News

Marshall Brickman, the Oscar-winning co-writer of Annie Hall, has died. Per The New York Times, Brickman’s daughter, Sophie, confirmed his death but did not report a cause. He was 85.

Best known as the co-screenwriter of Woody Allen’s most revered work, Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, and, later, Manhattan Murder Mystery,...

After briefly slipping up in the early 1980s with the introspective "Stardust Memories" and "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy," Woody Allen rediscovered his comedic muse with the run of "Zelig," "Broadway Danny Rose," "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Hannah and Her Sisters." Factor in 1989's "Crimes and Misdemeanors," and you could make a compelling case that, aside from a few failures, Allen had matured into one of our finest satirists.

While I think his most witheringly downbeat statement on the creation of art arrived a decade later in the sublime "Bullets Over Broadway," he made his warmest statement on New York City theater via 1984's kind-hearted "Broadway Danny Rose." The tale of a one-man talent agency (Allen) who works tirelessly to keep his collection of C-level talents gainfully employed (and gets caught up in a mob-related love triangle in the process) is rivaled only by "The Purple Rose of Cairo...

Watching Woody Allen's 1979 romantic comedy "Manhattan" in 2024 is certainly a fraught affair. For decades after its release, "Manhattan" was hailed as one of the filmmaker's best, frankly and stylishly telling a story of modern New York life, revealing the embarrassing impulses of a neurotic man struggling through his own acknowledged sexual and romantic weaknesses. In the film, Allen plays Isaac, a 42-year-old, twice-divorced comedy writer trying to pen a book about how much he loves New York City. As part of his midlife crisis, he is romantically and sexually involved with Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), a 17-year-old prep school student.

Allen's fictional relationship with an underage girl was, at the time, seen as a strange quirk of the modern cosmopolitan arts milieu, and many critics remained unconcerned. It wouldn't be for a few more years, in 1991, that details of Allen's personal life would begin to emerge. He married the much-younger...

It’s hard to imagine today but there was a time when Wes Craven was having trouble securing the funding to make A Nightmare on Elm Street, which has of course gone on to become one of the most iconic and beloved horror movies ever made. Enter Duncan Eagleson, an artist Craven and New Line approached to create a pitch poster for the film… before it was made.

Duncan Eagleson was approached in 1983 to make the pitch poster based only on Craven’s script, and various versions of that original artwork have appeared over the years; particularly on international posters for A Nightmare on Elm Street. But that original piece that Eagleson whipped up in the early ’80s has now surfaced, and it’s currently up for auction!

Hake’s Auctions explains the piece, “To help secure financing, [Craven and New Line] decided to create a striking visual aid in the form of a pre-release movie poster.

You can pre-set your Twitter (er, X?) alerts to outrage.

The 80th Venice Film Festival unveiled an impressive and — SAG-AFTRA and Wag strike-permitting — star-studded lineup on Tuesday, that should draw international critics and press in droves to the Lido again this year.

But controversy will also again be part of the 2023 Biennale, thanks to a selection of movies from directors nearly as well known for their scandals as for their films.

Roman Polanski new feature, The Palace, scored an out-of-competition slot, as did Coup de Chance, the latest feature from Woody Allen. And Luc Besson will premiere his new feature, DogMan, in competition in Venice. All three filmmakers have been the focus of abuse allegations and, in the wake of #MeToo, the targets of online attacks and cancellation campaigns. Though Polanski, who fled the U.S. in 1978 after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teen girl, is the only one...

One of the most high-profile releases in the spring of 1983 was “Flashdance,” starring Jennifer Beals, directed by Adrian Lyne, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. It marked Beals’ feature film debut, as well as Lyne’s second major feature following 1980’s “Foxes.” It was also one of Bruckheimer’s and Simpson’s earliest projects, coming soon after “American Gigolo.” Released 40 years ago on April 15, 1983, “Flashdance” took second place at the box office its opening weekend with four million dollars, but then it became the sensation of the spring movies, jumping up to first place the next weekend and staying there well into early May. By the end of its run, “Flashdance,” about a woman who works as both a welder and an exotic dancer and wants to get into ballet school, made more than $90 million in the United States and more than $200 million worldwide. Read on for our...

The abundance of black-and-white films is perhaps this year’s most obvious Hollywood trend, with major awards contenders “Belfast,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Passing” all choosing to drain their worlds of color. Even filmmakers working in a full palette feel the need to engage with monochrome, whether through selected scenes (“The French Dispatch” and “Being the Ricardos”) or special releases of black and white versions like “Nightmare Alley: Vision and Darkness and Light,” which is giving the Searchlight film a second life.

