News

Westerns are having another moment in the sun lately, and you can see evidence of it all over the various streaming services people use the most. Titles like "Gunsmoke" are cracking the Nielsen Top 10 rankings decades after they went off the air, and viewers are more tapped into the genre than they've been in years. But, there's an underrated Western series that people might have missed in their quest to find the next "Bonanza" or "Yellowstone" out there. If you love cowboy tales, you need to check out "The Rifleman" starring Chuck Connors over on Prime Video, as it's an essential show for the genre on TV, and it doesn't get as much love as its slightly more popular contemporaries.

Chuck Connors is the name at the top of the marquee for "The Rifleman," and he played Lucas McCain for five seasons on ABC starting in 1958. His character was a Union American Civil War veteran,...

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Victoria Jackson has announced that she may have fewer than three years to live, after she was diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous tumor. The 65-year-old comedian made the revelation in an Instagram post late Wednesday, saying doctors found a marble-sized tumor on her windpipe that is inoperable. Earlier this year, Jackson said her cancer had returned, nine years after she successfully battled breast cancer.

Saturday Night Live Comedy Release Date October 11, 1975Main Genre ComedySeasons 49Studio NBCCreator Lorne Michaels Expand

Jackson was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for six seasons, from 1986 to 1992, appearing in 109 episodes and additional primetime specials. In recent years, particularly after her initial cancer diagnosis in 2016, she has spent more time on social media, often singing songs of her own composition, something she was famous for on SNL. In her Instagram post, she said that cancer patients taking her latest...

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" isn't quite like any other "Star Trek" show, and when it debuted in 1993, it was quite the departure from both the original series and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Instead of following intrepid explorers on starships trekking across the galaxy, "Deep Space Nine" followed the stories of the people who lived on board the space station Deep Space Nine (DS9) — civilians, Bajoran militia, and Starfleet officers alike. Showrunner Rick Berman was in charge of taking the "Star Trek" universe in a new direction following the success of "The Next Generation," but he ended up looking to a rather old television series for inspiration.

In an interview with StarTrek.com, Berman explained the inspiration behind "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and revealed that he and writer/producer Michael Piller got their biggest idea from a classic 1950s Western. That's pretty great given the fact that "Star Trek...

When the nominations for the 1959 Primetime Emmys were revealed, 13-year-old supporting candidate Johnny Crawford (“The Rifleman”) became the youngest male acting contender in TV academy history and then retained the title for the next six and a half decades. After so many years of his record appearing to be unbreakable, it was finally shattered this summer by Best Drama Guest Actor nominee Keivonn Montreal Woodard, who turned 10 this February. His historic bid for HBO’s “The Last of Us” makes him not only a credit to child actors but also to deaf performers, as no male one had ever earned Emmy recognition before.

Woodard appears in two first-season episodes of “The Last of Us” as Sam Burrell, a survivor of both leukemia and a pandemic-induced apocalypse who lives under the guardianship of his adult brother, Henry (Lamar Johnson). In his submitted episode, “Endure and Survive,” his comic book-loving character forms...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine challenged Gene Roddenberry's original vision for Starfleet by delving deeper into the consequences of Starfleet's actions, while still upholding its moral code. DS9 broke Gene Roddenberry's rule about no interpersonal conflicts between Starfleet officers by featuring a tense scene between Sisko and Picard, but ultimately reached a resolution that aligned with the core principles of Star Trek. Deep Space Nine put Starfleet on the back foot and presented a more complex version of the story by focusing on the Bajoran struggle, proving the merit of Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future in the 1990s.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine specifically set out to challenge Gene Roddenberry's original vision for Starfleet and the Federation in a number of ways that made it more relevant for the 1990s. Gene Roddenberry was aware of the early development of DS9, but passed away in 1991 before anything more tangible was conceptualized.

John Carpenter may not be a real-life carpenter, but he sure has built himself a legacy. It's just one made of movies, not wooden sticks.

Seriously though, any genre movie fan will probably tell you that John Carpenter has made a staggering number of classic motion pictures. "Halloween" may not have invented the slasher genre, but it defined it. "The Thing" may not have invented gory monster effects, but it raised the bar and few films have even nudged it in the decades that followed. "Big Trouble in Little China" is one of the most subversive films of the 1980s, tearing down the whole "badass" genre of cinema by placing a musclebound white American hero in the center stage and then revealing him to be nothing more than a comic relief sidekick in a story about Chinese mythology that he's too damned ignorant to comprehend. And We could go on.

