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For the second consecutive year, the Best Picture Oscar has been all in the family.

Husband and wife Sean Baker and Samantha Quan have earned statuettes for producing the comedy-drama “Anora,” one year after spouses Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas won the same award for “Oppenheimer.”

Baker and Quan, who shared the award with producer Alex Coco, are the fourth — or fifth, technically; see the “Lord of the Rings” team below — romantic partners to score the Oscar’s most coveted prize.

Julia Phillips was the first female producer to ever win Best Picture, 51 years ago, for the 1973 mystery drama “The Sting,” which she produced alongside Tony Bill and her then-husband Michael Phillips. They divorced the same year as their Oscar win, but continued to work together, producing “Taxi Driver” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Phillips wrote the brutal, blistering and best-selling memoir “You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again,...

The Sting, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, made groundbreaking history with one of its Academy Award wins. Considered one of the best heist movies of all time, The Sting sees Henry Gondorff (Newman) and Johnny Hooker (Redford) teaming up to con the crime boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). The 1973 film is among Robert Redford and Paul Newman's best movies, with its heist being among one of the most iconic in cinematic history.

The Sting's critical and commercial success led to ten nominations and seven wins at the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. It won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Scoring. Redford also received a Best Actor nomination, with Jack Lemmon going on to win the honor for Save the Tiger. However, only one of The Sting's Academy Award wins would change the future of movie awards.

Martha Luttrell, a talent agent who represented a notable array of directors, actors, writers and musicians, died on Dec. 9 in Calabasas, Calif. She was 80.

Luttrell’s death was confirmed to Variety by her friend Holly Goldberg Sloan, with the cause being pancreatic cancer.

As a one-time representative for directors Martin Campbell, Paul Weiland, Mick Jackson, Tony Bill and Jon Amiel, Luttrell also helped guide the careers of Stephen Rea, Julie Taymor, Dereck Joubert, Beverly Joubert, Susan Sarandon, Judy Davis, Sam Shepard, Waylon Jennings and Don Was.

Luttrell got one of her first jobs answering phones at Capitol Records. In the 1970s, she relocated to New York City and assisted Mike Nichols. After working with him on location for the film “The Day of the Dolphin,” she relocated to Los Angeles and got a job assisting Bill Robinson at The Robinson Agency, where she learned how to be an agent.

Robinson...

Martha Luttrell, the onetime ICM talent agent whose clients included Susan Sarandon, Sam Shepard, Waylon Jennings, Don Was and Martin Campbell, has died. She was 80.

Luttrell died Monday of pancreatic cancer in Calabasas, California, a family spokesperson announced.

Luttrell, who spent 25 years at ICM, also repped directors Paul Weiland, Mick Jackson, Julie Taymor, Tony Bill and Jon Amiel; actors Stephen Rea and Judy Davis; and filmmakers/conservationists Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

Luttrell was born in Vancouver on Halloween in 1944. Her father, James, was a salesman and her mother, Frances, a realtor. She knew at an early age that she wanted to be in show business and moved with her cousin to Los Angeles right out of high school. One of her first jobs was working at Capitol Records answering the phones.

In the early 1970s, Luttrell relocated to New York and became the assistant to Mike Nichols, whom she called...

Martha Luttrell, a veteran talent agent whose clients ranged from Susan Sarandon and Martin Campbell to Julie Taymor, Sam Shepard and Waylon Jennings and also worked with Mike Nichols and Bill Robinson, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in Calabasas, CA. She was 80.

Her friend Holly Goldberg Sloan confirmed the news to Deadline.

Born on October 31, 1944, in Vancouver, Luttrell knew at an early age that she wanted to be in show business and moved with her cousin to Los Angeles right out of high school. Among her first jobs was answering phones at Capitol Records.

Luttrell relocated to New York City in the early 1970s and became the assistant to comedian-turned-Oscar-winning The Graduate filmmaker Mike Nichols. After working with him on 1973’s The Day of the Dolphin, she moved back to Los Angeles and got a job assisting Robinson at The Robinson Agency, where she learn the craft of agenting.

Related:...

Hearts of the West is a 1975 American comedy film written by Rob Thompson, produced for MGM by Tony Bill, and directed by legendary commercial producer Howard Zieff: (I cant believe I ate the whole thing). The film has been called a valentine to the early days of moviemaking and is built around the performance of then-26-year-old actor Jeff Bridges, fresh off a string of early, career-building successes like Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.

