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Richard D. James, the Emmy-winning production designer who worked on all but one of the 14 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, has died. He was 88.

James died Nov. 11 of complications from an infection at Ut Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, his longtime friend Tom Sanden told The Hollywood Reporter.

For the big screen, the Texas native was art director on Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero (1983), starring Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert; on Mike Nichols’ Silkwood (1983), starring Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell; and on Kevin Reynolds’ The Beast of War, starring George Dzundza, Jason Patric and Steven Bauer.

James joined the syndicated Next Generation for its second season (1988-89) and remained through its conclusion in 1994. He then segued to Upn’s Voyager, working on that series for its entire seven-season run (1995-2001).

James received his Emmy (shared with longtime collaborator Jim Mees) in 1990 for his...

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While most of the superhero fans are already privy to Marvel and DC movies and TV shows, there is another comic publisher that has tons of great comics that have been adapted into iconic movies and TV shows. If you still don’t know which comic book publisher we are talking about then let us tell you it is the Dark Horse Comics publications which published several comic books on which great movies and TV shows like The Mask and The Umbrella Academy are based. So, we thought of compiling a list of the 10 best movies and TV shows based on the Dark Horse Comics.

The Mask (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – New Line Cinema

The Mask is a superhero action comedy film directed by Chuck Russell from a screenplay by Mike Werb. Based on the Dark Horse...

Carol Kane probably deserves her own closet filled with classic films she’s been a part of, from “Dog Day Afternoon” to “The Princess Bride,” but for now, the Criterion Closet will have to do. In Criterion’s latest closet video, Kane reflects on influences like Bette Davis, as well as past collaborators like John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, who she describes as a “queen and a goddess.”

“I’m Carol Kane, I’m an ac-tor, and I am so moved to be in this room — this closet — with all these extraordinary films, movies — I don’t know what you’re supposed to call them — but all the creativity. It’s breaking my heart in a good way,” said Kane at the beginning of the video.

As her first pick off the shelf, Kane grabbed “All About Eve” and discussed the effect the lead of the film, Bette Davis, had...

In 1993, Jim Carrey was still just that white guy on In Living Color, but by the end of 1994, he was king of the world. In one year, Carrey had three hit comedies that topped the box office: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in February, The Mask in July and Dumb and Dumber in December. Each is great and nostalgic in its own right, but given the fact that The Mask turns 30 this week, we caught up with the film’s director, Chuck Russell, to talk about the film’s 30 greatest moments.

30 The Loaner

“There’s a Stanley Ipkiss inside all of us,” says Russell, referring to Carrey’s character in The Mask. “That was the beauty of the character. Life treats us like shit and humiliates us and seeing it through Stanley’s character is funny and charming the way Jim portrayed it. The loaner car he gets is an example of that.

There's a scene midway through Chuck Russell's 1994 comedy The Mask that stands out as an absolute comic masterstroke—zero CGI cartoon antics required. Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) squirms under the magnifying glass of Lt. Mitch Kellaway (Peter Riegert), the detective sizing up the lowly bank clerk in his dinky apartment.

‘Extrapolations,' Apple TV+’s television series, follows several different stories of people’s lives before, during, and after climate change affects the world. Through director Scott Burns, the possibilities are endless when it comes to the unknown of the earth’s future. Through each character, ‘Extrapolations’ explores the complexities of love, hate, fear, and family as worlds collide into a masterpiece of storytelling. The cast of this series includes Diane Lane, Simon Deonarian, Eiza González, Marion Cotillard, Tobey Maguire, Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker, Daveed Diggs, Douglas Hodge, Kit Harington, Sienna Miller, Tahar Rahim, Matthew Rhys, Heather Graham, Peter Riegert, and Yara Shahidi. ‘Extrapolations’ will be premiered on Apple TV+ on March 17th, 2023, and is set to run for eight episodes. Follow along with the unique and relatable characters of the series as they experience trials and joys throughout the future of our planet. Curious to know more about the creation of the series?...

This July, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment with a sequel of a beloved film like My Spy titled The Eternal City and an animated sequel series to the comedy gold, which was the Sausage Party film titled Foodtopia. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 7 best films that are coming to Prime Video in July 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Animal House (July 1)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

National Lampoon’s Animal House is a classic comedy-drama film directed by John Landis from a screenplay co-written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris Miller. Inspired by National Lampoon stories written by Matty Simmons and Ivan Reitman, the 1978 film follows the story of freshmen Larry and Kent as they join a troublemaking...

Tales of Hollywood actors turning down profit participation in huge hits are rampant, as when Orson Welles rejected the initial $75,000 plus 10 percent of the gross offer on 1949’s The Third Man for a quick $100,000 dollars up front. Not bad for only ten days’ work. Plus, he needed cash to finance Othello right away so it all worked out… except The Third Man would ultimately become one of the most financially successful movies of Welles’ career. He later regretted this, of course, and if the director of Citizen Kane wasn’t enough of a genius to go for points, then certainly the iconic, and yet strangely underappreciated, actor Donald Sutherland wasn’t immune to bad monetary decisions either.

Sutherland, who passed away yesterday at age 88 after a long illness, had an incredible career littered with enduring classics like M*A*S*H, Klute, and Best Picture winner Ordinary People to his resume.

Donald Sutherland, the beloved actor who starred in scores of films from The Dirty Dozen, Mash and Klute to Animal House and Ordinary People to Pride & Prejudice and The Hunger Games franchise and won an Emmy for Citizen X, died Thursday in Miami after a long illness. He was 88.

The 2017 Honorary Oscar recipient also is the father of Emmy-winning 24 and Designated Survivor actor Kiefer Sutherland and veteran CAA Media Finance exec Roeg Sutherland. CAA confirmed the news to Deadline.

