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Over the past 50-plus years, film historian Joseph McBride has been one of the great chroniclers and analyzers of American directors. His 1972 volume on Orson Welles was one of the first essential works on that great filmmaker, and in the years since, he has published the definitive biographies of John Ford, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, Ernst Lubitsch, and Steven Spielberg — along with a couple more terrific books on Welles and one of the best tomes on screenwriting (“Writing in Pictures”) ever written.

McBride has always been expert at finding the intersection between biography and personal expression, as rigorous in his research as he is insightful in his visual and literary analysis. Now, he has turned his keen eye toward director George Cukor, and the result, “George Cukor’s People: Acting for a Master Director,” is one of McBride’s most innovative works to date and indispensable for anyone interested not...

It’s been 16 years since Christine Jeffs’ last feature, the seriocomic Amerindie sleeper “Sunshine Cleaning,” with Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Her new feature “A Mistake” hews back to her 2001 debut, “Rain,” in that it is set in her native New Zealand and adapts its script from a Kiwi author (in this case Carl Shuker’s fifth novel). Though not a knockout, the director’s return affirms her knack for intelligent adult drama, here hinging on issues of medical ethics and bureaucracy — Elizabeth Banks plays an Auckland surgeon whose reputation and career are threatened when a patient dies after what had been anticipated as a routine procedure. Quiver Distribution is releasing the Tribeca-premiered film to 100+ U.S. theaters this Friday.

The distractingly named Elizabeth Taylor (Banks) is a highly regarded specialist, woken from a nap during one long night-shift by an emergency: A patient previously discharged as having minor ailments...

“Queer” premiered in competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival on September 3. The highly anticipated film is the second this year from director Luca Guadagnino, who earlier this year released the provocative tennis drama “Challengers.” This one stars Daniel Craig as William Lee, a pseudonym of author William S. Burroughs, who lives in Mexico City and is drawn to a younger man named Allerton (Drew Starkey). It has been picked up by A24 for US distribution.

So far aggregator MetaCritic has logged 13 reviews of the film, which overall gets a “generally favorable” rating of 75. But the individual reviews are somewhat divided: eight are positive and five are mixed, though none are outright negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, where films are classified simply as positive or negative, the film is 80% fresh based on 10 reviews, just two of which give the film a thumbs down.

SEENicole Kidman is ‘bold,’ ‘brave’ and ‘immaculate’ in ‘Babygirl,...

Venice film festival

Craig plays an American expat living indolently in Mexico City in this sometimes uproarious adaptation of William Burroughs’ autobiographical novel

Queer is a story of lost love and last love and mad-about-the-boy obsession, featuring an excellent performance from Daniel Craig – needy, horny, moody, like his Knives Out detective Benoit Blanc on steroids and with something of his portrayal of Ted Hughes from 2003’s Sylvia.

It’s adapted by screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes from the autobiographical novel by William Burroughs, directed by Luca Guadagnino and wonderfully shot by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom with digitally rendered landscapes and streetscapes that bring the boozy, bleary reality into alignment with the many (disquieting) dream sequences.

For the third year in a row, Don Mancini’s “Chucky” television series has landed a GLAAD Media Awards nomination for “Outstanding Drama” series, and this year Chucky’s joined by a handful of other horror properties that were seen on screens big and small last year.

The full list of nominations for the GLAAD Media Awards 2024 – the 35th annual! – have been announced today, with this year’s winners being announced starting March 14.

The organization previews, “Join GLAAD for the largest, most legendary LGBTQ celebration in the world in 2024. Honoring those in the media who have shown exemplary achievements for fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community and the issues that affect our lives, the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards promises to deliver a sparkly mix of red carpet arrivals, iconic main stage moments, and an impactful message that demonstrates the value of representation and inclusion of LGBTQ...

Having completed production in the summer of the previous year, Christine Jeffs is now well-prepared to polish off her highly anticipated fourth feature film, a book-to-film adaptation titled A Mistake to high-brow auds. This marks a sixteen-year gap between her previous feature films – she began with a lot of fanfare early on with Rain (2001), Sylvia (2003) and then Sunshine Cleaning (2008). A Mistake sees Elizabeth Banks topline what was a shot in New Zealand project. Jeffs was at Sundance with her last film so it might be a fun comeback narrative for this acquisitions item.

Gist: Elizabeth is a gifted surgeon—the only female consultant at her hospital.…...

New Delhi, Aug 30 (Ians) She has belted out hits such as ‘Ishq wala love’ from ‘Student of the Year’, ‘Nazar Laaye’ from ‘Raanjhanaa’ and ‘Meri Jaan’ from ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ to name a few. However, singer Neeti Mohan has revealed her lowest point in her career.