You will now be able to see Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt wreak havoc in “Babylon” even earlier this holiday season.

Damien Chazelle’s old Hollywood epic “Babylon” has officially ditched its previously limited release rollout for a wide release now on December 23.

Originally, “Babylon” was slated for a December 25 limited release, followed by a January 6, 2023 wide release. Instead, the film will open in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide on December 23.

Former “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Robbie and Pitt reunite for Chazelle’s star-studded take on the pitfalls of fame and the slow-moving tide of change in the film industry. Set during the transitional period in Hollywood when silent movies gave way to talkies, Robbie stars as aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging...

Anthony Asquith’s unusual look at wartime espionage garnered good notices in 1958, perhaps from reviewers rebelling against the trend toward ruthless screen violence. Star Paul Massie is fine as an emotionally-stricken Allied assassin who balks at carrying out his mission; the acting support from Irene Worth and Leslie French is superb. Screenwriter Paul Dehn was an ace at sharp, no-nonsense thrillers, but this story is soft around the edges — it seems to be explaining non-chivalric warfare to your sweet old grandmother. Which reminds us, Lillian Gish has a small role, too.

Orders to Kill

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1958 / B&w / 1:75 widescreen / 112 93 min. / Street Date September 20, 2022 / available from Amazon / 34.99

Starring: Eddie Albert, Paul Massie, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice, Leslie French, Irene Worth, John Crawford, Lionel Jeffries, Sandra Dorne, Lillabea (Lillie Bea) Gifford, Anne Blake, Sam Kydd, Ann Walford, Denyse Alexander, Ralph Nosseck.

Cinematography: Desmond Dickinson

Art Director: John Howell

Film...

If The Waltons seemed dated in 1972—telling the story of a rural Virginia family weathering the Great Depression and World War II—it must feel prehistoric to TV viewers now, half a century later. Yet the popularity of the franchise endures, with the original nine-season series streaming on Freevee for free and The CW airing one Waltons movie last year and prepping another for this holiday season. The historical drama debuted on CBS September 14, 1972, and we’re honoring its 50th anniversary with a roundup of the top 10 episodes, as ranked by IMDb voters. 10. Season 5, Episode 19: “The Hero” John-Boy (Richard Thomas) wants to write about Sheriff Ep’s (John Crawford) military experience, but the sheriff wants to keep it under wraps. An IMDb reviewer calls this episode “a true testament to the human spirit” and a “good, hard look at what is involved when men kill men.” 9. Season 5, Episode 13:...

There is another fairytale afoot in Hollywood, thanks to Oscar winner Damien Chazelle’s sweeping ode to the rise of talkies.

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt reunite onscreen for “Babylon,” Chazelle’s star-studded take on the pitfalls of fame and the slow-moving tide of change in the film industry. Set during the transitional period in Hollywood when silent movies gave way to talkies, Robbie stars as aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging icon Jack Conrad (Pitt), inspired by John Gilbert, Clark Gable, and Douglas Fairbanks.

“Babylon” premieres December 25 with a limited release, followed by a wide release January 6, 2023, making the feature a buzzed-about Oscars contender.

The official synopsis reads: “From Damien Chazelle, ‘Babylon’ is an original epic set...

The lush land of 1920s Hollywood is now getting a modern A-lister take thanks to Oscar winner Damien Chazelle.

The “La La Land” director helms highly-anticipated epic “Babylon” starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as two movie stars at the opposite ends of fame. The film is set for a December 25 limited release and a wide release January 6, 2023, making the feature a buzzed-about Oscars contender.

The period piece focuses on the transitional period in the film industry when silent movies gave way to talkies. While the specific plot details remain under wraps, IndieWire can confirm that Robbie plays aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. Nellie has a “bold, hungry kind of edge to her,” as Chazelle revealed to Vanity Fair.

Meanwhile, Robbie’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Oscar-winning co-star Pitt plays Jack Conrad,...

Six years after winning an Oscar for "La La Land," Damien Chazelle is returning with yet another ode to the Cty of Angels. According to an exclusive chat with Vanity Fair, this particular project has been a long time coming — Chazelle has been working on the story for his upcoming feature film "Babylon" since he first moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago. When the idea first dawned on him, the plan was "just to do a big, epic, multi-character movie, set in these early days of Los Angeles and Hollywood, when both of these things were coming into what we now think of them as." After years of chipping away at the story, the character and dynamics finally emerged, and later this year, we'll see for ourselves what it all became.

