Neither are elegantly written – go figure – and our copyright laws are and have just about always been woefully outdated. Given the ludicrous growth in technology, this is likely to be true for a long, long time. The good news for creators is that these laws are understandable (by and large) and all talent, no matter what media helps pay their rent, should read these laws very carefully. If the laws sound like they were written in Klingon, there are plenty of resources out there to help you.

So… I’ll make it easy for you.

Comedy legends' missing 1933 film restored after negative found by Australian collector

A Three Stooges short previously thought lost in a 1967 fire has just received its first screening since being rediscovered in a garden shed in Australia.

Hello, Pop!, a 17-minute short made for MGM in 1933 featuring the Stooges alongside their creator, Ted Healy, was the only Three Stooges film thought not to have survived, after MGM's negative was destroyed in a vault fire in 1967 that also consumed the only known copy of Tod Browning's silent shocker London After Midnight. However, 78-year-old film collector Malcolm Smith came across a 35mm nitrate negative of the film in his shed in a Sydney suburb while sorting through his collection for disposal. Smith then contacted the Vitaphone Project, an archive and preservation organisation in the Us, in December last year, and they took on the job of restoring it.

The Three Stooges were...