Chris Pine made an anti-style statement at the Los Angeles premiere of Poolman to celebrate his directing debut at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles.
Pine decided to go with a look that no one would ever expect on the red carpet. He rocked a tan jacket with a flower pin, denim shorts and brown boots. He showed his love for Los Angeles with a white shirt, reading, “I heart L.A.”
In the film, Pine stars as an amateur detective in the City of Angels, trying to solve a mystery.
In 2018, Pine spoke about acting in the nude for the film Outlaw King on The Graham Norton Show and shared other people’s reactions.
“I bear the ‘full monty,’ and it got a lot of attention,” he said. “I thought the witty reviews were brilliant, but what struck me most was that Florence Pugh bears everything, too, and no one commented.
Pine decided to go with a look that no one would ever expect on the red carpet. He rocked a tan jacket with a flower pin, denim shorts and brown boots. He showed his love for Los Angeles with a white shirt, reading, “I heart L.A.”
In the film, Pine stars as an amateur detective in the City of Angels, trying to solve a mystery.
In 2018, Pine spoke about acting in the nude for the film Outlaw King on The Graham Norton Show and shared other people’s reactions.
“I bear the ‘full monty,’ and it got a lot of attention,” he said. “I thought the witty reviews were brilliant, but what struck me most was that Florence Pugh bears everything, too, and no one commented.
- 5/2/2024
- by Gianna Stephens
- Uinterview
Romantic comedies are back, baby! After the success of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s Anyone but You and Lindsay Lohan’s Irish Wish, studios’ wallets are pitter-patting for amor with a touch of giggle juice. Netflix is coming into Monday with a first look at the streamer’s upcoming romantic comedy A Family Affair, starring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King.
Richard Lagravenese directs A Family Affair from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon. The tangled web of emotions revolves around a surprising romance that kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother, and her movie star boss as they face the complications of love, sex, and identity. Liza Koshy and the legendary Kathy Bates also star.
Netflix’s first look at A Family Affair includes a gallery of stills from the movie showing the primary players sorting their emotions, medical mishaps, and, if I’m not mistaken,...
Richard Lagravenese directs A Family Affair from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon. The tangled web of emotions revolves around a surprising romance that kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother, and her movie star boss as they face the complications of love, sex, and identity. Liza Koshy and the legendary Kathy Bates also star.
Netflix’s first look at A Family Affair includes a gallery of stills from the movie showing the primary players sorting their emotions, medical mishaps, and, if I’m not mistaken,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Robert Downey Jr. stars as not one, but four characters in HBO’s newest thriller series, “The Sympathizer.”
The limited series, which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel of the same name, follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy as he hides his identity from a refugee community in Los Angeles during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Keep on reading for the full breakdown of all the characters in “The Sympathizer,” and where you’ve seen each actor before.
Hoa Xuande in “The Sympathizer.” (Hopper Stone/HBO)
Hoa Xuande as The Captain
Hoa Xuande stars as the Captain, a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in a refugee community in Los Angeles. His dual identities prompt him to get caught between his conflicting loyalties and contradicting desires.
Xuande has been featured in “Last King of the Cross,” “A Stitch in Time,” “Cowboy Bebop” and “Hungry Ghosts.
The limited series, which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel of the same name, follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy as he hides his identity from a refugee community in Los Angeles during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Keep on reading for the full breakdown of all the characters in “The Sympathizer,” and where you’ve seen each actor before.
Hoa Xuande in “The Sympathizer.” (Hopper Stone/HBO)
Hoa Xuande as The Captain
Hoa Xuande stars as the Captain, a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in a refugee community in Los Angeles. His dual identities prompt him to get caught between his conflicting loyalties and contradicting desires.
Xuande has been featured in “Last King of the Cross,” “A Stitch in Time,” “Cowboy Bebop” and “Hungry Ghosts.
- 4/15/2024
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
The comic book "The Crow," created by James O'Barr in 1989, should be considered a seminal work in the then-growing Goth movement. The comics were about a man named Eric who was engaged to a woman named Shelly. One evening, Eric and Shelly are savagely beaten and assaulted. Eric is shot in the head but remains alive long enough to witness Shelly's horrible murder.
His story doesn't end there. The titular Crow appears over Eric's body and magically resurrects him, sending him on a quest for blood revenge. The unspeaking crow seems to want Eric to kill the punks that murdered Shelly, but also seemingly chastises him for brooding and remaining hung up on Shelly's death. Be angry, brood, but do not brood, and do not be angry. It's super-Goth. The comic was popular enough to warrant a celebrated film adaptation in 1994 starring Brandon Lee and directed by Alex Proyas. The film was ultra-stylized,...
His story doesn't end there. The titular Crow appears over Eric's body and magically resurrects him, sending him on a quest for blood revenge. The unspeaking crow seems to want Eric to kill the punks that murdered Shelly, but also seemingly chastises him for brooding and remaining hung up on Shelly's death. Be angry, brood, but do not brood, and do not be angry. It's super-Goth. The comic was popular enough to warrant a celebrated film adaptation in 1994 starring Brandon Lee and directed by Alex Proyas. The film was ultra-stylized,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Nicolas Cage was one of the presenters at the Academy Awards for the Best Actor category, and while his colleagues weaved lyrical introductions for the other nominees, the Ghost Rider star chose to make a joke about Paul Giamatti.
Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers
The latter starred in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers as Paul Hunham, a classics professor at the all-male boarding school Barton Academy. The comedy-drama film was nominated in five Oscars categories, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Nicolas Cage Cracks A Joke About Paul Giamatti’s Lazy Eye At The Oscars
Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers
During the Oscars Best Actor introduction, actor Nicolas Cage revealed how Paul Giamatti got his lazy eye in The Holdovers. He took a jab at his method acting and admitted he would also do the same (via Deadline Hollywood):
“This past year, Paul Giamatti was so committed that...
Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers
The latter starred in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers as Paul Hunham, a classics professor at the all-male boarding school Barton Academy. The comedy-drama film was nominated in five Oscars categories, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Nicolas Cage Cracks A Joke About Paul Giamatti’s Lazy Eye At The Oscars
Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers
During the Oscars Best Actor introduction, actor Nicolas Cage revealed how Paul Giamatti got his lazy eye in The Holdovers. He took a jab at his method acting and admitted he would also do the same (via Deadline Hollywood):
“This past year, Paul Giamatti was so committed that...
- 3/11/2024
- by Ariane Cruz
- FandomWire
In 1982, anthropologist Wade Davis traveled to Haiti on a mission: to investigate documented cases of zombiism, specifically cases of people who had been declared dead but who then miraculously came back to life. Davis immersed himself in the very real world of Haitian voodoo, witnessing an array of unbelievable rituals and fascinating rites, prompting him to write the book The Serpent and the Rainbow, which would go on to become a bestseller. Referred to in certain circles as a sort of real life Indiana Jones, Davis’ profile rose and, of course, Hollywood came calling, hoping his tales of voodoo and mystery might translate into a spectacular big screen adventure. Davis was wary of Hollywood and worried the adaptation of his book would bastardize his accounts, but hoped if the right people were involved, his story would be given a respectable treatment. As is often the case in the City of Angels,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Eric Walkuski
- JoBlo.com
Sunday Am: Grosses haven’t changed seismically from yesterday in what is hopefully the last less-than-$70M weekend for a while. Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love is coming in at $13.5M, -53%, for a $71.1M total by Eod. But here’s the short and sweet takeaway from today: Exhibition (and studios) scream that they need product coming out of Covid, and even more so after the strikes turned the first half of the 2024 theatrical release calendar inside out. But there’s the deal: There were three wide releases this weekend — three.
Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training did its job, bringing its fanbase out and opening to $11.6M. Great for TV episodes on the big screen, and higher than Demon Slayer‘s $10.1M start last August.
But two other movies –a very highly reviewed faith-based Kingdom Story movie, Ordinary Angels, and a prolific star-studded Focus Features, Ethan Coen-directed movie, Drive-Away Dolls, (which was getting pushed to theater owners as early as last CinemaCon) were respectively meh ($6.5M opening for a $12M-$13M movie) and ‘Christ, really?’ ($2.4M start off a $20M negative pick-up cost; shockingly lower than the $3.69M of Focus’ fresh face genre pic Lisa Frankenstein).
Ordinary Angels‘ not over-performing off its great diagnostics is perplexing, and Drive-Away Dolls failure apparently gets pinned on the fact that it’s a bad movie.
But here’s the long-winded point, and this relates to both Ordinary Angels and Drive-Away Dolls: In this post- pandemic environment, studios are cutting their marketing expenses, not really aiming for any type of robust theatrical number, so that they can get these movies into the downstream home entertainment windows where they break-even or perhaps make a little money. If no muscle is provided in sending a message to audiences that these titles should be seen in a theater, and a studio just automatically expects people to show up, then what hope is there for counterprogramming on the big screen?
It’s clear on these smaller films, theatrical is just merely being used as a form of advertising to tell people to watch these movies at home. Hey?! Why am I picking on these two little guys? Because a big deal was made back in the fall to protect these movies and move them away from a strike environment where actors couldn’t promote (Ordinary Angels says it moved because of Taylor Swift). Now, both titles open and they’re putting up box office that’s akin to opening in a strike-laden marketplace. Which begs the question of how much oomph was put behind them.
There’s something else going on with Ordinary Angels. Why did Jesus Revolution rally to a $15M opening, and not this? It had Jesus in the title. Quite often, what makes a faith-based film catapult to another stratosphere is its faithful-per-minute moment. Ordinary Angels doesn’t have that 100%, and that’s what is keeping the churchgoers at bay, despite the fact that this drama was screened a lot.
In the case of Drive-Away Dolls, Focus cut a fun trailer. And they chose a good date with a vacancy on the calendar. But apparently, both weren’t good enough to spur traffic to this Margaret Qualley, Beanie Feldstein, Geraldine Viswanathan, Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon romp. As far as the movie not doing more business, a major studio isn’t going to throw good money after bad and strain to rein in an audience on a title that has these types of audience scores (although critics were Ok with the movie at 65% fresh).
Any studio executive who is preaching about a diverse film slate and more non-tentpole films to bring moviegoers back — it’s not happening unless you financially support these movies and make them niche draws.
We’ll have the chart soon in what will be a crazy Indie Spirit Awards and PGA Awards fun-filled day in the City of Angels.
Speaking of supporting counterprogramming — raise a glass to Sony for getting the comeback romcom Anyone But You over the $200M global mark. The $25M production is going to make more profit than the Culver City’s lot beaten-down Madame Web.
