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The Keeping Room is yet another powerful, post-apocalyptic survivalist drama about man’s inhumanity to man — in this case, woman. The difference is that it’s set in the past and is more or less historically accurate. The place is Georgia, the apocalypse the Civil War; more specifically, the war’s end and the march by William Tecumseh Sherman that drove Old Dixie down. The movie, directed by Daniel Barber from a script by Julia Hart, reminds you that works like The Road aren’t just projections into a barbaric future but extrapolations from the past. We have evidence that cruelty is second nature to some, first nature to others.Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld play sisters Augusta and Louise, who remain on their farmstead with a slave, Mad (Muna Otaru), to fend for themselves against Union soldiers like the one who got his face blown off by Scarlett O...

Chicago – Director Robert Alaniz is a throwback to the maverick film director that completes his projects through hell or low budget. His latest film is his seventh as writer/director, called “Mind Over Mindy.” Larry Thomas – who portrayed the “Soup Nazi” on “Seinfeld” – is part of the cast that will join Alaniz at a Chicago Gala Screening of the film at the northwest side’s historic Patio Theater on September 19th, 2015.

“Mind Over Mindy” is a fantasy comedy, concerning a man named Tom (Steve Parks) who is engaged to be married, but obsesses so much about his 1989 high school girlfriend Mindy (Catherine McCafferty) that she appears in the present. The film also features Larry Thomas as a schizophrenic psychiatrist, and Jim O’Heir from “Parks and Recreation” as Tom’s car dealer boss.

Steve Parks and Catherine McCafferty in a Scene from Robert Alaniz’s ‘Mind Over Mindy’

Photo credit: Sole Productions

Director Robert Alaniz,...

The cast of Nashville would like you to know they are real musicians – they don't just play them on TV.

You'll get a chance to see exactly what they mean Wednesday night when the performers take the stage and sing, not as their characters, but as themselves. But be prepared – it'll definitely feel a little different.

"Scarlett and I use the same body but it's me," Clare Bowen, the Australian-born actress who plays Scarlett O'Connor, tells People. "I don't come out and say, 'Hey y'all, how's it going!'"

She also won't be wearing Scarlett's beloved boots. "I don't wear shoes when I perform,...

Community

With the release date of Community’s season six fast approaching, it’s hard not to get excited. The series was cancelled by NBC back in 2014, but like a knight in shining armor (who also happens to own a production company), Yahoo! has taken over the show, which it’s now producing as a web series for devoted audiences.

Although the previous season saw the departure of some notable characters, comedic staples like Danny Pudi, who plays Abed Nadir, and The Soup’s Joel McHale, who plays Jeff Winger, have stuck around, guaranteeing that this sixth season is bound to be a great one, as evidenced by the trailer below.

One character whose brilliance is often overlooked, however, is that of Dean Craig Pelton. Played by Oscar winning screenwriter Jim Rash, Pelton and his costume choices are a highlight of the show. His costumes, which aim to either explore...

With the Game Of Thrones TV timeline set to overtake the novels, should A Song Of Ice And Fire readers avoid it to stay spoiler-free?

Forget the winds of winter, a wind of change is blowing. The balance of power between A Song Of Ice And Fire readers and Game Of Thrones-only viewers (referred to neatly in some quarters as the Sullied and the Unsullied) is shifting.

As the HBO show’s fifth season promises to depict events from the most recently released book, and with no imminent sign of the next tome (we’ve been told not to expect The Winds Of Winter until 2016), the TV timeline is due to overtake that of A Song Of Ice And Fire. The crown of smugness is being melted down. Book readers will no longer know when to brace themselves for bloody shocks, or when to smile knowingly while events unfurl on-screen.

Every year, stars get together at the SAG Awards to congratulate each other on how awesome they all are with a lavish, unhosted ceremony that speeds along at a quick pace because everyone wants to get their naked man sculptures and hit up the after parties.

Because of the ceremony's weird place in the awards season – after the Oscar Nominations have been announced but before the Oscars actually take place - and the Golden Globes-esque mingling of television and film stars, sometimes the show can get real weird, real quick.

News: SAG Awards 2015: The Complete Winners List

Tonight’s ceremony was a rather low-key affair, but it still had some stand-out moments. Here are the best, the worst, and the most awkward moments of the night.