Related: Remembering Donald Sutherland: A Career In Photos

In some of his most well-known roles, he perfected a laconic, wry and dead-serious delivery. Such was the case for characters including the cool-headed amateur murder investigator John Klute, opposite Jane Fonda’s terrified and erratic call girl Bree Daniels in Klute; as Hawkeye Pierce in the film Mash, where he played opposite Elliott Gould’s cut-up Trapper John; and in Nicolas Roeg...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always had a bit of a boys' club vibe. The first official phase of the franchise that built up to "The Avengers" was spearheaded by Tony Stark's hard-partying ladies' man Tony Stark, while the most significant female members of the MCU to date have always been written as, at best, eye-rolling foils forced to acknowledge that most of their male colleagues are overgrown children who come through in the clutch when resolving a crisis that is partially of their own making.

This isn't much of a departure from the almost exclusively male-drawn and -written comic books of the 1960s-1980s that inspired the mostly male-directed MCU films. Aside from a boy scout like Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) or a cerebral conjuror like Doctor Strange, these guys have a good time off the clock. In a way, they have a kind of frat boy mentality.

Brian Cox says Succession creator Jesse Armstrong was a “gentleman” to salute him during his acceptance speech at Sunday night’s Emmy Awards.

The celebrated HBO drama won the top drama prize, and Armstrong praised the show’s cast, creatives and crew then lauded Cox, “who the show was revolved around whether he was in it or not.”

Later at the HBO | Max Emmy afterparty at San Vicente Bungalows, Cox tells me he was “touched” by Armstrong singling him out. “Jesse’s a gentleman in an industry where there aren’t many of those,” he says.

Cox adds that the entire team deserved the praise. ”All of them. The drama series win belongs to each and every one of them.”

The acclaimed actor says he knew Succession would become a “cultural landmark” from the time he read Armstrong’s first script. “I was in no doubt that it would become a benchmark.

Stan Rogow, a veteran producer for the Hilary Duff-starring Lizzie McGuire series and feature film, and an Emmy nominee for his earlier work on the TV series Fame, has died at 75.

Rogow died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, reports indicate. No cause was given.

Born in Brooklyn, Rogow graduated from Boston University School of Law and worked as a lawyer before serving as an executive in charge of production on the 1980 Emmy-winning CBS telefilm Playing for Time, starring Vanessa Redgrave.

After that, he moved to Los Angeles and soon was working with the TV series Fame, for which he shared in a 1982 Emmy nomination. Rogow served as a producer on the pilot of the NBC series.

Rogow also created the 1992 CBS comedy-drama Middle Ages, starring Peter Riegert, and produced other series such as State of Grace, Afterworld and Woke Up Dead.

Rogow produced Lizzie McGuire and...

Stan Rogow, the writer and Emmy-nominated producer who guided the Hilary Duff-starring Lizzie McGuire series and feature that spawned from the Disney Channel hit and partnered with John Sayles on several projects, has died. He was 75.

Rogow died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Scott Fisher told The Hollywood Reporter.

Early in his career, Rogow served as a producer on the pilot of the acclaimed NBC series Fame and shared an Emmy nomination for outstanding drama series in 1982 with William Blinn and two others.

The Brooklyn native was also an exec producer on the 2004-06 Discovery Kids sitcom Darcy’s Wild Life, starring Sara Paxton, and he co-created another show for the network, the 2005-07 adventure series Flight 29 Down, featuring Corbin Bleu.

Rogow produced Sayles-written The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), starring Daryl Hannah, before they teamed to create the 1990 NBC drama Shannon’s Deal, starring...

Bill Forsyth’s happy-sad tale about a fishing village under threat from US oil money is as wonderful as ever, with standout turns from Burt Lancaster and youthful Peter Capaldi

Bill Forsyth’s wonderfully wistful and charming comedy is rereleased after 40 years, and its happy-sad aroma is still as pungent as ever. It has a claim to be the last movie with the authentic spirit of the Ealing comedies; although with a longer perspective we can also see how it’s also indirectly influenced by producer David Puttnam in its high-minded spirit of Anglo-American amity.

The scene is a fictional fishing village in western Scotland, making its modest living from the lobster bound for the fancy restaurants of London and Paris, but which the locals can’t afford to eat. Peter Riegert plays Mac, a junior oil executive from Texas obsessed with work and material values, who has been tasked by his eccentric billionaire boss,...

If the 14th annual TCM Classic Film Festival had an official focus, it was on the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros., from the opening night premiere selection of a restoration of “Rio Bravo” to a celebration of the 50th anniversary of “The Exorcist.” Almost equal in emphasis, though, by virtue of the guests brought in, was a celebration of the ingenues-turned-leading-ladies of the 1960s, who now represent the elder guard of a Hollywood golden age — Angie Dickinson, Ann-Margret and Shirley Jones.

Dickinson had the highest profile of any star at the festival, being the belle of the ball at the Thursday screening of “Rio Bravo” in the big house at the Tcl Chinese Theatres, where most of the screenings were held. But there was just as much outpouring of affection for Ann-Margret, who turned up for a Q&a (and birthday cake) following “Bye Bye Birdie” on Saturday, and Jones,...

Many consider their time spent at college as the best years of their lives. For a number of people, that's their first taste of independence as they're the ones who pick their classes, figure out what to eat for dinner, and determine when it's a good time to go to bed. And when theses kids decide to make all those decisions by picking all the wrong answers, it certainly makes for a wild time, which is essentially what "Animal House" is all about.

A pioneer of the boundary-pushing sex comedy, the 1978 film from director John Landis, producer Ivan Reitman, and writers Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller, and Harold Ramis planted the seeds for generations of Greek life antics and alcohol-fueled hijinks. Even my peers, who became college freshmen 30 years after the Universal Pictures classic premiered, were taking part in toga parties and getting a little bit louder now with Otis Day and the Knights.

