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In 1996, two notable blockbusters, each based on TV shows, were released by Paramount. On May 22, Brian De Palma's "Mission: Impossible" hit screens, detailing the adventures of super-spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) as he went on the lam after being framed for killing his super-spy teammates. It was a massive hit and set the stage for a supra-action franchise that has lasted to this day. The film cost a sizeable $80 million to make but earned $457 million at the box office. 

Six months later, on November 22, the eighth film in the "Star Trek" franchise, "Star Trek: First Contact" was released to much acclaim. "First Contact," based on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," boasted a time travel plot wherein the U.S.S. Enterprise traveled back to the year 2063 to face off against the malevolent cyborgs known as the Borg. It wasn't as thoughtful or diplomatic as the show on which it was based,...

In a way, death was everpresent The Far Side, making it surprising that Gary Larson's depictions of the Grim Reaper were often silly, offering a twist on the comic's usual look at mortality through dark humor and absurd scenarios. Gary Larson used the visual iconography of Death in his comics to provide a unique and comical perspective on life's struggles. The Grim Reaper and other ghoul characters featured in in The Far Side showcased Larson's unconventional and playful take life's greatest, most intimidating mystery: mortality itself.

Death was a frequent guest star on The Far Side sometimes literally, as these panels featuring the Grim Reaper and other ghoulish figures show. Artist Gary Larson's penchant for dark humor meant that many of his characters met tragic, and at times twisted fates; yet the cartoons in which the embodiment of mortality itself appeared were, in typical Far Side fashion, among the silliest,...

Gary Larson's unique humor thrived in his repeated use of movie theaters setting, which offered the artist the opportunity to comment on pop culture and society, while also delivering unconventional, irreverent punchlines. Larson's lampooning of contemporary cinema reflected the film medium's importance to American culture in a typically Larsonian idiosyncratic and unpredictable way. The Far Side's movie theater gags showcased Larson's creative dexterity and his keen sense of subversion, which always allowed him to stay a step or two ahead of audience expectations.

Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side, often took readers to the cinema, as one of the cartoon's most memorable running gags featured the movie theater as a setting, in which Larson introduced a variety of unconventional, unreal films. With his theater gags, the artist delivered some of his strangest as well as his most hilarious punchlines.

The movie theater was often a place where The Far Side's anthropomorphic animals,...

Hardcore Pawn star and Detroit pawnbroker Les Gold told Fox News that customers seem to be getting increasingly desperate.

Gold starred in the TruTV series between 2010 and 2015 along with his adult children and fellow pawnbrokers Ashley and Seth at American Jewelry and Loan. He said pawnbrokers are “street-level economists” who are indicators of which way the economy is going.

“I see it each and every day,” he said in a Fox News Ingraham Angle interview.

“Right now, the pawn line is probably twice as long as the redemption line for people picking up merchandise,” he said.

Gold said the trend has been noticed in the past six months and have reflect a marked increase in customers coming into his 8 Mile store who are desperately in need of cash to fund basic necessities.

“They need to put food on their table, gas in their tank and a roof over their head,...

Susan Sarandon has had a long and illustrious career in both film and television, earning multiple Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. She is a versatile actor who has worked in various genres, including horror, crime thriller, drama, and comedy, showcasing her range and talent. Some of her notable films include "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Lorenzo's Oil," "Little Women," "Bull Durham," and "Thelma & Louise," where she delivered powerful performances and left a lasting impact on audiences.

Susan Sarandon has amassed a celebrated filmography of prominent works in both film and television. After launching her decades-spanning career with a supporting role in the 1970 film Joe, Sarandon has since become one of the more notable female actors in modern cinematic history. Nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards and six Academy Awards including one win for Best Actress, the 77-year-old Sarandon continues to work in major Hollywood films and television series...

Sylvester Stallone’s first regular television series role on the Paramount+ mob-themed series “Tulsa King” has put him in this year’s Emmy race. And while it’s not rare for a performer primarily or solely identified with features to find Emmy success, it’s significantly less common for them to generate it in a comedy category, where Stallone presently finds himself in 10th place among series leads in the Gold Derby combined count.

A longshot? Absolutely. But there is certainly plenty of precedent for movie stars shuttling to TV and earning Emmy recognition. Here are 10 examples:

Al Pacino – He won lead actor in a miniseries or movie statues for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in “Angels in America” (2004) and Dr. Jack Kevorkian in “You Don’t Know Jack” (2010). That’s double his number of Oscar wins, Pacino’s lone triumph being for “Scent of a Woman” in 1993. Meryl Streep – Streep...