Neeti said that singing for Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar-starrer 2015 film ‘Bombay Velvet’ was the lowest point because she feels those tracks never got heard.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap, the film is based on historian Gyan Prakash’s book ‘Mumbai Fables’. It also stars Kay Kay Menon, Manish Choudhary, Vivaan Shah and Siddhartha Basu.

Speaking to Ians, Neeti opened up about the low point in her career: “I think it was when I was the voice of the film ‘Bombay Velvet’. I felt that these songs never get heard. They were so interestingly recorded, and there are so many exciting stories we have for each song.

Jeffrey Carlson, the actor from the soap opera All My Children, has died at the age of 48. He was known for playing one of the first transgender characters on a daytime television series.

Actress Susan Hart shared the news in a Facebook post last week but a cause of death was not given.

Time Out New York theater critic Adam Feldman wrote a statement on Twitter regarding Carlson’s death.

Rip Jeffrey Carlson, 48, exposed-nerve star of Broadway and TV (the groundbreaking trans character Zoe on All My Children). A powerful actor and a painful loss. pic.twitter.com/ZdZdmlKtTP

— Adam Feldman (@FeldmanAdam) July 9, 2023

Carlson first started out as a theater actor with Broadway roles in Taboo, Tartuffe and The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? He also starred in films like Hitch and The Killing Floor, but his most prominent role was in All My Children.

Carlson performed on the series...

Frank James Michael Grande Marchione, better known as Frankie Grande, is an American dancer, singer, actor, producer, television host and YouTube personality. He is the half-brother of pop singer Ariana Grande.

Frankie Grande Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

Frankie Grande was born on January 24, 1983 (Frankie Grande’s age: 40) in New York City to Victor Marchione and Joan Grande. His father has been employed as a physician while his mother is chief executive officer of the telephone and alarm system company Hose-McCann Communications.

Although born in New York, Grande was raised in Englewood, New Jersey up until the age of ten, when he moved with his mother to Boca Raton, Florida. Along with Ariana Grande, Grande has a half-brother, James Marchione. Grande graduated from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania in 2005, where he triple-majored in biology, dance and theatre. He had considered medical school before deciding to take a year off in order to pursue theatre.

Gwyneth Paltrow has starred in a roster of hit films from Se7en to Iron Man. But a much lesser known project the veteran actor did was the feature Sky Captain And the World of Tomorrow.

One of her main incentives for starring in the underperforming feature was that Jude Law was in the film as well.

Jude Law was a big reason why Gwyneth Paltrow did ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ Gwyneth Paltrow | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Law and Paltrow’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was a bit of a letdown financially. According to The Numbers, the film only made $49 million at the end of its run. But despite its box-office receipts, it received moderate reviews from critics, with the slight majority giving it a favorable rating.

Paltrow was attracted to the sci-fi project for several reasons. The veteran actor had just gotten off of...

George Maharis, star of the 1960s CBS drama series “Route 66,” died this past May 24 at the age of 94, his friend Marc Bahan announced in a Facebook post.

No cause of death has been announced.

A graduate of the Actors Studio in New York, Maharis got his start in acting in off-Broadway productions before getting his first television role in 1958. Among the shows he would appear in over the next two years include “Exodus” and “Naked City,” the latter of which led Maharis to get the nod from series creator Stirling Silliphant on his next show, “Route 66.”

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“Route 66” starred Maharis alongside Martin Milner (“Adam 12”) as a pair of young, restless men who travel across the United States in search of odd jobs and personal discovery. Maharis played Buz Murdock,...

Veteran actor George Maharis, known for roles in “Route 66” and “Fantasy Island”, has died at 94 years old.

Maharis’ longtime friend and caretaker, Marc Bahan, took to Facebook to announce his death, revealing the actor died on Wednesday, May 25.

“George Maharis passed away on Wednesday, May 25. George is well known for his stardom in route 66, stage productions, singing, artist, and above all a great guy would do anything for anyone. My dear friend, you’ll be terribly missed,” Bahan wrote.

In the 1960s drama series, “Route 66”, Mararis played the role of Buz Murdock. He starred in the production for its first three seasons and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Series.

“Route 66” – Martin Milner, George Maharis/Everett Collection

The actor, born and raised in Astoria, Queens, served 18 months with the U.S. Marines before pursuing a career in entertainment.

George Maharis, the star of “Route 66” who went on to appear on “Fantasy Island” and other shows, died Wednesday in Beverly Hills.

His friend and caretaker Marc Bahan announced his death on Facebook, writing that he was “above all a great guy who would do anything for anyone. My dear friend, you will be terribly missed.”