For many years, A24 has been attempting to adapt the long-running slasher film series "Friday the 13th" into a prequel TV series called "Crystal Lake." For a few promising moments, Bryan Fuller was set to be the showrunner, but like so many Fuller projects, he eventually parted ways with the project over creative differences. This was in addition to the continued legal woes surrounding the "Friday the 13th" movies, leaving director/producer Sean Cunningham butting heads with original "Friday the 13th" screenwriter Victor Miller as to who owns the rights to the 1980 hit.

Charlize Theron was once eyed to star in "Crystal Lake" as Jason Voorhees' mom, Pamela Voorhees, but that may no longer be the case now that the series has undergone some reworking in the wake of Fuller's departure. That reworking may finally be in full swing once again, as, according to a new report from Variety, Brad Caleb Kane...

The Blue Angels documentary captures the high-stakes reality of flying powerful aircraft with precision, inspiring many hit movies. Realism and accuracy in military aviation films like The Blue Angels provide a level of authenticity that fictionalized films can't match. The Blue Angels and other military aviation movies, like Top Gun and Midway, immerse audiences in intense action and emotional storytelling.

The Blue Angels documentary is a thrilling look into the real-life training of the Navy and Marine flight exhibition team, and their experiences have inspired many great movies to watch after seeing the film. Centering on the high-stakes reality and intricacies of flying incredibly powerful aircraft at high speeds with razor-sharp precision, The Blue Angels has captured the imaginations of everyone who witnesses them. Produced by Glen Powell, who was exposed to their prowess while filming Top Gun: Maverick, The Blue Angels are brought to life stunningly in the new documentary.

Downey's role in Less Than Zero showcases the tragic reality of drug addiction and the downward spiral it causes. Julian Wells embodies rock bottom in a chilling way, reflecting on Downey's own struggles in the 1980s. Downey's personal and professional resurgence contrasts with the haunting legacy of Julian Wells in Less Than Zero.

In the 1980s, Robert Downey Jr. became an unofficial member of Hollywood’s Brat Pack, beginning with Downey’s appearance in the 1985 John Hughes comedy film Weird Science alongside charter Brat Pack member Anthony Michael Hall, whom Downey later appeared with in the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live and the 1988 comedy film Johnny Be Good.

Downey’s first starring film role came alongside another core Brat Pack member, Molly Ringwald, in the 1987 romantic comedy-drama film The Pick-up Artist, which marked Ringwald’s first post-Hughes starring film vehicle after the 1986 teen romantic comedy-drama film Pretty in Pink.

Screen legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s second and final screen pairing, in 1973’s The Sting, proved even more popular at the box office than their first, 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film — about a syndicate of confidence men planning cons in the Great Depression — was a dream shoot on the Universal backlot set, save for one persistent annoyance: Redford was always late.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its seven Oscar wins, the team behind The Sting — producers Michael Phillips and Tony Bill (the third producer, Julia Phillips, ex-wife of Michael and author of You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, died in 2002) and screenwriter David S. Ward — joined The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast for a rollicking conversation about getting the film made.

“He always felt inadequate, and that he was hired for his blue eyes,” says Phillips of working with his hero,...

John Bailey, the cinematographer on Ordinary People, Groundhog Day, As Good as It Gets and dozens of other notable films who endured two “stressful” terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, died Friday. He was 81.

Bailey died in Los Angeles, his wife, Oscar-nominated film editor Carol Littleton (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), announced.

”It is with deep sadness I share with you that my best friend and husband, John Bailey, passed away peacefully in his sleep early this morning,” she said in a statement. “During John’s illness, we reminisced how we met 60 years ago and were married for 51 of those years. We shared a wonderful life of adventure in film and made many long-lasting friendships along the way. John will forever live in my heart.”

They worked on more than a dozen features together.

The Southern California-raised Bailey served as the director of photography for...

David Gordon Green's 2022 slasher film "Halloween Ends" is an unusual entry in the series in many ways. In it, the vicious masked serial killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) has been living in a sewer and stays out of the film's central action for the bulk of its running time. "Ends," instead, focuses largely on a character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a man who, two years ago, accidentally killed the young boy he was babysitting. Green envisioned Corey's hometown town of Haddonfield, Illinois as a bitter and wounded place, full of spiteful, hurt people who cannot heal from the murderous damage that Michael caused way back in 1978, as well as his return in 2018. Every citizen is bitter, angry, and paranoid. Corey is bullied and picked on, unable to outlive his mistake. 