Made-for-tv movies have developed from their Hallmark stereotype in recent years, thanks to the rise of companies such as HBO. Although these films feature lower budgets and smaller casts than larger productions, they offer directors and actors greater freedom – leading them toward more successful results.

Related: Top 10 Best TV Series of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

Despite this shift away from melodrama for sensationalism’s sake, made-for-tv movies remain a viable alternative to seeing stories on screen without spending too much cash or time in cinemas.

10 Highest-Ranked TV Movies on IMDb Duel (1971) – 7.6 You Don’t Know Jack (2010) – 7.6 Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007) – 7.6 Conspiracy (2001) – 7.6 61* (2001) – 7.7 A Christmas Carol (1984) – 7.8 The Normal Heart (2014) – 7.9 Prayers for Bobby (2009) – 8.0 Threads (1984) – 8.0 Temple Grandin (2010) – 8.2 10 ‘Duel’ (1971)

Genre: Action, Thriller

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell

IMDb: 7.6/10 74K | Popularity: 1,865 | Metascore: 81 | Awards: 3 (1 Primetime Emmy Award)

“Duel,” a 1971 suspense thriller from the mind of acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, follows...

A biopic based on the life of the late “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry is in the works from Roddenberry Entertainment.

Gene Roddenberry’s son Rod Roddenberry is producing with Trevor Roth; the duo serves as executive producers on current series “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard.” Adam Mazer, the Emmy-winning writer of the Dr. Jack Kevorkian movie “You Don’t Know Jack” starring Al Pacino, is writing the screenplay. The search is now on for a director and cast.

The biopic will cover Roddenberry’s life before and after creating “Star Trek,” which was notable at the time for its diverse cast and was threatened with cancellation after the second season before becoming a massive worldwide franchise.

The project will also cover his survival of two plane crashes and the events leading to his death just as “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was becoming the most successful series of the franchise.

Exclusive: Here’s some news that’s fitting for a day that would be Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s 100th birthday.

Roddenberry Entertainment has been working quietly on a feature biopic of the sci-fi TV icon, and there is a script by Adam Mazer, whose credits include the Emmy-winning script for the 2010 HBO movie You Don’t Know Jack which starred Al Pacino as Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

Producers include Star Trek caretakers Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth, who executive produce all current franchise series including Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. Next up the development will be finding a director and actors.

There’s no shortage of subject matter surrounding Roddenberry, the fighter pilot-turned-LAPD cop-turned-tv writer who survived two plane crashes and the rough waters of Hollywood to create Star Trek, one of the world’s most enduring sci-fi franchises, with the original 1966-69 TV series eventually spawning spinoffs,...

The meek shall inherit the earth is a terrible phrase.

That's one of the many that the have-nots have hidden behind with the hope that their kindness and patience will prevail.

Why Women Kill Season 2 is a study in the haves and have nots, and those distinctions aren't only on a monetary level.

Alma Philcott isn't hurting for money. She has a lovely husband named Bertram, Bertie, for short, who loves her entirely. As a veterinarian, he makes a decent living, but his spending habits are modest.

Alma lives within those habits happily enough, but she's secretly pining for the day she will meet other women who share her passion for gardening, women who lunch in pretty dresses while chatting about the gardens they love.

Of course, Alma doesn't know that the Elysian Garden Club is a garden club in name only. She's tended her garden for years in the...

It was one of the most entertaining and memorable Emmy Awards ceremonies of this century, with an energetic opening, a perennial favorite setting a record, several first-time winners and a favorite drama continuing its reign. Jimmy Fallon hosted the event on August 29, 2010, for his first (and only) time and led one of the best openings in Emmy history. Let’s flashback 10 years ago to that event on NBC.

Fallon began the night with a pre-taped bit in which he ran into cast members from “Glee,” who were despondent that they couldn’t afford to go to the awards show. But – lo and behold! – there’s a singing contest with enough prize money to get them tickets; however, they need a few more people to be eligible to participate. What follows is a hodgepodge mix of celebrities who enter into the fray – Tina Fey can’t “sing and dance as good...

To set the tone for his new Travel Channel miniseries Ghost Adventures: Quarantine, paranormal investigator Zak Bagans didn’t begin with creepy footage of dolls, but rather the empty streets of his adopted home Last Vegas.