Maharis co-starred with Martin Milner in the early 1960s series “Route 66,” and received an Emmy nomination for his role as Buz, a handsome beatnik-adjacent working class man. Shot on location across the U.S., the adventure series portrayed two young men who travel around in a Corvette, looking for work and adventure as they struggle to find themselves. Part way through the third season, Maharis left the show after being hospitalized for hepatitis. He asserted later in an interview that his departure wasn’t because he wanted a higher salary or wanted to get into movies,...

George Maharis, the Route 66 actor that left the series during the height of its popularity, died on Wednesday, May 24. He was 94.

“George is well known for his stardom in Route 66, stage productions, singing, artist, and above all a great guy would do anything for anyone. My dear friend, you’ll be terribly missed,” Maharis’ friend Marc Bahan shared in a Facebook post.

Maharis was born on September 1, 1928, in Astoria, New York. He studied at the Actors Studio and got his start working in off-Broadway productions.

His first television role came in 1958 with The Mugger. Maharis would go on to land other TV credits in shows like Naked City, Exodus and Search for Tomorrow. It would be until 1960 that he would land the role of Buz Murdock on Route 66, an indirect spinoff of Naked City that shared its same creator Stirling Silliphant. Maharis would be forced to leave the...

George Maharis, who starred as the brooding Buz Murdock on Route 66 before he quit the acclaimed 1960s CBS drama after contracting hepatitis, has died. He was 94.

Maharis died Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, his longtime friend and caregiver Marc Bahan told The Hollywood Reporter.

Route 66, created by Stirling Silliphant and Herbert B. Leonard, featured the Hell’s Kitchen native Murdock and Martin Milner‘s Yale dropout Tod Stiles touring the highways of America in Tod’s Chevrolet Corvette, encountering adventure along the way.

The show “was really kind of a searching or what you may have seen hundreds of years ago where the people came over the mountains to go from one place to the other to find a better life, a place where they belonged, and they didn’t rely on anybody else to do it for them,” Maharis told The Seattle Times in 2008.

All 116 installments of...

Now available on VOD and Digital HD on all major platforms from The Horror Collective, our latest Q&a is with Summoning Sylvia co-star Troy Iwata who tells us all about the new LGBTQ horror comedy:

What drew you to Summoning Sylvia and the character of Reggie?

Troy Iwata: I actually auditioned for Kevin originally, sent in an audition tape for that and then just got an offer for Reggie so I was like…ok. Any opportunity that offers a refreshing glimpse into queer representation I’m all for. First off I was obsessed with how funny the script was and the blending of genres was enticing as well. I loved that it was a story that took place after the coming-out process, after the self-discovery and acceptance process. There’s an entire life that happens after all of those journeys for queer people and it’s light and beautiful...

Two new works based on existing material dominated the nominations for the 2023 Olivier Awards, the top theatre honor in Britain. “My Neighbour Totoro” and “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” lead the play and musical fields with nine and eight bids apiece. The former is a stage adaptation of the Studio Ghibli film of the same name, brought to life in a visually stunning production featuring impressive puppetry by Basil Twist. “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” uses songs from the Richard Hawley album and new material to tell the story of three families in a Sheffield housing complex.

Revivals had strong showings, too. Director Daniel Fish’s remounting of “Rodger & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!” and the Paul Mescal-led “A Streetcar Named Desire” netted seven and six nominations, respectively. This production of “Oklahoma!” previously played Broadway and received eight Tony Award nominations, including wins for Best Revival and Featured Actress...

The death of Charles Kimbrough, known for his role as Jim Brown on the hit sitcom Murphy Brown, was confirmed by his son Jim Kimbrough. He was 86 years old.

Kimbrough his breakout role as Harry in Stephen Sondheim‘s Company, a role that won him a Tony Award nomination in 1971. He appeared in another Sondheim production, Sunday in the Park with George, five years later.

In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died In 2022

The famous stage actor has also appeared beside Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker in Sylvia in 1995 and also acted in Leonard Bernstein‘s Candide, followed by The Merchant of Venice and Accent of Youth. His most recent work was in 2012 opposite Jim Parsons in Harvey.

He went on to land the role of Jim Brown on Murphy Brown, a CBS hit series that ran for 10 seasons and ended in 1998. Kimbrough revisited his beloved character...

Noted animation company is in development in first live-action title.

The noted independent animation powerhouse Laika is bolstering its expansion into live-action and has hired longtime Netflix executive Matt Levin as president, live-action film & series.

The studio is in production on its sixth animated feature Wildwood and is developing its first live-action project based on screenwriter John Brownlow’s action thriller novel Seventeen

Levin served as director, original independent film at Netflix from 2014 to 2022 where he co-founded the Original Independent Film department.