In the digital age, the transition between the color and monochrome seems like a flick of a switch, one viewers can imitate on televisions and monitors or with a social media filter. But black-and-white cinematography is not just color desaturated. It’s an art of light, shadow, lines, and shapes. Color cinematography is about, well…. color.

On Guillermo Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” whose monochrome theatrical run began last weekend,...

Helen Uffner, founder of New York’s costume rental house Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing, recalls how she got her start working with Hollywood.

“A friend of mine had a vintage store in Soho and Woody Allen’s people came in and they were interested in getting things for their [1983] movie Zelig,” recalls Uffner. “My friend said, ‘You know my friend has a lot of 1920s, maybe you want to visit her,’ so they came to my apartment and they bought everything I had off the rack.”

Ever since, Uffner has been supplying authentic period costumes to Hollywood ...

Helen Uffner, founder of New York’s costume rental house Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing, recalls how she got her start working with Hollywood.

“A friend of mine had a vintage store in Soho and Woody Allen’s people came in and they were interested in getting things for their [1983] movie Zelig,” recalls Uffner. “My friend said, ‘You know my friend has a lot of 1920s, maybe you want to visit her,’ so they came to my apartment and they bought everything I had off the rack.”

Ever since, Uffner has been supplying authentic period costumes to Hollywood ...

The films in contention for the 2021 Best Costume Design Oscar are “Emma,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “Mulan,” and “Pinocchio.” Our current odds show “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (16/5) to be the frontrunner, followed in order by “Emma” (39/10), “Mank” (4/1), “Mulan” (9/2), and “Pinocchio” (9/2).

This is the sixth time that Alexandra Byrne (“Emma”) has competed for this award. Only 12 others have received as many or more nominations for their costuming work. She previously prevailed in 2008 for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” after first earning a bid in 1999 for the film’s predecessor, “Elizabeth.” She was later recognized for her work on a third film that included Queen Elizabeth I as a main character: “Mary Queen of Scots” (2019). Her remaining two bids came for “Hamlet” (1997) and “Finding Neverland” (2005).

24 years ago, Ruth Myers was nominated here for an earlier version of Jane Austen’s “Emma” but lost to Ann Roth (“The English Patient”). Roth has now...

Woody Allen’s career continues to plow ahead with the upcoming world premiere of his new romantic-comedy “Rifkin’s Festival” on the opening night of Spain’s 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival (September 18). The occasion makes sense for “Rifkin’s Festival” as the story centers around an American couple who attends the San Sebastian Film Festival. Allen shot the film on location in San Sebastian.

“Rifkin’s Festival” stars Gina Gershon and Wallace Shawn as the American couple who travel to the San Sebastian Film Festival and are pulled in opposite directions. The wife starts an affair with a famous French film director and the husband falls in love with a local Spanish woman. The cast also includes Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, and Christoph Waltz.

“Rifkin’s Festival” will mark Allen’s second San Sebastian opener after “Melinda and Melinda” at the 2004 festival, where he was also the recipient of the Donostia Award for career achievement.

On the heels of yesterday’s announcement about plans for the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival comes news about two more upcoming events: San Sebastian and Locarno. Variety reports Woody Allen’s new comedy-drama “Rifkin’s Festival” will open the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival in September. The event is celebrating its 68th edition this year. “Rifkin’s Festival” will mark Allen’s second San Sebastian opener after “Melinda and Melinda” at the 2004 festival, where he was also the recipient of the Donostia Award for career achievement. Other Allen films that have played San Sebastian include “Manhattan,” “Zelig,” “Match Point,” and “Irrational Man,” among others.

Many in the industry expected San Sebastian to host the world premiere of Allen’s new film as the director shot the project in and around the city last summer. “Rifkin’s Festival” centers around an American couple who travel to the San Sebastian Film Festival and are pulled in opposite directions.

On the heels of yesterday’s announcement about plans for the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival comes news about two more upcoming events: San Sebastian and Locarno. Variety reports Woody Allen’s new comedy-drama “Rifkin’s Festival” will open the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival in September. The event is celebrating its 68th edition this year. “Rifkin’s Festival” will mark Allen’s second San Sebastian opener after “Melinda and Melinda” at the 2004 festival, where he was also the recipient of the Donostia Award for career achievement. Other Allen films that have played San Sebastian include “Manhattan,” “Zelig,” “Match Point,” and “Irrational Man,” among others.