For obvious reasons, it sounds like "Babylon" might share a lot in common with the very successful "La La Land.

Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will return to its normal two-hour live format on TNT and TBS. One of the highlights each year is the special In Memoriam segment. It’s been a particularly rough year with over 100 deaths of prominent actors and actresses who were likely members of SAG/AFTRA. Show producers typically are able to include approximately 40-50 people in a tribute. The 2021 segment saluted 55 people because they had responsibility for 14 months instead of 12.

Among that group will certainly be previous SAG president Ed Asner, who was also a life achievement award recipient. That honorary award was also presented to Sidney Poitier and Betty White, who both died this past year.

SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery

Who else might be featured in the 2022 tribute? Look for Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Oscar nominees Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich and Dean Stockwell, plus Emmy champs Louie Anderson, Michael Constantine, Charles Grodin,...

Bert I. Gordon’s career groove of shrinking and bloating various animals and people bottoms out in this trashy drive-in groaner: it’s colorful but nigh-unwatchable. The exploitation target is sci-fi and the teen musical, with incompatible helpings of pre-teen ‘cutes’ and girlie show jiggle for the raincoat crowd. The show apparently did well, but I heard mostly about resentful walkouts. Gordon’s early films have far more charm; this one mostly shows contempt for his audience. For fans that think there’s Camp value here, the Blu-ray transfer is sensationally good, as is the reproduction of Jack Nitzsche’s rock music score. The only thing to call this movie is Poor, but how can that be when I find so much to say about it?

Village of the Giants

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 81 min. / Street Date February 22, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Tommy Kirk, Johnny Crawford,...

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“Unchanging Evolution”

By Raymond Benson

The early 1970s was a time of experimentation and risk-taking in Hollywood. Studios were more willing to allow filmmakers to take a project and run with it, just to see if something thrown at the wall would stick. After all, this was the period of “New Hollywood,” maverick young directors just out of film school, and pushing the envelope when it came to what was permissible on screen since the Production Code was gone and the relatively new movie ratings were in place.

Playboy Enterprises got into the movie making business in the early 70s. After the critical success of Roman Polanski’s Macbeth (1971), Playboy produced The Naked Ape (1973), loosely adapted from Desmond Morris’ 1967 best-selling non-fiction book.

Morris’ book was an entertaining anthropological study of man’s evolution from primates and how social norms and mating rituals, especially...

Producers of the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony honored almost all of the expected people who died this past year. Who was not featured during the emotional In Memoriam segment Sunday night on CBS? Prominent performers and character actors such as Frank Bonner, Sean Connery, Michael Constantine, Abby Dalton, James Hampton, Bruce Kirby, Norman Lloyd, Helen Reddy and Jane Withers were not part of the 49 people included.

While over 100 celebrated television people died since last year’s event in mid-September of 2020, the segment generally only makes room for less than 50. Among those featured Sunday night: TV Academy Hall of Fame members actor Ed Asner, production designer Roy Christopher, actress Cloris Leachman, writer/producer William Link and actress Cicely Tyson. Current nominee Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) and “Saturday Night Live” veteran Norm Macdonald sadly passed away this month as well.

SEECelebrity Deaths 2021: In Memoriam Gallery

The 49 people featured...

Producers of this Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony have some difficult decisions to make about who to honor during the emotional In Memoriam segment. Cedric the Entertainer will host the 2021 Emmys for CBS at 8:00 p.m. Et; 5:00 p.m. Pt. A total of 34 presenters have been announced so far.

Our list below includes almost 100 people who made a strong contribution to television and have died since mid-September of 2020. Only about 40-45 of these people will probably be in the video segment. Certain to be featured will be TV Academy Hall of Fame members actor Ed Asner, production designer Roy Christopher, actress Cloris Leachman, writer/producer William Link and actress Cicely Tyson. Current nominee Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) sadly passed away this month as well.

SEECelebrity Deaths 2021: In Memoriam Gallery

Ed Asner (actor)

Dana Baratta (writer/producer)

Anne Beatts (writer)

Ned Beatty (actor)

William Blinn (writer)

Frank Bonner (actor)

Perry Botkin,...