Not only the Twelfth Doctor, but also an Oscar-winnning writer-director for his short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, Peter Capaldi’s career spans almost four decades of impressive, inventive performances. Capaldi first truly captured the nation’s heart when he became sweary spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It in 2005, a role that could only be eclipsed for some by his stint in the Tardis.

After three glorious years of his Doctor, a terrific turn in The Personal History of David Copperfield, and popping up in the comic book world of The Suicide Squad, Capaldi’s latest venture – thriller The Devil’s Hour – is out now on Prime Video and reminding us what makes him so captivating on screen. Let’s revisit some of Peter Capaldi’s finest performances.

Local Hero (1983)

Capaldi was just 25 when he landed one of his first roles in Local Hero, a warm,...

Exclusive: Netflix has re-upped its overall deal with international bestselling author Harlan Coben. The original five-year, multimillion-dollar pact gave Netflix access to 14 Coben books to develop, in partnership with the author, into English-language and foreign-language series as well as films. The new deal, believed to be for four years, adds 12 more Coben titles including his signature 11-book Myron Bolitar series as well as 2021’s Win.

A Myron Bolitar TV series is in early development at Netflix. It will keep the novels’ U.S. setting to possibly become the streamer’s first American-produced show based on Coben’s novels. The books’ title character is a former top basketball player-turned-owner of agency representing sports stars and celebrities.

So far, seven of the prolific American author’s novels have been turned into Netflix limited series: three in the UK, two in Poland as well as one each in Spain and France.

Related Story 'Harlan Coben's Shelter' Adds Missi Pyle, Stephanie March, Adrienne Barbeau, Peter Riegert, Manuel Uriza & More To Cast Related Story Showbiz Shares Surge In First Trading Day Of Fourth Quarter Related Story 'Firefly Lane', Starring Katherine Heigl & Sarah Chalke, To End After Season 2 On Netflix

In an interview with Deadline, Coben discusses extending his relationship with Netflix, the Myron Bolitar series, and more.

Deadline: Talk about the decision to extend the Netflix deal.

Coben: The relationship has been really fantastic. I think it’s been a bigger success than either one of us anticipated: seven shows, four different languages, several countries, tons of viewers. So we all thought we should keep going, making what we’re doing. And I think the key piece now is that they’ve added Myron Bolitar into the mix. One of our main goals is to make a Myron Bolitar series here in the USA while we continue to do the work that we’ve been doing overseas in both the countries we’ve already had success in and some new ones I hope.

Deadline: Will you be writing the Myron Bolitar series adaptation or will you bring in another writer?

Coben: It’s early, so we haven’t made a final decision yet or who’s going. I am involved always in some capacity but I don’t know if I’ll be the one who’s going to write the pilot or just be an executive producer on it — depends on who we ended up with and how it’s going to work. Part of the great joy with Netflix is that everybody I’ve worked with there has been extraordinarily open, and my role is bigger or smaller depending on the situation, who we have, what they think they need from me; it’s on a case-by-case basis.

Certainly Myron Bolitar is dear to my heart. I’ve written 34 books, a third of them involved Myron Bolitar; he is my most prized possession, and I’m really happy now that it’s in the Netflix camp, so that we can work hard on making it right. It’s one of the properties I’ve probably been a little bit more precious about. It’s easier to move a story like The Stranger or Stay Close to another country. Myron being a series character that people read over and over again, takes a little bit more care and has to be in the USA. So I’m very excited about getting started on that.

Deadline: This will be an ongoing series, correct? All of your previous shows for Netflix have been limited series.

Coben: Yes, that’s the goal. As you pointed out, we’d set the goal for limited series on the other ones, though, at times we’ve looked at it — and again, this is the beauty of Netflix. The Stranger and Stay Close, for example, did very, very well and we were discussing, should we do a second season, or should we do something new and original? And to me it felt a little forced to do a second season on those. So I said, instead of doing a second season of The Stranger, let’s do Stay Close, and they’ve agreed. But Myron Bolitar, because there are so many books and there are so many stories, and it was created as an ongoing character, that will be how we will try to make the show, it will be an ongoing show.

Deadline: Do you have any actors in mind to play Myron. Do you have a dream casting choice?

Coben: I don’t. I’ll be honest, that’s always been a hard thing for me. With a regular character — Matt was played by Mario Casas in Spain, or Adam who was played by Richard Armitage, or Cush Jumbo playing Cassie — I can change those people around. Myron is much harder because people have a very definite idea of what he looks like. So actually no actors really comes to mind. Many years ago I had looked at trying to make Myron into a movie, and they were talking about all the big famous movie stars of the day. All of them are wonderfully talented but I was like, I can’t see that guy as Myron. So it’ll be very hard. I am confident that Netflix will scour the world in casting and will find the perfect person for us.

Deadline: Have you decided which of the 11 books will kick off the TV series?

Coben: That’s also something to discuss when I find the perfect creative partners. It’s funny, I did The Innocent in Spain with a wonderful well-known director named Oriol Paulo and Mario Casas, who is a huge star — it’s really great firepower. And Oriol Paulo put it perfectly when he described what Netflix did by putting us together, “creative Tinder,” Tinder for creatives, we were like a perfect match for one another. We just saw eye to eye, we shared a vision. And so I’m hoping that Netflix’s “creative Tinder” finds us the perfect team to develop Myron Bolitar.

Deadline: Why is it now that Netflix is being able to adapt Myron Bolitar and not the first time around? Were the rights not available?

Coben: At times, it’d been under other option elsewhere. And also, I think with this new deal, we’ve now gotten to know each other well enough to realize that our mix, the mix of Harlan Coben, the mix of me and Netflix, works. And so we both want to expand that relationship.

Deadline: Will we see Myron’s nephew Mickey Bolitar on the show or are his rights tied up at Amazon?