When Corey wanders into Michael's sewer (he was fleeing bullies), he finds Michael and a strange transference occurs.

As we approach another anniversary of August 9, those who participated in “the decision” are all but gone.

But the reminders are with us, thanks to a new book by Evan Thomas, “Road to Surrender,” the forward for which reads “To save lives, it was necessary to take lives — possibly hundreds of thousands of them.” And, of course, Christopher Nolan’s epic portrait of the man who was never allowed to forget, Robert Oppenheimer.

We can’t hide under our desks anymore, but we can view ten other works that scared the hell out of us.

“On the Beach” (United Artists)

“On the Beach” (1959)

As a little girl in 1959, I found my parents watching this black and white film on TV. Excited, I asked if it was the latest with Annette and Frankie Avalon. Uh, no. They allowed me to stay, and two hours later, I was shaken to the core.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we discuss a character actress, multiple Oscar nominee (and winner) and living legend who is still somehow underrated: Kathy “Bobo” Bates!

Our B-Sides today are: A Home of Our Own, Dolores Claiborne, Love Liza, and Richard Jewell.

The actress made her bones in the theater, originating roles in iconic stuff such as ‘Night Mother and Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

Our guest is Billy Ray Brewton, host of the superb The Incinerator Podcast, the Movie Mixtapes podcast, and the Center Clueless podcast. Brewton is also the Festival Director/Lead Programmer of Make Believe Seattle.

We talk to Brewton about why it is that Bates is his favorite working actress, her innate Southern charm,...

In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Jodie Foster, one of our most guarded movie stars, confessed, "I am a solitary, internal person in an extroverted, external job. I don't think I will ever not feel lonely. It's a theme in my life. It's not such a bad thing. I don't need to be known by everyone."

Movie stardom can be a curse in this regard. Each performance, splashed across a big screen and examined time and again in the home-viewing format of your choosing, draws us near to them. We want to know them, befriend them, tear up the town with them... we want them. And since we are typically not an empathetic species (particularly in the United States), too many of us do not understand why these seemingly blessed individuals recoil from the public eye or feel ambivalent about their success.

This tension has been the central theme of Foster's career,...

Click here to read the full article.

Private members’ club NeueHouse is debuting its newest L.A. location in a historic building owned by actor, director and Oscar-winning The Sting producer Tony Bill.

Located steps from the Venice Beach boardwalk, the two-story 1920s building — redesigned as a professional work and social space with a residential vibe — includes a 2,000-square-foot roof deck, a programming and events space, a gallery, meeting rooms and phone booths. There also is a daytime lounge that will become Reunion restaurant and bar by night when the coastal Italian-inspired eatery opens in late January.

The painting Portrait of Taco by Shizu Saldamando hangs in the reception area.

In the 1970s, Bill hosted concerts, lectures, art shows and community political meetings in the space, which was flanked by Larry Gagosian’s first gallery and the celebrity hotspot Bill owned with Dudley Moore, 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill.

Whatever people were expecting from David Gordon Green's "Halloween Ends," the third and final film in his revival trilogy of John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, it almost certainly wasn't the strangely subdued film he's delivered. The previous installment, "Halloween Kills," seemed to be setting up one last grudge match between Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strodeand her seemingly unkillable nemesis Michael Myers. After all, the stakes had been raised to a series-high personal level with Michael's murder of Laurie's daughter, Karen (Judy Greer). To me, this would've been a disappointingly pat resolution to Green's new take, which had wiped out every sequel to Carpenter's original and started from scratch. Fortunately, Green felt the same way.

"Halloween Ends" kicks off with a teenage babysitter, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), accidentally killing his bratty charge, and proceeds, for a shockingly lengthy stretch of the film, to work shockingly well as a young outlaw romance.

Director/Tfh Guru Allan Arkush discusses his favorite year in film, 1975, with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rules of the Game (1939)

Le Boucher (1970)

Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)

Topaz (1969)

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary

The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)

Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary

Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)

The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Going My Way (1944)

Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary

M*A*S*H (1970)

Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Nada Gang (1975)

Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...