The Best

1. Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Looking Adorable

TNT

Jennifer Aniston was one of the stars selected to tell her story of how she became an actor during the opening...

We give a damn. We really give a damn. Frankly, movies come and go every weekend, fluttering away from our public consciousness as soon as the credits roll. Not so for Gone with the Wind, whose magnolia-rich scent continues to pervade every aspect of our popular culture 75 years since its release. From book sequels to TV movies and miniseries to divine (and divinely absurd) parodies, Scarlett O’Hara has more than borne out her stubborn promise of tomorrow. “Gone with the Wind is such a three-dimensional story,” explains Steve Wilson, curator of film at the University of Texas’s Harry Ransom Center,...

It was the first color film to win the Best Picture Oscar and is ranked as one of the greatest movie of all time by the American Film Institute. In its first four years of release the film sold 59.5 million tickets, a number equal to half the population of the United States in 1939 and according to Box Office Mojo it’s the highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for ticket price inflation.

Today, Gone with the Wind celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary as “the most iconic film of all time.”

Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the story of Southern Belle Scarlett O’Hara and her torrid affair with blockade runner Rhett Butler remains so popular it has motivated legions of fans, called Windies, to gather in period costume in author Margaret Mitchell’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

It even inspired one of the most famous television parodies of all time.

Laura Benanti is a Tony award-winning veteran of several Broadway shows, which means her transition to musical performer on the ABC drama Nashville wasn't that much of a stretch. Although she's extremely disciplined (thanks to a theatrical schedule of eight live shows a week), her introduction to viewers on the series this season hasn't been without its professional challenges. But as Sadie Stone, new Bff to country superstar Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton), Benanti is making it look effortless.

"In some ways this is music boot camp," Benanti told Rolling Stone...

Every week, a member of the Nashville cast will blog about the latest episode of the hit show. This week, Australian actress Clare Bowen, who plays Scarlett O'Connor, chats about her character's journey from being a people pleaser to a more self-aware individual.Scarlett is a very accommodating individual. She had an abusive upbringing. Her mother was a figure of tyranny. She screamed at her and caused chaos all the time. That was Scarlett's entire childhood - trying to take care of her mother who was incapacitated by grief or emotion. So Scarlett grew up trying to be quiet,...

Every week, a member of the Nashville cast will blog about the latest episode of the hit show. This week, Australian actress Clare Bowen, who plays Scarlett O'Connor, chats about her character's journey from being a people pleaser to a more self-aware individual.

Scarlett is a very accommodating individual. She had an abusive upbringing. Her mother was a figure of tyranny. She screamed at her and caused chaos all the time. That was Scarlett's entire childhood – trying to take care of her mother who was incapacitated by grief or emotion. So Scarlett grew up trying to be quiet, trying...

She loves the holidays, and Oprah Winfrey is prepared to reign in the new year on the January 2015 cover of her self-titled magazine.

Posing in a gorgeous emerald Marc Bouwer gown with a tame lion friend, the talk show hosting icon opened up about the year ahead and why she decided to bring a beast into the current issue of O Magazine.

Check out highlights from Oprah's interview below!

On her Marc Bouwer gown:

“This gown is like a glam version of Scarlett O’Hara’s curtain dress.”

On the month of January and the start of the new year:

“How wonderful, how hopeful, that this month inspires us to aim higher, try harder, and strive to be the best version of ourselves.”

Why she shot the cover with a lion:

“We’re calling 2015 a ‘Brave New Year’ which is why I’m shooting for the first time with...

20. Love/Chloe in the Afternoon (1972)

Directed by: Éric Rohmer

Originally titled “Love in the Afternoon,” but released in North America as “Chloe in the Afternoon,” this Rohmer film is a tale of possible infidelity, seen through the eyes of a conflicted man. Frédéric (Bernard Verley) is a successful young lawyer who is happily married to a teacher named Hélène (Françoise Verley), who is pregnant with their second child. While Frédéric is in a considerably good place in his life, he still struggles with the loss of excitement he had before he married, when he could sleep with whomever he chose. It wasn’t so much the sex that thrilled him, but the chase itself. Still, he feels that these thoughts and fantasies, paired with his refusal to act upon them, only proves that he is completely dedicated and in love with his own wife. That is, until he meets Chloé...

Both Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio are doing a little moonlighting in their rare time off from filming Nashville. Bowen, who plays struggling songwriter Scarlett O'Connor on the ABC musical drama, and Palladio, who plays rags-to-riches songwriter Gunnar Scott, are each prepping solo albums (as themselves) for 2015.