1.) Bob Marley: One Love (Par) 3,597 (+58) theaters, Fri $3.7M Sat $6M Sun $3.78M 3-day $13.5M (-53%) Total $71.1M/Wk 2
2.) Demon Slayer…(Sony) 1,949 theaters Fri $5.5M Sat $3.5M Sun $2.5M 3-day $11.6M/Wk 1
3.) Ordinary Angels (LG) 3,020 theaters Fri $2.33M Sat $2.32M Sun $1.85M 3-day $6.5M/Wk 1
4.) Madame Web (Sony) 4,013 theaters, Fri $1.6M Sat $2.6M Sun $1.7M 3-day $6M (-61%) Total $35.4M/Wk 2
5.) Migration (Ill/Uni) 2,434 (-21) Fri $660K Sat $1.36M Sun $980K 3-day $3M (-22%) Total $120.4M/ Wk 10
6.) Argylle (App/Uni) 3,060 (-587) theaters, Fri $740K Sat $1.27M Sun $790K 3-day $2.8M (-43%) Total $41.6M/ Wk 4
7.) Wonka (WB) 2,203 (-144) theaters, Fri $605K Sat $1.17M Sun $760K 3-day $2.53M (-28%) Total $214.5M/Wk 11
8.) Drive-Away Dolls (Foc) 2,280 theaters Fri $1M Sat $840K Sun $550K 3-day $2.4M/Wk 1
9.) The Beekeeper (Amz MGM) 2,157 (-400) theaters, Fri $504K Sat $911K Sun $547K 3-day $1.96M (-39%) Total $63.1M/Wk 7
10.) Chosen Season 4, Eps 4-6 (Fath) 2,090 (-138) theaters Fri $518K Sat $747K Sun $530K 3-day $1.79M (-50%), Total $7.8M /Wk 2
Saturday Am Writethru after Friday night post: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love remains on uppers at the weekend box office with a $3.7M Friday, and a 3-day of $13.95M at 3,597 theaters, -51% which will get the Reinaldo Marcus Green directed title to $71.6M by Sunday. Through yesterday, global is already at $101.1M. That’s a great piece of counterprogramming business in a struggling marketplace. Say what you will, S&P Global about putting Paramount Global on “credit watch negative,” but the film studio has a vibrant theatrical release schedule this year with Gladiator 2, Quiet Place: Day, If and Smile 2 to name a few.
Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training which is not a movie, but “is the last episode (episode 11) of the Swordsmith Village Arc and the first episode of the Hashira Training Arc” is looking at $10.8M after a $5.5M Friday (including those $1.8M previews) at 1,949 locations. I’m told that some of the fanboys here were also customers of Sony’s Madame Web last weekend.
Demon Slayer devotees gave this edition a B+, which is the same grade they gave last year’s big screen version of the anime toon. ComScore/Screen Engine PostTrak audiences gave it an 84% positive and a 68% definite recommend. Male leaning at 66% with 75% of those who bought tickets between 18-34 and 25-34 the biggest demo at 45%. Diversity demos were 43% Latino and Hispanic, 23% Caucasian, 13% Black and 14% Asian. IMAX and Plf screens are responsible for a third of the weekend’s ticket sales as Demon Slayer slayed in South Central, West and Mountain regions. AMC Burbank is the highest grossing theater so far with a near $19K since Thursday.
Thank God for Crunchyroll during depressed times at the box office; they can fill the void. However, the overall box office stands at $64M, -32% from a year ago. March couldn’t get here any faster with Dune Part Two.
Third goes to Lionsgate/Kingdom Story’s Ordinary Angels, which despite an awesome A+ CinemaScore (typical for a faith-based movie), solid reviews at 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a 100% Rt audience score — isn’t wildly overperforming. Right now a $2.3M Friday is yielding a $6.5M result in third place. The reason why some believed this could beat its $5M-$7M projection is because faith-based audiences often fly under the radar of tracking services. Last February’s Kingdom Story movie, Jesus Revolution, hit a homerun with a $15.8M opening and $52.1M. Where’s the seat fillers?
It’s odd considering there was positive chatter for Ordinary Angels from RelishMix: “Audiences who are drawn to see Reacher star Alan Ritchson headlining the film, appreciate the different type of performance than his action-oriented roles and there’ enthusiasm to see Hilary Swank return to theaters.” However, the social media metric company does report, “Ordinary Angels social media universe stats run -31% under indie-drama norms at 38.1M across Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok combined.”
Right now, Spider-Man clairvoyant Madame Web is showing a -64% second frame drop (which is bad though not as atrocious as Marvels -78% second weekend freefall or Sony/Marvel’s Morbius‘ -74%) with an estimated $5.56M in 4th place at 4,013 theaters after a $1.5M Friday. She’ll stand at $35M by Sunday. Still, both Marvels and Morbius look like crowdpleasers next to Madame Web respectively at $84.5M and $73.8M domestic finals. Let’s not put lipstick on this. If you’re going to make a superhero movie going forward, really focus on it in development and hire solid directors. The theatrical business can’t afford cookie-cutter any more.
Universal’s tenth weekend of Illumination’s Migration continues to nest in the top five at 2,422 theaters with a $700K Friday, $3.3M weekend, -14%, $120.7M by Sunday. Given the lack of family animated movies, many are betting big on Uni/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 when it hits in the post Dune 2 slot of March 8. A $50M opening wouldn’t be shocking.
And in the dust is Focus Features’ Ethan Coen directed title Drive-Away Dolls at 2,279 theaters with a $1M Friday (including previews) for a $2.5M opening. That start is lower than Focus Features’ Lisa Frankenstein ($3.69M), and that Zelda Williams-directed movie cost less ($13M) than what Drive-Away Dolls was acquired for. I hear that Lisa Frankenstein (with a gross of $8.8M through yesterday), will wind up making a little profit for Focus at the end of the day. Sure, there’s a big difference in demand when two Coen Brothers’ names show up in the trailer instead of one. It’s not often that a Coen Brothers movie goes wide in its first weekend, and in the case of when a studio doesn’t platform a title, it means they have to segue a movie quick from theatrical into home ancillary markets so that it makes money. With a 66% Rt critic score and current 37% audience score, you can see why Focus went wide and fast with this one.
RelishMix notes that as far as the social media wattage for Drive-Away Dolls, which counts 73M followers, that “Star power on the film sits in the wings as most of the star cast are non-social or not activated.”
RelishMix on the social media reaction to the movie, “Though the appearances of Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon are exciting fans, some are bemoaning that their roles are likely small and being overly used to promote the film. Many compared the film to ‘Dumb and Dumber but with females’, while some argued that the film is derivative, saying ‘Even though it’s new, I feel like I’ve already seen this movie.'”
Friday Am: Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training had the most action among three wide entries last night in previews with $1.8M from 1,870 locations that started showtimes at 4Pm. That was boosted, in standard Sony/Crunchyroll fashion, by PLFs and Imax. The movie is only suppose to do in the high single digits this weekend, much lower than other Demon Slayer movies as it’s a TV episode that’s been streamed on Crunchyroll, just shown on the big screen for the first time. In sum, it’s not a movie. 2021’s Demon Slayer movie posted $3.8M in previews.
Hilary Swank in ‘Ordinary Angels’
Lionsgate/Kingdom Story’s faith-based Hilary Swank drama Ordinary Angels saw $285K off previews that began at 6Pm. While that’s low, there’s hope that this movie could over exceed its $5M-$7M projection given its pretty good reviews of 78% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. We’ll see.
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan in ‘Drive-Away Dolls’
Focus Features has the Ethan Coen directed comedy caper Drive-Away Dolls. They moved the movie out of the fall due to the actors strike so that it has a shot at some livelihood. Despite a NYC premiere and reviews at 68% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes — it has none. So much, that the distributor isn’t reporting preview grosses today. That means the movie made less than the $700K they did report for Lisa Frankenstein on its previews, however that included previews outside Thursday. Oy. Industry estimates are figuring around $450K. Lisa Frankenstein with its fresh face cast opened to $3.6M; and Drive-Away Dolls could be lower or about the same. How is that possible? Coen Brother=hip. Margaret Qualley, Beanie Feldstein, Geraldine Viswanathan and Matt Damon=hip. Tracker Quorum reports, “Sadly, Focus struggled to build awareness for the film. Dolls arrives in theaters with only 20% awareness. Of the 17 films over the past two years with awareness of 20% or lower, none opened above $4M. That’s a challenging trend to buck.”
‘Bob Marley: One Love,’ and ‘Madame Web’
As we told you, it’s Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love which will keep everyone together at cinemas this weekend with around $15M, -45%. The pic had a great Thursday hold, -4% from Wednesday with $1.6M ending its running total through nine days at $57.6M at 3,539 theaters. That’s 25% ahead of Rocketman through nine days, and that movie ended its domestic run at $96.3M.
Sony/Marvel’s Madame Web eased 9% on Thursday with $786K at 4,013 ending its nine-day run with $29.4M. If the panned femme superhero movie is lucky, it will only ease -55% this weekend for a $6.8M. That would be mindboggling.
Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training did its job, bringing its fanbase out and opening to $11.6M. Great for TV episodes on the big screen, and higher than Demon Slayer‘s $10.1M start last August.
But two other movies –a very highly reviewed faith-based Kingdom Story movie, Ordinary Angels, and a prolific star-studded Focus Features, Ethan Coen-directed movie, Drive-Away Dolls, (which was getting pushed to theater owners as early as last CinemaCon) were respectively meh ($6.5M opening for a $12M-$13M movie) and ‘Christ, really?’ ($2.4M start off a $20M negative pick-up cost; shockingly lower than the $3.69M of Focus’ fresh face genre pic Lisa Frankenstein).
Ordinary Angels‘ not over-performing off its great diagnostics is perplexing, and Drive-Away Dolls failure apparently gets pinned on the fact that it’s a bad movie.
But here’s the long-winded point, and this relates to both Ordinary Angels and Drive-Away Dolls: In this post- pandemic environment, studios are cutting their marketing expenses, not really aiming for any type of robust theatrical number, so that they can get these movies into the downstream home entertainment windows where they break-even or perhaps make a little money. If no muscle is provided in sending a message to audiences that these titles should be seen in a theater, and a studio just automatically expects people to show up, then what hope is there for counterprogramming on the big screen?
It’s clear on these smaller films, theatrical is just merely being used as a form of advertising to tell people to watch these movies at home. Hey?! Why am I picking on these two little guys? Because a big deal was made back in the fall to protect these movies and move them away from a strike environment where actors couldn’t promote (Ordinary Angels says it moved because of Taylor Swift). Now, both titles open and they’re putting up box office that’s akin to opening in a strike-laden marketplace. Which begs the question of how much oomph was put behind them.