Many in the industry expected San Sebastian to host the world premiere of Allen’s new film as the director shot the project in and around the city last summer. “Rifkin’s Festival” centers around an American couple who travel to the San Sebastian Film Festival and are pulled in opposite directions.

Festival’s 68th edition set to go ahead in September.

Woody Allen’s Rifkin’s Festival is to receive its world premiere as the opening film of the 68th San Sebastian International Film Festival (Ssiff).

Rifkin’s Festival was shot in and around San Sebastian last summer and centres on a married American couple who attend the film festival, only for the wife to have an affair with a French movie director and the husband to fall in love with a local woman. The cast includes Elena Anaya, Louis Garrel, Gina Gershon, Sergi López, Wallace Shawn and Christoph Waltz.

Also written by Allen,...

Woody Allen’s “Rifkin’s Festival” will world premiere this September as it opens the 68th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, where it will play out of competition.

San Sebastian’s Kursaal building hosted the film’s initial announcement 11 months ago where, apart from a boycott by leftist Basque party Eh Bildu of a party thrown for Allen by the San Sebastian mayor, Spain’s reception of Allen has largely been warm.

This will be the second time that Allen will have opened the festival. He first curtain raiser came in 2004, when he received the Donostia Award for career achievement, with “Melinda and Melinda.” Allen’s films “Manhattan,” “Zelig,” “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Match Point,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Whatever Works” and “Irrational Man” have all participated in some capacity at San Sebastian over the past four decades.

“Rifkin’s Festival” was shot last...

Helping you stay sane while staying safe… featuring Leonard Maltin, Dave Anthony, Miguel Arteta, John Landis, and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Plague (1979)

Target Earth (1954)

The Left Hand of God (1955)

A Lost Lady (1934)

Enough Said (2013)

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Down to Earth (2001)

Down To Earth (1947)

The Commitments (1991)

Once (2007)

Election (1999)

About Schmidt (2002)

Sideways (2004)

Nebraska (2013)

The Man in the Moon (1991)

The 39 Steps (1935)

Casablanca (1942)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

The Night Walker (1964)

Chuck and Buck (2000)

Cedar Rapids (2011)

Beatriz at Dinner (2017)

Duck Butter (2018)

The Good Girl (2002)

The Big Heat (1953)

Human Desire (1954)

Slightly French (1949)

Week-End with Father (1951)

Experiment In Terror (1962)

They Shoot Horses Don’t They? (1969)

Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall (1987)

Airport (1970)

Earthquake (1974)

Drive a Crooked Road (1954)

Pushover (1954)

Waves (2019)

Krisha (2015)

The Oblong Box (1969)

80,000 Suspects (1963)

Panic In The Streets (1950)

It Comes At Night (2017)

Children of Men (2006)

The Road (2009)

You Were Never Really Here...

Richard Alan Greenberg, an Oscar-nominated title designer and motion-graphics pioneer, died June 16 in New York City. He was 71.

Greenberg scored his Oscar nom for Best Visual Effects on the 1987 Anrold Schwarzenegger thriller Predator. Among his many other notable opening-sequence credits are Superman, Alien, Dirty Dancing, Zelig, The Untouchables, The World According to Garp, Altered States, Independence Day, Seven, The Matrix and the Lethal Weapon series.

After teaching at the University of Illinois and the Institute of Design in his native Chicago, Greenberg produced the short film Stop, which was shot at the Democratic National Convention that summer in the Windy City. It took the top prize at at the New York Film Festival Student Competition, which led to a job working for Pablo Ferro, who’d done the title design for such classics as Dr. Strangelove and Bullitt.

Greenberg launched R/Greenberg Associates in 1977 with his brother Robert. The company...

Oscar-nominated title designer Richard Greenberg, who lent his artistry to classic films and franchises like “Superman,” “Alien,” and “The Matrix” died of appendicitis on June 16 his New York home. He was 71.

Greenberg received multiple award nominations for his creative work throughout his career, including a visual effects Oscar-nomination in 1988 for “Predator” and a visual effects BAFTA nomination for 1983’s “Zelig.” As a title designer, he contributed his talent to an array of films from the 1980s to 2010, including “Superman,” “Alien,” “The World According to Garp,” “Altered States,” “Dirty Dancing,” “The Untouchables,” the “Lethal Weapon” series, “Dracula,” “Independence Day,” “Seven,” and “The Matrix.”

Half of a sibling duo, Greenberg began designing titles with his brother Robert, with whom he founded R/Greenberg Associates, according to a report from Art of the Title. Greenberg handled the artistic side of their startup business, while his brother managed the business. It wasn’t until the...