March marked the 65th anniversary of the wrap of the first season of the “Mickey Mouse Club,” and the recent death of one of the original Mouseketeers, Johnny Crawford, reminded fans of the enduring talent that the show, and especially its early 1990s iteration, brought to the entertainment industry. The original “Mickey Mouse Club” launched the career of Annette Funicello, who occupied a beloved niche in audiences’ hearts for six decades, and the 1990s revival produced Oscar nominees and artists who’ve sold tens of millions of albums and redefined pop music and pop culture. But who are the greatest Mouseketeers? It’s a list ready for debate between boomers and gen Z.

Justin Timberlake

“The All-New Mickey Mouse Club”

A breakout star from the series, Timberlake really hit it big in Ur boy band *Nsync (with fellow “Mmc” castmate Jc Chasez). He transitioned into an even bigger solo pop career,...

Johnny Crawford, who found early fame in the 1950s as an original Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club and even more success as the son of Chuck Connors’ title character in the 1959-63 Western series The Rifleman, died Thursday two years after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and a recent battle with Covid-19 . He was 75.

Crawford’s death was announced on his website.

According to the Johnny Crawford Legacy website maintained by his family and friends, the “passed away peacefully” last night with wife Charlotte by his side. “Sadly, Johnny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and he was living in a memory care residence before contracting Covid-19, then pneumonia,” the site states. “After a temporary placement at a skilled nursing facility, he was recently moved to an excellent smaller care home close to his wife.”

Born John Ernest Crawford in Los Angeles into a theatrical and musical family – his...

Actor Johnny Crawford, known for playing Chuck Connors’ son in ABC series “The Rifleman” from 1958-63, has died. He was 75.

“It is with great sadness and heaviness of heart that the Johnny Crawford Legacy team announce the passing of Johnny Crawford,” it was posted on the Johnny Crawford Legacy website. “He passed away peacefully this evening, April 29, 2021 with Charlotte, his wife, by his side.”

In “The Rifleman,” Crawford played Mark McCain, son of Civil War veteran Lucas McCain, played by Connors. He was nominated in the best supporting actor (continuing character) in a dramatic series category at the Primetime Emmys in 1959. He was 13 at the time.

In 2019, Crawford was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease before he contracted Covid-19 and then pneumonia.

Crawford was one of 24 Mouseketeers in the first season of ABC’s “The Mickey Mouse Club.” His early TV roles included “The Lone Ranger,” “Cavalcade of America” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.

Johnny Crawford, the original Mouseketeer who starred as the young son of the Civil War veteran portrayed by Chuck Connors on the 1958-63 ABC series The Rifleman, died Thursday, it was announced. He was 75.

In 2019, it was revealed that Crawford had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and a GoFundMe campaign organized by Paul Petersen — the advocate for former child actors and onetime star of The Donna Reed Show — was set up to help the family deal with expenses.

Crawford was 12 when he appeared for the first time as Mark McCain, son of the widower Lucas McCain, on The ...

Johnny Crawford, the original Mouseketeer who starred as the young son of the Civil War veteran portrayed by Chuck Connors on the 1958-63 ABC series The Rifleman, died Thursday, it was announced. He was 75.

In 2019, it was revealed that Crawford had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and a GoFundMe campaign organized by Paul Petersen — the advocate for former child actors and onetime star of The Donna Reed Show — was set up to help the family deal with expenses.

Crawford was 12 when he appeared for the first time as Mark McCain, son of the widower Lucas McCain, on The ...

The 2017 Emmy nomination for Millie Bobby Brown was significant given how rare it is for the TV academy to warm up to child performers. She was 13 when she was nominated for Best Drama Supporting Actress for “Stranger Things.” Could she open the flood gates for a new class of talented youngsters this year?

Brown is a solid bet for another nomination according to our latest predictions, which place her fifth with 6/1 odds. But this year one of her young co-stars could join her at the Emmy party. Noah Schnapp gave a breakthrough performance in season two of “Stranger Things” as his character, Will Byers, struggled against demonic position by a creature from the Upside Down.

Schnapp just won an MTV Movie and TV Award for Most Frightened Performance. The online fans who vote for those awards probably don’t overlap much with the TV academy, but it did give the...

From his early stage-setting disappearance in Stranger Things’ first season, young Will Byers hasn’t been able to catch much of a break. While he’s enjoyed the role, which has taken his career to new heights, Noah Schnapp has been there for all of the hurdles, taking on scenes that would daunt most young actors.

In Season 1 of the retro fantasy series, Schnapp was lost to The Upside Down—separated frustratingly from the rest of the cast and crew—with the promise of big things to come. In Season 2, as Will returned to Hawkins and saw his hopes of normalcy dashed, Schnapp took his character from the fringe of the narrative to the forefront, portraying Will’s Ptsd and later demonic possession with such fierce authenticity that he was hailed the breakout star of the season.