"We've recorded a couple things and I've been writing and writing and writing," Bowen tells Rolling Stone Country. "I've met some wonderful people who are generous with their time and creativity. That's the way Nashville is as a city."

Bowen, who is...

By Anjelica Oswald

Managing Editor

Films have captured the passage of time in a variety of unique ways throughout the years. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, which premiered at Sundance this year, presents the movement of time in an unprecedented manner. By filming the same cast three to four days per year for 12 years, Linklater was able to capture the real changes the cast went through instead of relying on CGI, makeup or different actors to show the aging process. The seamless way in which the passage of time is presented could garner a best editing nomination at the 87th Academy Awards. Here are 10 other films portraying the passage of time that have been nominated for best editing (in chronological order):

Gone With the Wind (1939)

The film follows the O’Hara family and how they are affected before, during and after the Civil War, particularly through the eyes of Scarlett O...

By Anjelica Oswald

Managing Editor

The Fault in Our Stars features Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus “Gus” Waters, two teens who meet at a cancer-survivor support group. Though Hazel is initially skeptical about getting close to Gus and warns him of her worsening condition, Gus still falls for her. As the two fall in love, Gus relapses, and he dies shortly after they return from their romantic trip to Amsterdam. The adaptation of John Green’s novel of the same name was a box-office smash and has earned Woodley some Oscar buzz. Should Woodley receive a nomination for this role, she would join the list of best actress nominees who have been nominated for their roles in heartbreaking films.

Some of the most well-known tragic love stories didn’t score any leading actress nominations, though. For example, Natalie Wood was not nominated for her...

The New York Film Festival starts today, and with it critics and industry members will get their first look at Gone Girl and Inherent Vice, leaving only a few studio tent poles remaining throughout the fall. They’ll also get a renewed look at Mr. Turner, Foxcatcher, and Birdman, so expect those to be back in the conversation soon.

One of the most interesting barometers for predicting the race is Movie City News’ Gurus ‘O Gold chart, a poll of all the Oscar pundits to determine the top contenders to win. They made their picks before the festivals and now after them, and they’ve got Boyhood perched atop the pedestal with the sight-unseen Unbroken, Interstellar and Gone Girl rounding out the Top 10.

This week however, all the previous week’s ranking contenders are gone from the charts in this slow week between festivals. They’ll be back with a...

Nashville, Season 3, Episode 1: “That’s Me Without You”

Directed by Callie Khouri

Written by Callie Khouri

Airs Wednesdays at 10pm Est on ABC

Nashville comes back for its third season with almost no noise. What, after a magnificent pilot two years ago, was once supposed to be a ratings savior for ABC has become an afterthought for the network, who barely publicized its premiere. They have buzzy new shows to talk about: (How to Get Away With Murder, Black-ish), and returning ratings hits to protect: (Scandal, uh… Scandal). And yet Nashville persists on network television representing a category that doesn’t even exist, the musical soap opera. Those two genres have never been more unfashionable. Musicals must cloak themselves in faux-edgy irony like Glee or die spectacular deaths (Rip Smash.) There are other soaps, especially on ABC, but they have to be structured like procedurals and contain a healthy...

This fall, Turner Classic Movies is teaming up with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Fathom Events and the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin to celebrate the 75th anniversary of one of the most successful and beloved films of all time: the 1939 classic Gone With the Wind. The multi-tiered celebration is set to include a new Blu-ray collection of the movie, screenings at more than 650 movie theaters nationwide, a fascinating exhibit and book on the making of the film and, of course, a special presentation of the movie on Turner Classic Movies.

“TCM’s wide-ranging celebration of Gone With the Wind is a great chance for fans to experience and explore this monumental classic in a variety of ways,” said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of digital, affiliate, lifestyle and enterprise commerce for TCM, TBS and TNT.“We’re very excited to be working with our friends at Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Some characters in film and television are so iconic that you can’t imagine any other actor playing them. Vivien Leigh is Scarlett O’Hara; Harrison Ford is Han Solo, Michael J. Fox is Marty McFly, and so on. The affection we have for a particular film or character becomes indelibly linked to the actor who takes that role; should anyone else step into the role, it wouldn’t feel right, no matter how good the actor in question was on paper.