During his stint at the streamer he oversaw the development and production of 25 films including the upcoming Gareth...

Charles Kimbrough, best known to TV fans as straitlaced anchorman Jim Dial on “Murphy Brown,” died on Jan. 11, his son, John Kimbrough, told The New York Times. He was 86.

A cause of death was not given.

The St. Paul, Minnesota, native actor began his career on stage as a member of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre in the late 1960s, where he and his wife of 30 years, Mary Jane Wilson, appeared in productions of “Cat Among the Pigeons” and “The White House Murder Case.”

It was shortly thereafter, in 1971, that he appeared in the Stephen Sondheim musical, “Company,” a role for which he earned a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor. He was among the original Broadway cast to perform in another Sondheim hit, “Sunday in the Park With George” in 1984. A decade later, he starred in the original Off-Broadway production of the A.R. Gurney comedy “Sylvia” about a dog and the couple who adopts her.

Charles Kimbrough, the Emmy-nominated actor best known for his splendid decade-long portrayal of staid network anchor Jim Dial on Murphy Brown, has died. He was 86.

Kimbrough died Jan. 11 in Culver City, his son, John Kimbrough, told The New York Times.

A veteran of the stage, Kimbrough received a Tony Award nomination in 1971 for best featured actor in a musical for playing Harry in the original production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. He then appeared as two characters in another acclaimed Sondheim musical, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday in the Park With George, which debuted in 1984.

Kimbrough also starred in 1995 in the original off-Broadway production of the A.R. Gurney comedy Sylvia opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and appeared on the Great White Way in Candide, Same Time, Next Year, Accent on Youth, Hay Fever, The Merchant of Venice and, most recently, with Jim Parsons in a 2012 revival of Harvey.

The Minnesota native also...

Elizabeth Banks will star in a medical drama called “A Mistake,” in which she plays a surgeon fighting for her career after the death of a patient.

Christine Jeffs will write and direct the film that’s based on a novel by Carl Shuker. The film will be shopped to buyers at the upcoming Cannes market, and principal photography is meant to begin on Aug. 15 in New Zealand.

“A Mistake” stars Banks as Elizabeth Taylor, a gifted surgeon and the only female consultant at her hospital. But while operating on a young woman, something goes horribly wrong. In the midst of a new scheme to publicly report surgeons’ performance, her colleagues begin to close ranks, and Elizabeth’s life is thrown into disarray. Tough and abrasive, Elizabeth has survived and succeeded in this most demanding field, as well as navigated years of casual sexism at her hospital. But can she survive a single mistake?...

Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer, “Ricki and the Flash”

The mother-daughter duo starred in this 2015 film directed by Jonathan Demme.

Demi Moore and Rumer Willis, “Striptease

Actually, this mother-daughter team is a frequent on-screen collaborator. They first appeared together in 1995’s “Now and Then, as well as 1996’s “Striptease.”

Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

Billie Lourd starred alongside her late mother Carrie Fisher in “The Last Jedi,” Fisher’s last role before she died. Of course, Fisher reprised her famous role of Princess Leia.

Maureen O’Sullivan and Mia Farrow, “Hannah and Her Sisters”

O’Sullivan and Farrow starred together in the 1986 film, written and directed by Woody Allen, with whom Farrow was in a relationship.

Susan Sarandon and Eva Amurri Martino, “That’s My Boy” and “The Banger Sisters”

Another mother-daughter pair that’s in more than one film together, Susan Sarandon and her daughter Eva...

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Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Cult Epics Indiegogo Campaign For “Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle To Chabrol Written by Jeremy Richey Hardcover Book” + Sylvia Kristel 1970s Collection 4x Blu-ray set.

Los Angeles, CA (April 2021)

For Immediate Press release.

Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle To Chabrol

A trailblazing figure in film and popular culture, Netherlands native Sylvia Kristel became one of the biggest stars in the world as Emmanuelle in 1974. Alongside her most famous role, directed by Just Jaeckin, a little-known fact is that Sylvia Kristel also appeared in over 20 films between 1973 and 1981 featuring exceptional work with some of the greatest directors in film history including Walerian Borowczyk, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Roger Vadim and Claude Chabrol. Now the story of Sylvia’s astonishing career in the '70s is told in Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle to Chabrol, written by Jeremy Richey. Featured are new interviews with Just Jaeckin,...

Exclusive: God Friended Me actress Rachel Bay Jones will join the cast of Paramount+’s Why Women Kill. She joins the second season in a recurring role.