Rome — A localized version of “Saturday Night Live” is launching in Italy where it will help drive ratings on satcaster Sky Italia’s free-to-air channel TV8.

NBCUniversal International Formats has signed a deal with Sky Italia for the local version which will mark the twelfth international remake of the iconic U.S. show.

“Saturday Night Live Italia” will launch on April 7 fronted by popular local TV and film personality Claudio Bisio who is best known as the longstanding host of Mediaset comedy show “Zelig” and was more recently a judge on Italy’s “Got Talent.”

“For us comedians ‘Saturday’ is the utmost source of inspiration; it’s everything,” Bisio said in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera. He added that, just like the U.S. version, he hoped that the show’s sketches and other segments “can go on to have a life even beyond Saturday.”

The first...

Noah Baumbach has been making movies for more than 20 years, and in that time, has developed a distinctive voice in American cinema. His stories of neurotic New Yorkers are loaded with memorable moments of self-obsession and narcissistic showdowns. But Baumbach didn’t become a filmmaker overnight; he learned much about filmmaking from watching other movies. Raised by novelist Jonathan Baumbach and film critic Georgia Brown, Baumbach grew up surrounded by cinema, and it played a critical role in his evolving love for the medium.

The filmmaker looked back on some of these key influences during a conversation at the Film Society of Lincoln Center shortly before a screening of his latest effort, the ensemble comedy “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected),” which Netflix releases later this month.

The Movie Brats

Baumbach was born in 1969, which placed on the younger end of the spectrum of moviegoers influenced by the movie brat...

“Love And Angst”

By Raymond Benson

Woody Allen came off an incredible run of five superior films released between 1983 and 1987 (Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Radio Days) and then delivered one of his occasional “serious” pictures (without his presence as an actor) in late ’87 that was so dire that it only grossed approximately $500,000 in its initial run.

Basically a six-character “play” that takes many cues from the works of Anton Chekhov, September is set in a Vermont country house where depressed Lane (Mia Farrow) is recovering from a suicide attempt. Her best friend Stephanie (Dianne Wiest) is there for moral support. Lane is in love with tenant/writer Peter (Sam Waterston), and neighbor/teacher Howard (Denholm Elliott) is in love with Lane. She doesn’t share Howard’s affections, but Peter, however, is in love with Stephanie. Coming to visit into...

After polling critics from around the world for the greatest American films of all-time, BBC has now forged ahead in the attempt to get a consensus on the best comedies of all-time. After polling 253 film critics, including 118 women and 135 men, from 52 countries and six continents a simple, the list of the 100 greatest is now here.

Featuring canonical classics such as Some Like It Hot, Dr. Strangelove, Annie Hall, Duck Soup, Playtime, and more in the top 10, there’s some interesting observations looking at the rest of the list. Toni Erdmann is the most recent inclusion, while the highest Wes Anderson pick is The Royal Tenenbaums. There’s also a healthy dose of Chaplin and Lubitsch with four films each, and the recently departed Jerry Lewis has a pair of inclusions.

Check out the list below (and my ballot) and see more on their official site.

100. (tie) The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese,...

Author: Daniel Goodwin

National Geographic’s first scripted drama series Genius charts the incredible life of theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. As well as his scientific endeavours, the story tells of the icon’s rise from modest beginnings, his struggle to be taken seriously by his establishment and peers as an intellectual radical during a time of global unrest.

Genius also tells of Einstein’s tumultuous love affairs, his anti-Semitic battles in Europe and problems he faced as a husband and father which made for an exhilarating, challenging life. HeyUGuys met with first episode Director and Executive Producer Ron Howard, Exec Producer Gigi Pritzker, Geoffrey Rush (Einstein) and Emily Watson (Elsa Einstein) to discuss the series, its origins and process of bringing such remarkable characters back to life…

Gigi Pritzker (Exec Producer): “We spent a number of years with numerous writers, trying to work Einstein’s story into a three...

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Take the Money and Run originally had a different ending that was cut by editor Ralph Rosenblum. What was it?

Woody is killed in a bloody gun ambush. Woody becomes president. Woody appears to tear a hole in the movie screen and “escapes” into the theater.

“Smiles Of A Chekhovian Night”

By Raymond Benson

Most cinephiles know that Woody Allen is a huge fan of Ingmar Bergman. Allen has paid homage to the Swedish master several times, and his 1982 work, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, is an example. It draws upon one of Bergman’s very few comedies, Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), which is also the basis of the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical and later film, A Little Night Music.