Nevertheless, there have been many examples in film franchises over the years where major characters have been recast mid-way through a series, with often disastrous results. The reasons for these re-castings vary: contract disputes, not being paid enough, interference from further up the pecking order, or occasionally because the original actor has tragically died. But for every one time where we could let it slide, or...

Sometimes it’s humiliating what the world has done with our film history. Horror stories abound about the poor preservation and disposal of film prints of movies like Lawrence of Arabia, and of course the more famous examples with Metropolis and The Magnificent Ambersons.

One historian is trying to rectify the legacy of another landmark film, Gone With the Wind. Peter Bonner, a historian and Gone With the Wind tour guide in Atlanta, recently came across the forgotten pieces to the movie set of Scarlett O’Hara’s famous plantation home “Tara”.

The set from the film was eventually dismantled, sold from Selznick Studios to Desi Arnaz and later shipped to Georgia, where it has now been rotting in storage for nearly three decades.

The Daily Mail reported on Sunday about Bonner’s efforts to restore the many pieces to Tara and make it available for tours. Bonner’s Facebook page,...

The obligatory movie catchphrase…memorable golden dialogue for the cinematic soul. What film fan does not enjoy reciting and repeating their favorite movie quotes? After all, there are countless catchphrases in films–some are famous, some are familiar, some are obscure. Still, paraphrasing movie quips has become an art onto itself?

So what are your all-time movie catchphrases? Perhaps it is Jimmy Cagney’s “You dirt rat…you killed my brother?”. Maybe it is Cary Grant’s “Judy, Judy, Judy”? Or how about Lauren Bacall’s “You know how to whistle, don’t you? Just blow…” Whatever movie catchphrases catches your fancy is fine so long as it brings up memories of the film or film characters tat have made a big impression on your cinema experiences.

The Lip Service: The Top 10 Movie Catchphrases selections are: (in alphabetical order according to film title):

1.) “Fasten your seat belts, it...

An Oscar-winning actress is an exceptional artist no matter what shade, race or ethnicity she represents. For the sake of this written piece we will concentrate on those actresses of color whose achievement in cinema (and ultimate success of capturing the golden statuette) has made them revered commodities in the motion picture industry.

For some of these minority Oscar-winning actresses being spotlighted they have either excelled at their craft early in their careers or may have enjoyed limited success in the aftermath of their glory. Whatever the case it remains certain that these feminine recipients of Academy Award distinction left a legacy on the big screen in a capacity that cannot be taken away or dismissed.

The You’re in the Minority: Top 10 Oscar-Winning Actresses of Color are (in alphabetical order according to film titles):

1.) Mercedes Ruehl as Anne Napolitano from The Fisher King (1991)

Won the Academy Award for...

Blu-ray Release Date: Sept 30, 2014

Price: Blu-ray $49.99

Studio: Warner Home Video

Classic romance drama Gone With the Wind — perhaps The classic romance drama film — turns 75 and is celebrated with another Ultimate Collector’s Edition, but the set does have some new features.

Limited and numbered with new memorabilia, packaging and special features, the Gone With the Wind 75th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set includes a replicaof Rhett Butler’s handkerchief and a music box paperweight playing Tara’s theme with an image on top of the Rhett-Scarlett kiss.

Also included is a 36-page companion booklet featuring a look at the timeless style of the film, written by New York fashion designer and Project Runway finalist Austin Scarlett, whose signature look reflects the romantic elegance of the Gone With the Wind era.

The new special features on the Blu-ray disc are:

footage of Clark Gable (It Happened One Night...

It is not really difficult in coming up with cinema siblings and assessing their impact on the films they graced with humor, horror or hedonism. Whatever the combination–brother and sister, brother and brother, sister and sister–the big screen has always produced some of the most compelling siblings to entertain or shock us as the lights go dim at the local cinemaplex.

So who do you favor as your all-time favorite movie siblings? Perhaps you wouldn’t mind brothers Michael and Sam from 1987′s The Lost Boys? Or how about sisters Drizella and Anastasia from the 1950 animated film Cinderella? Maybe you could go for the transformation of television’s Brady kids into the film version of 1995′s The Brady Bunch Movie?

In Sibling Rivalry: The Top 10 Fictional Siblings in Film we will take a look at a group of handful brotherly/sisterly personalities in the world of movies...