Bill Robinson, a talent agent and manager who represented stars like Carol Burnett, Robert Duvall, Maggie Smith, and Audrey Hepburn, has died. He was 92.

His family shared he died on August 6 in his Malibu home after a long illness.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

“I knew Bill for many, many years…since 1959. We met while I was doing the Gary Moore Show. Later on, he became my manager when I was doing my show. But not just my manager. He was one of my closest friends in the world. I loved him very much… and I will miss him,” Burnett said in a statement.

Throughout his career, Robinson also represented the likes of Judith Anderson, Alan Arkin, Tony Bill, Peter Falk, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings and Jayne Mansfield, among many more.

It was Robinson that gave Mike Medavoy his first job as an agent and the...

Bill Robinson, a veteran talent agent who represented the likes of Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin and Carol Burnett, died on Aug. 6 in Malibu after a long illness, his family announced. He was 93 years old.

“I knew Bill for many, many years…since 1959,” Burnett said. “We met while I was doing the ‘Gary Moore Show.’ Later on, he became my manager when I was doing my show. But not just my manager. He was one of my closest friends in the world. I loved him very much… and I will miss him.”

Over the years, Robinson has represented Judith Anderson, Tony Bill, Peter Falk, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Jayne Mansfield and Maggie Smith, among others. He also gave Mike Medavoy, currently the chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures as well as former chairman of Tri-Star Pictures, his first job as an agent.

Robinson got his start as an agent in the McA mail room,...

Click here to read the full article.

Bill Robinson, the well-liked talent agent and manager who represented the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, James Garner and Robert Duvall during his long career, has died. He was 92.

Robinson died Aug. 6 at his home in Malibu after a long illness, his family announced.

Robinson’s clients also included Judith Anderson, Tony Bill, Glenda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Jayne Mansfield and Maggie Smith, and he gave Mike Medavoy (real first name: Morris) his first job as an agent.

“‘You’re gonna have a hard time in this business as a Morris,’ Bill Robinson told me when he hired me … at his agency,” Medavoy, the producer and studio executive, wrote in his 2002 book, You’re Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot.

“‘You got a middle name?’ ‘Mike,’ I told him.

The 40th anniversary screening of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” at the upcoming TCM Film Festival will be a full-blown reunion.

The Turner Classic Movies Film Festival announced on Wednesday that actors Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas are confirmed to appear alongside Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy at the screening, which will be held on the opening night of the festival on April 21.

In keeping with this year’s festival theme “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen,” director Michael Schultz and stars Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, and Steven Williams will introduce their seminal coming-of-age dramedy “Cooley High” (1975), about a group of teens in Chicago preparing for life after high school. In addition, stars Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg and Tim Daly will celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Diner” (1982).

The festival runs from April 21 through April 24 in Hollywood, with TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz...

Venice Beach has long been a haven for the artsier elements of the entertainment industry. There were pioneers such as Dennis Hopper and Tony Bill. Newer arrivals have included Robert Downey Jr., Maria Bello and, for a time time, Julia Roberts, who later sold her home to Tim Robbins.

But the pandemic, increasing home prices — further fueled by an influx of Silicon Valley types — a failing health care system and L.A.’s overwhelming homelessness crisis have turned the haven into a nightmare for some, especially along the Boardwalk where a sea of tents has overwashed the beach. Residents are not happy.

The growing political battle over homelessness on the Venice Boardwalk escalated on Tuesday, with City Councilman Mike Bonin lashing out at Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s plan to dispatch deputies to Ocean Front Walk — outside his agency’s jurisdiction — to meet with the homeless population there and begin an effort to clear the encampment.

Else Blangsted, a Holocaust survivor who went on to a 35-year career as a film music editor who worked with some of the industry’s most successful directors, producers and composers – Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Sydney Pollack, among others – died Friday, May 1, from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles. She was 99.

Blangsted’s death, which occurred just three weeks short of her 100th birthday, was confirmed by her cousin, the Oscar–winning filmmaker and producer Deborah Oppenheimer.

Though she occasionally worked in TV throughout the years – Hazel, Dennis the Menace, Apple’s Way and the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter, among others – it was in film that Blangsted left her most indelible professional mark. A partial roster of her film credits, spanning 1955’s Picnic to 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, includes On Golden Pond, The Great Santini, Ordinary People, The Color Purple, The Goonies, In Cold Blood,...