There’s something else going on with Ordinary Angels. Why did Jesus Revolution rally to a $15M opening, and not this? It had Jesus in the title. Quite often, what makes a faith-based film catapult to another stratosphere is its faithful-per-minute moment. Ordinary Angels doesn’t have that 100%, and that’s what is keeping the churchgoers at bay, despite the fact that this drama was screened a lot.
In the case of Drive-Away Dolls, Focus cut a fun trailer. And they chose a good date with a vacancy on the calendar. But apparently, both weren’t good enough to spur traffic to this Margaret Qualley, Beanie Feldstein, Geraldine Viswanathan, Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon romp. As far as the movie not doing more business, a major studio isn’t going to throw good money after bad and strain to rein in an audience on a title that has these types of audience scores (although critics were Ok with the movie at 65% fresh).
Any studio executive who is preaching about a diverse film slate and more non-tentpole films to bring moviegoers back — it’s not happening unless you financially support these movies and make them niche draws.
We’ll have the chart soon in what will be a crazy Indie Spirit Awards and PGA Awards fun-filled day in the City of Angels.
Speaking of supporting counterprogramming — raise a glass to Sony for getting the comeback romcom Anyone But You over the $200M global mark. The $25M production is going to make more profit than the Culver City’s lot beaten-down Madame Web.
1.) Bob Marley: One Love (Par) 3,597 (+58) theaters, Fri $3.7M Sat $6M Sun $3.78M 3-day $13.5M (-53%) Total $71.1M/Wk 2
2.) Demon Slayer…(Sony) 1,949 theaters Fri $5.5M Sat $3.5M Sun $2.5M 3-day $11.6M/Wk 1
3.) Ordinary Angels (LG) 3,020 theaters Fri $2.33M Sat $2.32M Sun $1.85M 3-day $6.5M/Wk 1
4.) Madame Web (Sony) 4,013 theaters, Fri $1.6M Sat $2.6M Sun $1.7M 3-day $6M (-61%) Total $35.4M/Wk 2
5.) Migration (Ill/Uni) 2,434 (-21) Fri $660K Sat $1.36M Sun $980K 3-day $3M (-22%) Total $120.4M/ Wk 10
6.) Argylle (App/Uni) 3,060 (-587) theaters, Fri $740K Sat $1.27M Sun $790K 3-day $2.8M (-43%) Total $41.6M/ Wk 4
7.) Wonka (WB) 2,203 (-144) theaters, Fri $605K Sat $1.17M Sun $760K 3-day $2.53M (-28%) Total $214.5M/Wk 11
8.) Drive-Away Dolls (Foc) 2,280 theaters Fri $1M Sat $840K Sun $550K 3-day $2.4M/Wk 1
9.) The Beekeeper (Amz MGM) 2,157 (-400) theaters, Fri $504K Sat $911K Sun $547K 3-day $1.96M (-39%) Total $63.1M/Wk 7
10.) Chosen Season 4, Eps 4-6 (Fath) 2,090 (-138) theaters Fri $518K Sat $747K Sun $530K 3-day $1.79M (-50%), Total $7.8M /Wk 2
Saturday Am Writethru after Friday night post: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love remains on uppers at the weekend box office with a $3.7M Friday, and a 3-day of $13.95M at 3,597 theaters, -51% which will get the Reinaldo Marcus Green directed title to $71.6M by Sunday. Through yesterday, global is already at $101.1M. That’s a great piece of counterprogramming business in a struggling marketplace. Say what you will, S&P Global about putting Paramount Global on “credit watch negative,” but the film studio has a vibrant theatrical release schedule this year with Gladiator 2, Quiet Place: Day, If and Smile 2 to name a few.
Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training which is not a movie, but “is the last episode (episode 11) of the Swordsmith Village Arc and the first episode of the Hashira Training Arc” is looking at $10.8M after a $5.5M Friday (including those $1.8M previews) at 1,949 locations. I’m told that some of the fanboys here were also customers of Sony’s Madame Web last weekend.
Demon Slayer devotees gave this edition a B+, which is the same grade they gave last year’s big screen version of the anime toon. ComScore/Screen Engine PostTrak audiences gave it an 84% positive and a 68% definite recommend. Male leaning at 66% with 75% of those who bought tickets between 18-34 and 25-34 the biggest demo at 45%. Diversity demos were 43% Latino and Hispanic, 23% Caucasian, 13% Black and 14% Asian. IMAX and Plf screens are responsible for a third of the weekend’s ticket sales as Demon Slayer slayed in South Central, West and Mountain regions. AMC Burbank is the highest grossing theater so far with a near $19K since Thursday.
Thank God for Crunchyroll during depressed times at the box office; they can fill the void. However, the overall box office stands at $64M, -32% from a year ago. March couldn’t get here any faster with Dune Part Two.
Third goes to Lionsgate/Kingdom Story’s Ordinary Angels, which despite an awesome A+ CinemaScore (typical for a faith-based movie), solid reviews at 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a 100% Rt audience score — isn’t wildly overperforming. Right now a $2.3M Friday is yielding a $6.5M result in third place. The reason why some believed this could beat its $5M-$7M projection is because faith-based audiences often fly under the radar of tracking services. Last February’s Kingdom Story movie, Jesus Revolution, hit a homerun with a $15.8M opening and $52.1M. Where’s the seat fillers?
It’s odd considering there was positive chatter for Ordinary Angels from RelishMix: “Audiences who are drawn to see Reacher star Alan Ritchson headlining the film, appreciate the different type of performance than his action-oriented roles and there’ enthusiasm to see Hilary Swank return to theaters.” However, the social media metric company does report, “Ordinary Angels social media universe stats run -31% under indie-drama norms at 38.1M across Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok combined.”
Right now, Spider-Man clairvoyant Madame Web is showing a -64% second frame drop (which is bad though not as atrocious as Marvels -78% second weekend freefall or Sony/Marvel’s Morbius‘ -74%) with an estimated $5.56M in 4th place at 4,013 theaters after a $1.5M Friday. She’ll stand at $35M by Sunday. Still, both Marvels and Morbius look like crowdpleasers next to Madame Web respectively at $84.5M and $73.8M domestic finals. Let’s not put lipstick on this. If you’re going to make a superhero movie going forward, really focus on it in development and hire solid directors. The theatrical business can’t afford cookie-cutter any more.
Universal’s tenth weekend of Illumination’s Migration continues to nest in the top five at 2,422 theaters with a $700K Friday, $3.3M weekend, -14%, $120.7M by Sunday. Given the lack of family animated movies, many are betting big on Uni/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 when it hits in the post Dune 2 slot of March 8. A $50M opening wouldn’t be shocking.
And in the dust is Focus Features’ Ethan Coen directed title Drive-Away Dolls at 2,279 theaters with a $1M Friday (including previews) for a $2.5M opening. That start is lower than Focus Features’ Lisa Frankenstein ($3.69M), and that Zelda Williams-directed movie cost less ($13M) than what Drive-Away Dolls was acquired for. I hear that Lisa Frankenstein (with a gross of $8.8M through yesterday), will wind up making a little profit for Focus at the end of the day. Sure, there’s a big difference in demand when two Coen Brothers’ names show up in the trailer instead of one. It’s not often that a Coen Brothers movie goes wide in its first weekend, and in the case of when a studio doesn’t platform a title, it means they have to segue a movie quick from theatrical into home ancillary markets so that it makes money. With a 66% Rt critic score and current 37% audience score, you can see why Focus went wide and fast with this one.
RelishMix notes that as far as the social media wattage for Drive-Away Dolls, which counts 73M followers, that “Star power on the film sits in the wings as most of the star cast are non-social or not activated.”
RelishMix on the social media reaction to the movie, “Though the appearances of Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon are exciting fans, some are bemoaning that their roles are likely small and being overly used to promote the film. Many compared the film to ‘Dumb and Dumber but with females’, while some argued that the film is derivative, saying ‘Even though it’s new, I feel like I’ve already seen this movie.'”
Friday Am: Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training had the most action among three wide entries last night in previews with $1.8M from 1,870 locations that started showtimes at 4Pm. That was boosted, in standard Sony/Crunchyroll fashion, by PLFs and Imax. The movie is only suppose to do in the high single digits this weekend, much lower than other Demon Slayer movies as it’s a TV episode that’s been streamed on Crunchyroll, just shown on the big screen for the first time. In sum, it’s not a movie. 2021’s Demon Slayer movie posted $3.8M in previews.
Hilary Swank in ‘Ordinary Angels’
Lionsgate/Kingdom Story’s faith-based Hilary Swank drama Ordinary Angels saw $285K off previews that began at 6Pm. While that’s low, there’s hope that this movie could over exceed its $5M-$7M projection given its pretty good reviews of 78% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. We’ll see.
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan in ‘Drive-Away Dolls’
Focus Features has the Ethan Coen directed comedy caper Drive-Away Dolls. They moved the movie out of the fall due to the actors strike so that it has a shot at some livelihood. Despite a NYC premiere and reviews at 68% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes — it has none. So much, that the distributor isn’t reporting preview grosses today. That means the movie made less than the $700K they did report for Lisa Frankenstein on its previews, however that included previews outside Thursday. Oy. Industry estimates are figuring around $450K. Lisa Frankenstein with its fresh face cast opened to $3.6M; and Drive-Away Dolls could be lower or about the same. How is that possible? Coen Brother=hip. Margaret Qualley, Beanie Feldstein, Geraldine Viswanathan and Matt Damon=hip. Tracker Quorum reports, “Sadly, Focus struggled to build awareness for the film. Dolls arrives in theaters with only 20% awareness. Of the 17 films over the past two years with awareness of 20% or lower, none opened above $4M. That’s a challenging trend to buck.”
‘Bob Marley: One Love,’ and ‘Madame Web’
As we told you, it’s Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love which will keep everyone together at cinemas this weekend with around $15M, -45%. The pic had a great Thursday hold, -4% from Wednesday with $1.6M ending its running total through nine days at $57.6M at 3,539 theaters. That’s 25% ahead of Rocketman through nine days, and that movie ended its domestic run at $96.3M.
Sony/Marvel’s Madame Web eased 9% on Thursday with $786K at 4,013 ending its nine-day run with $29.4M. If the panned femme superhero movie is lucky, it will only ease -55% this weekend for a $6.8M. That would be mindboggling.
- 2/25/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Whether you consider The Crow: City of Angels cursed or simply made in bad taste by a studio (Dimension Films) that couldn’t care less, a rewatch more than twenty years later is a real eye-opener in terms of the film as a standalone experience.
I remember being a kid who thought Brandon Lee as The Crow was one of the coolest things I’d ever witnessed in my life. For the record, I still feel that way. For years we donned black and white face makeup on Halloween night. Hell, the wrestler Sting is still doing it. I don’t know how adults reacted to The Crow at the time but I know us eleven-year-olds were rocked by it.