Coben: I don’t know how rights work. He is tied up at Amazon right now. So who knows, maybe we’ll get to do something at some point but right now, there’d be no plans for him to be in the series. Mickey doesn’t really cross into the Myron series except for one or two books, so I don’t think that’ll be an issue. Amazon’s Mickey Bolitar series, Shelter, is filming right now.

Deadline: Will the new deal include other U.S. series or will the focus still be on international productions, with Myron Bolitar as an exception?

Coben: Both. We’re working on a couple other U.S. series. But we also are going to do more with the British team that I’ve been lucky enough to work with on Safe, The Stranger and Stay Close; we’re hoping to make at least one, maybe two more series with that team. We’re looking at other European countries, I’d like to try doing a Netflix Germany or Netflix Italy show, as well as returning to France and Spain. And maybe a third show in Poland. I hope to spread out even; I’d love to do something in India and Asia as time goes on. We’re looking at Netflix Brazil, Netflix Argentina, perhaps Netflix Mexico, we’re working on certain projects with the teams that have been already successful in those areas. Our goals are very ambitious.

And yes, part of the expansion part of the new deal is that we’ll be working on a Myron Bolitar series — and several others — that will be U.S.-based as well.

Deadline: How does adapting your books in another language work? I don’t know how many languages you speak — I assume you don’t speak Polish. Do you read scripts that are translated to you? How do you make sure that the local versions represent the spirit of the novels?

Coben: I don’t speak any languages. Even though I’ve done now four productions in France, I still don’t speak any French, so I’m really bad with foreign languages. They do translate them all for me. Sometimes that means the dialogue is difficult for me to make sure it has the right nuance. So I will talk to actors, I will talk to people who speak the language. For the most part, I have to trust my team. There are local things that I don’t quite get, which makes it more interesting for me in some ways.

A quick example from when we did The Woods in Poland. I based The Woods stories in two different time zones, one when kids are in summer camp as teenagers and then the same people as adults, which I thought was really a wonderful and interesting technique. Summer camps in the United States are very, very different than the summer camps that we chose to do in Poland. They were explaining to me what their camps are like. Can I tell you that those are really authentic camps? I can because everyone in Poland told me, boy, you captured it. But I have to respect the fact that I’m doing it now in Warsaw, and not New Jersey and Massachusetts where I’d set the book, and that’s part of the collaboration.

For some people, that’s a negative. For me, I think it’s the opposite. I think the hybrid makes it more interesting. I think taking the American story and American sensibilities and combining it with a location that may be less familiar to some people or a different world actually enhances the story. And I also think in my case, it gives the stories more variety. There are people who love all seven shows. There are some people who love the more moody pace of the Polish shows. There’s some who love the bonkers fun, I would call it, of the British shows. There are some some who like the gritty realism of the Spanish show. So there’s something for everybody in a way, and for me, it gives me a chance to explore new ways of telling the story. That’s the gift that Netflix has really given me as a storyteller.

Deadline: Are you involved in the creation of English-language dubbing or subtitles for your shows?

Coben: I see them and I can sometimes say to them, that’s really awkward phrasing. Do we have anything a little better than that? I personally am not a fan of dubbing. I get it, people want to do it, I respect that. I would always encourage people to use the subtitles if they can.

Deadline: Are there new series projects under the Netflix deal that are in advanced stages?

Coben: Nothing that I can really reveal but there are at least two or three that are in the works in some status of going very soon.

Deadline: You most recently released Match. What is next for you on the book publishing side?

Coben: The next one, coming out in March, is called I Will Find You. And even though I’m not done with the book, I’m working with Netflix already on that one. It was something I had told them about before I even started the book and they were like, that sounds really cool. So I’m already trying to — which is I think a new thing — I’m trying to do it before the novel is even completed because I had enough of the story for us to start on our way outside of that.

Coben is repped by UTA and Gendler & Kelly.

Exclusive: Harlan Coben’s Shelter, Prime Video’s YA action-thriller from MGM International Television Productions and Amazon Studios, is rounding out its recurring cast. Didi Conn (Grease), Missi Pyle (Y: The Last Man), Hunter Emery (Orange Is The New Black), Antonio Cipriano (God Friended Me), Peter Riegert (Local Hero), Adrienne Barbeau (Criminal Minds), Stephanie March (Law & Order: Svu) and Kristoffer Polaha (Jurassic World Dominion) join Jaden Michael in the series adaptation of Coben’s Mickey Bolitar novels, along with newcomer Samantha Bugliaro, Narci Regina (21 Bridges), Alexa Mareka (Boogie), Manuel Uriza (Too Old To Die Young), and Lee Aaron Rosen (Emily in Paris).

In addition to Michael, they join previously announced cast Constance Zimmer, Adrian Greensmith, Abby Corrigan, Sage Linder, Brian Altemus and Tovah Feldshuh.

Based on Coben’s Mickey Bolitar trilogy, Shelter tells the story of high school junior Mickey Bolitar (Michael) as he navigates his new life and a school in New Jersey.

Writer, director and actor Michael Showalter joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)

The Baxter (2005)

Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015)

Runaway Daughters (1994)

Clueless (1995)

Bagdad Cafe (1987)

Coda (2021)

The Long Goodbye (1973) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Sugarbaby (1985)

City Slickers (1991)

Attack! (1956) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Paris, Texas (1984) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

Pretty In Pink (1986)

Escape From New York (1981) – Neil Marshall’s trailer commentary

Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)

The Warriors (1979)

The Thing (1982) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Christine (1983)

Crossing Delancey (1988)

Annie Hall (1977) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

The Fugitive (1993)

The Big Sick (2017) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Between The Lines...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Like many boys who grew up in the 1960s, I was addicted to Mad magazine. It's sarcastic satires of politicians and pop culture figures were all the rage and the magazine was a showcase for some truly impressive writers and artists. Mad pushed the envelope in some regards but publisher William Gaines still maintained a family-friendly facade. In 1970, I entered high school a few months after another satire magazine, National Lampoon, published its premiere issue. The first issue I saw featured a striking cover by artist Frank Frazetta that spoofed those old jungle movies. It depicted a courageous white guy saving a scantily clad white woman from a hoard of African natives. It was titled "White Man's Wet Dream". I was hooked before I opened the magazine. National Lampoon became a "must-read" for young people of the era. Unlike Mad, there were no holds barred when it came to off-limits subjects.