Filmed in the early days of quarantine, the four-part Ghost Adventures spinoff—which premiered on June 11, and airs Thursdays at 9 p.m.—explores the theory that paranormal activity is elevated due to the global pandemic, and the emotional stress that has resulted from such death, and uncertainty.

Essentially, to borrow from Dr. Spengler, if the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the Las Vegas area could be represented by a standard Twinkie, then Covid-19 has expanded that energy to a Twinkie 35 feet long weighing approximately 600 pounds.

Bagans hits that notion home with his eerie opening shots of him driving down the stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard known as The Strip. Rather than bustling with tourists,...

The “Ghost Adventures” crew is at it again, boldly going where no man (or woman) has gone before… a whole bunch of demons and evil spirits, yes, but no human in their right mind.

Travel Channel’s four-part miniseries “Ghost Adventures: Quarantine” has paranormal investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley quarantining themselves for nearly two weeks inside Bagans’ Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, testing the widely-held belief that supernatural entities feed off of fear, and the more fear in the air, the more dangerous the spirits become.

“Fear gives entities power, and fear is now permeating our society on a scale we haven’t experienced before,” Bagans said. “We are witnessing the amount of spirit activity greatly increase and we need to understand how this unprecedented situation affects things on a supernatural level.”

Also Read: 'Ghost Adventures' Team Summon Evil Spirits at the 'Conjuring' Farmhouse

Among...

Netflix's docuseries Trial by Media dives deep into infamous American crime cases using the lens of public opinion. The show's first episode follows the 1995 murder of Scott Amedure after his gay-crush confession on The Jenny Jones Show. One of the biggest players in the courtroom drama that followed was Geoffrey Fieger, a high-profile attorney who represented the Amedure family. Over two decades later, Fieger remains active in the legal and political spheres - here's what to know about his role in the Amedure trial and where he is today.

On a taping of the tabloid series The Jenny Jones Show, 32-year-old Amedure confessed to having a crush on his acquaintance Jonathan Schmitz. Three days later, Schmitz murdered him, embarrassed about what had happened on the episode, which never aired. The Amedure family did not believe Schmitz was the only person accountable for the murder - they also felt that...

Al Pacino is close to closing a deal to star in the upcoming drama series “The Hunt” at Amazon, Variety has confirmed with sources.

Should the deal close, it would mark Pacino’s first regular television role in his long and storied career. Amazon declined to comment.

Pacino has previously starred in the TV miniseries “Angels in America” and “The Godfather Saga.” He is known for his roles in iconic films like “The Godfather” franchise, “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” and “Scent of a Woman.” In recent years, he has also starred in a number of HBO films like “You Don’t Know Jack” as Jack Kevorkian, “Phil Spector,” and “Paterno.”

He is repped by CAA.

“The Hunt” follows a diverse band of Nazi Hunters living in 1977 New York City. They have discovered that hundreds of high ranking Nazi officials are living among us and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the Us.

Al Pacino is the latest film actor set to make the leap to #PeakTV. The Academy Award winner is poised to star opposite Logan Lerman (Jack & Bobby) in Amazon’s The Hunt, a 10-episode drama from executive producer Jordan Peele, Deadline reports.

The Hunt takes place in 1977 New York City, and follows a “diverse band of Nazi hunters” who discover that “hundreds of high-ranking Nazi officials are living among us and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S.” Pacino has been tapped to play mentor to Lerman’s Jonah Heidelbaum, who sets out to find his grandmother...

Exclusive: Al Pacino is nearing a deal to make his episodic television debut. He’s committing to a 10-episode season of Amazon’s The Hunt, a vengeance-driven Nazi hunting series executive produced by Oscar-winning Get Out writer-director Jordan Peele. The project, produced by Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Sonar Entertainment, was created by David Weil (Moonfall), who will write and executive produce. Nikki Toscano executive produces and co-showruns with Weil. The Current War‘s Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is in talks to direct.

Pacino will star with Logan Lerman, who was previously cast. Pacino’s deal should be done this week and he’ll become the latest movie star to line up for a series. He has played real people in the telepics Paterno about the Penn State head football coach, Phil Spector about the music producer convicted of murder, the Jack Kevorkian biopic You Don’t Know Jack, and portraying Roy Cohn in Angels In America.

HBO has given a pilot order to a half-hour comedy that hails from creator Danny McBride.