Who says that movie-making talent cannot run within the same family? In the film industry when one reaches the pinnacle of success in achieving the ultimate reward in the motion picture business–winning an Academy Award–it is considered an individual milestone for any actor’s big screen career. However, when one’s gene pool produces the capacity to draw Oscar’s attention their way in keeping the golden statuette “in the family” it is living proof that the thespian’s apple does not fall from the street.

Whether through the relationship of blood relatives or marital unions “Relative”-ly Speaking: The Top 10 Oscar-winning Family Combinations looks at ten famous family member combos that won an Oscar through the methods of acting or directing. Let’s take a look at the top ten familial tandem that pulled off such an achievement in winning the coveted Oscar as it stands proudly on the family mantle.

We’re back with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a new clip from Preservation, release details for Lfo, App, the first photo from Altergeist, an interview with Felissa Rose, and much more:

First Clip from Preservation: “Actor Christopher Denham takes his second turn in the director’s chair with this finely crafted horror-thriller starring Pablo Schreiber (The Wire, Orange is the New Black), Aaron Staton (Mad Men), and Wrenn Schmidt (Boardwalk Empire). Brothers Sean and Mike Neary, along with Mike’s wife Wit, head out on a hunting trip that doubles as a distraction from their troubles at home. But ignoring the “closed” sign and heading deep into an overgrown nature preserve, they soon find their troubles are only beginning. When all of their gear is stolen, they immediately turn on each other. But the hunted...

‘Gone with the Wind’ actress Mary Anderson dead at 96; also featured in Alfred Hitchcock thriller ‘Lifeboat’ Mary Anderson, an actress featured in both Gone with the Wind and Alfred Hitchcock’s adventure thriller Lifeboat, died following a series of small strokes on Sunday, April 6, 2014, while under hospice care in Toluca Lake/Burbank, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Anderson, the widow of multiple Oscar-winning cinematographer Leon Shamroy, had turned 96 on April 3. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1918, Mary Anderson was reportedly discovered by director George Cukor, at the time looking for an actress to play Scarlett O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s film version of Margaret Mitchell’s bestseller Gone with the Wind. Instead of Scarlett, eventually played by Vivien Leigh, Anderson was cast in the small role of Maybelle Merriwether — most of which reportedly ended up on the cutting-room floor. Cukor was later fired from the project; his replacement, Victor Fleming,...

Andy Garcia Finds Love At Middleton

By

Alex Simon

Since making a splash as crack shot George Stone in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, Andy Garcia has become one of the cinema’s most prolific and diverse actors. The Cuban-born Garcia boasts over 100 credits on his resume, with roles ranging from actor, director, producer and musical performer. At Middleton, which arrived on DVD and Blu-ray April 1 from Anchor Bay Entertainment, features Garcia as a slightly befuddled doctor who finds an unexpected love connection with another parent (Vera Farmiga) while accompanying their kids on a tour of a tony East Coast college. Andy Garcia spoke with us recently about this and other career highlights. Here’s what transpired:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you play a guy who’s not cool, so it was a pleasant surprise to see you in At Middleton, which marks a change of pace.

Much Ado About Nothing Directed by Christian Amato The Theater Project Feb. 14 - March 1, 2014 The Players Theater, NY

It may be winter in Manhattan, but it looks like a long hot summer for Beatrice, Benedict, Hero, Claudio, and the gang. So hot that feral cats are a’scampering over the hot tin roofs of Sicily’s port city of Messina, the setting for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. New York theater has been awash with Bardish productions everywhere. You can take your pick: traditional, modern dress, deconstructions, etc. Among so many offerings, I highly recommend you sashay on down to the li’l ol’ Players Theater and take a gander at their Much Ado About Nothing, rendered beautifully and hilariously in smoldering tempestuous Southern Style.

Director Christian Amato’s Messina is the modern South, and I found it endlessly fascinating to hear Shakespeare’s dialogue spoken in varying intensities of the southern drawl.

Stubbornness has its charms. Many a romantic heroine — Elizabeth Bennet and Scarlett O’Hara among them — would name her mulish intractability as her most lovable trait. In a film with an exceptionally callow worldview like “Endless Love,” though, devotion just looks like naiveté. Director Shana Feste’s slick but ardent teen romance (co-written by Feste and Joshua Safran) asks us to believe that its heroine will be stubborn forever. The problem is, we know better. Under different circumstances, blue-collar hunk David (Alex Pettyfer) and Ivy League–bound Jade (Gabriella Wilde) might be a couple worth rooting for. But their budding relationship is.

