Alfred Hitchcock has long been revered as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. He also holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of Oscar’s biggest losers, with five Best Director nominations and no wins. Still, who needs an Oscar when you’ve impacted world cinema as significantly as “Hitch” has? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked from worst to best.
Known as “the Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock cut his teeth directing silent movies in his native England. With films like “The Lodger” (1927), he gained a reputation for helming tense and stylish psychological thrillers. With the invention of sound came an added element to Hitchcock’s work: a sly sense of humor.
He moved to America in 1940 to direct two films that earned Best Picture nominations: “Foreign Correspondent” and “Rebecca,” which took home the top prize. Hitchcock competed for directing “Rebecca,...
Known as “the Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock cut his teeth directing silent movies in his native England. With films like “The Lodger” (1927), he gained a reputation for helming tense and stylish psychological thrillers. With the invention of sound came an added element to Hitchcock’s work: a sly sense of humor.
He moved to America in 1940 to direct two films that earned Best Picture nominations: “Foreign Correspondent” and “Rebecca,” which took home the top prize. Hitchcock competed for directing “Rebecca,...
- 8/10/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The Jeepers Creepers franchise began with a bang in 2001, capturing the imaginations and nightmares of horror fans with its introduction of the Creeper, a demonic entity that awakens every 23 years to feast on human flesh. Directed by Victor Salva, the original film stood out for its eerie atmosphere, relentless suspense, and the enigmatic terror of the Creeper, portrayed by Jonathan Breck. It struck a chord with audiences, becoming a sleeper hit and grossing over $59 million worldwide. The sequel in 2003 continued to build on this mythology, focusing on a group of stranded teenagers and further cementing the Creeper as a formidable horror icon despite mixed reviews. However, the third installment in 2017 signaled a steep decline, with a disjointed narrative, lackluster special effects, and a failure to capture the franchise’s original suspense and terror. Despite these ups and downs, the franchise’s enduring legacy and dedicated fanbase prompted a reboot with...
- 8/5/2024
- by Michael Conway
- JoBlo.com
Alfred Hitchcock was so prolific a director that very few years go by without a handful of his 53 feature films celebrating a significant anniversary. 2024 is no exception: his first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much turns 90 this year, Lifeboat drifts into its 80s, Dial M For Murder rings up 70 years, and Marnie – the baby of the bunch – is now a sprightly 60 years old.
Released just months after Dial M, Hitchcock’s sweatiest masterpiece Rear Window also celebrates 70 years of voyeuristic thrills this year. To celebrate, here’s an exclusive extract from regular Empire contributor Neil Alcock’s new book, Hitchology: A Film-by-Film Guide to the Style and Themes of Alfred Hitchcock. An accessible introduction for newcomers to Hitchcock and an insightful companion for devoted fans, Hitchology has been described by Empire’s editor Nick De Semlyen as “incisive, fresh and thunderingly entertaining.”
Have a read below, and look...
Released just months after Dial M, Hitchcock’s sweatiest masterpiece Rear Window also celebrates 70 years of voyeuristic thrills this year. To celebrate, here’s an exclusive extract from regular Empire contributor Neil Alcock’s new book, Hitchology: A Film-by-Film Guide to the Style and Themes of Alfred Hitchcock. An accessible introduction for newcomers to Hitchcock and an insightful companion for devoted fans, Hitchology has been described by Empire’s editor Nick De Semlyen as “incisive, fresh and thunderingly entertaining.”
Have a read below, and look...
- 4/12/2024
- by Neil Alcock
- Empire - Movies
Amanda Davies, the daughter of Erica Slezak who played the teenager version of her mom’s character on ABC’s One Life to Live, has died. She was 42.
Davies’ death was revealed on Slezak’s fan page, but it offered no details.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Erika’s daughter Amanda Elizabeth Davies who died very suddenly. The family is heartbroken and would appreciate privacy at this time.”
Davies played young Viki in flashbacks in 2003.
The immensely popular Slezak played Victoria Lord from 1971-2013 on One Life to Live. Slezak is the daughter of Walter Slezak, the Tony-winning Austria-born actor who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat and, like his granddaughter, made an appearance on One Life To Live.
