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Edward L. Rissien, who produced the Burt Lancaster-starring war film Castle Keep and served as an executive at ABC, Bing Crosby Productions, Filmways and Playboy Productions, has died. He was 98.

Rissien died April 8 of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his nephew, Emmy-nominated director Michael Zinberg (The Bob Newhart Show, The Good Wife, NCIS), told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Eddie was a well-respected man who had beautiful taste in material,” Zinberg said. “He was always looking for something that would make a difference.”

An Iowa native who started out as a stage manager on Broadway, Rissien helped set up Harry Belafonte‘s HarBel Productions after acquiring the film rights for Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), the Robert Wise-directed drama that starred Belafonte, Robert Ryan and Shelley Winters.

He also produced Snow Job (1972), starring legendary French skier and Olympic champion Jean-Claude Killy as a thief in his only feature role,...

Cloris Leachman. A true legend.

One of the funniest of all time.

And such a great lady. Loved her. Will be missed terribly. And such a good family. Sending love to all. Rip pic.twitter.com/whq2qfvxcg

— Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) January 28, 2021 Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman has died of natural causes at the age of 94, her publicist has confirmed.

Stars paid tribute to the comic actress who also won eight Emmys - a record she shared with Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus - and whose much-loved roles included Phyllis in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

Leachman, who was married to director/producer George Englund from 1953 to 1979 and had five children with him, won a Best Supporting Oscar actress gong for her role as a small-town housewife in The Last Picture Show.

In her acceptance speech, she said: "I'm having an...

Oscar winner and multiple Emmy winner Cloris Leachman, best remembered as the delightfully neurotic Phyllis Lindstrom on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and her own subsequent sitcom, died of natural causes on Tuesday in Encinitas, Calif. She was 94.

“It’s been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time,” her longtime manager Juliet Green said. “There was no one like Cloris. With a single look she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh ’till the tears ran down your face. You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of her unparalleled magic.”

The daffy, self-absorbed Phyllis, a character she claimed was close to her own persona, brought the actress two Emmys as a featured actress in a series during the mid-’70s and made Leachman a household name.

Leachman...

The world could come to an end in a lot of ways, but 1950s sci-fi was fond of making it end like a One-Act play. Harry Belafonte’s personal project soon drops the spectre of annihilation to cozy up to a statement about race relations. Despite the fact that his co-star Inger Stevens likely had the courage to take the material way, way farther, the last man and woman on Earth don’t even share a kiss. Can’t offend those distributors in Alabama, by golly. The film’s amazingly realistic vision of NYC abandoned after an atomic gas attack is stunning in HD — the show hasn’t lost its appeal, even if it deserts its second theme in favor of a rifle-toting showdown between Belafonte and Mel Ferrer’s villainous third-wheel survivor.

The World The Flesh and The Devil

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1959 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street...

It’s tendon-biting combat, with guns, trains, planes, chainsaws, and an indestructible all-terrain vehicle (that still couldn’t stand the potholes in the street of Los Angeles)! Rod Taylor, Jim Brown and Yvette Mimieux blast their way through one of the roughest of the ’60s action spectacles, as mercenaries on a mission of mercy that’s really a venal grab to ‘rescue’ a fortune in diamonds. Director Jack Cardiff pushed the limits of acceptability on this one — legends persist about longer, more egregiously violent cuts.

Dark of the Sun

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / The Mercenaries / Street Date December 18, 2011 / available through the Warner Archive Collection / 19.95

Starring: Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Peter Carsten, Jim Brown, Kenneth More, André Morell, Olivier Despax, Guy Deghy, Bloke Modisane, Calvin Lockhart.

Cinematography: Edward Scaife.

Film Editor: Ernest Walter

Original Music: Jacques Loussier

Written by Quentin Werty (Ranald MacDougall), Adrian Spies from the...

Alec Bojalad Dec 18, 2017

New Republic Pictures has optioned a biography about Marlon Brando, with the intent of making a biopic

New Republic Pictures has optioned a biography about the late legendary actor Marlon Brando to become a biopic, it's been revealed.