Scarlett O'Connor (Clare Bowen) is getting her first taste of fame on ABC's Nashville(Wednesday, 10/9c), but will the pressure be too much? Last week's episode saw the aspiring singer/songwriter turning to pills to keep her creative juices flowing.

"I think she's coming to the end of her tether, really," Bowen tells TVGuide.com. "She didn't anticipate any of this at all. ... She didn't have any grand ideas of being a performer. She just created things. So the whole thing, it's a big rollercoaster for her."

Read More >...

Yesterday’s announcement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that the The Wizard of Oz will be celebrated at this year’s Oscars was met with widespread enthusiasm. After all, it’s one of Hollywood’s most beloved films, multiple generations have grown up singing its tunes, and it’s celebrating its 75th anniversary.

But The Wizard of Oz wasn’t the only classic movie to come out in 1939. That prolific Hollywood year also boasted Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, John Ford’s Stagecoach, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Ninotchka (“Garbo laughs!”), Gunga Din, William Wyler...

“When your love story ends,” Mindy tells us while watching Gone With the Wind in L.A., “all you can do is cry, listen to sad music, and drink wine you bought from a gas station.” Gas-station Malbec should be reason enough to send her back to New York and its endless amounts of civilized wine stores — sorry, L.A., we beat you on that — but she also draws inspiration from Scarlett O’Hara and decides to head home to win back Cliff.And only one thing can stop her: a distraught Danny, who’s heading out to the desert to see his estranged father for the first time in decades. “I would love to be there to support you,” Mindy says. “You’ve never been this interesting.” But, she insists, she has to get to the airport and onto a plane to save her relationship. Danny gives in way...

For a certain set of TV viewers, the phrase “community college dean” immediately evokes an image of Community’s Jim Rash, probably dressed as Scarlett O’Hara, a giant bumblebee, or something equally ridiculous, given the many wardrobe larks the actor’s enthusiastic but wildly incompetent administrative character, Craig Pelton, has taken over the years. But outside of the fictional Greendale, Matt Reed may be the best-known community college dean. In 2004, Reed began channeling his professional frustrations into the anonymous blog Confessions of a Community College Dean, which became a popular destination for higher-education types. A little over a year ago, he outed himself as the vice-president for academic affairs at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts and has now published his first book. Reed was also a “very faithful” Community watcher until “the gas-leak year,” a.k.a. the sitcom’s Dan Harmon–less fourth season. Although the real-life administrator...

‘Gone with the Wind’ actress Alicia Rhett dead at 98; was oldest surviving credited Gwtw cast member Gone with the Wind actress Alicia Rhett, the oldest surviving credited cast member of the 1939 Oscar-winning blockbuster, died on January 3, 2014, at the Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community in Charleston, South Carolina, where Rhett had been living since August 2002. Alicia Rhett, born on February 1, 1915, in Savannah, Georgia, was 98. (Photo: Alicia Rhett as India Wilkes in Gone with the Wind.) In Gone with the Wind, the David O. Selznick production made in conjunction with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM head Louis B. Mayer was Selznick’s father-in-law), the stage-trained Alicia Rhett played India Wilkes, the embittered sister of Ashley Wilkes, whom Scarlett O’Hara loves — though Ashley eventually marries Melanie Hamilton (Rhett had auditioned for the role), while Scarlett ends up with Rhett Butler. Based on Margaret Mitchell’s bestseller, Gone with the Wind was (mostly) directed by Victor Fleming...

I’m sorry to report that 2013 is almost over, because it’s going to be remembered as a year of fabulous cinema and seriously award-worthy performances. Before we settle in for another season of televised trophy handouts, let’s contribute our own accolades: Here are our 10 favorite movie performances of 2013.

10. Amy Adams, American Hustle

I don’t quite understand the breathless adulation for American Hustle, which is shaping up to being one of the best-reviewed movies of the year in spite of its ridiculous, bafflingly hammy characters. But Amy Adams’ turn as the accent-twisting Sydney Prosser reminds of you of her Oscar-nominated work in The Fighter: That Veronica Lake coif conceals grim, resolute power and a bit of fear. Amy Adams is the master (teehee!) of pairing silent conviction and nervous energy, even when she’s in the middle of a high-stakes, allegiance-shifting love triangle with Bradley Cooper and...