She will join previously announced series regulars Allison Tolman, Nick Frost, Lana Parrilla, B.K. Cannon, Jordane Christie, Matthew Daddario and Veronica Falcón. The series comes from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, Imagine Television Studios and CBS Studios.

Season two of the dark comedy features a new ensemble cast and storylines set in 1949 that will explore what it means to be beautiful, the hidden truth behind the facades people present to the world, the effects of being ignored and overlooked by society, and finally, the lengths one woman will go in order to finally belong.

Cherry serves as executive producer alongside Imagine’s Brian Grazer and Samie Kim Falvey; Acme Productions’ Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis; Marc Webb and Francie Calfo. The series is...

Laika is expanding into the world of live-action filmmaking for the first time, with an adaptation of John Brownlow’s upcoming debut novel, Seventeen.

Known for its groundbreaking work in stop-motion animation, the Oregon studio secured rights to Seventeen following an intense bidding war. The option announcement was made Wednesday by Laika’s president and CEO Travis Knight.

“For the past 15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter,” he said. “Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft and technology in service of bold, distinctive and enduring stories. With Seventeen, Laika is taking that philosophy in an exciting new direction.”

“Seventeen is a stiff cocktail of wicked wit, exhilarating action and raw emotion,” Knight added. “John has such a wonderfully unique voice. He’s crafted a brilliant universe with its own powerful identity. Seventeen is a thriller with soul, a sinuous adrenaline-fueled actioner with a...

Laika, the Oscar-nominated stop motion animation studio known for “Coraline,” “Kubo and the Two Strings” and most recently “Missing Link,” is expanding into live-action features and has set its first film with the thriller “Seventeen.”

Laika isn’t moving away from animated films and is currently in production on its sixth animated feature. But the studio acquired “Seventeen” in a bidding war with the intention of developing it as a live-action feature, which is the upcoming first novel from author John Brownlow, a screenwriter behind the Anya Taylor-Joy miniseries “The Miniaturist” and the Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig film “Sylvia.”

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Laika president and CEO Travis Knight describes “Seventeen” as a “stiff cocktail of wicked wit, exhilarating action and raw emotion.” Brownlow will also write the screenplay for the film. No director is attached just yet.

“Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art,...

Laika, the animation studio behind “The Boxtrolls” and “ParaNorman” is expanding into live action. As part of its expansion, the studio has optioned screenwriter John Brownlow’s debut novel “Seventeen” with plans to adapt the action thriller, signaling a new direction.

Founded in 2005, Laika is best known for its stop-motion animation features. Last year the studio released “Missing Link” and is working on its sixth film.

Travis Knight, president and CEO said, “For the past 15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter. Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft and technology in service of bold, distinctive and enduring stories. With ‘Seventeen,’ Laika is taking that philosophy in an exciting new direction.”

He added, “’Seventeen’ is a stiff cocktail of wicked wit, exhilarating action and raw emotion. John has such a wonderfully unique voice. He’s crafted a brilliant universe with its own powerful identity.

Travis Knight hails thriller with “sincere heart beating underneath its rippling pectorals”.

Laika, the independent Oregon-based animation powerhouse behind Coraline, Kubo And The Two Strings and Missing Link, is epanding into live-action filmmaking.

The studio, currently in production on its as yet untitled sixth animated feature, has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming first novel by screenwriter John Brownlow following what sources said was an intense bidding war.

“For the past15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter,” president and CEO Travis Knight. “Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft, and technology in service of bold,...

Laika, the studio behind animated films such as Oscar-nominated Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, is making its foray into live-action.

The Oregon studio has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming first novel by John Brownlow, with plans to adapt the title as its first live-action production. Further details including a director were not disclosed.

Brownlow is the screenwriter of the film Sylvia, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig, and he wrote and executive produced the three-part BBC limited series The Minaturist, which starred Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit). He also wrote the four-episode limited series Fleming, which starred Dominic Cooper as James Bond author Ian Fleming.

“For the ...

Laika, the studio behind animated films such as Oscar-nominated Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, is making its foray into live-action.

The Oregon studio has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming first novel by John Brownlow, with plans to adapt the title as its first live-action production. Further details including a director were not disclosed.

Brownlow is the screenwriter of the film Sylvia (2003), starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig, and he wrote and executive produced the three-part BBC limited series The Minaturist, which starred Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit). He also wrote the four-episode limited series Fleming, which starred Dominic Cooper as James Bond author Ian Fleming.

“For the past ...

8 random things that happened on this day, February 25th, in showbiz history...

Feb 25th, 1964 in history (left) and reenacted in 2020 for One Night in Miami... (right)

1950 Your Show of Shows premieres on NBC. The live variety show starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, was a stepping stone for legendary comedy writers like Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. The show helped create the  variety genre and inspired both the TV classic The Dick Van Dyke Show and the movie My Favorite Year.