I bring this up because two years later I would leave the theater immensely bummed out after witnessing The Crow: City of Angels.
I remember hating the movie and vowing...
I remember being a kid who thought Brandon Lee as The Crow was one of the coolest things I’d ever witnessed in my life. For the record, I still feel that way. For years we donned black and white face makeup on Halloween night. Hell, the wrestler Sting is still doing it. I don’t know how adults reacted to The Crow at the time but I know us eleven-year-olds were rocked by it.
I bring this up because two years later I would leave the theater immensely bummed out after witnessing The Crow: City of Angels.
I remember hating the movie and vowing...
- 2/22/2024
- by Mike Holtz
- bloody-disgusting.com
Elton’s Prada has found its Devil: Vanessa Williams has been cast as Miranda Priestly in the upcoming West End production of the Elton John-Shaina Taub stage musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.
“Don’t just sit there,” demands Williams, in character as the tyrannical magazine editor at the of a new teaser trailer. “Buy tickets. Or something.”
The long-anticipated The Devil Wears Prada opens October 24 at the Dominion Theatre in London.
Williams, who played the similarly chic Wilhelmina Slater in TV’s Ugly Betty, said in a statement, “Bringing Miranda Priestly to life in the West End is an absolute dream come true. Gird your loins, folks.”
No stranger to the stage, Williams made her West End debut in 2019 in a revival of City of Angels, and has appeared on Broadway in Into the Woods, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Trip to Bountiful, After Midnight,...
“Don’t just sit there,” demands Williams, in character as the tyrannical magazine editor at the of a new teaser trailer. “Buy tickets. Or something.”
The long-anticipated The Devil Wears Prada opens October 24 at the Dominion Theatre in London.
Williams, who played the similarly chic Wilhelmina Slater in TV’s Ugly Betty, said in a statement, “Bringing Miranda Priestly to life in the West End is an absolute dream come true. Gird your loins, folks.”
No stranger to the stage, Williams made her West End debut in 2019 in a revival of City of Angels, and has appeared on Broadway in Into the Woods, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Trip to Bountiful, After Midnight,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
On Friday, Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring. But the groundhog failed to make any such forecasts about 2024 Oscars viewers. Amateur.
Two days after Phil crawled back into whatever hole he came from, Sunday’s Grammys TV audience soared 34 percent above 2023’s telecast with an average of 16.9 million viewers — the most since the B.C. (before Covid) days. Hold our (open bar) beers, the Golden Globes said. Less than one month earlier, the Globes jumped 50 percent to 9.3 million viewers, its own best tally since the pandemic.
Should we pencil the Oscars in for a huge year? Yes and no. So, maybe. Probably. Depends on your definition of “huge.”
The 2024 Grammys and Globes took two very different paths to this point. The Grammy Awards grew from a pretty good performance the prior year; the Globes recovered from an all-time low. Both aired on CBS, the longterm home of the Grammy Awards,...
Two days after Phil crawled back into whatever hole he came from, Sunday’s Grammys TV audience soared 34 percent above 2023’s telecast with an average of 16.9 million viewers — the most since the B.C. (before Covid) days. Hold our (open bar) beers, the Golden Globes said. Less than one month earlier, the Globes jumped 50 percent to 9.3 million viewers, its own best tally since the pandemic.
Should we pencil the Oscars in for a huge year? Yes and no. So, maybe. Probably. Depends on your definition of “huge.”
The 2024 Grammys and Globes took two very different paths to this point. The Grammy Awards grew from a pretty good performance the prior year; the Globes recovered from an all-time low. Both aired on CBS, the longterm home of the Grammy Awards,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
And so the “life-changing cab ride” sub-genre expands with Driving Madeleine, directed by Christian Carion and starring Line Renaud and Dany Boon. One likes to imagine this new film exists in the same universe as all of the rest. Somewhere in Atlanta, Morgan Freeman drives Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy) and gets a handle on prejudice. Meanwhile, Winona Ryder and Gene Rowlands (Night on Earth) have reunited in Los Angeles. Elsewhere in the City of Angels, Tom Cruise has just stepped into Jamie Foxx’s car (Collateral). Finally, in North Carolina, Souléymane Sy Savané and Red West (Goodbye Solo) carry on a gentle conversation.
Carion often trades in sentimentality (see his Joyeux Noël), and Driving Madeleine is as sentimental as it gets. Cab driver Charles (Boon) is in a bad situation. His marriage is strained, he has debts he cannot pay, and he’s one traffic stop away from losing his license.
Carion often trades in sentimentality (see his Joyeux Noël), and Driving Madeleine is as sentimental as it gets. Cab driver Charles (Boon) is in a bad situation. His marriage is strained, he has debts he cannot pay, and he’s one traffic stop away from losing his license.
- 1/15/2024
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Brad Silberling's 1998 romance "City of Angels," a remake of Wim Wenders' indispensable 1987 film "Wings of Desire," stars Nicolas Cage as an immortal angel named Seth who gently breezes around Los Angeles, unseen by the people who live there. He appears to people only when they die, accompanying them to the afterworld. Observing humans as if they are an ineffable alien species, Seth becomes particularly enamored of an ambitious and compassionate young doctor named Maggie Rice. Seth finds that he might be experiencing love for the first time, and becomes visible to Dr. Rice, courting her and asking her deep questions about what it means to be human. Seth eventually chooses to transform into a human, sacrificing his immortality in order to be with his beloved.
What both Wenders and Silberling communicate with aplomb is how inhuman angels are. They live among humans but only interact when the humans die.
What both Wenders and Silberling communicate with aplomb is how inhuman angels are. They live among humans but only interact when the humans die.
- 12/31/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The year 1990 saw the release of James Ellroy’s sweeping crime novel L.A. Confidential, which Ellroy wanted to be the most epic book about L.A. ever written. In his own eyes, the author accomplished that goal, calling his own work a “masterpiece” and one he did not envision making the transition to the big screen. Not that he really cared; Ellroy was always vocal about his disinterest in seeing his books adapted into movies, as he wasn’t particularly interested in the medium.
But there was a kindred spirit who similarly loved the City of Angels, and who wanted to tell a very big story about the place where he grew up. Curtis Hanson had been a director of adequate thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild, but he was searching for a project that would allow him to tell a grand-scale story about Los Angeles.
But there was a kindred spirit who similarly loved the City of Angels, and who wanted to tell a very big story about the place where he grew up. Curtis Hanson had been a director of adequate thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild, but he was searching for a project that would allow him to tell a grand-scale story about Los Angeles.
- 12/27/2023
- by Eric Walkuski
- JoBlo.com
Throughout 2023, we have been updating our “In Memoriam” photo gallery (view above). Scroll through to remember 36 entertainers from film, television, theater and music. Many were winners at the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and/or Tonys. Here is a closer look at just a few of those we celebrate in our gallery:
Veteran actor Alan Arkin died on June 29 at age 89. He was an Oscar winner for “Little Miss Sunshine” and was also nominated for “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” and “Argo.” He was a six-time Emmy nominee and won a Tony Award for “Enter Laughing.”
Composer Burt Bacharach died on February 8 at age 94. He was a six-time Grammy winner and also won at the Oscars and Emmys. Some of hit songs included “Walk on By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “Alfie,” “What the World...
Veteran actor Alan Arkin died on June 29 at age 89. He was an Oscar winner for “Little Miss Sunshine” and was also nominated for “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” and “Argo.” He was a six-time Emmy nominee and won a Tony Award for “Enter Laughing.”
Composer Burt Bacharach died on February 8 at age 94. He was a six-time Grammy winner and also won at the Oscars and Emmys. Some of hit songs included “Walk on By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “Alfie,” “What the World...
- 12/26/2023
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Los Angeles, Dec 18 (Ians) Popstar Demi Lovato has got engaged to musician Jordan ‘Jutes’ Lutes after one year of dating.
Demi and Jordan, who went public with their romance in August 2022, got engaged on Saturday in Los Angeles, a representative for the singer confirmed, reports people.com.
Jordan, a 32-year-old songwriter, who first met Demi in January 2022 when they co-wrote her song ‘Substance’, popped the question with a bespoke pear-shape diamond solitaire engagement ring.
After a “personal and intimate proposal,” Jordan and Demi (who uses she/they pronouns) headed to Craig’s, one of their favorite L.A. restaurants, to celebrate with their families.
On Demi’s 31st birthday in August, Jordan shared a carousel of sweet selfies and silly videos paying tribute to his now-fiancée.
“Happy birthday to my best friend. you’re obvs the most beautiful and talented person to ever do it,” he captioned the post. “but...
Demi and Jordan, who went public with their romance in August 2022, got engaged on Saturday in Los Angeles, a representative for the singer confirmed, reports people.com.
Jordan, a 32-year-old songwriter, who first met Demi in January 2022 when they co-wrote her song ‘Substance’, popped the question with a bespoke pear-shape diamond solitaire engagement ring.
After a “personal and intimate proposal,” Jordan and Demi (who uses she/they pronouns) headed to Craig’s, one of their favorite L.A. restaurants, to celebrate with their families.
On Demi’s 31st birthday in August, Jordan shared a carousel of sweet selfies and silly videos paying tribute to his now-fiancée.
“Happy birthday to my best friend. you’re obvs the most beautiful and talented person to ever do it,” he captioned the post. “but...
- 12/18/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Andre Braugher’s cause of death has been revealed to be lung cancer, the actor’s publicist confirmed to Variety. Braugher died December 11 at 61 years old. At the time, his cause of death was announced as due to a “brief illness.” Braugher was only recently diagnosed with lung cancer.
Braugher was best known for performances in NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street,” for which he won an Emmy, and Fox’s sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” for which he was Emmy nominated. He also earned critical acclaim for starring opposite Ray Romano on TNT’s dramedy “Men of a Certain Age.” His additional film and TV roles included a ride variety of genres, from “City of Angels” to “Frequency,” “Poseidon,” “Primal Fear,” “Duets,” “The Mist,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” “Salt” and “The Gambler.”
In the wake of Braugher’s passing, many of his former co-stars took to social...
Braugher was best known for performances in NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street,” for which he won an Emmy, and Fox’s sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” for which he was Emmy nominated. He also earned critical acclaim for starring opposite Ray Romano on TNT’s dramedy “Men of a Certain Age.” His additional film and TV roles included a ride variety of genres, from “City of Angels” to “Frequency,” “Poseidon,” “Primal Fear,” “Duets,” “The Mist,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” “Salt” and “The Gambler.”
In the wake of Braugher’s passing, many of his former co-stars took to social...
- 12/14/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Michael Blakemore, the only director in Tony Award history to win twice in one year, died Sunday, Dec. 10, following a short illness. He was 95.
His death was announced by the London-based United Agents literary and talent agency.