Smiles takes place at the turn of the last century (1800s to 1900s) in a rural village in Sweden, and the story follows the bawdy escapades of several couples. Likewise, Allen’s Midsummer takes place in the same time period, although the story is transplanted to “the country” somewhere in New York state, and concerns an ensemble of six characters—three couples—who also embark on bawdy escapades.

Bergman’s original film, in turn,...

Jean Doumanian (Courtesy: Getty Images)

By: Scott Feinberg

The Hollywood Reporter

She discovered Eddie Murphy and gave Prince one of his first big breaks. She saved Woody Allen’s career and produced eight of his films. And she’s helped to bring to life many of the most acclaimed theatrical productions of the 21st century, from August: Osage County to The Book of Mormon. Which raises the questions: how did Jean Doumanian — daughter of a Chicago restaurateur, college dropout, one-time housewife — become a show business Zelig (not one of her Allen collaborations), looming large over the pop-cultural landscape for a half-century, and why don’t more people know her name (which rhymes with Tasmanian)?

Read the rest of this entry…...

She discovered Eddie Murphy and gave Prince one of his first big breaks. She saved Woody Allen’s career and produced eight of his films. And she’s helped to bring to life many of the most acclaimed theatrical productions of the 21st century, from August: Osage County to The Book of Mormon. Which raises the questions: How did Jean Doumanian — daughter of a Chicago restaurateur, college dropout, onetime housewife — become a show business Zelig (not one of her Allen collaborations), looming large over the pop-cultural landscape for a half-century, and why don’t more people know her name (which rhymes with Tasmanian)?

To...

Fern Buchner, a makeup artist who worked on Barry Sonnenfeld's two Addams Family movies and nearly two dozen films directed by Woody Allen, from Annie Hall through Everyone Says I Love You, has died. She was 87. Buchner, whose credits also include Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987), Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Jon Avnet's Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), died Sept. 23 in Henderson, Nev., her friend Diane Salzberg told The Hollywood Reporter. Buchner was nominated for BAFTA Awards for her work on Allen's Zelig (1983) and on the Addams Family films released in 1991 and 1993. She started out

read more...

Chicago – He is one of the most prolific American directors of the modern cinema era, and has also forged a career as stand-up comedian, actor, playwright and screenplay artist. He is Woody Allen, and he walked the Red Carpet at the Chicago History Museum on July 21st, 2016, for his new film ‘Café Society.’

The film is his 47th feature film as writer/director, from “What’s Up, Tiger Lily” (1966) to the present day, and highlights Allen’s strengths as an artist. “Café Society” is filled with romance, heartbreak and the glamour of 1930s Hollywood, and features Steve Carrell, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Corey Stoll and Parker Posey. It is schedule for nationwide release on July 29th, 2016

Woody Allen’s Latest Film is ‘Café Society, Releasing Nationwide on July 29th, 2016

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Woody Allen was born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn,...

This Friday, Café Society, the latest release from writer/director/comic godhead Woody Allen, waltzes into theaters — the 47th feature Allen has directed over a career spanning 50 years. (Yes, we're counting New York Stories.) He's had box-office successes and outright bombs, Oscar-winning masterpieces and critically panned duds. But regardless of his movies' receptions (and the reoccurring rumors about his personal life), he's managed to pump out a film a year with impressive regularity. Some key elements have stayed the same — once a jazz clarinet slinks onto the soundtrack, audiences know exactly who they're dealing with.

This Friday, Café Society, the latest release from writer/director/comic godhead Woody Allen, waltzes into theaters — the 47th feature Allen has directed over a career spanning 50 years. (Yes, we're counting New York Stories.) He's had box-office successes and outright bombs, Oscar-winning masterpieces and critically panned duds. But regardless of his movies' receptions (and the reoccurring rumors about his personal life), he's managed to pump out a film a year with impressive regularity. Some key elements have stayed the same — once a jazz clarinet slinks onto the soundtrack, audiences know exactly who they're dealing with.

It’s safe to say that many of cinema’s finest have been overlooked and underappreciated during their lifetime, missing out on Oscar trophies and nominations as well as critical and commercial success. One man who was certainly overlooked by the Academy was Gordon Willis, the cinematographer behind some of the most iconic films in history: “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II.” Read More: Watch: Video Tribute To The Work Of Legendary Cinematographer Gordon Willis Willis is best known for the deep blacks and rich textures he imbued in every movie he worked on, earning him the nickname "The Prince of Darkness." In addition to his work on the ‘Godfather’ trilogy, Willis made a handful of films with Woody Allen, “All The President's Men,” and many more over his 30-year career. Eventually, Willis was nominated for his work on Allen’s “Zelig” and “The Godfather Part III,” though he...