“The season was challenging because most of the stuff I had to do,...

History could be made at this year’s Emmys if 13-year-old Noah Schnapp earns a nomination as Best Drama Supporting Actor for Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” Schnapp, who wasn’t even alive in the 1980s when the sci-fi series takes place, would tie as the youngest male actor ever to be nominated for a drama series. Back in 1959 another 13-year-old, Johnny Crawford (“The Rifleman”), earned a nomination but lost. Two female starlets have taken home Emmy Awards — Roxana Zal for “Something About Amelia” (age 14 in 1984) and Kristy McNichol for “Family” — but Schnapp would make history for the boys if he were to win for his breakout role in “Stranger Things.”

SEENoah Schnapp (‘Stranger Things’): Imagining the ‘big terrifying monster coming after me’ for Season 2 [Complete Interview Transcript]

Schnapp plays Will Byers, the son of Joyce (Winona Ryder), who gains mysterious powers in Season 2 after returning from the mysterious Upside Down world. At...

On a snowy afternoon in 1958, Annette Funicello, Tommy Cole, and several other The Mickey Mouse Club members were on an East Coast bus tour when they gave one unsuspecting family a huge surprise. "The new Annette series was coming on the air and we wanted to see it," Tommy exclusively recalls to Closer Weekly of the sitcom in which Annette played a rural girl who moves in with rich relatives. "Our bus driver went up to a house that had bikes on the porch — we knew there were kids. He knocked and said, 'I have some of the original Mouseketeers on my bus — can we come in and watch Annette with you?' And they went, 'Oh my!'" By the third season of The Mickey Mouse Club, Annette had become the most beloved girl in America. The Mickey Mouse Club cast. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) "She was someone that everyone wanted to be,...

Sneak Peek all the 'bad guy' kills from 5 seasons of the western TV series "The Rifleman", created by writer/director Sam Peckinpah, gaining a new generation of fans for actor Chuck Connors as 'Lucas McCain' and Johnny Crawford as his son 'Mark', airing every Saturday morning on AMC:

Peckinpah, developed, wrote and directed many of the best episodes from the first season, basing characters and situations on real-life scenarios from his childhood growing up on a ranch.

His insistence on violent realism and complex characterizations, as well as his refusal to sugarcoat the lessons he felt the Rifleman's son needed to learn about life, soon put him at odds with producers at Four Star and he left the show...

...to create another TV series "The Westerner", followed by directing the western features "Major Dundee" and "The Wild Bunch".

The trick feature of The Rifleman's 'rifle' was a...

Take a look @ footage from the classic 1950's CBS TV western series "The Rifleman", originally developed by Sam Peckinpah, gaining a new generation of fans for 6' 6" actor Chuck Connors as 'Lucas McCain' and Johnny Crawford as his son 'Mark', airing every Saturday morning on AMC. But one big question always remains: just how many bad guys did McCain kill in total throughout the series' entire 5 year run ?

Peckinpah, developed, wrote and directed many of the best episodes from the first season, basing characters and situations on real-life scenarios from his childhood growing up on a ranch.

His insistence on violent realism and complex characterizations, as well as his refusal to sugarcoat the lessons he felt the Rifleman's son needed to learn about life, soon put him at odds with producers at Four Star and he left the show...

...to create another TV series "The Westerner", followed by...

Easily the most mellow of the films of Sam Peckinpah, this relatively gentle western fable sees Jason Robards discovering water where it ain’t, and establishing his private little way station paradise, complete with lover Stella Stevens and eccentric preacher David Warner. Some of the slapstick is sticky but the sexist bawdy humor is too cute to offend . . . and Peckinpah-phobes will be surprised to learn that the movie is in part a musical.

The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1970 / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date June 6, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring Jason Robards Jr., Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Peter Whitney, Gene Evans, William Mims, Kathleen Freeman, Susan O’Connell, Vaughn Taylor, Max Evans, James Anderson.

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard

Art Direction: Leroy Coleman

Film Editor: Frank Santillo, Lou Lombardo

Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith

Written by John Crawford and Edmund Penney

Produced by Sam Peckinpah...