Lin-Manuel Miranda fondly remembers that time he was on “The Sopranos” — just don’t call his appearance a cameo.

Miranda, who appeared as a bellhop in Season 6 of the Emmy-winning HBO series, explained that the very minor role was intimidating back in the day.

“I went on lots of voiceover auditions and acting auditions, and the only thing I booked was ‘The Sopranos,’ as a bellboy; I say, ‘I don’t know’ twice,” Miranda told Judd Apatow for Apatow’s latest book “Sicker in the Head: More Conversations About Life and Comedy,” available March 29. “I’m so green you can see me look down at my mark. Watch it if you get a chance, because now people are like ‘Lin-Manuel’s cameo on ‘The Sopranos’!’ It wasn’t a cameo. I wasn’t even in the union yet.”

Miranda appears in the 15th episode of Season 6, “Remember When,” as an...

“The Sopranos” actors Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli have reignited conversations around the Emmy-winning HBO drama series thanks to their popular “Talking Sopranos” podcast, and now they’ve published a book-length oral history of the show under the title “Woke Up This Morning.” The book includes an anecdote from series guest star Peter Riegert in which it’s revealed the lengths James Gandolfini went to protect him from acting in an unwanted nude scene (via Insider). Riegert starred as Assemblyman Ronald Zellman on the third and fourth seasons of “The Sopranos.”

“I show up at the [table] read and find out what I was going to be doing,” Riegert said of preparing for the seventh episode of Season 4. “The scene was Tony beating the living shit out of me with a belt, but in the scene description, it’s written that he pulls my underwear off…I was going to be naked.

Need to catch up? Read our previous Succession recap here.

Succession‘s Roy siblings attempted to hash out their differences in a child’s bedroom this week — which was quite an appropriate setting, actually.

More from TVLineSuccession Stars React to Premiere's Big CEO Reveal: 'It's a No-Brainer'Succession Season 3 Premiere Recap: Action Stations! (Plus, Grade It!)Succession's Alan Ruck Talks Connor's Role in That Bedroom Meeting, Willa and His 'Very Fluid' Political Platform

While Logan scrambles to keep his other children in line (“No one talks to the snake,” he growls to Roman), Kendall wants Greg to bring his grandfather Ewan over to their side.

The director of Palmer helps us kick off our new season by walking us through some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)

Salvador (1986)

True Believer (1989)

Palmer (2021)

Wonder Wheel (2017)

A Face In The Crowd (1957)

On The Waterfront (1954)

No Time For Sergeants (1958)

The Confidence Man (2018)

Lolita (1962)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)

The Marrying Man (1991)

The Ruling Class (1972)

The Krays (1990)

Let Him Have It (1991)

The Changeling (1980)

On The Border (1998)

Murder By Decree (1979)

Bigger Than Life (1956)

The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Fat City (1972)

Angel (1984)

Animal House (1978)

My Science Project (1985)

Lucía (1968)

Paper Moon (1973)

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

The Great McGinty (1940)

I Married A Witch (1942)

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Raging Bull (1980)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

The Rider (2017)

The Mustang (2019)

Nomadland (2020)

Murmur of the Heart (1971)

Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

The Conversation (1974)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

The Magnificent Ambersons...

The late film-maker Joan Micklin Silver exploded the cliches of modern romances. If only others would do the same

The director Joan Micklin Silver, who died last week, was – to use the kind of cliche she abhorred – a pioneer. She was a female director at a time when studio executives were more than comfortable with being openly sexist, telling Silver: “Women directors are one more problem we don’t need.”

She made distinctly Jewish movies, as opposed to the kind of Jewish-lite movies that were – and are still – Hollywood’s more usual style. Her two greatest films, Hester Street (1975), about a Jewish immigrant couple (Steven Keats and Carol Kane) on the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and the peerless 1988 romcom Crossing Delancey, about a modern young woman (Amy Irving) who is reluctantly fixed up with a pickle seller (Peter Riegert), are to When Harry Met Sally what the Netflix...

Joan Micklin Silver, a film director who broke several barriers for female filmmakers, died Thursday at her Manhattan home. She was 85 and her death was attributed to vascular dementia by her daughter.

Silver’s 1975 film Hester Street, the story of an immigrant Jewish couple on the Lower East Side of Manhattan set in the 1890s, was turned down by various studios as “too ethnic.” Silver also faced discrimination as a female film director. So backed by family members, she made the movie on a low budget in 34 days. The black and white film was in Yiddish with English subtitles.

Ms. Silver’s husband, Raphael D. Silver, was a tireless supporter. A commercial real estate developer, he financed the film and even worked to get it distribution. The film went on to earn $5 million after its October 1975 debut, a massive increase from its $370,000 budget. Actress Carol Kane was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.

Joan Micklin Silver, the trailblazing director behind “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey,” died on Thursday in Manhattan due to vascular dementia, her daughter Claudia Silver told the New York Times. She was 85.

Silver was outspoken about her experiences confronting sexism, misogyny and anti-Semitism within the entertainment industry.