If you have been living and routinely interacting with other human beings over the last month, you’ve probably heard one or two words involving this year’s Academy Awards and the heated controversy over the startling lack of both films and people of color among the nominees. Personally, I think that the real focus of concern ought to be less on the back end-- awards handed out for films which were financed and/or studio-approved, scheduled for production and filmed perhaps as much as two or three years ago-- and more on addressing the lack of cultural and intellectual and experiential diversity among those who have the power to make the decisions as to what films get made in the first place. This is no sure-fire way to ensure that there will be a richer and more consistent representation of diverse creative voices when it comes time for Hollywood...

Earlier this week Brad reported on several casting details for Woody Allen's next film, which I can only assume will be released in the summer of 2016, and today more details emerge as Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and other crew members have joined the project. Storaro is a three-time Oscar winner, taking home trophies for Apocalypse Now, Reds and The Last Emperor, and he was nominated a fourth time for his camera work on Dick Tracy. While he hasn't done much of note in recent years this still represents a pretty interesting pairing, especially considering one of Allen's fan sites, Woody Allen Pages, notes Allen's next film will be set in the 1930s. Also joining Allen's crew is production designer Santo Loquasto, who has worked on numerous other Allen productions, most recently lending his hand and eye to Allen's 2013 film Blue Jasmine and nominated for Oscars on three other Woody Allen productions (Zelig,...

Review by Dane Marti

One of the reasons I love the work of Woody Allen is that he obviously thinks of cinema as an art form, intellectual and aesthetic. Allen attempts –and often succeeds in a magnificent way—in delving deeper into a visual tale. Sure, his films ordinarily are extremely entertaining, but I find that they always contain a bit more. ‘The Irrational Man’ is a good, solid example of a film that offers thoughtful and interesting surprises for film viewers.

Allen’s films, even when they are not completely successful, are always interesting—and I mean that word in a truly positive way.

The Story: A young, disheveled professor, Abe Lucas, played with angst and passion by Joaquin Phoenix, arrives at a prestigious eastern University. Although only in his thirties, Abe is already a legend with the local academic environment, women in particular. And he definitely reeks Existential angst,...

For a director who has worked with some of the greatest names in cinematography, it's relatively unusual to hear Woody Allen's films discussed in terms of their photography. With the eternal exception of "Manhattan" there's often the sense that his talents most clearly come through in the verbal, or performance side of his films: Allen's movies have won him three screenwriting Oscars and a Best Director statue, and he's been a veritable farm for Oscar-nominated performances (18 nominations, 7 wins across his filmography). But his films have netted only one sole Oscar nod for cinematography (Gordon Willis, for "Zelig"), and while the famously Oscar-averse Allen himself probably couldn't give a hoot, it does demonstrate how generally underrated his films are in this arena.   With "Irrational Man" in theaters this weekend (here's our review), there's another chance to assess a Woody Allen film on that basis and we'll leave it up to you to decide if you.

Over the course of film history, we've seen plenty of long-time actors step behind the camera to take up their directorial ambitions. Clint Eastwood did it. Mel Gibson did it. George Clooney did it. What do these three have in commonc Well, for starters, they are all men, so there's that. Further, they are all white, but more on that later. More to the point of the article, these men all eased into their directorial careers by starring in their respective debuts, using their presence on screen to help market their talents off it. And with his feature directorial effort The Water Diviner, which hits limited theaters this week, Russell Crowe is just the most recent addition to a growing list of actors who have decided to try their hand behind the camera. Like Eastwood, Gibson, and Clooney before him, the Best Actor winner stars in his first feature as director,...

Everyone knows Woody Allen. At least, everyone thinks they know Woody Allen. His plumage is easily identifiable: horn-rimmed glasses, baggy suit, wispy hair, kvetching demeanor, ironic sense of humor, acute fear of death. As is his habitat: New York City, though recently he has flown as far afield as London, Barcelona, and Paris. His likes are well known: Bergman, Dostoevsky, New Orleans jazz. So too his dislikes: spiders, cars, nature, Wagner records, the entire city of Los Angeles. Whether or not these traits represent the true Allen, who’s to say? It is impossible to tell, with Allen, where cinema ends and life begins, an obfuscation he readily encourages. In the late nineteen-seventies, disillusioned with the comedic success he’d found making such films as Sleeper (1973), Love and Death (1975), and Annie Hall (1977), he turned for darker territory with Stardust Memories (1980), a film in which, none too surprisingly, he plays a...