Robert Crawford Sr., a film editor on several TV series who received an Emmy nomination the same year his sons, Johnny Crawford of The Rifleman and Bobby Crawford of Laramie, also were honored, has died. He was 95. Crawford died July 28 from complications of pneumonia in Woodland Hills after a five-year stay at the Motion Picture & Television Fund retirement home, his daughter, Nance Crawford, told The Hollywood Reporter. Johnny Crawford, an original Mouseketeer, portrayed Chuck Connors' young son Mark McCain on The Rifleman, which aired on ABC from 1958-63. Bobby Crawford played the younger brother Andy

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Take a look @ footage from the classic 1950's CBS TV western series "The Rifleman", originally developed by Sam Peckinpah, gaining a new generation of fans for 6' 6" actor Chuck Connors as 'Lucas McCain' and Johnny Crawford as his son 'Mark', airing every Saturday morning on AMC. But one big question always remains: just how many bad guys did McCain kill in total throughout the series entire 5 year run ?

Peckinpah, developed, wrote and directed many of the best episodes from the first season, basing characters and situations on real-life scenarios from his childhood growing up on a ranch.

His insistence on violent realism and complex characterizations, as well as his refusal to sugarcoat the lessons he felt the Rifleman's son needed to learn about life, soon put him at odds with producers at Four Star and he left the show...

...to create another TV series "The Westerner", followed by...

I was not always a big fan of Westerns. My knowledge/memory of them were largely drawn from TV shows of my childhood – and not always the best ones. They were dominated by The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry (although I was never a big Autry fan) and shows like them. Westerns dominated TV in those days in ways that I don’t think any genre dominates any more.

It was my late wife, Kimberly Yale, who really schooled me in movie Westerns and the difference between a John Ford Western, ones by Howard Hawks, and Budd Boetticher’s Westerns. I finally learned and grasped what powerful movies they were, Just a few years ago, I got to see John Ford’s masterpiece The Searchers on the big screen and it was only then that I really understood how powerful it was and why its star, John Wayne, was such an icon.

As cable news has been wallowing in shortsightedness and ahistorical thinking in its coverage of the Ferguson grand jury verdict and ensuing protests, the smarter corners of the internet have provided a bevy of useful resources, syllabi, polemics, and essays that have explained, at length and in great context, why the lack of accountability for the killing of a young, unarmed African-American male at the hands of a white police officer warrants passionate demonstrations nationwide. Such tools have been essential for attempting to explain to skeptical ears how institutional racism continues to exercise a disproportionate (and sometimes lethal) affect on the lives of young black men, and how various extensions of state power – namely, police officers – are rarely held accountable for their abuses of said power, which perpetuates a culture of policing that serves the lives of some at the expense of others. The cases of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir...

El Dorado

Written by Leigh Brackett

Directed by Howard Hawks

USA, 1966

When El Dorado was first shown in 1966, the Western in its classical form was beginning to disappear from American cinema. John Ford, synonymous with the genre, released his last feature that year, and El Dorado would be the second-to-last film by its own legendary director, Howard Hawks. The Western was evolving and its old masters were giving way to modern innovators. The stylishly self-conscious films of Sergio Leone first signaled the shift (the films of his “Dollars Trilogy” came out in 1964-1966), and it was certified by the critical, ominous, and violent The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1969. Hawks decried the slow-motion bloodletting of Peckinpah. He argued that he could kill four men, get them to the morgue, and bury them before this newcomer could get one on the ground.

With this as the context of its gestation,...

Chicago – “The Hollywood Show” comes back to Chicagoland next weekend, September 7th, 8th and 9th, and with it the usual fun line-up of celebrity TV and movie favorites. The autumn show appearances include Pam Grier, Loni Anderson, Robert Loggia, Connie Stevens, Lainie Kazan and June Lockhart.

“The Hollywood Show” is a twice-a-year event in which fans can mingle, take photographs and get autographs from the celebrities that appear there. There is also a great opportunity to purchase memorabilia from a host of showbiz vendors, all in one room. The Hollywood Show will take place at the Hilton Rosemont Hotel on River Road in Rosemont, Ill. For complete details click here.

HollywoodChicago attended the spring 2012 show, and captured Exclusive Portraits by photographer Joe Arce. Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All images © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.

DVD: Seven Days in Utopia Directed by: Matt Russell Starring: Robert Duvall, Jerry Ferrera, Lucas Black, Melissa Leo, Deborah Ann Woll, Brian Geraghty, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Dora Madison Burge and Kathy Baker. Running time: 99 minutes, Rated G Based on the best selling novel by David L. Cook is the story of young golfer Luke Chisolm who recently had a public embarrassing game while attempting to make it on the pro tour. He tries to escape his life and becomes stranded in the small town of Utopia Texas. He accepts the help of an eccentric rancher named Johnny Crawford who insists he can change his outlook on life and improve...