“I came of age for film at a time when sexism was pretty strong. And although I could get work as a writer, I couldn’t get work as a director at all. And I had the experience of watching young men who had made shorts as I had, prize-winning shorts as I had, moving on to directing films and I couldn’t do it,” Silver said in a 2005 interview with the Directors Guild of America.

In 1975, she wrote and directed the indie film “Hester Street,” a low-budget production based on Abraham Cahan’s novella “Yekl” about a young Jewish couple who emigrated...

Joan Micklin Silver, who forged her own way as a female director in the 1970s and ’80s and helmed seven features including “Crossing Delancey” and “Hester Street,” died Thursday in Manhattan. She was 85.

Her daughter, Claudia Silver, told the New York Times the cause was vascular dementia.

The 1975 independent film “Hester Street” was the story of a Jewish immigrant couple in the 1890s. The low-budget black and white film, in Yiddish with English subtitles, proved a hard sell to studios, and was eventually financed by her husband, real estate developer Raphael D. Silver. It won rave reviews and earned $5 million at the box office, an impressive amount at the time. The 21-year old Carol Kane was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her role as the wife, Gitl.

The 1988 romantic comedy “Crossing Delancey” was also set in Manhattan’s Lower East Side Jewish community. Starring Amy Irving, Sylvia Miles and Peter Riegert,...

Media executive Matty Simmons, a producer of the influential “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” comedy movies, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 93.

His daughter, Kate Simmons, announced the news on her Instagram account on Thursday.

“Yesterday I lost my hero,” she wrote, in part. “My dad had gone from the sharpest, healthiest 93 year old most people have encountered to abruptly having every imaginable issue except corona. What he did in a lifetime was legendary.”

Matty Simmons was a Brooklyn native and an executive VP at the Diners Club credit card company. He founded Twenty First Century Communications in 1967 with Len Mogel to publish countercultural magazine Cheetah, then went on to publish Weight Watchers and National Lampoon magazines.

The National Lampoon launched in 1970 as a spinoff of the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine, which led to the 1972 stage show “Lemmings” and “The National Lampoon Radio Hour.” Performers included...

Matty Simmons, a founder of the Diners Club credit card and Weight Watchers magazine who found his highest profile success after co-founding National Lampoon magazine and producing film offshoots including Animal House and the Vacation franchise, died Wednesday in Los Angeles following a brief, non-coronavirus-related illness. He was 93.

Simmons death was announced by his daughter Kate Simmons.

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“Yesterday I lost my hero,” Kate Simmons wrote on Instagram. “My dad had gone from the sharpest, healthiest 93 year old most people have encountered to abruptly having every imaginable issue except corona.”

An author of nine books including the 2012 memoir Fat, Drunk, and Stupid: The Making of Animal House (St. Martins Press), Simmons made...

Local Hero

Blu ray

Criterion

1983/ 1.85:1 / 111 min.

Starring Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Peter Capaldi, Denis Lawson

Cinematography by Chris Menges

Written and directed by Bill Forsyth

Beginning with the aptly named That Sinking Feeling in 1979, the Scottish filmmaker Bill Forsyth has produced comedies whose bittersweet humor barely concealed the hurt. “Grin and bear it” was the director’s credo and the marquees tipped his hand – Being Human, Comfort and Joy – though That Sinking Feeling said it all.

Local Hero boasts Forsyth’s most head-scratching title but there’s no mistaking the predicament of the movie’s nominal leading man played by Peter Riegert. Known simply as Mac, he’s just another cog in a Kafkaesque corporate machine, the air-conditioned nightmare of Knox Oil and Gas where Medication Time music wafts through the halls and workers in glass cubicles converse via primitive sign language.

The young executive is affable enough when...

Back in 1983, when I was but a wee lad in Wales, I saw an episode of the British arts TV program The South Bank Show about the making of Bill Forsyth’s new film Local Hero (my family already being huge Gregory’s Girl fans). It covered the whole process of making the film, from script to screen, but the scene that most interested me, and which had stayed with me ever since, was the marketing meeting in which hot-shot producer David Putnam and the staff of the British branch of 20th Century Fox discussed the various concepts for the film’s poster. I remember thinking that that would be the greatest job in the world, but it was so far from anything I thought I’d really end up doing.The Criterion Collection is releasing Local Hero on Blu-ray and DVD on September 24, and I was very happy to...

Busy Philipps, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Moynihan and Aidy Bryant are among the guest stars set for the new season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix announced today.

The return of past season favorites will include Jon Hamm, Amy Sedaris, Mike Carlsen, Zosia Mamet and Derek Klena. The first six episodes of the fourth season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt premieres Wednesday, May 30 on Netflix. The remaining seven episodes will launch at a later, undisclosed date.

The cast for the first six episodes:

Busy Philipps plays Sheba Goodman, a hard-living heiress who has seemingly turned over a new leaf. She is the daughter of Artie Goodman (Peter Riegert), and her inheritance hinges on convincing her family that she’s stable enough to control her own finances. Greg Kinnear plays a character based on himself. Kinnear drops his son off at school one morning and finds himself caught up in one of Titus’s...

Before “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” goes away for good, the streaming sitcom is bringing back some familiar, famous and fan-friendly faces.

Netflix announced the guest star line up for the sitcom’s final run — its fourth season — on Thursday, which includes the returns of Jon Hamm, Amy Sedaris, Mike Carlsen, Zosia Mamet and Derek Klena. Busy Philipps, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Moynihan and Aidy Bryant will also join series regulars Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski and Carol Kane.

Read below for the official descriptions of some of the guest-centric episodes.

Also Read: 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' to End After Season 4, Talks Underway for Possible Movie Finale

Episode 401: Greg Kinnear plays himself in the first episode — sort of. As he drops his son off at school, Kinnear unwittingly gets caught up in an elaborate Titus scheme to win back his ex-boyfriend Mikey… which brings us to the next guest appearance in this episode: Mike Carlsen, who plays the recently out construction worker.