Luise Rainer dies at age 104: Rainer was first consecutive Oscar winner, first two-time winner in acting categories and oldest surviving winner (photo: MGM star Luise Rainer in the mid-'30s.) The first consecutive Academy Award winner, the first two-time winner in the acting categories, and, at age 104, the oldest surviving Oscar winner as well, Luise Rainer (Best Actress for The Great Ziegfeld, 1936, and The Good Earth, 1937) died at her London apartment on December 30 -- nearly two weeks before her 105th birthday. Below is an article originally posted in January 2014, at the time Rainer turned 104. I'll be sharing more Luise Rainer news later on Tuesday. January 17, 2014: Inevitably, the Transformers movies' director Michael Bay (who recently had an on-camera "meltdown" after a teleprompter stopped working at the Consumer Electronics Show) and the Transformers movies' star Shia Labeouf (who was recently accused of plagiarism) were mentioned -- or rather, blasted, in...

What's in Netflix's '80s grab bag? Swoony Merchant-Ivory films; a trio of John Hughes romantic comedies; early films with Sean Penn and Matt Dillon; Oscar-winning turns by Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Daniel Day-Lewis; and a few classics you already know by heart.

Mixed in are probably a few critically acclaimed films you've never seen but always meant to, whether it's B-movie fun like "Big Trouble in Little China" or ultra-arty Nc-17 fare like "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover."

(Availability subject to change. DeLorean and pink prom dress not included.)

1. "A Room with a View" (1986) Nr

Helena Bonham Carter is torn between freethinker Julian Sands and stuffy fiancé Daniel Day-Lewis in this sumptuous (and very funny) Merchant-Ivory period romance.

2. "The Accused" (1988) R

It's tough viewing, but Jodie Foster is mesmerizing as a rape victim who faces down her assailants in court.

3. "Bad Boys" (1983) R

Sean Penn...

Ever wondered about the inner workings of a vampire’s mind? Do you spend your spare time thinking about how a group of flat-sharing vampires divide up the household chores, or how they decide what to wear for a night on the town? Yeah, so do we. All these musings and many more are answered in Jemaine Clement and Taika Waitit’s hilarious mockumentary, What We Do In the Shadows. To celebrate the release of the Flight of the Conchords writers’ latest project, we take a look at the other best mockumentaries to hit the silver screen.

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

What many consider the ultimate mockumentary, this cult classic has topped many lists since the 80’s. Most of the dialogue was ad-libbed and the actors were accredited as writers as well because of this. One of the best rock movie quotes, “turn it up to 11”, comes from this masterpiece.

Documentary film is often claimed to be the most “truthful” form of the cinematic medium. People turn to this genre to find facts, make discoveries, and learn something new. It’s a genre that’s been around from the very beginning too – with Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory considered by many as the first real documentary ever made, along with its known reputation as one of the first ever cinematic productions.

Indeed, documentary is a genre that has spawned some of cinema’s greatest achievements. A variety of wonderful films have employed the form, ranging from Michael Apted’s Up! series, to Steve James’ Hoop Dreams.

Other directors such as Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock have used the documentary method to help turn heads to troubling societal issues such as health care and fast food, whereas the likes of Woody Allen have used the form to provide a false sense...

While the media world explodes with speculation, excitement and, yes, a bit of trepidation for Avengers: Age of Ultron, we must keep the important things in perspective. Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight is coming out next Friday, the latest in a long line of Allen films that stretch back six decades. But while you might know Mr. Allen’s work very well indeed, chances are you have not yet seen his 1972 mockumentary Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story, which recently surfaced on YouTube.

Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story was produced as a PBS special in 1972, marking Allen’s third directing credit and coming between Take The Money and Run and Bananas. With those two films in mind – as well as his later mockumentary Zelig, to which this bears a passing resemblance – one can see the development of Allen’s style as a director and, more potently,...

The story of Harry and Sally is fine and all, but there are better couples in Rob Reiner‘s 1989 rom-com classic. And I’m not talking about Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher, either. For the 25th anniversary of When Harry Met Sally, I’d like to shine a light on the characters only credited as “documentary couples.” These seven pairs of adorable elderly folk are based on true stories, each one said to have been plucked from real people by screenwriter Nora Ephron. But we don’t know anything more about any of them. The actual couples don’t appear in the film but instead are portrayed by actors. Wonderful, old actors. Some of whom are still alive! Before we get to know each of these actors, let’s watch their appearances in Whms and once again enjoy the tales of fated spouses. “Arthur, you see that girl? I’m going to marry her.” The...