By Carlos de Abreu

Hollywoodnews.com: Happy Thanksgiving from Hollywood Film Awards, Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywoodnews.com. We want to thank all of our friends, associates, filmmakers and supporters for their continuous support and hard work. Without you we could not pursue our quest of discovering emerging filmmakers, honoring excellence in the art of filmmaking, and helping others through our “Hollywood Gives Back(r)” initiative.

Special thanks to our sponsors: Starz Entertainment, American Cinema Editors, American Society of Cinematographers, ArcLight Cinemas, Art Director’s Guild, The Casting Society of America, Celebrity Services, Columbia Pictures, Creative Artists Agency, DreamWorks Skg, Entertainment Tonight, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Gerry Turnbull, The Hollywood Network, HollywoodNews.com, ICM, Ilm, Johnny Crawford Orchestra, Los Angeles Times, Motion Picture Editors Guild, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Variety, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., The Weinstein Company and Yahoo! Movies, Inc., among others.

By Carlos de Abreu

Hollywoodnews.com: Happy Thanksgiving. We want to thank all of our friends and supporters for their continuous support. Without you we could not pursue our quest of discovering emerging filmmakers, honoring excellence in the art of filmmaking, and helping others through our “Hollywood Gives Back(r)” initiative.

“We greatly appreciate all you have done for us through the Hollywood Awards and our “Everybody Can Save a Life!” video contest. Your efforts have saved many lives.” – Paul Dooley, CEO- MatchingDonors.com

“Because of the generosity of The Hollywood Awards, we have just opened our new building at the Academy for Peace and Justice, the first free secondary school serving the very poor in Port-au-Prince… It is because of You that we are able to help change the lives of the poorest children of Haiti — children whose names I would love you to get to know, and...

Earlier today, we reported that CBS wants to revive the classic Western series, The Rifleman. They've signed Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier to a script deal and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus is on board to direct the pilot episode if the project gets that far.

As fans of the old ABC TV series know, the original Western is set in New Mexico and stars former pro-baseball player Chuck Connors as tough rancher named Lucas McCain. A widower, he's a single dad to his only son, Mark (Johnny Crawford). Lucas is also a crack shot with a Winchester rifle but uses it only when necessary.

Connors died from lung cancer in 1992 but Crawford is still active in the industry. He continued to act when the show went off the air in 1963 and currently focuses on music. He's a singer and leads the...

[1] The TV Western is definitely back in style, with several projects in various stages of development at different networks. And it seems audiences are into it as well -- Hell on Wheels just gave AMC it's second-biggest debut ever, just behind last year's premiere of The Walking Dead. For its part, CBS has just hatched a plan to reboot the '50s series The Rifleman, which was originally created by a young Sam Peckinpah. Harry Potter helmer Chris Columbus is set to direct. More details after the jump. Like the first Rifleman, the reboot will revolve around Civil War hero Lucas McCain, who has a talent for sharpshooting and a dark, troubled past. He moves to the uncharted territory of New Mexico in order to raise his son Mark, where he teams up with the local sheriff to protect his new hometown. Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry...

CBS is developing a remake of The Rifleman, the classic Western series that ran from 1958-1963.  In keeping with the legacy of Rifleman creator Sam Peckinpah, the new series is in the hands of a trio of interesting talents from the feature world.  Variety reports Chris Columbus (Percy Jackson & the Olympians), Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry), and Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) are on board as executive producers.  Columbus is attached to direct, while Lussier and Klogridis will handle the script. Hit the jump for more on the original series, which centers on "a skilled gunman and widowed Civil War hero (Chuck Connors) who moves to uncharted New Mexico territory to raise his young son and gets recruited by the sheriff to help protect the unruly town." AMC provides background on the show: Debuting September 30, 1958 on ABC, The Rifleman set itself apart from most of the other western series of the period...

HollywoodNews.com:The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival’s “Hollywood Awards” ceremony was held last night before a standing-room-only audience of over 1,100 Hollywood Film Festival® attendees at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The festival and awards, presented by Starz, announced this year’s winner of the “Hollywood Movie Awards” – David Yates’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2″ – which was chosen by the public voting online at the Yahoo! Movies website. The nominees for the “Hollywood Movie Awards” were: “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” “The Help,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Rango,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Super 8,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” and “X-Men: First Class.”