1956 Poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes meet at a party. Their doomed romance is dramatized in the 2003 film Sylvia starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig...

Though far from the busiest week in terms of fresh additions on Netflix, the streaming site still managed to add 13 new movies, 10 new TV shows and even a new stand-up special to its library over the past 7 days, bringing with it a few highlights that viewers have been digging.

On the movies front, Fatal Affair has rocketed to the top of the Netflix charts, currently sitting as the most popular film on the platform. The thriller might be receiving brutal reviews from critics, but that’s certainly not hurting its reputation with subscribers.

Elsewhere, Pride & Prejudice and The Notebook have been keeping fans of romance busy, with both dramas being firmly established favorites of the genre that hold up well even so long after their initial release.

But perhaps the most notable new addition this week is Cursed, the fantasy series starring Katherine Langford, who headlines a female-driven take...

Paris-based Lincoln TV is set to reunite with the creative team behind “Mirage” on a period series about the turbulent life of Sylvia Kristel, the 1970’s sex symbol and star of the erotic film trilogy “Emmanuelle.”

Titled “Sylvia,” the six-part series will be based on Kristel’s 2006 autobiography “Nue” (“Naked”), in which the late actress chronicles her rise and tragic downfall.

Currently at the script stage, the series is being created and penned by Bénédicte Charles and Olivier Pouponneau, who previously wrote “Mirage” with Franck Philippon. Lincoln TV, the well-established banner founded by veteran producers Christine de Bourbon-Busset and Marc Missonnier, has acquired the audiovisual rights to Kristel’s autobiography from the publishing house Cherche-Midi.

The project is currently being shopped to key French channels and Lincoln TV is aiming to partner up with a Flemish co-producer.

“We think the story of Sylvia will strike a chord in the post-MeToo era.

Instead of candy hearts or boxes of chocolate, Scream Factory is giving horror fans the gift of George Mihalka's My Bloody Valentine (1981) for Cupid's big day, with the cult Canadien horror film coming to Blu-ray like never before in a new Collector's Edition featuring the theatrical and uncut versions of the movie. Ahead of the Blu-ray's February 11th release, we've been provided with a clip, original TV spots, and trailer that take you back into the charming (and terrifying) town of Valentine Bluffs.

You can prepare for a Valentine's Day party to die for in the clip, original TV spots, and trailer from My Bloody Valentine (1981) Collector's Edition below, visit Scream Factory's website for more information, and we also have the previous press release with additional details:

Previous Press Release: On February 11 Scream Factory will release the much anticipated My Bloody Valentine [Collector’s Edition]. Stacked with new bonus features including a...

Robert Keeling Apr 25, 2017

Saluting the movie characters who make an impression, the minute they appear on the screen...

One thing that unites all of cinema’s most iconic characters is that they were able to make a memorable first impression. Whether it’s bursting onto the scene in a flurry of noise or slowly skulking their way into shot, there’s a fine art to ensuring a character makes an instant impact on screen. An iconic entrance is not just about a momentary impact however, it can also emphasise a character’s importance and help to cement their influence over the rest of the movie.

See related Westworld episode 10 review: The Bicameral Mind Westworld episode 9 review: The Well-Tempered Clavier

There are any number of contributory factors that can be blended together in order to make an entrance truly memorable. These include the accompanying music, the choice of camera shot, the...

Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai and Alex Hassell have been set to star in BBC One and Masterpiece's period thriller The Miniaturist, based on the best-selling novel by Jessie Burton. They'll be joined in the three-part series, which is currently filming, by Paapa Essiedu (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake) and Emily Berrington (Humans). Fleming and Sylvia scribe John Brownlow pens the series while Guillem Morales directs. Story is set in 1686, when…...

'Finding Neverland' movie: Johnny Depp as James M. Barrie, with the Llewelyn Davies family: Kate Winslet, Freddie Highmore, Joe Prospero, Nick Roud and Luke Spill. 'Finding Neverland' movie review: Losing reality Back in 2001, German-born director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, World War Z) brought a much welcome non-Hollywood touch to the independently made psychological drama Monster's Ball. Besides the daring (if way overlong) sex scenes, that film imparted a refreshingly realistic atmosphere that was much enhanced by Forster's minimalist approach. As the title implies, his follow-up effort, Finding Neverland (2004), has absolutely nothing to do with reality, whether Peter Pan author James M. Barrie's or anyone else's. Even so, Forster's early, no-nonsense directorial touch is sorely missing from what is little more than your usual big-studio holiday movie whose “magical moments” might as well have been created by a computer. 'Finding Neverland' plot: James M. Barrie...