Often called “The Prince of Darkness” for his tendency to artfully cloak onscreen characters in ominous shadows, cinematographer Gordon Willis was the closest thing Hollywood had to a Rembrandt. His playful visual style, daring use of chiaroscuro, and seemingly effortless ability to conjure a mood of unsettling paranoia made him the ideal Director of Photography for the 1970s — a glorious filmmaking decade when Technicolor artifice was swept aside for New Hollywood naturalism.

Whether working with Francis Ford Coppola on The Godfather saga, Alan J. Pakula on his dizzying Watergate-era conspiracy thrillers All The President’s Men and The Parallax View,...

Hyperbole is the absolute worst thing in the entire world. But cinematographer Gordon Willis, who died yesterday at the age of 82, was a genuine movie legend. In addition to serving as D.P. on all three Godfather movies (he was only nominated for an Oscar for the inferior third one — proof that the Academy Awards are half-bunk — as well as for Zelig), All the President's Men, and several Woody Allen movies, including Annie Hall, Willis also shot this moment below, from Allen's Manhattan. It's not hyperbole to employ the way overused word iconic here, and it's not hyperbole to say it's one of the most enchanting shots in all of American film. (I am a New Yorker, but I don't think this is sheer pride talking.)Here are some of my other favorite frames — from Manhattan: From The Godfather, on which Willis earned his nickname the "Prince of...

Falmouth, Mass. (AP) — Gordon Willis, one of Hollywood's most celebrated and influential cinematographers, nicknamed "The Prince of Darkness" for his subtle but indelible touch on such definitive 1970s releases as "The Godfather," ''Annie Hall" and "All the President's Men," has died. He was 82. Suzanne Berestecky of the Chapman Cole & Gleason funeral home in Falmouth confirmed Monday that he died and that the home is handling arrangements. Details on Willis' death were not immediately available. Willis was nicknamed The Prince of Darkness for his subtle but indelible touch on such definitive 1970s releases as "The Godfather," ''Annie Hall" and "All the President's Men." He retired after the 1997 movie "The Devil's Own." Through much of the 1970s, Willis was the cameraman whom some of Hollywood's top directors relied on during one of filmmaking's greatest eras. Francis Ford Coppola used him for the first two "Godfather" movies, Woody Allen for "Annie Hall" and...

One of Hollywood's most celebrated and influential cinematographers has died. Gordon Willis was 82. Suzanne Berestecky of the Chapman Cole & Gleason funeral home in Falmouth, Mass., confirmed Monday that he died and that the home is handling arrangements. Details on Willis's death were not immediately available. Willis was nicknamed The Prince of Darkness for his subtle but indelible touch on such definitive 1970s releases as The Godfather, 'Annie Hall and All the President's Men. He retired after the 1997 movie The Devil's Own. Through much of the 1970s, Willis was the cameraman whom some of Hollywood's top directors relied on during one of filmmaking's greatest eras.

While you're familiar with Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Alan J. Pakula's work as directors on The Godfather, Manhattan and All the President's Men, respectively, you may not know about the man who made those films look so damn incredible as the director of photography. Gordon Willis is the cinematographer who lensed all of those films, but sadly, Variety reports that he has passed away at the age of 82. Perhaps what is most impressive about Willis is that his career spans only 32 films, but his work within them is some of the most influential, impressive and generation-defining work behind the camera. Willis acted as cinematographer for the entire trilogy of The Godfather, and his work on the third installment landed him an Oscar nomination. However, his first nod from the Academy came from his work on Woody Allen's Zelig. But perhaps his most iconic work in cinema...

One of the most joyous sequences in American film is the opening of Woody Allen's "Manhattan." As Allen's character Isaac speaks in voice-over, Gershwin's remarkable "Rhapsody In Blue" plays. "Chapter One. He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion. No, make that… he romanticized it all out of proportion. Better. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin. Mm. No. Let me start this over." Don't bother, Woody. You got it right the first time, and to provide that black-and-white counterpoint to the soaring sounds of Gershwin, cinematographer Gordon Willis shot some of the greatest images of New York City ever burned onto celluloid. Black-and-white felt like a perfect form of expression for Willis, who was referred to by many filmmakers as "The Prince Of Darkness,...