An acclaimed director of both West End and Broadway productions – his formidable credits include A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1968), Noises Off (1983), City of Angels (1989), Lettice & Lovage (1990) and The Life (1997), among many others – secured his place in the Tony Award record books by becoming the first, and to date only, director to win twice in one year: In 2000, he won the award for Best Director of a Play for Copenhagen and Best Director of a Musical for the revival of Kiss Me Kate.
Born June 18, 1928, in Sydney, Australia, Blakemore made his directing debut in 1966 at the Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre, where he served as Artistic Director. His international breakthrough came in 1967 when...
His death was announced by the London-based United Agents literary and talent agency.
An acclaimed director of both West End and Broadway productions – his formidable credits include A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1968), Noises Off (1983), City of Angels (1989), Lettice & Lovage (1990) and The Life (1997), among many others – secured his place in the Tony Award record books by becoming the first, and to date only, director to win twice in one year: In 2000, he won the award for Best Director of a Play for Copenhagen and Best Director of a Musical for the revival of Kiss Me Kate.
Born June 18, 1928, in Sydney, Australia, Blakemore made his directing debut in 1966 at the Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre, where he served as Artistic Director. His international breakthrough came in 1967 when...
- 12/13/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Andre Braugher, a two-time Primetime Emmy winning actor who made two notable appearances in the Stephen King Universe, has passed away this week at the age of 61.
The actor passed away after a brief illness, CNN reported last night.
Horror fans will remember Andre Braugher as Brent Norton in Frank Darabont’s The Mist, the 2007 adaptation of a Stephen King horror story. Just three years prior, Braugher had entered the world of King by playing Matt Burke in the 2004 “Salem’s Lot” miniseries.
Braugher’s two Primetime Emmy wins came courtesy of “Homicide: Life on the Street” in 1998 and “Thief” in 2006, and he was also nominated four times for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” twice for “Men of a Certain Age,” once for “Gideon’s Crossing” and once for “The Tuskegee Airmen.”
Andre Braugher made his feature debut in the 1989 film Glory, and other notable film credits include Murder in Mississippi, Striking Distance, Primal Fear,...
The actor passed away after a brief illness, CNN reported last night.
Horror fans will remember Andre Braugher as Brent Norton in Frank Darabont’s The Mist, the 2007 adaptation of a Stephen King horror story. Just three years prior, Braugher had entered the world of King by playing Matt Burke in the 2004 “Salem’s Lot” miniseries.
Braugher’s two Primetime Emmy wins came courtesy of “Homicide: Life on the Street” in 1998 and “Thief” in 2006, and he was also nominated four times for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” twice for “Men of a Certain Age,” once for “Gideon’s Crossing” and once for “The Tuskegee Airmen.”
Andre Braugher made his feature debut in the 1989 film Glory, and other notable film credits include Murder in Mississippi, Striking Distance, Primal Fear,...
- 12/13/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Obituaries are never easy to write, but this one hits particularly hard given the feeling of so much great work still to come: Andre Braugher, who made a name for himself playing a variety of authority figures in dramas and comedies has died following a brief illness. He was just 61.
André Keith Braugher was born in Chicago in 1962. The prodigious student attended the prestigious St. Ignatius College Prep in his hometown, then earned a BA from Stanford University and a master*s degree from Juilliard — he received scholarships to all three schools.
He considered medicine as a career but saw performing as more exciting. His initial work, as with so many others, was on the stage, in Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park productions in New York City, playing parts in various productions over the years.
His film career was solid, including roles in Glory, Primal Fear, Spike Lee's Get On The Bus,...
André Keith Braugher was born in Chicago in 1962. The prodigious student attended the prestigious St. Ignatius College Prep in his hometown, then earned a BA from Stanford University and a master*s degree from Juilliard — he received scholarships to all three schools.
He considered medicine as a career but saw performing as more exciting. His initial work, as with so many others, was on the stage, in Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park productions in New York City, playing parts in various productions over the years.
His film career was solid, including roles in Glory, Primal Fear, Spike Lee's Get On The Bus,...
- 12/13/2023
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Andre Braugher, the two-time Emmy-winning actor who led a sense of grace, gravitas, and (when appropriate) humor to shows like "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Men of a Certain Age," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and "The Good Fight" has died. Deadline confirms that the actor passed away Monday after a short illness. He was 61 years old.
Braugher was reportedly born and raised in Chicago to an equipment operator father and a postal worker mother but attended Stanford University before graduating from Juilliard's drama school. His first on-screen role was a big one: Braugher played a Union soldier in the 1989 film "Glory," where he acted alongside greats like Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. The actor soon became a creative force in his own right, as his role as Detective Frank Pembleton on the seminal NBC series "Homicide: Life on the Street" made him a household name for TV fans. "We had a lot of great,...
Braugher was reportedly born and raised in Chicago to an equipment operator father and a postal worker mother but attended Stanford University before graduating from Juilliard's drama school. His first on-screen role was a big one: Braugher played a Union soldier in the 1989 film "Glory," where he acted alongside greats like Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. The actor soon became a creative force in his own right, as his role as Detective Frank Pembleton on the seminal NBC series "Homicide: Life on the Street" made him a household name for TV fans. "We had a lot of great,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Andre Braugher, the dynamic actor known for his outstanding work on such shows as Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has died. He was 61.
Braugher died Monday after a brief illness, his longtime rep Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of death turned out to be lung cancer.
Braugher starred as master interrogator Det. Frank Pembleton on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street for the first six seasons of the show’s acclaimed 1993-99 run, then played another cop, Capt. Raymond Holt — this time against type and for laughs — on the 2013-21 Fox-nbc sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
He won his first Emmy in 1998 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Homicide after a season that featured one of its most memorable episodes, “Subway.” That was a two-hander in which Pembleton tries to unearth whether a man (Vincent D’Onofrio) pinned between a Baltimore subway train...
Braugher died Monday after a brief illness, his longtime rep Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of death turned out to be lung cancer.
Braugher starred as master interrogator Det. Frank Pembleton on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street for the first six seasons of the show’s acclaimed 1993-99 run, then played another cop, Capt. Raymond Holt — this time against type and for laughs — on the 2013-21 Fox-nbc sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
He won his first Emmy in 1998 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Homicide after a season that featured one of its most memorable episodes, “Subway.” That was a two-hander in which Pembleton tries to unearth whether a man (Vincent D’Onofrio) pinned between a Baltimore subway train...
- 12/13/2023
- by Mike Barnes, Rick Porter and Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
André Braugher had a rich and diverse filmography that included roles in Homicide: Life on the Street, Men of a Certain Age and as Captain Raymond Holt in the comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
The actor died December 12 at 61 but has left a legacy for generations with his film and television work. Braugher was nominated 11 times for the Primetime Emmy Awards and won twice.
Related: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Cast & Producers Mourn André Braugher: “This Hurts. You Left Us Too Soon”
The first Emmy the actor received was in 1998 for his work as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street. His second trophy would come in 2006 for his leading role in the FX mini-series Thief.
Related: André Braugher Remembered As “Megawatt Talent” & “Incredible Human Being”
Braugher’s other television credits included Gideon’s Crossing, The Practice, The Andromeda Strain, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Last Resort, New Girl, American Experience,...
The actor died December 12 at 61 but has left a legacy for generations with his film and television work. Braugher was nominated 11 times for the Primetime Emmy Awards and won twice.
Related: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Cast & Producers Mourn André Braugher: “This Hurts. You Left Us Too Soon”
The first Emmy the actor received was in 1998 for his work as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street. His second trophy would come in 2006 for his leading role in the FX mini-series Thief.
Related: André Braugher Remembered As “Megawatt Talent” & “Incredible Human Being”
Braugher’s other television credits included Gideon’s Crossing, The Practice, The Andromeda Strain, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Last Resort, New Girl, American Experience,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Andre Braugher has passed away at the age of 61.
The two-time Emmy-winning actor is best known for his work in TV shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Captain Raymond Holt and Homicide: Life of the Street as Detective Frank Pembleton.
The news was confirmed on Tuesday (December 12) and Andre‘s family is asking fans to make donations to the Classical Theatre of Harlem in lieu of flowers. The late actor served on the board of the theatre.
Keep reading to find out more…
A cause of death has not yet been provided, but Deadline reports that Andre passed after a “brief illness.”
Other roles that you might remember Andre for include movies like Glory, Primal Fear, City of Angels, Salt, and The Gambler.
Andre is survived by his wife Ami Brabson and their three children – John Wesley, Michael, and Isaiah. We’re sending our thoughts and condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time.
The two-time Emmy-winning actor is best known for his work in TV shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Captain Raymond Holt and Homicide: Life of the Street as Detective Frank Pembleton.
The news was confirmed on Tuesday (December 12) and Andre‘s family is asking fans to make donations to the Classical Theatre of Harlem in lieu of flowers. The late actor served on the board of the theatre.
Keep reading to find out more…
A cause of death has not yet been provided, but Deadline reports that Andre passed after a “brief illness.”
Other roles that you might remember Andre for include movies like Glory, Primal Fear, City of Angels, Salt, and The Gambler.
Andre is survived by his wife Ami Brabson and their three children – John Wesley, Michael, and Isaiah. We’re sending our thoughts and condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time.
- 12/13/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Andre Braugher, the two-time Emmy-winning actor who starred in the hit television series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Homicide: Life on the Street,” died Monday after a brief illness. He was 61.
Braugher’s publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed the news of his death to Variety.
Braugher was known for his role as the upright Captain Raymond Holt on the police procedural comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” from 2013 until 2021. His character’s stoic and no-nonsense personality but deep sense of humanity made him an instant fan favorite of the show, especially when paired with Andy Samberg’s hotshot Det. Jake Peralta in a scene.
He won a lead actor Emmy for his role as Detective Frank Pembleton on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on Street” in 1998, his last year on the series. Braugher’s intense performance made him one of the breakout stars to emerge from the critically beloved police drama that hailed from Barry Levinson,...
Braugher’s publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed the news of his death to Variety.
Braugher was known for his role as the upright Captain Raymond Holt on the police procedural comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” from 2013 until 2021. His character’s stoic and no-nonsense personality but deep sense of humanity made him an instant fan favorite of the show, especially when paired with Andy Samberg’s hotshot Det. Jake Peralta in a scene.
He won a lead actor Emmy for his role as Detective Frank Pembleton on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on Street” in 1998, his last year on the series. Braugher’s intense performance made him one of the breakout stars to emerge from the critically beloved police drama that hailed from Barry Levinson,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Michaela Zee and Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Winterstone Pictures has secured the rights to “The Dark Between Stars” and “Love Her Wild,” by the bestselling author Atticus, who is also known as the world’s most “mysterious poet.”