This just broke my heart. My thoughts are with dear Erika at this time. I know how much she loved her children.
Davies’ death was revealed on Slezak’s fan page, but it offered no details.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Erika’s daughter Amanda Elizabeth Davies who died very suddenly. The family is heartbroken and would appreciate privacy at this time.”
Davies played young Viki in flashbacks in 2003.
The immensely popular Slezak played Victoria Lord from 1971-2013 on One Life to Live. Slezak is the daughter of Walter Slezak, the Tony-winning Austria-born actor who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat and, like his granddaughter, made an appearance on One Life To Live.
This just broke my heart. My thoughts are with dear Erika at this time. I know how much she loved her children.
- 1/29/2024
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
The Criterion Channel is closing the year out with a bang––they’ve announced their December lineup. Among the highlights are retrospectives on Yasujiro Ozu (featuring nearly 40 films!), Ousmane Sembène, Alfred Hitchcock (along with Kent Jones’ Hitchcock/Truffaut), and Parker Posey. Well-timed for the season is a holiday noir series that includes They Live By Night, Blast of Silence, Lady in the Lake, and more.
Other highlights are the recent restoration of Abel Gance’s La roue, an MGM Musicals series with introduction by Michael Koresky, Helena Wittmann’s riveting second feature Human Flowers of Flesh, the recent Sundance highlight The Mountains Are a Dream That Call To Me, the new restoration of The Cassandra Cat, Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, and more.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam, 1988
An American in Paris, Vincente Minnelli,...
Other highlights are the recent restoration of Abel Gance’s La roue, an MGM Musicals series with introduction by Michael Koresky, Helena Wittmann’s riveting second feature Human Flowers of Flesh, the recent Sundance highlight The Mountains Are a Dream That Call To Me, the new restoration of The Cassandra Cat, Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, and more.
See the lineup below and learn more here.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam, 1988
An American in Paris, Vincente Minnelli,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at Oscars categories from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winners stand the test of time.)
When we think of great Hollywood directors, we think of names like John Ford, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, and moving on up to the likes of Steven Spielberg. These are filmmakers who not only had strong artistic and creative instincts and abilities, but they also knew how to translate those skills into making films that appealed to gigantic mass audiences. They made the films that Hollywood always strives to make.
Unquestionably, another filmmaker who belongs on that list is Alfred Hitchcock, the so-dubbed "Master of Suspense." That moniker suits him perfectly, as he was able to craft some of the most tense pictures ever produced in Hollywood. He perfectly understood set-up and payoff. He knew how to ride the line between euphemism and explicitness,...
When we think of great Hollywood directors, we think of names like John Ford, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, and moving on up to the likes of Steven Spielberg. These are filmmakers who not only had strong artistic and creative instincts and abilities, but they also knew how to translate those skills into making films that appealed to gigantic mass audiences. They made the films that Hollywood always strives to make.
Unquestionably, another filmmaker who belongs on that list is Alfred Hitchcock, the so-dubbed "Master of Suspense." That moniker suits him perfectly, as he was able to craft some of the most tense pictures ever produced in Hollywood. He perfectly understood set-up and payoff. He knew how to ride the line between euphemism and explicitness,...
- 5/28/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
The Japanese remake of Vincenzo Natali‘s sci-fi cult classic Cube, directed by Yasuhiko Shimizu (“Pension: Love Is Pink”), is now streaming on the Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox.
The brutal sci-fi horror classic by Vincenzo Natali was so successful that it spawned Cube²: Hypercube (2002) and Cube Zero (2004). Natali stayed on as a creative advisor for the Japanese remake, with Kôji Tokuo writing the adapted screenplay.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Natali for the remake’s release on Screambox. The filmmaker revealed how he influenced the remake, including its director Yasuhiko Shimizu, and teased the trap he designed in the reimagining. The filmmaker reflects on his own film in the process.
Natali tells us how he got involved with the remake and why it appealed to him.
“I personally knew the producers who made it happen, who are Japanese, who I like very, very much, and wanted to support,” he shares. “And then...