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The new James Bond film, Spectre, leaves lots of questions behind. We try and answer some of them here...

This article contains spoilers for lots of James Bond films, including Spectre.

The new James Bond movie will have been out for a week before we know just how well it's done at the box office, but based on the hype, the critical acclaim and the extended nine-day opening 'weekend' (including 60% of the whole UK box office take on Monday, despite only showing after 7pm), it's likely that Spectre will break records for this year.

The 24th instalment, and Daniel Craig's fourth outing as 007, comes on the heels of the billion dollar success of Skyfall, currently the highest-grossing film of all time at the UK box office and the highest-grossing British film of all time, full stop. With Sam Mendes back in the director's seat, the shadow...

Gwyneth Paltrow silver dress on the Oscars' Red Carpet Gwyneth Paltrow at the Academy Awards Donning a shining silver dress, Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at the 2011 Academy Awards held on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Paltrow's latest movie, Country Strong, was up for a Best Song Oscar. It lost to the Toy Story 3 ditty "We Belong Together," by Randy Newman. More than a decade ago, Gwyneth Paltrow took home the Best Actress Oscar for John Madden's Shakespeare in Love (1998), a romantic comedy-drama also featuring Joseph Fiennes (as William Shakespeare), Judi Dench, Geoffrey Rush, and this year's Best Actor Oscar winner, Colin Firth (The King's Speech). Paltrow's (moderately) gender-bending Shakespeare in Love heroine remains her only Oscar-nominated performance to date. Directed by Shana Feste, Country Strong fared decently at the U.S. box office, but not as well as some had expected. Besides Gwyneth Paltrow, the cast includes...

In the second of our James Bond retrospectives, we look at From Russia With Love, starring Sean Connery...

Two films in and the James Bond franchise reaches its artistic highpoint. Downhill from here? Certainly for some; others won’t see what the hype is. Yet critically, From Russia with Love remains the darling: a gritty, almost-plausible tale of gypsies, Spectre and sex tapes. It boasts a whole array of brilliant characters and a fight scene to make Daniel Craig crap his paints. Anyone who claims the film is slightly dull has my opposition and my sneaking respect.

The Villain (s): Spectre. A real team effort here. Until the release of Bond 24 (which it seems fair to bet will feature the organisation pretty heavily) From Russia With Love remains the definitive exploration of the creatively acronymed gang. (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.) Chief of Operations Rosa Klebb is calculating,...

He’s faced off against many movie characters over the years, including an army of Orcs and James Bond, and soon prolific actor Sean Bean will face another formidable foe in The Frankenstein Chronicles, a six-part miniseries set to air on ITV Encore. Bean will play Inspector John Marlott in the 1800’s-set show, a man assigned to capture a killer who melds body parts together in a manner reminiscent of Victor Frankenstein.

Press Release - “ITV today confirmed commission of The Frankenstein Chronicles, a thrilling and terrifying re-imagining of the Frankenstein myth as a six-part period crime drama to be produced by Rainmark Films.

Incorporating elements from the investigative and horror genres with an extraordinary hero at its centre, Inspector John Marlott, played by multi-awarding winning leading actor Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Accused) will be taken on a terrifying journey in pursuit of a chilling and diabolical foe.

Dominic Cooper plays Fleming -- Ian Fleming -- in BBC America's new miniseries about the James Bond creator "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond." Directed by Mat Whitecross ("The Road to Guantanamo," "The Shock Doctrine") and written by John Brownlow ("Sylvia") and Don MacPherson ("The Avengers"), "Fleming" tells the tale of its title character's own path from playboy to Naval Intelligence officer during World War II to the author of "a spy story to end all spy stories." The miniseries premieres on BBC American on Wednesday, January 29th at 10pm and in addition to Cooper ("The Devil's Double") also stars Rupert Evans, Samuel West, Anna Chancellor and Lara Pulver. Take a look at the trailer below:...

“It’s about bloody time!” said Clare Stewart, the BFI London Film Festival’s Artistic Director, in her introduction to the first woman to give the festival’s annual industry keynote address, the fourth. British producer Alison Owen focused her 40-minute talk at the Curzon Soho Cinema on "The Power Of The Story" and exhorted the film industry not to be afraid of the internet, but rather embrace its potential because “the internet is a container, not a substance.” (Previous keynote speakers were James Schamus, Ken Loach and, last year, Harvey Weinstein.)Among Owen’s extensive credits are "Elizabeth," "Sylvia," "The Other Boleyn Girl," Cary Fukunaga’s 2011 adaptation of "Jane Eyre" and "Saving Mr Banks," which closes this year’s festival. The British producer had only arrived from South Africa at 6.30am that morning, having come directly from the set of Phillip Noyce’s sci-fi fantasy "The Giver," which stars Alexander Skarsgard,...