Ashley Avis, director of Disney’s “Black Beauty” and the upcoming film “City of Angels” for Warner Bros., is set to write, direct and produce under her own banner. The feature film will draw inspiration from the true story of the enigmatic author, who chose to remain anonymous after the death of a close friend. There’s plenty of speculation about Atticus’s identity, and his work has garnered a massive, as well as intensely loyal, social media following.
“The Dark Between Stars” will explore the journey of a young man who flees California following the loss of his mentor and friend. He finds himself drawn to Paris, where he begins to write poetry under the pseudonym of “Atticus.
Ashley Avis, director of Disney’s “Black Beauty” and the upcoming film “City of Angels” for Warner Bros., is set to write, direct and produce under her own banner. The feature film will draw inspiration from the true story of the enigmatic author, who chose to remain anonymous after the death of a close friend. There’s plenty of speculation about Atticus’s identity, and his work has garnered a massive, as well as intensely loyal, social media following.
“The Dark Between Stars” will explore the journey of a young man who flees California following the loss of his mentor and friend. He finds himself drawn to Paris, where he begins to write poetry under the pseudonym of “Atticus.
- 12/8/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
From internet memes to a slew of movies, this is the Age of Cage, but Nicolas Cage himself revealed that as he approaches his 60th birthday he is taking stock. He told a sold-out audience at the Red Sea Film Festival that he was winding down his film career after 45 years and over 100 films: “I want to do television; maybe Broadway.” His decision – inspired in part by his son showing him “Breaking Bad” — won’t be final, as he has several film projects in the pipeline, including “Sympathy for the Devil,” co-starring festival jury member Joel Kinnaman and a sequel to 2005’s “Lord of War” — “My character’s son grows up and becomes a rival. It’s very Arthurian,” he said.
The Academy Award winning actor hyped by the “good energy” in the room talked through the four decades of his career and every film mentioned was greeted by whoops...
The Academy Award winning actor hyped by the “good energy” in the room talked through the four decades of his career and every film mentioned was greeted by whoops...
- 12/8/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
Actor Peter Spellos had over 150 screen acting and vocal performance credits to his name, but genre fans are most likely to remember him as Orville Ketchum from the slasher movie Sorority House Massacre II and its companion piece Hard to Die, as well as the brief appearance he made as the character Tracy’s father in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. Outside of horror, he’s best known for providing the voice of Sky-Byte in 39 episodes of the animated series Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Unfortunately, we have very sad news to share today, as it has been confirmed that Spellos has passed away at age 69 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Born on March 1, 1954, Spellos passed away yesterday, November 19th, at the Franciscan Hospice House in Indianapolis. His brother, James Spellos, notified TMZ that his family is planning an online “celebration of life” gathering for his fans.
Spellos was credited...
Born on March 1, 1954, Spellos passed away yesterday, November 19th, at the Franciscan Hospice House in Indianapolis. His brother, James Spellos, notified TMZ that his family is planning an online “celebration of life” gathering for his fans.
Spellos was credited...
- 11/20/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
With her quirky personality and perky smile, Meg Ryan reigned as queen of romantic comedies for over two decades after stumbling onto an acting career during her college years. Over the past 30 years, the blond-haired, blue-eyed actress has carved out a diverse and successful career, making her one of the most popular actresses of her time.
Ryan was born November 19, 1961, in Fairfield, Connecticut. After graduating high school, she majored in journalism at New York University, and began acting to earn extra money, adopting the name Meg Ryan (taken from her grandmother’s maiden name). Following appearances in TV commercials and her film debut in George Cukor‘s final film “Rich and Famous,” Ryan gained fame as half of one of the most popular soap opera super couples with her portrayal of Betsy Stewart Montgomery on “As the World Turns” from 1982-1984. Her successes led her to drop out of college...
Ryan was born November 19, 1961, in Fairfield, Connecticut. After graduating high school, she majored in journalism at New York University, and began acting to earn extra money, adopting the name Meg Ryan (taken from her grandmother’s maiden name). Following appearances in TV commercials and her film debut in George Cukor‘s final film “Rich and Famous,” Ryan gained fame as half of one of the most popular soap opera super couples with her portrayal of Betsy Stewart Montgomery on “As the World Turns” from 1982-1984. Her successes led her to drop out of college...
- 11/11/2023
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
Grant Gustin, longtime star of the CW’s The Flash, will make his Broadway debut in the new musical Water for Elephants, producers announced today.
Gustin, who also appeared in the TV series Glee, will portray main character Jacob Jankowski in a cast that also includes Isabelle McCalla, Gregg Edelman (City of Angels), Paul Alexander Nolan (Slave Play), Stan Brown (Homicide: Life on the Street), Joe De Paul (Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion), Sara Gettelfinger (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Wade McCollum (Wicked).
Watch Gustin and McCalla perform the song “Wild” from Water for Elephants in the newly released video above.
The musical, based on the Sara Gruen 2006 novel that was made into a 2011 film that starred Robert Pattinson in the Jacob role, begins previews on Saturday, February 24, at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre. Opening night is Thursday, March 21.
Water For Elephants features a book by Rick Elice and a score by PigPen Theatre Company (The Tale of Despereaux). Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo) directs.
Alliance Theatre production of ‘Water for Elephants’
The casting was announced today by producers Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, and Seth A. Goldstein. Additional casting to be announced soon.
The synopsis: “After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life – and love – beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.”
Gustin’s stage credits include a touring production of West Side Story. He joined the cast of Glee in the musical series’ third season, portraying Sebastian Smythe, the lead of Dalton Academy’s singing group the Warblers. Film credits include Krystal and Affluenza. He’s played The Flash‘s Barry Allen since the series debut in 2014 and continued through its final episode in May of this year. He also made several crossover appearances on Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl.
McCalla is currently starring as Maizy in Shucked on Broadway, and she originated the role of Alyssa Greene in The Prom and played Princess Jasmine in Aladdin both on Broadway and the North American Tour. She originated the role of Marlena in the world premiere of Water for Elephants at the Alliance Theatre this past summer.
Gustin, who also appeared in the TV series Glee, will portray main character Jacob Jankowski in a cast that also includes Isabelle McCalla, Gregg Edelman (City of Angels), Paul Alexander Nolan (Slave Play), Stan Brown (Homicide: Life on the Street), Joe De Paul (Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion), Sara Gettelfinger (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Wade McCollum (Wicked).
Watch Gustin and McCalla perform the song “Wild” from Water for Elephants in the newly released video above.
The musical, based on the Sara Gruen 2006 novel that was made into a 2011 film that starred Robert Pattinson in the Jacob role, begins previews on Saturday, February 24, at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre. Opening night is Thursday, March 21.
Water For Elephants features a book by Rick Elice and a score by PigPen Theatre Company (The Tale of Despereaux). Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo) directs.
Alliance Theatre production of ‘Water for Elephants’
The casting was announced today by producers Peter Schneider, Jennifer Costello, Grove Entertainment, Frank Marshall, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, and Seth A. Goldstein. Additional casting to be announced soon.
The synopsis: “After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life – and love – beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.”
Gustin’s stage credits include a touring production of West Side Story. He joined the cast of Glee in the musical series’ third season, portraying Sebastian Smythe, the lead of Dalton Academy’s singing group the Warblers. Film credits include Krystal and Affluenza. He’s played The Flash‘s Barry Allen since the series debut in 2014 and continued through its final episode in May of this year. He also made several crossover appearances on Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl.
McCalla is currently starring as Maizy in Shucked on Broadway, and she originated the role of Alyssa Greene in The Prom and played Princess Jasmine in Aladdin both on Broadway and the North American Tour. She originated the role of Marlena in the world premiere of Water for Elephants at the Alliance Theatre this past summer.
- 11/3/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Renowned British actress Haydn Gwynne, who left an indelible mark both on stage and screen, passed away at 66 after a recent diagnosis with cancer. Celebrated for her talent and versatility, she brought life to a vast array of characters, demonstrating her range from television satire to Shakespearean roles.
Born in Sussex in 1957, Gwynne’s journey into the acting realm wasn’t a straight path. Before captivating audiences, she was an English lecturer in Italy and even studied Modern Languages at the University of Warwick. It wasn’t until her mid-twenties that Gwynne ventured into acting, but when she did, her ascent was meteoric.
She shot to fame in the 1990s with “Drop the Dead Donkey,” a sitcom that offered a witty look into the world of journalism. Her portrayal of the sardonic assistant editor Alex Pates garnered her a BAFTA nomination. Gwynne’s magnetism wasn’t confined to TV; she...
Born in Sussex in 1957, Gwynne’s journey into the acting realm wasn’t a straight path. Before captivating audiences, she was an English lecturer in Italy and even studied Modern Languages at the University of Warwick. It wasn’t until her mid-twenties that Gwynne ventured into acting, but when she did, her ascent was meteoric.
She shot to fame in the 1990s with “Drop the Dead Donkey,” a sitcom that offered a witty look into the world of journalism. Her portrayal of the sardonic assistant editor Alex Pates garnered her a BAFTA nomination. Gwynne’s magnetism wasn’t confined to TV; she...
- 10/20/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
Hayden Gwynne, the actor known by American audiences for her work in “The Crown,” “The Windsors” and “Beauty and the Beast,” has died at the age of 66.
Gwynne died of cancer, according to the BBC. Last month, she pulled out of a play due to her diagnosis.
“It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends,” a statement obtained by the BBC reads. “We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”
Gwynne was acclaimed for her stagework. Over the course of her career, she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Mrs.
Gwynne died of cancer, according to the BBC. Last month, she pulled out of a play due to her diagnosis.
“It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends,” a statement obtained by the BBC reads. “We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”
Gwynne was acclaimed for her stagework. Over the course of her career, she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Mrs.
- 10/20/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
Actress Haydn Gwynne died today following a recent cancer diagnosis. She was 66.
Her representatives confirmed the news Friday with a statement handed to multiple news outlets. The statement said Gwynne died in hospital “in the small hours of Friday, October 20, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family, and friends.”
“We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks,” the statement added.
Born in Sussex, England, Gwynne studied Modern Languages at the University of Warwick before taking a five-year lectureship in Italy, where she taught English. She became an actress in her mid-twenties and first came to notice on television as starring in the David Lodge campus comedy/drama Nice Work (1989) before joining the comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey (1990), for which she earned a BAFTA TV nomination in 1992.
Some of her other small screen credits included Peak Practice,...
Her representatives confirmed the news Friday with a statement handed to multiple news outlets. The statement said Gwynne died in hospital “in the small hours of Friday, October 20, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family, and friends.”
“We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks,” the statement added.