I have a list of movies that is as malleable as a rubber band. Okay, certain movies, such as The Bridge on the River Kwai or The Searchers or The Best Years of Our Lives are always on that list, but their positions- 1, 2, 3, and so on- tumble around in my mind like clothes in a dryer. Other movies appear and disappear like the crew of the Enterprise on the transporter pad.

Gone With the Wind, for instance. This is a movie that hops on and off my list all the time. On the list because of the incredible “brought to full life” performances and spectacle, and off the list because, as a devotee of Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer-winning novel, in which all the characters are given full, rich personalities, I can’t stand the way Scarlett is portrayed in the second half of the movie; this is a product of Victor Fleming’s direction,...

Joan Fontaine, the Oscar-winning actress who was one of the last remaining links to Hollywood’s golden age of the 1930s and ’40s, has died at age 96, her assistant confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

In her most famous films — Rebecca, for which she was Oscar-nominated, and Suspicion, for which she won — Fontaine came across as appealingly passive-aggressive. She could seem radiantly shy, believably insecure, gazing into the middle distance with a hesitancy that drew you immediately to her side. Yet she fashioned a movie career out of willpower and, quite possibly, large reservoirs of spite.

The younger sister of Olivia De Havilland,...

If Vivien Leigh were alive today, she would now be 100 years old. To commemorate such a landmark anniversary, the Cohen Film Collection (aka the poor man’s Criterion) has released a special collection of Leigh’s films. But don’t expect Gone with the Wind in this Blu-ray set. This collection features some classic Leigh performances from before her famed Hollywood turn as Scarlett O’Hara. All four of the films in this collection are noted not only as being filmed before Gone with the Wind but also as being products of British cinema (a surprising fact for the more casual fan of Leigh’s work).

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1. Jesus.

2. Sony’s announcement that they will expand their rebooted Amazing Spider-Man franchise in every conceivable direction represents a new peak in Hollywood’s current vogue for franchise-building brinksmanship. Marvel Studios revealed their master plan gradually: Release an Iron Man here, announce a Thor there, wait until Avengers is a hit before you start really freaking people out with Guardians of the Galaxy.

After X-Men: First Class was an okay-not-gangbusters hit, Fox carefully retrenched: Mix in the original director and the original cast, throw out one fan-bait title (Days of Future Past) and then, when they least expect it, throw out another (Apocalypse.

This story first appeared on Billboard.com. Kelly Clarkson will continue her recent love affair with the genre of country by playing herself on the TV show Nashville. Photos: Catfights and Country From the Set of 'Nashville' The pop star is slated to appear in an upcoming episode of the ABC drama, Radio.com reports. She'll stray from performing the show's usual country fare during her cameo, opting to play ’90s dream pop standard "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star. Clarkson will perform the song with show stars Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen, who play Gunnar Scott and Scarlett O'Connor,

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Hollywood studios love books, if not always the words, the stories and characters inside of them that screenwriters can thwart and adapt to fit a more conservative studio product. However, many of the biggest pinnacles of blockbuster cinema came when a popular read of the time received the big-screen treatment – think Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, Harry Potter. The buzz behind who got the role of Scarlett O’Hara in 1939 was just as enormous as finding out which star would play Lisbeth Salander or Katniss Everdeen more than 70 years later.

As long as books continue to inspire blockbuster material, as well as Oscar bait, good source material will remain a major factor in the world of cinema. In the last weeks of 2013, some of the most anticipated films come from beloved books: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Book Thief and The Wolf of Wall Street,...

Scarlett O’Connor, you are a lovely girl. You’re talented. You’re smart. You have some heavy Nashville hitters pulling for you. You’ve shown you have more than a passing interest in a career in the music business. So please accept this advice in the spirit in which it is given: Toughen the heck up, buttercup – and stay that way.

Because your constant switching between flummoxed wallflower and sultry onstage vixen is mystifying. One night you’re swallowing tears as you’re bombarded with boos (and the occasional popcorn bucket), the next night you’re crawling around on...