The project is titled “The Righteous Gemstones.” It is the story of the world famous Gemstone televangelist family, which has a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work, all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John Goodman will star as Eli Gemstone, the patriarch of the Gemstone family. The character is described as unbending and a force in the Ministry game. He’s known the world over for his aggressive salvation techniques, his worldwide ministries, and his award winning weekly television program. His light is fading, but he takes no guff. He is obeyed, unquestioned.

In addition to writing, directing, and executive producing, McBride will also star as Jesse Gemstone, the eldest son and “heir to the throne.” He walks in his father’s shadow while simultaneously blazing his own path.

Exclusive: George Gallo has signed on to direct the thriller Covet as his next feature film after he completes The Poison Rose. The latter pic stars John Travolta and Morgan Freeman and is gearing up to start shooting this month in Georgia.

The filmmaker, noted for his screenwriting credits on Bad Boys 1 & 2 and Midnight Run as well as directing such titles as Middle Men, will reunite with Emmy-nominated producer Steve Lee Jones and Scott Lastaiti. Previously, they worked on the fitness guru Weider brothers feature Bigger, which is being sold at Cannes by 13 Films.

Written by Washington, D.C. attorney George Mahaffey, who sold his first script to Paramount, Covet tells the intense tale of a home invasion of a wealthy Persian-Jewish family by ruthless anti-Immigrant Nationalist perpetrators that goes horribly awry.

Jones says: Covet cuts deep into the zeitgeist of the current notion of anti-immigration being masqueraded as patriotism.

Al Pacino is the king of HBO, winning Emmys for “You Don’t Know Jack” in 2010 and “Angels in America” in 2004. Both of these trophies came for playing real-life characters, so might his latest performance in “Paterno” as disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno seal the deal for Emmy #3?

Television critics, as you’d expect, are raving about Pacino’s latest performance in the HBO telefilm. See some of their reviews below about the 1992 Oscar winner (“Scent of a Woman”), and then be sure to give us your Emmy predictions for Best Movie/Mini Actor.

SEEAl Pacino movies: 25 greatest films ranked from worst to best, including ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Dog Day Afternoon,’ ‘Scent of a Woman’

“Al Pacino is at his best,” praises Robert Lloyd (La Times). “Pacino’s performance is interesting in its smallest gestures and unusually interior and contained. And contained Pacino is the best Pacino, your love of ‘Scarface’ notwithstanding.

Al Pacino and HBO have proven themselves quite a strong pairing when it comes to the Emmys. “Paterno” recently aired on the network and received strong reviews for Pacino. Even prior to the film’s premiere Pacino was trending on Gold Derby’s prediction charts for Best Movie/Mini Actor. Should Pacino pull off a victory in this category it would mark the third time HBO and Pacino have teamed up for an Emmy win.

“Paterno” tells the story of famed Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, whose career ended in scandal when one of his assistant coaches was accused of sexually molesting young boys and Paterno was accused of covering up the crime. Critical reaction has been very strong about Pacino’s performance, with IndieWire calling him “remarkable” and the La Times referring to Pacino as being “at his best.”

SEEAl Pacino movies: 25 greatest films ranked from worst to best,...

Watching HBO Films’ latest snatched-from-the-headlines project, “Paterno,” one can’t help but wonder how different it might have been had Brian De Palma directed it.

He’s had an advantageous working relationship with star Al Pacino on both “Scarface” and “Carlito’s Way.” In his hands, the film could have been a “King Lear”-level tragedy about a sports legend whose singular focus led to his downfall.

Instead what viewers get is director Barry Levinson’s well-intended but paroxysmal journey into legendary college football coach Joe Paterno’s fall from grace, fired by Penn State for his role in the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal.

Unsure if he wants to focus more on Paterno or newspaper journalist Sara Ganim — the reporter who broke the Sandusky story — Levinson constantly switches his gaze from one to the other. Ganim’s role as a consultant on the film may have mucked up the process even more.

Writer/director Barry Levinson is on to something: he’s cornering the market with the anodyne TV movie portrait of real-life middle age men. And in the era of edgy, envelope-pushing PeakTV, he’s got little competition. It’s unclear if they’ll go for the threepeat, but Levinson, actor Al Pacino and cable network HBO have made back to back passable dramas in the safe telefilm space following the equally mild Jack Kevorkian drama “You Don’t Know Jack.

Al Pacino and Barry Levinson have become a bit of a dream team for HBO, partnering on past films for the pay cable network including “Phil Spector” and the Jack Kevorkian story “You Don’t Know Jack.”