Born in Sussex, England, Gwynne studied Modern Languages at the University of Warwick before taking a five-year lectureship in Italy, where she taught English. She became an actress in her mid-twenties and first came to notice on television as starring in the David Lodge campus comedy/drama Nice Work (1989) before joining the comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey (1990), for which she earned a BAFTA TV nomination in 1992.
Some of her other small screen credits included Peak Practice,...
- 10/20/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Haydn Gwynne, a stage and screen actor who starred in royal comedy “The Windsors” and also appeared in “The Crown,” died on Friday of cancer, Variety has confirmed. She was 66.
“It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends,” her agent said in a statement. “We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”
Gwynne made her TV breakthrough in the late 1980s with the drama “Nice Work” before going on to star in other British series including “Peak Practice,” “Merseybeat” and BBC series “Rome” as Julius Caesar’s wife Calpurnia.
But it was her role as cynical journalist...
“It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends,” her agent said in a statement. “We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”
Gwynne made her TV breakthrough in the late 1980s with the drama “Nice Work” before going on to star in other British series including “Peak Practice,” “Merseybeat” and BBC series “Rome” as Julius Caesar’s wife Calpurnia.
But it was her role as cynical journalist...
- 10/20/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Joanna Merlin, who created the role of the daughter Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway and served as a casting director for Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince and Bernardo Bertolucci, has died. She was 92.
Merlin died Sunday in Los Angeles of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder, her daughters, documentary filmmaker Rachel Dretzin (Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey) and actress Julie Dretzin (The Handmaid’s Tale), announced.
Merlin also portrayed the dance teacher Miss Berg in Alan Parker’s Fame (1980) and recurred as Judge Lena Petrovsky for more than a decade on NBC’s Law and Order: Svu.
Her acting résumé included the films Hester Street (1975), All That Jazz (1979), Baby It’s You (1983), The Killing Fields (1984), Mystic Pizza (1988), Class Action (1991) and City of Angels (1998) and such TV shows as Naked City, The Defenders, East Side/West Side, Homeland and The Good Wife.
Merlin cast the original Broadway productions of Sondheim’s Company,...
Merlin died Sunday in Los Angeles of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder, her daughters, documentary filmmaker Rachel Dretzin (Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey) and actress Julie Dretzin (The Handmaid’s Tale), announced.
Merlin also portrayed the dance teacher Miss Berg in Alan Parker’s Fame (1980) and recurred as Judge Lena Petrovsky for more than a decade on NBC’s Law and Order: Svu.
Her acting résumé included the films Hester Street (1975), All That Jazz (1979), Baby It’s You (1983), The Killing Fields (1984), Mystic Pizza (1988), Class Action (1991) and City of Angels (1998) and such TV shows as Naked City, The Defenders, East Side/West Side, Homeland and The Good Wife.
Merlin cast the original Broadway productions of Sondheim’s Company,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The hottest place to be this weekend in Los Angeles was the Brandi Carlile & Friends concert at the Hollywood Bowl!
An incredibly star-studded audience stepped out to witness Brandi and her legendary group of friends perform an intimate night of music on Saturday (October 14) in Los Angeles.
Brandi was joined on stage throughout the night by pals Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Allison Russell, Wendy & Lisa, Lucius, Blake Mills, and her wife Catherine. The evening ended with the entire stage rotating to reveal everyone sitting on couches with Joni sitting on a throne in the center. They all performed three songs together to conclude the show!
The crowd went wild throughout the evening, with celebs like Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks among the VIP guests.
Head inside for a list of all the celebs in attendance…
Spotted in box seats at the show were Harrison and his wife Calista Flockhart, Tom and his wife Rita Wilson,...
An incredibly star-studded audience stepped out to witness Brandi and her legendary group of friends perform an intimate night of music on Saturday (October 14) in Los Angeles.
Brandi was joined on stage throughout the night by pals Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Allison Russell, Wendy & Lisa, Lucius, Blake Mills, and her wife Catherine. The evening ended with the entire stage rotating to reveal everyone sitting on couches with Joni sitting on a throne in the center. They all performed three songs together to conclude the show!
The crowd went wild throughout the evening, with celebs like Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks among the VIP guests.
Head inside for a list of all the celebs in attendance…
Spotted in box seats at the show were Harrison and his wife Calista Flockhart, Tom and his wife Rita Wilson,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Exclusive: Trimax Media, the production company led by Alan Glazer (The Bank Job), has acquired film rights to No Bullet Got Me Yet, John Stansifer’s forthcoming book about U.S. Army Chaplain, Father Emil Kapaun.
Stansifer has scripted the film adaptation, titled Father Kapaun’s Valley, which Stephen Campanelli (Drinkwater) is attached to direct. The intention with the project is to help fill the void when it comes to U.S.-produced films about the Korean War, while spotlighting a little-known war hero currently on the path to sainthood. Set to produce are Glazer and Stansifer, whose book is slated for publication on March 12, 2024.
The most decorated chaplain in U.S. military history, Kapaun regularly risked his life during the Korean War to help soldiers survive, also taking great pains to support them in their faith, no matter their religion. Among the most notable incidents from his military history was...
Stansifer has scripted the film adaptation, titled Father Kapaun’s Valley, which Stephen Campanelli (Drinkwater) is attached to direct. The intention with the project is to help fill the void when it comes to U.S.-produced films about the Korean War, while spotlighting a little-known war hero currently on the path to sainthood. Set to produce are Glazer and Stansifer, whose book is slated for publication on March 12, 2024.
The most decorated chaplain in U.S. military history, Kapaun regularly risked his life during the Korean War to help soldiers survive, also taking great pains to support them in their faith, no matter their religion. Among the most notable incidents from his military history was...
- 10/6/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In season three of Only Murders in the Building, Broadway director Oliver Putnam, played by Martin Short, lands on the idea of turning his murder mystery play Death Rattle into a musical after the shocking death of his leading man.
The musical, in which a detective investigates the murder of a woman in a lighthouse that was only witnessed by her infant triplets, is meant to salvage the show, and his career. But it also acts as a motif for the rest of season, wherein the Broadway numbers performed by cast further the plot of the actual murder mystery being solved by Short, Selena Gomez and Steve Martin, the trio at the center of the series.
And so to make the already over-the-top musical feel as real as possible, the Only Murders in the Building writing team called on the Tony- and Oscar-winning songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul,...
The musical, in which a detective investigates the murder of a woman in a lighthouse that was only witnessed by her infant triplets, is meant to salvage the show, and his career. But it also acts as a motif for the rest of season, wherein the Broadway numbers performed by cast further the plot of the actual murder mystery being solved by Short, Selena Gomez and Steve Martin, the trio at the center of the series.
And so to make the already over-the-top musical feel as real as possible, the Only Murders in the Building writing team called on the Tony- and Oscar-winning songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Viola Davis' Daughter Genesis Looks So Grown Up While Making Paris Fashion Week Appearance With Her!
Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon are such proud parents!
The Oscar-winning actress and her frequent collaborator walked the runway alongside their 13-year-old daughter Genesis at the Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday (October 1) in Paris, France.
Viola was just one of Many celebs who walked the runway for the event.
This year, alongside the entire L’Oréal Paris spokespeople family, the general public came together under the “Iron Lady” to make a feminine and feminist statement. The show was broadcasted live on Instagram, YouTube, and, for the first time, spectators were able to experience it on Roblox.
For those who don’t know, Viola and Julius have been married since 2003 after meeting on the set of the CBS show City of Angels in 1999.
Browse through the gallery for 10+ photos of Viola Davis and her family walking the runway…...
The Oscar-winning actress and her frequent collaborator walked the runway alongside their 13-year-old daughter Genesis at the Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday (October 1) in Paris, France.
Viola was just one of Many celebs who walked the runway for the event.
This year, alongside the entire L’Oréal Paris spokespeople family, the general public came together under the “Iron Lady” to make a feminine and feminist statement. The show was broadcasted live on Instagram, YouTube, and, for the first time, spectators were able to experience it on Roblox.
For those who don’t know, Viola and Julius have been married since 2003 after meeting on the set of the CBS show City of Angels in 1999.
Browse through the gallery for 10+ photos of Viola Davis and her family walking the runway…...
- 10/3/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Oxygen True Crime’s Real Murders franchise has added a Los Angeles edition that will explore the seedy underbelly of the City of Angels. Set to premiere on October 6, 2023, Real Murders of Los Angeles is hosted by Garcelle Beauvais and will delve into the murders of a former Raiderette, a UCLA student, and a theater owner, among others.
New episodes will air on Fridays at 9pm Et/Pt.
The franchise kicked off with Real Murders of Orange County in 2020 followed by Real Murders of Atlanta in 2022. The latest addition is executive produced by Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, David Hale, and Carey Zeiser.
Oxygen offered this description of the upcoming season:
“In the City of Angels, as everyone strives for the unattainable high life, there are some who are willing to kill to get it. Oxygen True Crime expands its Real Murders franchise to Los Angeles as it looks beyond the city...
New episodes will air on Fridays at 9pm Et/Pt.
The franchise kicked off with Real Murders of Orange County in 2020 followed by Real Murders of Atlanta in 2022. The latest addition is executive produced by Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, David Hale, and Carey Zeiser.
Oxygen offered this description of the upcoming season:
“In the City of Angels, as everyone strives for the unattainable high life, there are some who are willing to kill to get it. Oxygen True Crime expands its Real Murders franchise to Los Angeles as it looks beyond the city...
- 9/28/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Hey, "The Amazing Race" fans. Tonight, September 27, 2023, the very first premiere episode 1 of The Amazing Race's current season 35 did indeed air, and we saw the first team to get eliminated at the end of it. Tonight's new, premiere episode kicked off with some intro footage of the 13 teams. Then, they started this leg of the race over at the famous Hollywood sign. Host Phil Keoghan told them that there will be no non-elimination legs, and all u-turn votes will be mandatory this season. Next, the teams had to make their way to the Biltmore Hotel. Once they got there, they faced a Roadblock challenge. During it, one team member had to walk a tight rope, and the other one had to unscramble words to get their next clue. The unscrambled words turned out to be: "City Of Angels." Last season's winners Derek and Claire were there to present them with their next clue.
- 9/28/2023
- by Andre Braddox
- OnTheFlix
“The Amazing Race” is back! The Emmy Award-winning and recently nominated reality competition begins its milestone 35th season at the iconic Hollywood Sign, celebrating the famous landmark’s 100th anniversary. Also, for the first time, a former team surprises racers as judges at the first Roadblock, where one team member must traverse a perilous tightrope stretched from one rooftop to another at the historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, before heading to their first location, Thailand, on the 90-minute season premiere in its new time period, Wednesday, September 27 on the CBS. Phil Keoghan returns as host.