Producer Alison Owen says it is “crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies”.Scroll down for full speech

Alison Owen, managing director of Ruby Film and Television, has used her keynote speech at the BFI London Film Festival to defend the art of movie storytelling and play down the threat of the internet.

Speaking at the Curzon Soho this afternoon, Owen said: “There’s many a Cassandra touting the death of the movie industry. But is that true?

“It is crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies… The problem is not technology per se but the management of that technology – and the lack of a pervasive business model.”

Using YouTube clips such as “Charlie bit my finger”, Owen said such content was “incredibly simple” and that “people still want good stories”.

“As digital comes of age, there’s going to be more and more demand for content,” she said.

“If...

Producer Alison Owen says it is “crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies”.Scroll down for full speech

Alison Owen, managing director of Ruby Film and Television, has used her keynote speech at the BFI London Film Festival to defend the art of movie storytelling and play down the threat of the internet.

Speaking at the Curzon Soho this afternoon, Owen said: “There’s many a Cassandra touting the death of the movie industry. But is that true?

“It is crazy to say the internet is going to kill off movies… The problem is not technology per se but the management of that technology – and the lack of a pervasive business model.”

Using YouTube clips such as “Charlie bit my finger”, Owen said such content was “incredibly simple” and that “people still want good stories”.

“As digital comes of age, there’s going to be more and more demand for content,” she said.

“If...

It’s amazing to discover that Sarah Jessica Parker hasn’t appeared on the New York stage in 12 years (!), which was right in the midst of her celebrated turn as Carrie Bradshaw in HBO’s Sex and the City.

Meanwhile, uptown…(hee hee), it is quite a big deal that NYC has her back, starring in a brand-new play called The Commons of Pensacola, written by none other than actress Amanda Peet (The Good Wife) — making her stage debut as a playwright — with a tale of a woman (Parker) reconnecting with her her mother, who has been forced out of living a luxurious lifestyle.

There are so many excellent movie duos out there. Magneto and Charles. Neal and Del. Harry and Lloyd. Susan and David. Norman and Norma. Jules and Vincent. Vincent and Max. Thelma and Louise. Damiel and Marion. Jay and Silent Bob. Joel and Clementine. Clarice and Hannibal. Celie and Nettie. Bruce and Alfred. Dad and Junior. Mason and Goodspeed. Young-goon and Il-sun. Threepio and R2. Blade and Whistler. Rachel and Frank. Wayne and Garth. Lieberman and Mengele. Riggs and Murtaugh. Harold and Maude. Raph and Casey. Faye and Cop 663. Marty and Doc. Doc and Clara. Cliff and Peevy. Martin and Clifford. John and Tars. Powell and Caulder.

Like ensembles, quartets, or trios, duos can be truly epic in their own ways. There’s nothing like watching two characters develop through one another.

There also seem to be almost just as many great movie duos based on real life. I don’t...

Fleming is a televised mini-series biography based on Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond. Dominic Cooper plays the title character, and as you'll see in the teaser, the series is going to link Fleming's life with his super spy creation. Fleming was not only an author, but he was also a Navy intelligence man who had some spy experiences of his own. This looks like it could be a great series!

The series was directed by Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo) from a script written by John Brownlow (Sylvia) and Don MacPherson (Entrapment). Here's a description of the series:

"Fleming takes a no holds barred look at Ian Fleming, the man behind the James Bond legend whose real life was as exciting, eventful and sexually charged as his famous creation. Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double, An Education, The History Boys, Mamma Mia) will play Ian Fleming,...

Dominic Cooper ("Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "The Devil’s Double") stars as a suave real life spy (and author) in BBC America's new miniseries about Ian Fleming, the man who created the James Bond novel series loosely inspired by his own life. "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond" offers a no-holds-barred look at Fleming's thrilling and titilating life as a wealthy, pleasure-seeking charmer turned Word War II Naval Intelligence officer who took part in an outrageous counter-intellgance mission against the Nazis that would later inform the Bond franchise. The four-part coproduction, which will be set in the war-torn yet wild and permissive society of 1940s London, is directed by Mat Whitecross ("The Road to Guantanamo") and written by John Brownlow ("Sylvia") and Don MacPherson ("Entrapment"). The cast includes Lara Pulver ("Sherlock"), Annabelle Wallis ("The Tudors"), Lesley Manville ("Another Year"), Anna Chancellor ("The Hour") and Samuel West ("Hyde Park on.