In 91 years of Academy Awards, there have only been three occasions when a producer had two best picture nominees simultaneously: Francis Coppola and Fred Roos, with 1974’s “The Godfather Part II” and “The Conversation”; Scott Rudin, with 2010’s “The Social Network” and “True Grit”; and Megan Ellison, with 2013’s “American Hustle” and “Her.”

That could happen this year with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who produced “The Irishman” and “Joker.” As a bonus, she was also exec producer on “Uncut Gems.” In other words, she’s having a good year.

Tillinger Koskoff freely admits that many people, even within the industry, are unclear on a producer’s role: “Some producers find the material and develop it. Some raise the funds and never go to the set. That’s not what I do.” What she does do: Pay attention to the filmmaker’s vision, and do everything necessary to bring it to life.

Great new for Frank Sinatra fans. None But The Brave is currently available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives. Ordering information can be found Here

A crippled C-47 transport crash-lands on a remote Pacific island. For the Marines aboard, World War II becomes smaller, but no less deadly. The atoll is held by a Japanese platoon, also cut off from its command.

Debuting director Frank Sinatra stars in this suspenseful war saga, joined by Clint Walker, Tony Bill and Olympic champion Rafer Johnson. After initial bullet-laced confrontations, the Japanese leader (Tatsuya Mihashi) offers to swap water for the aid of Pharmacist Mate Maloney (Sinatra), whom he has mistaken for a doctor. When Maloney amputates the leg of a Japanese soldier and saves his life, peace results. But can it last? There are two sides to every war. None but the Brave skillfully shows the heroism of both.

Frank Sinatra added “director...

Beverly Hills 1968 — Sunset Blvd., The Strip, The Bistro, the haze in the Hollywood Hills — where a lowly hairdresser-stud is locked in a crazy lifestyle free-fall while having the time of his life with four beautiful women. Warren Beatty puts a facet of his public personality on display as a world-class ladies’ man who just can’t keep things together.

Shampoo

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 947

1975 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 18, 2018 / 39.95

Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill, George Furth, Jay Robinson, Carrie Fisher, George Furth, Luana Anders.

Cinematography László Kovács

Production Designer Richard Sylbert

Art Direction W. Stewart Campbell

Film Editor Robert C. Jones

Original Music Paul Simon

Written by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty

Produced by Warren Beatty

Directed by Hal Ashby

Mr. Pettis, banker: “What kind of references do you have?”

George Roundy: “I do Barbara Rush.

It certainly seems to be the year of the woman at the Academy Awards. Greta Gerwig became just the fifth woman to receive a Best Director Oscar nomination for “Lady Bird.” For the first time in the academy’s 90-year history, a woman, AFI Conservancy alum Rachel Morrison, has been nominated for Best Cinematography for “Mudbound.” And the drama’s director Dee Rees made history as the first black woman to receive a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The film’s star Mary J. Blige not only received a supporting actress nomination, but she is also nominated for Best Original Song for “Mighty River” from the film, alongside co-writers Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.

But it’s been baby steps for women behind the camera in terms of Oscar nominations, let alone wins.

Here is a look at some of the trailblazers:

See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards...

Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) is a shoo-in for a nomination for Best Actress next week, but she could end up making Oscars history in another category as well as was recently reported by one of our Experts, Sasha Stone (Awards Daily). Robbie is also a producer of the film, so if “I, Tonya” also receives a Best Picture nomination she would be the first actress to receive acting and producing nominations for the same film. After a year that saw actresses Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”), Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”) all win Emmys as both actors and producers of TV programs, it would be fitting for Robbie’s passion project to go the distance with a pair of historic Oscar nominations.

It has been an incredible year for female stories, both real and fictional. The “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements have shined...

Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This August will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.

To sign up for a free two-week trial here.

Tuesday, August 1

Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train

Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.

Watch This offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases or premieres. Since it’s Chicago Week here at The A.V. Club, we’re looking back on some essential Chicago movies, set (and often filmed) in the Windy City.