Episode 403: Jon Hamm will reprise his role as Kimmy’s kidnapper Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison in Indiana. A friend from his DJ days visits — Douglas, aka DJ Fingablast, played by guest star Derek Klena. Bobby Moynihan will also appear as men’s rights activist Fran Dodd, who leads the resistance on “the war on men” trying to free the Reverend.

Moynihan isn’t the only “Saturday Night Live” alum to appear in the episode: Aidy Bryant will play the Reverend’s ex-girlfriend Tabby Bobatti, who lived with the kidnapper the whole time Kimmy was kept underground.

Also Read: 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' Is a Working Girl - Complete With Pantsuit - in Season 4 Teaser (Video)

Episode 405: “Girls” star Zosia Mamet returns as the hipster Sue Thompsteen in the fifth episode as she gets wrapped up in a scam by Jacqueline and Lillian. Moynihan will again appear in this episode.

Episode 406: Amy Sedaris reprises her role as Jacqueline’s divorced friend Mimi Kanassis, jumping at the opportunity to become Jacqueline’s assistant. Busy Phillips will also appear as Sheba Goodman, Artie Goodman (Peter Riegert)’s daughter trying to turn over a new leaf.

“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” is executive produced by creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock with Jeff Richmond and David Miner. It is produced by Universal Television, Little Stranger Inc., 3 Arts Entertainment and Bevel Gears for Netflix.

The first six episodes of Season 4 will drop on Netflix May 30. The remaining seven episodes will launch at to-be-announced date.

Read original story ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt': Jon Hamm and Amy Sedaris to Reprise Guest Roles for Final Season At TheWrap...

Guild Hall hosts a concert reading of Eric Bentley's Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been, featuring James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Bill Camp, Richard Kind, Peter Riegert, Mercedes Ruehl, Barry Scheck, and Harris Yulin, tonight, September 9 at 8 p.m. Directed by Harris Yulin.

Guild Hall will host a concert reading of ERic Bentley's Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been, featuring James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Bill Camp, Richard Kind, Peter Riegert, Mercedes Ruehl, Barry Scheck, and Harris Yulin, on Saturday, September 9 at 8 p.m. Directed by Harris Yulin.

Chris Longo Alec Bojalad Jan 16, 2019

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 4 will be back for its final episodes in 2019. Here's a new trailer!

It's a miracle! Kimmy, Titus, Jacqueline, and Lillian are returning for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season 4. This season will be broken up into two parts. Netflix announced that the first six episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season 4 will drop on the service on May 30. The second half of the season will be released later in 2018.

The Emmy-nominated series is critically acclaimed and a popular binge amongst fans. It was one of the “most savored” series, like a nice glass of pinot noir, when Netflix gave the press a brief glimpse into what original shows performed best for the service.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt stars Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski and Carol Kane. Guests during season three included Maya Rudolph, Daveed Diggs, Laura Dern, and the return of Jon Hamm as The Reverend.

Joan Micklin Silver applies sensitive direction to Ann Beattie’s novel about a lonely guy trying to win back his girlfriend, and going about it in all the wrong ways. John Heard is excellent as Charles, who can’t understand why Laura (Mary Beth Hurt) has gone back to her husband and child. The whole thing plays out during a snowy winter in Salt Lake City… which is not the place to expect unrealistic romantic dreams to come true.

Chilly Scenes of Winter

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / Head Over Heels / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring: John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, Gloria Grahame, Nora Heflin, Jerry Hardin, Tarah Nutter, Mark Metcalf, Allen Joseph, Frances Bay, Griffin Dunne, Anne Beattie.

Cinematography: Bobby Byrne

Film Editor: Cynthia Scheider

Original Music: Ken Lauber

From the novel by Ann Beattie

Produced by Griffin Dunne,...

American Pastoral, a crime-drama movie directed by Ewan McGregor, is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Philip Roth. It stars big names like Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, Peter Riegert and the director McGregor himself. ‘American Pastoral’ DVD Review Both the book and the movie follow the story of Seymour “the Swede” Levov […]

Source: uInterview

The post ‘American Pastoral’ DVD Review: True To The Plot, But Sorely Lacking In The Message appeared first on uInterview.

Later on this week, Ewan McGregor officially becomes the latest actor to turn filmmaker when his directorial debut American Pastoral hits theaters. In the lead up to its debut at the Toronto Film Festival, the buzz suggested that McGregor had a potentially Academy Award friendly movie on his hands. In fact, even I predicted the flick in a place or two. That likely won’t come to pass, but it’s interesting to note the talent that he gathered for this outing, both in front of and behind the camera. This suggests that this won’t be a one and done type situation. As such, it’s time to officially consider McGregor to be a multi-hyphenate, not just an actor. He’s in the club. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Philip Roth. Set in 1968, it follows the Levov family through a melodramatic crisis.

If my limited experience with Philip Roth adaptations is any indication, his novels deal in emotion. There are existential crises concerning identity involved, each a character study about life’s impact beyond the surface experiences propelling them forward. This isn’t something easily translated from page to screen when so much consists of internalized motivation. You must really look into the text, ignoring plot to find the core reactionary cause for everything occurring. If a daughter’s disappearance indelibly changes every second of her parents’ lives in the aftermath, we must see their psychology driving every move — not simply the over-the-top breakdowns shoving their turmoil in our faces. Success arrives in how powerful a pause between chaotic highs and lows proves. With American Pastoral, I only felt that power’s potential.

Many will place blame on Ewan McGregor simply because he may have been ill-prepared to handle such a dense work as his directorial debut.

One of the most perceptive novels of the 20th century becomes one of the most ill-conceived movies of the 21st as Ewan McGregor tries his hand at directing with this ruinously streamlined adaptation of Philip Roth’s 1997 masterpiece, “American Pastoral.” It’s a disaster, but could it really have been anything else?