The winners of the festival’s film competition were announced Sunday night at the “Hollywood Discovery Awards®” Presentation Ceremony at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. This year’s winners...

Interview With Robert Duvall and Lucas Black On Seven Days in Utopia

Robert Duvall and Lucas Black have reunited for their third film together, the new sports drama Seven Days in Utopia. The movie follows down-on-his-luck professional golfer Luke Chisholm (Black), who, after having a meltdown during a major tournament, becomes stranded in the small town of Utopia, Texas. There he meets former professional golfer Johnny Crawford (Duvall), who convinces the young athlete to spend the next seven days with him to gain a new outlook on the game and life.

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Seven Days in Utopia carves out its own niche in the genre of inspirational sports and golf films thanks to emotionally invested performances by Robert Duvall (Crazy Heart), Lucas Black (Get Low), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) and Melissa Leo (Treme). Recently, we had a chance to speak with both Black and Duvall on their roles in the film. The duo first received acclaim as a acting pair in last year’s summer film Get Low. In Seven Days in Utopia, Black plays a young golfer named Luke whose pro circuit debut ends in a catastrophic meltdown. Luke ends up in Utopia, where he meets Johnny Crawford (Duvall). Johnny and Luke develop a teacher student relationship as Luke rediscovers his passion for the sport and life. In this interview (above), Duvall discusses why having Black in the film helps the movie to stand out from other golfing films. The two...

One of the most inspirational writers whose work I've enjoyed reading is Harvey Penick, a golf professional and coach from Austin, Texas. Penick began his golf career as a caddy at Austin Country Club, and went on to coach at the University of Texas from 1931 to 1963. He co-authored with Texas Film Hall of Fame member Bud Shrake Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. The "must-read" book contained insightful anecdotes that applied beyond the game of golf -- life lessons on mental focus as well as achieving goals.

Like Penick, Seven Days in Utopia -- opening Friday in Austin theaters -- employs a fictional character who serves up life and spiritual lessons through golf. Based upon Dr. David Cook's book Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia, this golf-related movie centers around two individuals who appear quite different at first: Johnny Crawford (Robert Duvall), an eccentric rancher with a...

Clips from Seven Days in Utopia, starring Robert Duvall, Lucas Black and Melissa Leo. I thought the trailer looked quite solid for the Matthew Dean Russell film, helmed from the script by David L. Cook, based on Cook’s Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia. We have a nice buffet of 8 clips from the drama, also available in high definition. Seven Days in Utopia follows the story of Luke Chisolm (Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (Duvall). But Johnny's more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future.

Clips from Seven Days in Utopia, starring Robert Duvall, Lucas Black and Melissa Leo. I thought the trailer looked quite solid for the Matthew Dean Russell film, helmed from the script by David L. Cook, based on Cook’s Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia. We have a nice buffet of 8 clips from the drama, also available in high definition. Seven Days in Utopia follows the story of Luke Chisolm (Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (Duvall). But Johnny's more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future.

ComingSoon.net has received an exclusive clip from Seven Days in Utopia , starring Robert Duvall, Lucas Black and Melissa Leo. The drama hits theaters on September 2. Seven Days in Utopia follows the story of Luke Chisolm (Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (Duvall). But Johnny's more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but also his direction for the future.

Sports movies can be tricky beasts, and none moreso than the valiant, but generally in vain, effort that is the golf-related movie. Another shot at it comes your way September 2nd, and this one may have what it takes. The trailer looks solid at any rate, and the fact that it's based on David L. Cook's book, "Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia," isn't going to hurt either.

Lucas Black and Robert Duvall are joined by a very solid cast, including Melissa Leo, to bring you a quirky golf film about one man's effort to "find his game," after he parts ways with his father. It may appear a little more syrupy than necessary, but I think it may be onto something, not least because it seems to be both more and less about golf than most of the, admittedly few, efforts in the genre.

Check...

Today we have a new trailer, 15 hi-res photos and poster for “Seven Days In Utopia”, starring Academy Award winners Robert Duvall and Melissa Leo, and produced by Academy Award winner Mark Mathis (Precious).

The inspirational film is based on David L. Cook’s best-selling book Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia.

Seven Days in Utopia follows the story of Luke Chisolm (Lucas Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (Duvall). But Johnny’s more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future.

Here’s the official plot synopsis...