The brutal sci-fi horror classic by Vincenzo Natali was so successful that it spawned Cube²: Hypercube (2002) and Cube Zero (2004). Natali stayed on as a creative advisor for the Japanese remake, with Kôji Tokuo writing the adapted screenplay.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Natali for the remake’s release on Screambox. The filmmaker revealed how he influenced the remake, including its director Yasuhiko Shimizu, and teased the trap he designed in the reimagining. The filmmaker reflects on his own film in the process.
Natali tells us how he got involved with the remake and why it appealed to him.
“I personally knew the producers who made it happen, who are Japanese, who I like very, very much, and wanted to support,” he shares. “And then...
- 4/21/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The stars of Criminal Minds are very versatile. When they aren’t profiling serial killers on-screen, many of them are behind the cameras, directing their fellow cast members. Over the years, Criminal Minds has aired more than 30 episodes directed by cast members. That includes Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Joe Mantegna, and more. Here’s a complete list of episodes directed by the stars.
‘Criminal Minds’ cast members Kirsten Vangsness, Shemar Moore, A. J. Cook, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Matthew Gray Gubler | Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images ‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by Adam Rodriguez
Adam Rodriguez joined the cast of Criminal Minds as Luke Alvez in season 12. Not long after his debut on the series, Rodriguez put his past directing experience to use by taking the lead on two episodes. Then, when Criminal Minds returned for the revival (a.k.a. season 16), he directed another episode.
‘Criminal Minds’ cast members Kirsten Vangsness, Shemar Moore, A. J. Cook, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Matthew Gray Gubler | Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images ‘Criminal Minds’ episodes directed by Adam Rodriguez
Adam Rodriguez joined the cast of Criminal Minds as Luke Alvez in season 12. Not long after his debut on the series, Rodriguez put his past directing experience to use by taking the lead on two episodes. Then, when Criminal Minds returned for the revival (a.k.a. season 16), he directed another episode.
- 2/25/2023
- by Elise Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Oscars don’t always get it right. There have been many notable injustices since the first ceremony took place in 1929, but surely none more surprising than the absence of Alfred Hitchcock’s name from the list of winners.
The man responsible for some of the greatest films ever made, and who committed many of cinema’s most deathless images to celluloid, never won an Academy Award despite being nominated for best director on five occasions: Rebecca in 1940, Lifeboat in 1944, Spellbound in 1945, Rear Window in 1954 and Psycho in 1960.
However, these five movies represent just a small percentage of Hitchcock’s magnificent oeuvre of 52 films. To counteract this injustice, here is my selection of his 20 greatest.
20. Blackmail (1929)
A young woman kills a man who tries to rape her and then finds herself caught between the investigating policeman, who happens to be her fiance, and a blackmailer. Generally considered to be the first British talkie,...
The man responsible for some of the greatest films ever made, and who committed many of cinema’s most deathless images to celluloid, never won an Academy Award despite being nominated for best director on five occasions: Rebecca in 1940, Lifeboat in 1944, Spellbound in 1945, Rear Window in 1954 and Psycho in 1960.
However, these five movies represent just a small percentage of Hitchcock’s magnificent oeuvre of 52 films. To counteract this injustice, here is my selection of his 20 greatest.
20. Blackmail (1929)
A young woman kills a man who tries to rape her and then finds herself caught between the investigating policeman, who happens to be her fiance, and a blackmailer. Generally considered to be the first British talkie,...
- 8/26/2022
- by Graeme Ross
- The Independent - Film
The Oscars don’t always get it right. There have been many notable injustices since the first ceremony took place in 1929, but surely none more surprising than the absence of Alfred Hitchcock’s name from the list of winners.
The man responsible for some of the greatest films ever made, and who committed many of cinema’s most deathless images to celluloid, never won an Academy Award despite being nominated for best director on five occasions: Rebecca in 1940, Lifeboat in 1944, Spellbound in 1945, Rear Window in 1954 and Psycho in 1960.
However, these five movies represent just a small percentage of Hitchcock’s magnificent oeuvre of 52 films. To counteract this injustice, here is my selection of his 20 greatest.