The biography to be adapted is The Way It's Never Been Done Before from George Englund, a movie director, producer, and one of Brando's best friends. Englund died earlier this year. 

Brian Oliver's New Republic Pictures (Hacksaw Ridge, American Made) has optioned the biography with the intent of making a feature film biopic about Brando, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

There's certainly a joke to be made about Hollywood's penchant for making moves about itself but that doesn't really apply in Brando's case. Brando is synonymous with the film industry but his was the kind of talent and fame that would have been noteworthy in any industry. 

Brando...

Author: Zehra Phelan

Considering Marlon Brando was the greatest actor that ever lived, it’s a wonder why it’s taken so long for a biopic to arise based on the memoirs of those that knew him best. Finally, we could see just that as one of Brando’s best friends, George Englund’s memoir The Way It’s Never Been Done Before has been optioned for a movie outing on the legend.

Rush, Black Swan and Hacksaw Ridge producer, Brian Oliver will produce the film for the newly established New Republic Pictures. Oliver said of the new commission;

“George and Marlon’s friendship spanned five decades and covered all the ups and downs in the actor’s career and personal life,” stated Oliver. “It makes for both an epic portrayal of the greatest actor ever to grace the silver screen and an intimate story of two men with an almost brotherly bond.

Joanne Woodward on TCM: Rachel, Rachel; Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Count Three And Pray (1955) A Westerner turns preacher to overcome his shady past. Dir: George Sherman. Cast: Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward, Phil Carey. C-102 mins. 7:45 Am Rally Round The Flag, Boys! (1958) The arrival of an Army missile base shatters the peaceful life of a suburban town. Dir: Leo McCarey. Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Joan Collins. C-107 mins, Letterbox Format. 9:45 Am Paris Blues (1961) Two jazz musicians deal with romantic problems in Paris. Dir: Martin Ritt. Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier. C-99 mins, Letterbox Format. 11:30 Am Signpost To Murder (1964) A convicted murderer, who escaped from a mental institution, hides out in the home of a woman whose husband is missing. Dir: George Englund. Cast: Joanne Woodward, Stuart Whitman, Edward Mulhare. Bw-77 mins, Letterbox Format. 1:00 Pm...

Joanne Woodward never became a major box-office draw. No matter. Woodward was one of the best film actresses of the 20th century, as can be attested by her work in The Three Faces of Eve; Rachel, Rachel (right); Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams; The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds; and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge. Woodward's absence from the big screen after a supporting role in Jonathan Demme's 1993 AIDS drama Philadelphia is indeed cinema's loss. On Tuesday, August 16, Turner Classic Movies will be presenting 13 Joanne Woodward movies as part of TCM's "Summer Under the Stars" film series. [Joanne Woodward Movie Schedule.] Four of those are TCM premieres: Leo McCarey's weak comedy Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), with Paul Newman as Woodward's love interest, and Joan Collins sultrily stealing the show; Burt Reynolds' highly successful black comedy The End (1978), about a dying man's attempts at killing himself with the assistance of a...

Golden Globe winner Sharon Stone has dismissed rumours suggesting that she was once married to George Howe Englund, Jr. During an appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight, Stone rubbished claims that she wed the TV producer early on in her career. "They say I was married to this guy that I was never married to or don't even really know," she said. "They're just over-anxious about me being alone. But really I was married twice." The Casino actress continued: "I was married once when I was young in my early (more)...

Sharon Stone has spoken out to dispel false reports she has been married three times - insisting she's only walked down the aisle twice.

The Hollywood actress is fed up with incorrect rumours about her love life and insists the third union - to Hollywood boss George Howe Englund, Jr. - is pure speculation.

Stone tells CNN host Piers Morgan, "No I wasn't (married three times). But they say that... They say I was married to this guy that I was never married to or don't even really know.

"They're just over anxious about me being alone. But really I was married twice.

"I was married once when I was young in my early 20s to a really lovely guy named Michael Greenburg, who was just the most adorable guy in the world who I am friends with... and I was married to my son's father."