My Bodyguard (1980)

My Bodyguard has slipped under the radar since its 1980 debut, but it’s the kind of film that appears timeless, decades later. Frankly, in today’s fervent “anti-bullying” educational landscape, it should be dusted off and submitted as required viewing for middle-schoolers. Tony Bill’s directorial debut features floppy-haired Chris Makepeace as new kid Clifford, who quickly gets tormented by a gang of thugs at his Chicago high school. The thugs are led by Moody, played by an astonishing Matt Dillon, simultaneously menacing and charming at all of 16 years old. Clifford gets the idea to hire the school’s biggest kid, Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin), to ...

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer and poster for their remake of the 1979 classic Going in Style, which is set for release on April 7, 2017. The original film starred comedy legends George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three senior citizens who decide to rob a bank. While this premise is still largely intact, the story has been updated for the 21st Century, with Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin starring in this comedy remake. Director Zach Braff will also be participating in live Twitter Q&A today starting at 9:30am Pt/12:30pm Et. Fans can participate using the hashtag #IMDbAskZach.

Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules, Hannah and Her Sisters) and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) team up as lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, who decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first...

1963 is our "Year of the Month" for September. So we'll be celebrating its films randomly throughout the month. Here's Daniel Walber...

Once upon a time, there were two production design categories at the Oscars. From 1945 through 1956, and again from 1959 through 1966, color films and black and white films competed separately. The Academy nominated ten films every year after 1950, creating a whole lot more room for variety.

This especially benefited comedy, a genre that has since fallen out of favor with Oscar. And while Come Blow Your Horn might not be the funniest of the 1960s, it is certainly one of the most deserving nominees of the era. Adapted by Norman Lear from a Neil Simon play, this Frank Sinatra vehicle stages most of its antics in one of cinema’s most luxurious apartments, the work of art directors Roland Anderson (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and Hal Pereira (Vertigo) and set decorators...

Brian DePalma’s Carrie (1976) has cast a very wide shadow since it hit theatres. Many horror films have used the trope of telekinesis for the greater bad following its release, including Jennifer, The Fury, Patrick, The Medusa Touch (all ’78), Scanners (’81), and several more. (You can’t make me mention Friday the 13th Part VII. Oh. Dammit.) Of course, television is anything if not inclusive, and the networks scrambled to come up with their own takes on teenage angst. However, ABC’s The Initiation of Sarah (1978) took a slightly different tact and sent the girl off to college – and ended up serving a strong dose of female empowerment.

First broadcast on Monday, February 6th, Sarah had her work cut out, not so much from NBC, who provided their own Monday Night at the Movies, but from CBS’ juggernaut of M*A*S*H/One Day at a Time. Regardless of ratings,...

With the current TV season winding down, the networks are preparing for their upfront presentations next week, where they will announce the new fall lineups. In recent years, networks have been getting a jump on the upfronts by announcing their new shows early, and today Fox has revealed six programs that have been given series orders, including shows based on hit movies The Exorcist and Lethal Weapon. The other four shows are dramas Apb and Pitch, along with comedies Making History and The Mick.

The Exorcist series hails from 20th Century Fox Television and Morgan Creek Productions, with Jeremy Slater (The Lazarus Effect) writing the script for this psychological thriller. More than four decades after the Academy Award-nominated film solidified itself as the greatest horror movie ever made, The Exorcist returns in series format as a propulsive psychological thriller following two very different priests tackling one family's case of horrifying demonic possession.

Fox has set Kylie Bunbury to star in a pilot titled "Pitch" - an hour-long drama from Dan Fogelman ("Grandfathered;" "Crazy, Stupid, Love") and Rick Singer ("Younger"), which centers on a young pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues. The pilot order is a part of Fogelman’s four-year development deal with 20th Century Fox TV to write, produce, and supervise various series. In addition to CBS’s "Under the Dome," Bunbury has also appeared in the former Freeform show "Twisted" as well as the miniseries "Tut" on Spike. Fogelman and Singer will write and executive produce along with Tony Bill...

“Jesus Loves You More Than You Will Know”

By Raymond Benson

Although it has been released before on Blu-ray, the “Criterion treatment” is always welcome for a classic, well-known film such as The Graduate. Quite simply, it’s one of the most beloved pictures of the 60s, one that hit a nerve in the public consciousness. It helped define those wildly changing years at the end of the decade, illustrating how the country’s youth rebelled against an established society that they were expected to join. The Graduate is a landmark of the New Hollywood movement that took over the studios in those years and held reign through the 70s.