20. Blackmail (1929)
A young woman kills a man who tries to rape her and then finds herself caught between the investigating policeman, who happens to be her fiance, and a blackmailer. Generally considered to be the first British talkie,...
The man responsible for some of the greatest films ever made, and who committed many of cinema’s most deathless images to celluloid, never won an Academy Award despite being nominated for best director on five occasions: Rebecca in 1940, Lifeboat in 1944, Spellbound in 1945, Rear Window in 1954 and Psycho in 1960.
However, these five movies represent just a small percentage of Hitchcock’s magnificent oeuvre of 52 films. To counteract this injustice, here is my selection of his 20 greatest.
20. Blackmail (1929)
A young woman kills a man who tries to rape her and then finds herself caught between the investigating policeman, who happens to be her fiance, and a blackmailer. Generally considered to be the first British talkie,...
- 8/26/2022
- by Graeme Ross
- The Independent - Film
The Oscars don’t always get it right. There have been many notable injustices since the first ceremony took place in 1929, but surely none more surprising than the absence of Alfred Hitchcock’s name from the list of winners.
The man responsible for some of the greatest films ever made, and who committed many of cinema’s most deathless images to celluloid, never won an Academy Award despite being nominated for best director on five occasions: Rebecca in 1940, Lifeboat in 1944, Spellbound in 1945, Rear Window in 1954 and Psycho in 1960.
However, these five movies represent just a small percentage of Hitchcock’s magnificent oeuvre of 52 films. To counteract this injustice, here is my selection of his 20 greatest.
20. Blackmail (1929)
A young woman kills a man who tries to rape her and then finds herself caught between the investigating policeman, who happens to be her fiance, and a blackmailer. Generally considered to be the first British talkie,...
The man responsible for some of the greatest films ever made, and who committed many of cinema’s most deathless images to celluloid, never won an Academy Award despite being nominated for best director on five occasions: Rebecca in 1940, Lifeboat in 1944, Spellbound in 1945, Rear Window in 1954 and Psycho in 1960.
However, these five movies represent just a small percentage of Hitchcock’s magnificent oeuvre of 52 films. To counteract this injustice, here is my selection of his 20 greatest.
20. Blackmail (1929)
A young woman kills a man who tries to rape her and then finds herself caught between the investigating policeman, who happens to be her fiance, and a blackmailer. Generally considered to be the first British talkie,...
- 8/26/2022
- by Graeme Ross
- The Independent - Film
From "Foreign Correspondent" to "Marnie," Alfred Hitchcock always got his shot -- but that doesn't mean he always kept his cool during the process. The influential British director spent much of his six-decade career dabbling in the art of suspense over some 50-odd films, so much so that he was dubbed a master of it.
So highly regarded is his work that even his lowest-ranking films, like the single-setting thriller "Lifeboat," are still lauded efforts. Hitchcock isn't too bothered with plausibility in his films, but his approach to suspense is one that's been studied in film courses for decades, summed up...
The post Strangers On a Train Features the Most Dangerous Scene Alfred Hitchcock Ever Filmed appeared first on /Film.
So highly regarded is his work that even his lowest-ranking films, like the single-setting thriller "Lifeboat," are still lauded efforts. Hitchcock isn't too bothered with plausibility in his films, but his approach to suspense is one that's been studied in film courses for decades, summed up...
The post Strangers On a Train Features the Most Dangerous Scene Alfred Hitchcock Ever Filmed appeared first on /Film.
- 5/3/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
Jimmy Stewart starred in four Alfred Hitchcock films. The first was the most difficult to shoot, and it almost proved to be a hurdle to the classics that would follow. In Hitchcock's 1948 thriller "Rope," the director continued his experiments in filming the action in a single setting — something he had begun in 1944 with "Lifeboat" and would carry further in 1954 with the one-two punch of "Dial 'M' for Murder" and "Rear Window." The plot of "Rope" involves two murder accomplices, played by John Gall and Farley Granger, who host a dinner party in a room with a dead body hidden in a...