Now, they’re behind this Saturday’s “Paterno,” with Pacino once again playing a controversial, and much maligned, real-life figure. Pacino and Levinson said they frequently end up at HBO because, in all honestly, the movie studios aren’t making the kind of character films that are their specialty.

“We’re able to do certain kinds of films that you might not be able to do otherwise,” Levinson said. “The theatrical world is much more adventure action type of things, and these are much more personal, more intimate stories.”

Levinson also noted that thanks to the reach of a network like HBO, “you get a real audience. If you were to take the...

Few public figures have fallen as far and as fast as Joe Paterno did in 2011.

A college-football titan, he led Penn State’s team for 45 years, transforming a nascent athletic program into a gigantic money engine, an obscure regional school into a national brand, and central Pennsylvania’s Happy Valley from an economic backwater into a college sports capital. He also wielded rare intellectual authority: A graduate of Brown University, he once gave a lecture on the relationship between the “Aeneid” and football.

Two weeks after he earned his 409th victory, becoming the winningest Division I coach in college-football history, he was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal. He died two months later of lung cancer.

That Paterno’s final days resemble something from the classics isn’t lost on Al Pacino, who plays the coach in the new HBO biopic “Paterno,” and Barry Levinson, the film’s director.

Al Pacino's Joe Paterno fights for his legacy and his job at Penn State in the first full trailer for Paterno, the HBO film about the football coach in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Directed by Barry Levinson – who previously cast Pacino to lead HBO biopics about Jack Kevorkian (You Don't Know Jack) and Phil Spector (Phil Spector) – Paterno also stars Riley Keough as a newspaper reporter digging into how much the legendary coach, who spent 45 years at the helm of Penn State, knew...

Jabberwocky

Blu-ray

Criterion

1977/ 1:85 / 105 Min. / Street Date November 21, 2017

Starring Michael Palin, Harry H. Corbett, John Le Mesurier

Cinematography by Terry Bedford

Written by Charles Alverson, Terry Gilliam

Music by Hector Berlioz, Modest Mussorgsky

Edited by Michael Bradsell

Produced by Sanford Lieberson

Directed by Terry Gilliam

The prospect of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam promised a brave new world of sophisticated nonsense; The Mad Hatter meets the Ministry of Silly Walks.

Equally appetizing was the thought of illustrator John Tenniel’s hideous creature brought to life by Gilliam, the Python’s premiere visual satirist. But Gilliam, working in a chaotic British climate that saw Harold Wilson being upstaged by the Sex Pistols, had other ideas, exemplified by the film’s title sequence which rolls by over some of Pieter Bruegel’s most unnerving canvasses.

The Dutch artist was no Pollyanna (his most famous painting was...

Many social media users have cited the 19-season run of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” as a reminder that sex crimes have long pre-dated Harvey Weinstein. To the surprise of no one, the disgraced former studio head — whose dozens of accusers recently inspired countless others to speak out against powerful men they’ve encountered in the workplace — will inspire a 2018 episode of the Dick Wolf-created NBC procedural.

The show’s executive producer, Michael Chernuchin, told Entertainment Weekly that “we are hitting Harvey Weinstein head-on” with a fictionalized account of predators who work in the airline industry.

While readying a previously-planned script about “airline pilots and what a boys club that is,” Chernuchin said he and his writers realized, “‘Wow, this is exactly what the actresses go through in Hollywood. It’s the same environment.’ So we got all of our Harvey stuff out with airline pilots.”

‘Law & Order’ Reboot Won’t Be Happening,...

Zak Bagans tonight investigates assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s “death van” on a new episode of Ghost Adventures: Artifacts. The 1968 Volkswagen Minibus was used by the doctor while he was carrying out assisted suicides to more than 130 patients. Zac bought the van back in 2015 and it is set to feature at his new Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, which is set to open next month. Tonight’s episode of Ghost Adventures: Artifacts sees him investigating the van to see if it still contains the spirits of those Kevorkian claimed to have helped kill. Kevorkian was often known as...read more...

Al Pacino will portray Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in an upcoming HBO biopic.

The film, directed by Barry Levinson, focuses on the sexual assault scandal that rocked the university and tarnished Paterno's legacy.

According to Variety, the film's synopsis states, "After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure on behalf of the victims."

Pacino has been attached to a Paterno film since...

Almost two years after HBO hit pause on its film about the Penn State football scandal starring Al Pacino, the project is moving forward with a green light and a new director. Barry Levinson is set to direct and executive produce the movie, reuniting with Pacino and HBO.