She then joked, "What's his name again? Oh... Phil Bronstein... I was married to Phil, who is the editor of the San Fransisco Chronicle. (He) was a very bright, bright guy and funny... We were married for five and a half years and he's remarried now and has two kids."...

On Thursday night, January 20, old school Hollywood gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to honor some of TV's biggest legends. The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences inducted seven honorees into their Hall of Fame, adding them to a list of over 100 other famous names from in front of and behind the camera.

This year's inductees were actresses Cloris Leachman and Diahann Carroll, writer/producer Susan Harris and TV executive Tom Freston. Posthumous honors were given to game show producer Bill Todman, journalist Peter Jennings and composer Earle Hagen. Presenters for the special awards were also legends in the industry — Carl Reiner, Florence Henderson, Bob Woodruff, George Englund, Bob Daly, Fred Silverman, Tavis Smiley.

On hand to congratulate the honorees were other TV luminaries including Rose Marie, Valerie Harper, Marsha Strassman and David Steinberg. The evening's hosting duties were fulfilled by Survivor's Jeff Probst.

We were lucky enough to...

The Fields is a horror thriller that marks the return of Cloris Leachman and Tara Reid to the horror genre. Based on the true events that took place in a small Pennsylvania town in the fall of 1973. It tells the story of a young boy and his family who are terrorized by a mysterious presence in the endless fields of corn surrounding their old farm house.

The Fields stars: Cloris Leachman, Tara Reid, Joshua Ormond, Faust Checho, Bev Appleton, Louis Morabito and Karen Ludwig

Screenplay By: B. Harrison Smith

Directed By: Tom Mattera & Dave Mazzoni (The 4th Dimension)

Produced By: Faust Checho, Harrison Smith, George Englund, Jr., Tom Mattera & Dave Mazzoni

The film is produced by Faust Checho and Harrison Smith of Mr. Big Productions, George Englund Jr., and Tom Mattera and Dave Mazzoni of MazWa Productions. Hollywood veteran Tommy Lee Wallace is serving as an associate producer.

Production ran...

A second teaser trailer for The Fields (evil in the corn fields...something oddly familiar about that) has found its way onto Youtube and you can check it out below! Looks creepy so far, so we'll wait eagerly to see the entire film unfold. Enjoy!

The Fields stars Academy Award-winner Cloris Leachman and Tara Reid, and it is directed by Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni of the critically acclaimed The 4th Dimension. It is produced by Faust Checho and Harrison Smith with Mr. Big Productions in association with MazWa Productions. George Englund, Jr., and Hollywood veteran Tommy Lee Wallace are attached as associate producers.

For more details, visit the official The Fields website and official The Fields Facebook page.

read more...

The second teaser trailer for The Fields has made its way online and since we know you like being kept up-to-date on everything we've got it for you right here! Dig it!

The film stars Academy Award-winner Cloris Leachman and Tara Reid, and it is directed by Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni of the critically acclaimed The 4th Dimension. It is produced by Faust Checho and Harrison Smith with Mr. Big Productions in association with MazWa Productions. George Englund, Jr., and Hollywood veteran Tommy Lee Wallace are attached as associate producers.

For more check out the official The Fields website and official The Fields Facebook page.

Dig it!

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

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Fight for your meals in the comments section below.

It's been a while since last we spoke about The Fields, but it's October! Everyone who's got a pulse has been submitting news to us to help you all get in the Halloween spirit so maybe this latest teaser trailer will do just that for you!

The Fields is a psychological thriller based on true events that took place in a small Pennsylvania town in 1973. It tells the story of a young boy and his family who are terrorized by an unseen presence.

The film stars Academy Award-winner Cloris Leachman and Tara Reid, and it is directed by Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni of the critically acclaimed The 4th Dimension. It is produced by Faust Checho and Harrison Smith with Mr. Big Productions in association with MazWa Productions. George Englund, Jr., and Hollywood veteran Tommy Lee Wallace are attached as associate producers.

For more check out the official The Fields...

 The Fields is a suspense thriller based on the true events that took place in a small Pennsylvania town in the fall of 1973. It tells the story of a young boy and his family who are terrorized by a mysterious presence in the endless fields of corn surrounding their old farm house.