Director Mike Nichols, fresh from his success as a debut helmsman for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), gave us a romantic comedy unlike anything we’d seen previously—mainly because of the radically daring casting of an unknown actor named Dustin Hoffman.

Paris Barclay has come on board to direct and executive produce Pitch, Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer's baseball drama pilot for Fox. The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, where Fogelman is under an overall deal, stars Kylie Bunbury as a young female pitcher who defies the odds when she becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues. Singer penned the script with Fogelman. The two executive produce with Barclay, Tony Bill and Helen Bartlett. Emmy winner and DGA…...

Production is now underway on location in New York City on the New Line Cinema comedy Going In Style, directed by Zach Braff (“Garden State”) and starring Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”), Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules,” “Hannah and Her Sisters”) and Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”).

Freeman, Caine and Arkin team up as lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, who decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.

The film also stars two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret (“Tommy,” “Carnal Knowledge”) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one; Peter Serafinowicz...

Production is under way in New York City on director Zach Braff's comedy remake Going in Style. The first photo from the set has emerged, featuring stars Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin, and the director also shared a photo of himself alongside these cast members on his Twitter page. The set photo features these three stars heading out for a jog in the Big Apple.

Going in Style centers on a trio of senior citizens who grow bored of retirement. They all hatch a plan to rob a bank and take their winnings to Las Vegas, in an effort to spice up their lives. The original Going in Style hit theaters in 1979, starring George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg. The remake's supporting cast includes Joey King and Katlyn Carlson in unspecified roles.

The Going in Style remake has been in the works for quite some time,...

Fresh off his second directorial outing Wish I Was Here, Zach Braff is in talks to direct the Going in Style remake for New Line Cinema.

The original 1979 movie Going in Style starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three retired friends in their 70s, who plan a bank heist to add some excitement to their dull lives.

We reported in September 2013 that Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) was replacing Don Scardino (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone) at the helm, but now it seems he is no longer directing. Theodore Melfi is still attached as a producer, and he also provided the screenplay.

Donald De Line (Pain & Gain) is producing, with Tony Bill, who produced the original Going in Style, serving as executive producer. No production schedule was given.

After making his directorial debut with 2004's Garden State, Zach Braff's second feature Wish I Was Here hit theaters this summer.

Through films like Flightplan, Soul Plane, and White House Down, it has taken over a decade for Hollywood to arrive at Non-Stop.

Showing the vitality of Liam Neeson carrying a gun and a broken heart, Non-Stop recently gave the new action hero one of his biggest box office weekends so far. Involving an air marshal using a particular set of skills to hunt and kill someone threatening his plane (to paraphrase Taken), the film may seem like a generic Neeson actioner. But while his character might be a composite of previous roles, the anxiety he tackles within this film is fresh. Considering its box office success (and my mother’s intense experience in watching the movie), Non-Stop works efficiently as a thriller in 2014 because it provides viewers with imagery of in-flight chaos not seen since before 9/11. It is also the indication of a natural progression for how Hollywood films are...

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 10 Oct 2013 - 03:27

Another 25 unsung greats come under the spotlight, as we provide our pick of the underappreciated films of 1993...

What a year 1993 was. It saw the release of Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. Bill Clinton became president. Season three of Deep Space Nine premiered on Us television. UK politician Douglas Hurd visited Argentina. Cyndi Lauper released her album Hat Full Of Stars.

Aside from those earth shattering events, we'll probably remember 1993, in cinema terms, as the year Jurassic Park dominated the box office like an angry Tyrannosaurus. A true phenomenon, its profits doubled those of the second most watched film in 1993 cinemas, Mrs Doubtfire, and almost three times as much as the movie below that - the Harrison Ford thriller, The Fugitive.

But as ever, there was so much more to the 1993 movie landscape than dinosaurs and Robin Williams dressed as an old woman.

Theodore Melfi is in talks to direct the Going in Style remake for New Line Cinema. We reported in January that Don Scardino (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone) was attached to direct, but negotiations were never finalized.

The timing worked out perfectly for Theodore Melfi, who also wrote the script for this comedy remake. The writer was in the middle of making his directorial debut with St. Vincent de Van Nuys, starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy, when Don Scardino was originally supposed to shoot the film. He wouldn't have been able to commit to Going in Style if the studio had asked for an earlier shoot, as originally planned.