Originally, HBO Films had the Scarface duo of director Brian De Palma and Pacino who had paired up for the project, then titled Happy Valley, in 2012. The film was in pre-production in fall 2014 when it was put on hold over budget issues, with De Palma leaving soon thereafter.

The movie — now untitled — chronicles the fall of Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, whose legend was undone by revelations he and others in the football program were aware that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was molesting children, and did little to stop it.

The delay also allowed for more work on the script,...

We're living in a veritable golden age of bizarre reality TV competitions, dear readers. In 2017, children will frantically prepare BBQ cuisine; hoofers will boogie for J-Lo's amusement; and contestants will attempt to impress Jamie Foxx by outsmarting an app. Meanwhile, Shonda Rhimes takes on the aftermath of Romeo and Juliet, Bernie Madoff gets what-for courtesy of Robert De Niro and an 1980s artifact springs back to life in all of its permed glory. Oh, and there's a talking dog in the mix as well. Oh and did we mention that...

Are you a fan of late-career Robert De Niro and slow covers of The Police hits? You’re in luck: The latest trailer for HBO Films’ upcoming Bernie Madoff biopic, “The Wizard of Lies,” has plenty of both.

Over the melancholy strains of “King of Pain,” we get our first look at De Niro as Madoff, the architect of a investment-based Ponzi scheme that cratered in late 2008. Judging by the footage in this first extended look, the film focuses more on the collapse, media response, and highly publicized trial than the events that led to them. Luckily, that means more of Michelle Pfeiffer as Madoff’s wife Ruth, who looks to be the character most capable of delivering this film’s standout moments.

Read More: HBO 2017 Trailer: First Footage of ‘Leftovers’ Season 3, James Franco Porn Series, De Niro as Madoff and More

“King of Lies” is also a return of sorts for Barry Levinson,...

Zak Bagans is adding another twisted piece of history to his growing collection ... he's the proud owner of Dr. Jack Kevorkian's former mobile death assistance laboratory. Zak says when he heard Les Gold from Detroit's "Hardcore Pawn" was selling the 1968 Vw van ... he snatched it up for $32,500. Dr. Kevorkian used the van during his string of 130 assisted suicides before his own unassisted death in 2011. Zak also got the original registration and a copy of Jack's driver's license.

Wizard of Lies, HBO Films’ long-gestating Bernie Madoff movie, starring Robert De Niro as the disgraced financier, is going ahead with a lead cast and a director. Joining De Niro, who plays Madoff, are Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife, Ruth Madoff, and Alessandro Nivola as Madoff’s older son Mark Madoff, who committed suicide. Barry Levinson, who directed the HBO Films movie You Don’t Know Jack about another controversial figure, Jack Kevorkian (played by Al Pacino), is set…...

Chicago – As the last cells in our carbon based forms decide to perish, how can our consciousness bear the stigma of that demise? This question is the theme of “The Farewell Party,” a Israeli/German production that combines the mix of feelings that come with old age.

..and the sorrowful truth that there are more goodbyes than anything else, with a burden that is brought to bear when a person is dying around family, friends and spouses.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

This is a classy and important production, and it sneaks in some mordant and sharp humor, enough almost to categorize it as a dark comedy, if it wasn’t for the heavy decisions that the characters had to manage. The performances are superb, you realize that all the older actors are living their parts as they play them. The film makes a case for death with dignity – think of the work of...

It’s been 20 months since Deadline broke the story of the Scarface duo of director Brian De Palma and Al Pacino’s re-teaming for Happy Valley. The film chronicles the fall of Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, whose legend was undone by revelations he and others in the football program were aware that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was molesting children, and did little to stop it.

We can exclusively report that the project, based on the bestselling book Paterno by Joe Posnanski, had been quietly picked up by HBO, where Pacino has done two movies, portraying controversial figures: You Don’t Know Jack, about Jack Kevorkian, and Phil Spector. Happy Valley has been undergoing casting, with John Carroll Lynch recently tapped to play Sandusky. Other cast deals had been in different stages too, but we’ve heard that casting sessions on the project had been cancelled and...

A.J. Manglehorn is a man of minor miracles. A locksmith by trade, the old man has a magnetism that causes broken or unhappy people to become close with him. Perhaps that’s because of the charm that radiates off the performance from living film legend Al Pacino. Or perhaps it’s what to be expected in another Texas-set tale full of eccentric personalities from the prolific director David Gordon Green.