The Fields stars: Cloris Leachman, Tara Reid, Joshua Ormond, Faust Checho, Bev Appleton, Louis Morabito and Karen Ludwig

Screenplay By: B. Harrison Smith

Directed By: Tom Mattera & Dave Mazzoni (The 4th Dimension)

Produced By: Faust Checho, Harrison Smith, George Englund, Jr., Tom Mattera & Dave Mazzoni

The film is produced by Faust Checho and Harrison Smith of Mr. Big Productions, George Englund Jr., and Tom Mattera and Dave Mazzoni of MazWa Productions. Hollywood veteran Tommy Lee Wallace is serving as an associate producer.

Production ran September through October 2010. An anticipated release is expected in 2011.

Source: Facebook

 

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Guy Pearce, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Seymour Cassel, Cloris Leachman and Virginie Ledoyen are "Mis-Fits."

The quintet of actors has been cast in author-playwright L.D. Napier's directorial debut, an original comedy that she also wrote. Doug Claybourne will produce through his Make It Happen Prods., with filming scheduled to begin in May.

"Mis-Fits" tells the story of a "necro-detective" who goes in search of people's lost, dead relatives.

"It's a wacky comedy in the tone of 'Harold and Maude,'" said Claybourne ("The Fast and the Furious").

Cinematographer Affonso Beato ("The Queen") and production designer Richard Hoover ("Dead Man Walking") have joined the crew, and Ingrid Michaelson will write an original song for the film with music by M. Ward.

Icm, which reps Claybourne, is also repping sales for the film.

CAA reps Pearce ("The King's Speech"). UTA and Principal Entertainment rep Moreno ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"). Abrams Artists Agency...

It's been a while since we've had any sort of update on the Tara Reid/Cloris Leachman (now there's a dream team if we ever saw one) flick The Fields, but today the filmmakers announced the launch of a Street Team utilizing the film’s network of loyal Facebook fans to promote the film and raise awareness worldwide.

Basically, they're trying to get 100,000 people to "like" them on Facebook, and if you help them, you will get to watch exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, receive special video messages from the cast and crew, and if the goal is reached, you'll get an on-screen credit! Not too shabby, right? To get more details and to join the Street Team, just click the graphic below the synopsis.

The Fields is a psychological thriller based on true events that took place in a small Pennsylvania town in 1973. It tells the story of a young boy...

Triple divorcee Sharon Stone is still hopeful of finding lasting love at the age of 51.

The Basic Instinct star split from her third husband, newspaper editor Phil Bronstein, in 2004 but she is refusing to let the break-ups dampen her hopes of finding true love.

She tells the New York Daily News, "I wouldn't say no to a partner. But my parents set a high standard to follow - they met at ages 14 and 15 when my Dad was a school crossing guard and helped my mum cross the street. I just want that old-fashioned kinda love, and I do think I'm going to get it."

Stone, who is set to romance toyboy Chris Evans in new drama Satisfaction, has also been married to George Englund, Jr. and TV producer Michael Greenburg.

Veteran actress Cloris Leachman has opened up about her brief romance with Gene Hackman - the pair enjoyed one night of passion in the 1970s.

The 82-year-old Oscar-winner reveals the brief affair in her forthcoming memoirs, Cloris, detailing how dinner with the actor lead to a steamy one-off encounter while they were both shooting movies in San Francisco, California.

She writes, "As we moved into the main course, it was as if a cosmic wind enveloped us. Some giant space magnet was pulling us together. We didn't finish the meal. We went upstairs, flew into bed and made love. It was epic. And the next morning, Gene went back to his film and I went back to mine. I haven't seen Gene since that night, but I remember well the feisty lad he was."

Leachman also admits coming close to having an affair with her childhood friend Andy Williams, claiming the musician harboured an "enduring passion" for her, according to New York Post gossip column PageSix, but a stash of photographs of his wife and daughter prevented them from taking their love any further.

Leachman has five children with Hollywood mogul George Englund, who she was married to from 1953 to 1979.