The1979 comedy Going in Style starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three Brooklyn retirees who plan a bank heist using novelty Groucho Marx glasses. The studio will begin focusing on casting once Theodore Melfi's deal is finalized.

Exclusive: Ted Melfi, who made his feature debut directing Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd in St. Vincent De Van Nuys for The Weinstein Company, is in talks to helm Going In Style, the New Line remake of the 1979 bank heist comedy. Melfi wrote the script and Donald De Line is producing with Tony Bill exec producing. The offer to Melfi was made today and they are negotiating. The original film was directed by Martin Brest and it starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three retirees who decide to rob a bank. That basic premise is being used in the sequel, but the back stories of the characters are different. A lot of golden age stars are circling this one, and a strong cast should be set soon. For Melfi, this comes after he made a deal to develop for Sony Pictures and...

Although The Incredible Burt Wonderstone helmer Don Scardino was previously rumored to direct, Variety is today reporting that New Line Cinema is in negotiations with Ted Melfi, previously attached just as screenwriter, to take on Going in Style . Melfi is making his directorial debut with the upcoming St. Vincent de Van Nuys . Directed by Martin Brest, the original 1979 film starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as a trio of senior citizens who decide to rob a bank and take their winnings to Las Vegas. Tony Bill, who also produced the original film, is returning to produce the remake.

Eleanor Parker today: Beautiful as ever in Scaramouche, Interrupted Melody Eleanor Parker, who turns 91 in ten days (June 26, 2013), can be seen at her most radiantly beautiful in several films Turner Classic Movies is showing this evening and tomorrow morning as part of their Star of the Month Eleanor Parker "tribute." Among them are the classic Scaramouche, the politically delicate Above and Beyond, and the biopic Interrupted Melody, which earned Parker her third and final Best Actress Academy Award nomination. (Photo: publicity shot of Eleanor Parker in Scaramouche.) The best of the lot is probably George Sidney’s balletic Scaramouche (1952), in which Eleanor Parker plays one of Stewart Granger’s love interests — the other one is Janet Leigh. A loose remake of Rex Ingram’s 1923 blockbuster, the George Sidney version features plenty of humor, romance, and adventure; vibrant colors (cinematography by Charles Rosher); an elaborately staged climactic swordfight; and tough dudes...

While we still wait on official word of whether or not Christopher McQuarrie will direct Mission: Impossible 5, the filmmaker has been tapped to write and direct a remake of Ice Station Zebra for Warner Bros.

The original classic debuted in 1968, starring Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan, and Jim Brown. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Alistair McLean, Ice Station Zebra followed the crew of an American submarine, in a race against a Russian sub to recover sensitive materials in the Arctic.

Since there is no concrete timetable set for both Ice Station Zebra and Mission: Impossible 5, it remains to be see how the scheduling will play out. The filmmaker has not been confirmed to take the helm on Mission: Impossible 5, but he is believed to be a front runner for the job. Christopher McQuarrie most recently directed Mission: Impossible 5 star Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher.

New Line Cinema has hired The Incredible Burt Wonderstone's Don Scardino to direct the upcoming remake of the Martin Brest comedy Going in Style. We reported back in October that the the studio had plans to revive this senior bank heist thriller, originally starring George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg.

The film follows three old men who share a small apartment in Brooklyn. The trio decides to hold up a bank disguised with novelty Groucho Marx-style glasses, and they get away with over $35,000 dollars. After one of them suffers a heart attack and dies, the remaining two head to Las Vegas to splurge the rest of their take.

Don Scardino will be directing from a script provided by St. Vincent de Van Nuys' Theodore Melfi. Donald De Line and Tony Bill are producing.

No production schedule has been released.

Going in Style was released November 1979 and stars George Burns,...

Don Scardino, who recently directed The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, is now in talks to helm a remake of the 1979 caper comedy, Going in Style.  The original film starred the comedic trio of George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three elderly friends who are sick and tired of being sick and tired.  They decide to organize a bank robbery for kicks and carry it out with their signature style.  Scardino would direct the remake from a Ted Melfi script with Tony Bill, a producer on the original film, returning to executive produce.  Hit the jump for more, including the trailer and poster from the original.  Deadline reports that Scardino is in talks to direct the Going in Style remake for New Line. check out the trailer and poster for the original film below:...