Manglehorn had its world premiere last month at the Venice Film Festival, but made its North American debut at Tiff 2014. Starring Pacino as the titular character, Manglehorn is a man without much in his life: an old shop he must upkeep by himself, a sick cat that refuses to eat its food, a casual flirtation with the bank teller (Holly Hunter) he sees every Friday, a bitter son (Chris Messina) that wants as little to do with him as possible,...

By Scott Feinberg

The Hollywood Reporter

Among the actors who have multiple films playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival are Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Stewart – and a young up-and-comer by the name of Al Pacino.

Pacino, of course, is actually as much of a veteran as anyone at the fest, and yet, as he nears his 75th birthday in the spring, he is still working regularly. Of his 2014 Tiff entries, I haven’t yet seen David Gordon Green‘s Manglehorn. But, on Friday, I saw Barry Levinson‘s The Humbling, an acquisition title, and I am pleased to report that it features some of the best work that Levinson or Pacino have done in years — certainly their best since their prior collaboration, on HBO’s 2010 Jack Kevorkian biopic You Don’t Know Jack.

If someone picks up the low-budget dramedy, which features numerous laugh-out-loud moments — it...

Among Barry Levinson’s filmography, which includes movies such as Rain Man and Wag The Dog, is the 2010 HBO feature You Don’t Know Jack, which explored the life of Jack Kevorkian, and featured Al Pacino in the lead role. In his first movie since 2012, Levinson once again works with Pacino, this time on an adaptation of a Philip Roth novel. Titled The Humbling, the movie sees Pacino play a washed-up actor who becomes suicidal, leading to a stay at a facility where he strikes up a relationship with a younger woman, played by Greta Gerwig. Dianne Wiest, Dan Hedaya, and Charles Grodin also star in the feature, and a new trailer has now been released ahead of the film’s North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. A public release date for the film, which is co-written by Levinson and Buck Henry, has not been announced. The trailer,...

Jack Kevorkian is without question one of the most controversial figures in American medical history, oftentimes referred to by the moniker 'Dr. Death.' Kevorkian rose to infamy in the 1990s when he offered assisted-suicide services to deathly ill patients, and it's said that he provided that service for well over 100 people.

What you may not know about Jack Kevorkian is that he was also an artist, with his oil paintings almost always reflecting the macabre qualities of his unique line of work. Now, three years after his death, a handful of those paintings are on display and up for grabs at West Hollywood's Gallerie Sparta, alongside the device he created to usher ailing patients into the afterlife (above).

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the intravenous drip device is called the Thanatron, and it currently sits on a pedestal in the gallery, flanked by a dozen of Kevorkian's gruesome paintings.

If you follow this column regularly (in which case I apologize for the feelings of loneliness and alienation), you might remember me mentioning that I now reside in Los Angeles, which is the perfect city to move to if you’re really desperate to live in a comic book. It’s so colorful and exciting and full of funny-looking noises. Like when the valet at Jerry’s Deli on Ventura slides that new car you haven’t even started making the payments on yet into a parking space narrower than its wheel base – at 120 mph – because he thinks he’s Batman.

So I am thrilled to report I’m serene, I tell you, serene as I continue to sit around, keyboarding like this. Only now I do it for fun because the keyboard I’m using is the digital one on my smartphone, and it’s now in my lap as I write this,...

Exclusive: Writer/director/producer Barry Levinson has returned to ICM Partners. Levinson, who produces his films through his Baltimore Pictures banner and teams with Tom Fontana for TV series through their Levinson/Fontana Company banner, hasn’t chosen his next feature directing outing. On the TV side, he and Fontana exec produce the BBC America series Copper. Levinson last helmed and produced the HBO film You Don’t Know Jack, which starred Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian and received 15 Emmy nominations. He also exec produced Phil Spector for HBO. Levinson continues to be managed by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and lawyered by Barry Hirsch.

Chicago – I’ve rarely said this about Neil Jordan movie – in fact, maybe never – but I was bored during his latest, the vampire drama “Byzantium,” a movie with an intriguing cast and interesting story but little in the way of passion, emotion, dread, or the other intangibles needed to make a horror film like this effective. There are elements of “Byzantium” that threaten to work but then they’re flattened into a boring narrative with characters that don’t connect and a stylistic approach by Jordan that doesn’t give the give the piece the personality it needs to be considered as more than an arthouse “Twilight.” It’s a vampire movie without a pulse.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Which is going to sound untrue when I tell you the plot. It’s the kind of story that should vibrate with energy but some poor decisions on both sides of the camera take...