Roth’s writing is notoriously difficult to capture on camera, even for filmmakers with years of experience. James Schamus knocked it out of the park with “Indignation” earlier this year, but the former head of Focus Features spent decades shepherding (and writing) stories of similar sensitivity, and learned to recognize why certain texts might be — or might not be — suited for the screen.

Read More: Uzo Aduba Joins Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Others in ‘American Pastoral’ Adaptation

However, anyone who believed it was a good idea to adapt “American Pastoral” doesn’t share the same intuition. All of...

Aliya Whiteley Jan 10, 2017

Sigourney Weaver, Cher, Harrison Ford and more join our celebration of the New York romantic comedy...

New York has been celebrated so many times in movies. In the 1980s alone we had kids dancing on yellow taxis in Fame, the public library being haunted in Ghostbusters, and the ongoing visions of Scorsese and Allen, to name only a fraction of offerings. But I think that the romantic comedies that set their stories in the Big Apple during the 80s created a real and lasting charm about the city that can still be felt today.

Here's a look at three of those romantic comedies that highlighted different aspects of life in New York. When you watch them, nearly 40 years on, it's easy to feel a nostalgia for it all: the big hairdoes of the feisty heroines; the shoulder pads of the heroes; the Manhattan skyline with the World...

Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment have posted the first trailer for Ewan McGregor's directorial debut "American Pastoral".

Based on Phillip Roth's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the story follows a family whose seemingly idyllic existence is shattered by the social and political turmoil of the 1960s.

McGregor plays a once legendary high school athlete now successful businessman married to Dawn (Jennifer Connelly), a former beauty queen. When his beloved teenage daughter (Dakota Fanning), disappears after being accused of committing an act of political terrorism, he dedicates himself to finding her and what he discovers shakes him to the core.

David Strathairn, Peter Riegert, Uzo Aduba and Valorie Curry also star in the film which John Romano adapted and both Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi produced. The film kicks off a limited release on October 21st.

HBO limited series “Show Me a Hero” is noisy. Cacophony reigns in crowded city council meetings packed with yelling onlookers and jostling media microphones. It’s hard to figure out just what is going on. Oscar Isaac as beleaguered Nick Wasicsko, the youngest mayor in America, pounds his gavel to no avail. Adapted from Lisa Belkin’s 1999 book by David Simon and his “The Wire” collaborator Bill Zorzi, “Show Me a Hero” digs into the unsexy ’80s true story about the pitched battle between the haves and have-nots in Yonkers, New York over court-ordered public housing. When HBO finally greenlit the series, it was with the knowledge that this story is as resonant as ever.

While the WGA-nominated writing is brilliant, a pivotal member of this team of storytellers earning rave reviews is DGA-nominated Paul Haggis, who directed all six episodes. Haggis said he eagerly leapt at his first television...

HBO limited series “Show Me a Hero” is noisy. Cacophony reigns in crowded city council meetings packed with yelling onlookers and jostling media microphones. It’s hard to figure out just what is going on. Oscar Isaac as beleaguered Nick Wasicsko, the youngest mayor in America, pounds his gavel to no avail. Adapted from Lisa Belkin’s 1999 book by David Simon and his “The Wire” collaborator Bill Zorzi, “Show Me a Hero” digs into the unsexy ’80s true story about the pitched battle between the haves and have-nots in Yonkers, New York over court-ordered public housing. When HBO finally greenlit the series, it was with the knowledge that this story is as resonant as ever.

While the WGA-nominated writing is brilliant, a pivotal member of this team of storytellers earning rave reviews is DGA-nominated Paul Haggis, who directed all six episodes. Haggis said he eagerly leapt at his first television...

With Ewan McGregor busy preparing to make the Philip Roth adaptation American Pastoral as his directorial debut, he’s adding more cast members to the ensemble. In his latest round of hires, he has Orange Is The New Black’s Uzo Aduba ready to jump aboard alongside David Strathairn, Peter Riegert and Valorie Curry.Set during the Vietnam War years, American Pastoral follows Seymour ‘Swede’ Levov (McGregor), a once all-conquering high-school athlete, who’s married to a beauty queen (Jennifer Connelly) and runs the business he’s inherited from his dad. All seems well in Swede’s world until his daughter Merry (Dakota Fanning) joins the countercultural clamour of the time, signing up as a revolutionary and committing a fatal act of violence that throws all their lives into chaos.Lakeshore Entertainment has been trying to get this one on to screens since 2003, as it had been languishing at Paramount...

Lakeshore Entertainment announced additional casting on American Pastoral with David Strathairn as “Nathan Zuckerman,” Peter Riegert as “Lou Levov,” Uzo Aduba as “Vicky” and Valorie Curry as “Rita Cohen.”

The film adaptation, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel written by Philip Roth also stars Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning, with McGregor directing.

American Pastoral follows Seymour “Swede” Levov, a legendary high school athlete, who grows up to marry a former beauty queen and inherits his father’s business. Swede’s seemingly perfect life shatters when his daughter rebels by becoming a revolutionary and committing a deadly act of political terrorism during the Vietnam War.

American Pastoral’s adapted screenplay was written by John Romano (Lincoln Lawyer) with filming scheduled for September 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pa. American Pastoral will be produced by Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi.

Strathairn won the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and earned nominations from the Academy,...

Lakeshore Entertainment’s American Pastoral has beefed up its cast, adding David Strathairn, Uzo Aduba, Peter Riegert and Valorie Curry, who join Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, and Dakota Fanning in the Vietnam War drama, Based on the Pulitzer-winning novel by Phillip Roth, the film follows a family torn apart when a legendary former high school athlete’s seemingly perfect life is shattered after his rebellious daughter’s antiwar activism turns to violent political…...