See ‘The Amazing Race 35′ cast: Meet the 13 new teams
The network promises “the biggest season yet,” with 13 teams competing for the first time ever. We will also see the return of commercial travel, no non-elimination legs, the express pass and a twist on the infamous U-Turn! Here are the teams in contention: Jocelyn...
See ‘The Amazing Race 35′ cast: Meet the 13 new teams
The network promises “the biggest season yet,” with 13 teams competing for the first time ever. We will also see the return of commercial travel, no non-elimination legs, the express pass and a twist on the infamous U-Turn! Here are the teams in contention: Jocelyn...
- 9/28/2023
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Alan Rickman’s iconic role as Hans Gruber in Die Hard ultimately catapulted him into Hollywood stardom. Believe it or not, Sam Neill played an unintentional but pivotal part in this chapter of cinematic history.
From initial rejections to last-minute decisions, there is a fascinating backstory of Rickman’s feature film debut. Here’s why Rickman owes Neill for the part that launched him into the spotlight.
Alan Rickman owes Sam Neill for his part in ‘Die Hard’
The creative team behind Die Hard initially wanted a big-name actor to play the main villain, Hans Gruber, in the action-packed blockbuster. After all, they had already secured Bruce Willis to play the main protagonist, John McClane.
Initially, producers contacted Sam Neill, a New Zealand actor with an expansive filmography. Neill was their ideal choice for the role of Gruber, but things didn’t turn out as planned.
After receiving the offer,...
From initial rejections to last-minute decisions, there is a fascinating backstory of Rickman’s feature film debut. Here’s why Rickman owes Neill for the part that launched him into the spotlight.
Alan Rickman owes Sam Neill for his part in ‘Die Hard’
The creative team behind Die Hard initially wanted a big-name actor to play the main villain, Hans Gruber, in the action-packed blockbuster. After all, they had already secured Bruce Willis to play the main protagonist, John McClane.
Initially, producers contacted Sam Neill, a New Zealand actor with an expansive filmography. Neill was their ideal choice for the role of Gruber, but things didn’t turn out as planned.
After receiving the offer,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Perry Carpenter
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
L.A. Confidential Oscar-winning scribe Brian Helgeland had cracked a sequel with the original author James Ellroy to the City of Angels film noir — but no one bit, not even the pic’s original studio, Warner Bros.
Helgeland shared his war story on pitching the sequel around town in Deadline’s Toronto Studio. The first L.A. Confidential won Helgeland an Adapted Screenplay Oscar as well as a Supporting Actress Oscar for Kim Basinger. The pic, directed by the late Curtis Hanson, was nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture.
Helgeland tells us, “James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for L.A. Confidential 2 that takes place during the Patty Hearst (era), when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and Russell (Crowe) and Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop working for Mayor Bradley.”
“We pitched it to everyone,” Helgeland,...
Helgeland shared his war story on pitching the sequel around town in Deadline’s Toronto Studio. The first L.A. Confidential won Helgeland an Adapted Screenplay Oscar as well as a Supporting Actress Oscar for Kim Basinger. The pic, directed by the late Curtis Hanson, was nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture.
Helgeland tells us, “James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for L.A. Confidential 2 that takes place during the Patty Hearst (era), when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and Russell (Crowe) and Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop working for Mayor Bradley.”
“We pitched it to everyone,” Helgeland,...
- 9/11/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Quentin Tarantino is going to make his self-declared “final” film in his hometown of Los Angeles, and the Golden State is welcoming the Oscar winner with open and lucrative arms.
Snaring $20,213,000 for #10, the Oscar winner was among 16 films conditionally approved for $77.8 million in total tax incentives today by the California Film Commission.
“I love shooting in California,” Tarantino said today
“I started directing movies here and it is only fitting that I shoot my final motion picture in the cinema capital of the world,” the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood director added of the film that has been bandied about as The Movie Critic in recent months. “There is nothing like shooting in my hometown; the crews are the best I’ve ever worked with, and the locations are amazing. The producers and I are thrilled to be making #10 in Los Angeles.”
Often one to put the City of Angels on the big screen,...
Snaring $20,213,000 for #10, the Oscar winner was among 16 films conditionally approved for $77.8 million in total tax incentives today by the California Film Commission.
“I love shooting in California,” Tarantino said today
“I started directing movies here and it is only fitting that I shoot my final motion picture in the cinema capital of the world,” the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood director added of the film that has been bandied about as The Movie Critic in recent months. “There is nothing like shooting in my hometown; the crews are the best I’ve ever worked with, and the locations are amazing. The producers and I are thrilled to be making #10 in Los Angeles.”
Often one to put the City of Angels on the big screen,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicolas Cage finally sounded off to USA Today on his brief return as Superman in Warner Bros.’ “The Flash.” The Oscar winner made a surprise cameo appearance as the Man of Steel he never got to play back in the late 1990s, although he did not say any lines.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” Cage said about his brief return. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick.”
“If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in ‘City of Angels,’” he added, giving a tease about what fans could’ve expected from his iteration of Superman. “I was supposed [to play] Clark Kent after that and I was already developing this alien otherness playing this angel. That...
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” Cage said about his brief return. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick.”
“If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in ‘City of Angels,’” he added, giving a tease about what fans could’ve expected from his iteration of Superman. “I was supposed [to play] Clark Kent after that and I was already developing this alien otherness playing this angel. That...
- 7/31/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Faster than a speeding bullet. No, not Superman. That’s how Nicolas Cage characterizes his cameo as the Man of Steel in The Flash.
In an interview with USA Today, Cage said he was happy to finally play the role after a 1990s plan to have him play Superman fell apart. But he admits his appearance was over in a flash.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” he said. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick. If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in “City of Angels.”
He continued, “I was supposed (to play) Clark Kent after that (in “Superman Lives”), and I was already developing this alien otherness playing this angel. That is...
In an interview with USA Today, Cage said he was happy to finally play the role after a 1990s plan to have him play Superman fell apart. But he admits his appearance was over in a flash.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” he said. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick. If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in “City of Angels.”
He continued, “I was supposed (to play) Clark Kent after that (in “Superman Lives”), and I was already developing this alien otherness playing this angel. That is...
- 7/29/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Flash” served up a dizzying array of superhero cameos from the various corners of the multiverse, with several incarnations of Batman, and a few Supermen (including those played by Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill).
The most surprising version of Superman, however, was the one portrayed by Nicolas Cage, resurrecting a role he nearly played in a film that never got made.
Speaking with USA Today, Cage admitted he was happy to finally see his version of the Man of Steel onscreen after that film, “Superman Lives”. was axed back in the late 1990s, due what was described at the time as “creative differences.”
Read More: Nicolas Cage Says Reviving His Abandoned Take On Superman ‘Certainly Would Be Interesting’
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” Cage joked of his brief Superman cameo.
“For me, it was the feeling of being actualized,” he added. “Even that look for that particular character,...
The most surprising version of Superman, however, was the one portrayed by Nicolas Cage, resurrecting a role he nearly played in a film that never got made.
Speaking with USA Today, Cage admitted he was happy to finally see his version of the Man of Steel onscreen after that film, “Superman Lives”. was axed back in the late 1990s, due what was described at the time as “creative differences.”
Read More: Nicolas Cage Says Reviving His Abandoned Take On Superman ‘Certainly Would Be Interesting’
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” Cage joked of his brief Superman cameo.
“For me, it was the feeling of being actualized,” he added. “Even that look for that particular character,...
- 7/29/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
DC’s latest movie, ‘The Flash,’ was released last month after nine long years of development hell. Although the movie ultimately turned out to be one of the worst box-office failures in the history of this genre, it still got more-or-less decent reviews from fans and more mixed reviews from critics, who praised action sequences and performances but criticized visual effects, and the third act.
Still, the Ezra Miller-starring movie is one of the most unique DC movies to date since it presented itself as some sort of DC’s ‘No Way Home,’ and it featured a ton of cameos, not only from Dceu but from the entire DC Multiverse in general. Although bringing back Christopher Reeve’s Superman via computer-generated imagery sparked controversies, one other Superman that showed up in the movie was Nicolas Cage’s incarnation of the character from a movie that never happened.
Nicolas Cage...
Still, the Ezra Miller-starring movie is one of the most unique DC movies to date since it presented itself as some sort of DC’s ‘No Way Home,’ and it featured a ton of cameos, not only from Dceu but from the entire DC Multiverse in general. Although bringing back Christopher Reeve’s Superman via computer-generated imagery sparked controversies, one other Superman that showed up in the movie was Nicolas Cage’s incarnation of the character from a movie that never happened.
Nicolas Cage...
- 7/29/2023
- by Lukas Abramovich
- Comic Basics
[Warning: This story contains spoilers for The Flash.]
Nicolas Cage is sharing his thoughts on his surprise cameo as Superman in Andy Muschietti’s The Flash.
During an interview with USA Today, published online Thursday, the Oscar-winning actor said it was fulfilling to finally see the character come to life decades after the 1998 film Superman Lives was scrapped.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” he quipped. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick.”
In The Flash, Cage appears during a scene when Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen opens the multiverse to see the different universes. That’s when Barry sees Cage as Superman fighting a giant spider as well as Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Helen Slater’s Supergirl, Adam West’s Batman and George Reeve’s Superman.
Warner Bros. ended up...
Nicolas Cage is sharing his thoughts on his surprise cameo as Superman in Andy Muschietti’s The Flash.
During an interview with USA Today, published online Thursday, the Oscar-winning actor said it was fulfilling to finally see the character come to life decades after the 1998 film Superman Lives was scrapped.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” he quipped. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick.”
In The Flash, Cage appears during a scene when Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen opens the multiverse to see the different universes. That’s when Barry sees Cage as Superman fighting a giant spider as well as Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Helen Slater’s Supergirl, Adam West’s Batman and George Reeve’s Superman.
Warner Bros. ended up...
- 7/29/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Once upon a time, Nicolas Cage was slated to star as Superman in a movie to be directed by Tim Burton. The project was cancelled, but the thought of Cage as the Man of Steel captured the imagination of fans and even led to the creation of a feature-length documentary. Twenty-five years later, Nicolas Cage can finally be seen on the big screen as Superman, albeit as a CG cameo in The Flash.
While speaking with USA Today, Nicolas Cage commented on his Superman cameo in The Flash.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” Nicolas Cage said. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick. If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in ‘City of Angels.’“
Nicolas Cage continued,...
While speaking with USA Today, Nicolas Cage commented on his Superman cameo in The Flash.
“Well, I was glad I didn’t blink,” Nicolas Cage said. “For me, it was the feeling of being actualized. Even that look for that particular character, finally seeing it on screen, was satisfying. But as I said, it’s quick. If you really wanted to know what I was going do with that character, look at my performance in ‘City of Angels.’“
Nicolas Cage continued,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
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