Chicago – I’ve rarely said this about Neil Jordan movie – in fact, maybe never – but I was bored during his latest, the vampire drama “Byzantium,” a movie with an intriguing cast and interesting story but little in the way of passion, emotion, dread, or the other intangibles needed to make a horror film like this effective.

There are elements of “Byzantium” that threaten to work but then they’re flattened into a boring narrative with characters that don’t connect and a stylistic approach by Jordan that doesn’t give the give the piece the personality it needs to be considered as more than an arthouse “Twilight.” It’s a vampire movie without a pulse.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Which is going to sound untrue when I tell you the plot. It’s the kind of story that should vibrate with energy but some poor decisions on both sides of the camera take...

The title of Ann Coulter's latest column on the immigration bill in Congress is "If The Gop Is This Stupid, It Deserves To Die", so she clearly has an issue with how Republicans have handled the immigration debate. She continued slamming the Gop on Sean Hannity's show tonight, calling immigration bill supporter Marco Rubio "the Jack Kevorkian of the Republican party."...

Nashville, Tenn. — The criticism of Dr. Drew Pinsky spread on the Internet almost as quickly as news of Mindy McCready's death.

The country singer with the tumultuous personal life became the fifth cast member of his "Celebrity Rehab" series to die since appearing on the show and the third from Season 3. The previous deaths stirred up rumors of a curse and a debate about the show's helpfulness. McCready's apparent suicide upped the pitch of the reaction, however.

Singer Richard Marx on Twitter compared Pinsky to Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the so-called suicide doctor: "Same results."

Marx backed off later Monday, saying the crack went too far. But he restated his thoughts in a way that summed up much of the reaction in the first 24 hours since the 37-year-old McCready's death Sunday afternoon in Heber Springs, Ark.

"It is, however, my opinion that what Dr. D does is exploitation and his...

Well if the prospect of a Phil Spector movie written and directed by David Mamet doesn't have you intrigued, then this photo of Al Pacino sporting a ridiculous afro definitely should. HBO will debut the original film Phil Spector on TV next month and the first trailer has arrived online to give us a taste of what to expect. This will be Pacino's second time starring in an HBO biopic after his Golden Globe-winning performance as Jack Kevorkian in Barry Levinson's You Don't Know Jack a few years ago. The movie stars Pacino as the titular record producer and songwriter best known for his work with John Lennon and The Beatles, while he was on trial for the murder of Lana Clarkson in 2007. Helen Mirren and Jeffrey Tambor play his defense lawyers Linda Kenney Baden and Bruce Cutler. Although Pacino seems to be going a little over the top with his performance,...

In the later stages of his career, Al Pacino has found a home playing elderly tabloid fixtures. He appeared as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the HBO film "You Don't Know Jack," was recently cast as Joe Paterno in a movie about the Penn State sex scandal and also stars as Phil Spector in the HBO film "Phil Spector." That last film airs on HBO this March, and the cable network debuted a new trailer for "Phil Spector" on Monday.

Alternate lede: Al Pacino's wail of sound in on display in the HBO movie "Phil Spector."

Directed by David Mamet, who you know as Zosia's dad, "Phil Spector" is a look Spector's 2007 murder trial and his relationship with defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden (Helen Mirren). Spector was accused of murdering actress Lana Clarkson; the 2007 trial resulted in a hung jury, but Spector was tried again in 2008 and convicted of murder in...

"Phil Spector," the upcoming TV movie written and directed by David Mamet for HBO, stars Al Pacino as the (in)famous record producer and Helen Mirren as Linda Kenney Baden, the defense attorney representing him in his trial for the murder of Lana Clarkson. It's the latest in a string of wild-eyed biopic roles for Pacino, who in 2010 starred as Jack Kevorkian in Barry Levinson's "You Don't Know Jack" (another HBO film) and is slated to play Joe Paterno in Brian De Palma's "Happy Valley." Read More: Soderbergh Goes 'Behind the Candelabra' and Mamet Explores 'Phil Spector' at HBO's TCA Panel The below teaser for "Phil Spector," set to premiere on HBO on Sunday, March 24th at 9pm, doesn't offer up a look at any footage from the film, but sets snippets of dialogue to The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," which Spector produced. When Mamet, Mirren and.