Bette Davis. No doubt the name instantly brings to mind Kim Carnes’ earworm ‘Bette Davis Eyes’, which has been covered by artists ranging from Gwyneth Paltrow to Brandon Flowers and Taylor Swift. Ah yes, those spellbinding, haunting heavy-cast eyes. They bewitched countless men and are part of our cultural zeitgeist. Bette Davis was so much more than the sum of her parts though. Her tenacity, independence, unique idiosyncrasies, and artistic instincts had and have no equal, even today. She has been labeled a diva and an outright bitch, but she is unquestionably a trailblazer and an icon in every sense.

This “Noirvember” Tiff Cinematheque’s senior programmer James Quandt has curated a divine tribute to the classy dame (labeled The Hard Way:The Films of Bette Davis), highlighting fifteen of her most memorable roles.

Some crowning films of the tribute include (In chronological order):

Three on a Match (1932)-Now...

Vivien Leigh biography, movies, and photo exhibit among centenary celebrations (photo: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier as Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson in ‘That Hamilton Woman’) [See previous post: "Vivien Leigh Turns 100: Centenary of One of the Greatest Movie Stars."] From November 30, 2013, to July 20, 2014, London’s National Portrait Gallery will be hosting a Vivien Leigh photo exhibit, tracing her life and career. The exhibit will be a joint celebration of both Leigh’s centenary and the 75th anniversary of Gone with the Wind. (Scroll down to check out a classy Vivien Leigh video homage. See also: “‘Gone with the Wind’ article.”) Additionally, the British Film Institute is hosting a lengthy Vivien Leigh and Gone with the Wind celebration, screening all of Leigh’s post-1936 movies, from Fire Over England to Ship of Fools — and including The Deep Blue Sea ("a digital copy of the only surviving 35mm print we were able to locate; the condition is variable"). I should add that Terence Davies recently...

Vivien Leigh: Legendary ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ star would have turned 100 today Vivien Leigh was perhaps the greatest film star that hardly ever was. What I mean is that following her starring role in the 1939 Civil War blockbuster Gone with the Wind, Leigh was featured in a mere eight* movies over the course of the next 25 years. The theater world’s gain — she was kept busy on the London stage — was the film world’s loss. But even if Leigh had starred in only two movies — Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire — that would have been enough to make her a screen legend; one who would have turned 100 years old today, November 5, 2013. (Photo: Vivien Leigh ca. 1940.) Vivien Leigh (born Vivian Mary Hartley to British parents in Darjeeling, India) began her film career in the mid-’30s, playing bit roles in British...

Well, fiddle-dee-dee: Today is Vivien Leigh‘s 100th birthday, and if that doesn’t make you arch your meticulously crafted brow and seek out the kindness of strangers, we have nothing in common. Leigh is not only one of the most spellbinding and striking movie stars we’ve ever had, but her legendary commitment to character shined in both Gone With the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, two films that earned the Academy Award for Best Actress. In the age of biopics like My Week With Marilyn and the upcoming Grace of Monaco, one must wonder why we don’t crave more historical re-inspection of Leigh, once billed as “the outstanding actress of her generation.” (That said: I thought Julia Ormand did a wonderful job in a bit role as Leigh in the aformentioned Marilyn film.)

To celebrate the centennial of Leigh’s birth in British India, here are...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has unveiled the first three movies in the lineup for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival, including the recently restored Gone with the Wind (1939) and a presentation of The Wizard of Oz (1939) in its stunning new IMAX 3D format. Set to take place in Hollywood April 10-13, the fifth-annual edition of the festival will also include a screening of the Harold Lloyd comedy classic Why Worry? (1923), with legendary silent-film composer Carl Davis conducting the live world premiere performance of his new original score. Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz are each celebrating their 75th anniversaries in 2014.

Passes for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival are set to go on sale to the public Thursday, Nov. 14, at noon (Et). Passes can be purchased exclusively through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival. Descriptions for the first three films on the festival slate are included below.

Nashville quickly became the surprise hit of the spring season, and though you probably aren’t hoping for “surprise” at the beginning of your “hit,” I don’t think anyone could have expected it to take off the way it did. Even those who really hoped Connie Britton was going to be involved in another great show, or Whose Line fans who were cheering on Charles Esten, were showing off false hope if they thought this was a sure thing.

Building on the premise of a fading superstar, Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton), forced to team with the new “It girl” of country music, Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), the show throws the dice with an establishment overflowing with drama, most of it rather annoying. The rivalry that kicks off the series lacks a hook that is especially engaging, with Rayna irritated that she has to share the spotlight with a snotty brat,...