The post The Famous Hitchcock Role That Took Its Toll On Jimmy Stewart appeared first on /Film.
The post The Famous Hitchcock Role That Took Its Toll On Jimmy Stewart appeared first on /Film.
- 1/25/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
If 2021 has been a calvacade of bad decisions, dashed hopes, and warning signs for cinema’s strength, the Criterion Channel’s monthly programming has at least buttressed our hopes for something like a better tomorrow. Anyway. The Channel will let us ride out distended (holi)days in the family home with an extensive Alfred Hitchcock series to bring the family together—from the established Rear Window and Vertigo to the (let’s just guess) lesser-seen Downhill and Young and Innocent—Johnnie To’s Throw Down and Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons in their Criterion editions, and some streaming premieres: Ste. Anne, Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over, and The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love.
Special notice to Yvonne Rainer’s brain-expanding Film About a Woman Who . . .—debuting in “Female Gaze: Women Directors + Women Cinematographers,” a series that does as it says on the tin—and a Joseph Cotten retro boasting Ambersons,...
Special notice to Yvonne Rainer’s brain-expanding Film About a Woman Who . . .—debuting in “Female Gaze: Women Directors + Women Cinematographers,” a series that does as it says on the tin—and a Joseph Cotten retro boasting Ambersons,...
- 11/21/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
This article contains light spoilers for The Many Saints of Newark.
Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta have a Goodfellas reunion, of sorts, in The Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark. No, the former Tommy DeVito isn’t in the credits, and he doesn’t bring his shine box. He is slipped in like contraband at a federal penitentiary.
Both David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos and co-writer of The Many Saints of Newark, and Alan Taylor, the film’s director, revel in film references. The esteemed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is renowned for making small appearances in his own films. For the film Lifeboat, which had a very limited cast and set, he makes his cameo on the page of a newspaper. Pesci shows up on classic vinyl.
The Many Saints of Newark focuses on Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), father of Christopher (Michael Imperioli) in the series. Liotta plays his uncle,...
Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta have a Goodfellas reunion, of sorts, in The Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark. No, the former Tommy DeVito isn’t in the credits, and he doesn’t bring his shine box. He is slipped in like contraband at a federal penitentiary.
Both David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos and co-writer of The Many Saints of Newark, and Alan Taylor, the film’s director, revel in film references. The esteemed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is renowned for making small appearances in his own films. For the film Lifeboat, which had a very limited cast and set, he makes his cameo on the page of a newspaper. Pesci shows up on classic vinyl.
The Many Saints of Newark focuses on Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), father of Christopher (Michael Imperioli) in the series. Liotta plays his uncle,...
- 10/1/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
With a career that spanned over 50 years, Alfred Hitchcock is an undisputed master of cinema. With around 55 feature films on his resume, it is extremely hard to narrow them down to a list of 15 -- and that's before you even get to ranking them.
Hitchcock charted the political turmoil of the 20th century as it was unfolding; with his pre-war espionage thrillers "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "Sabotage" (1936), his examinations of the effects of World War II on the human condition in "Lifeboat" (1944) and "Notorious" (1946), and his takes on the Cold War in "Torn Curtain" (1966) and "Topaz" (1969). He worked with some of...
The post Alfred Hitchcock's 15 best films ranked appeared first on /Film.
Hitchcock charted the political turmoil of the 20th century as it was unfolding; with his pre-war espionage thrillers "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "Sabotage" (1936), his examinations of the effects of World War II on the human condition in "Lifeboat" (1944) and "Notorious" (1946), and his takes on the Cold War in "Torn Curtain" (1966) and "Topaz" (1969). He worked with some of...
The post Alfred Hitchcock's 15 best films ranked appeared first on /Film.
- 8/26/2021
- by Fiona Underhill
- Slash Film
Oscar-nominated director Waad Al-Kateab will direct a documentary feature following the Ioc Refugee Olympic Team, Xtr announced Wednesday morning.
The film is in production at the Tokyo Olympics, where Al-Kateab and producer Joanna Natasegara are following the team consisting of 29 athletes originating from 11 countries, and residing in 13 host nations.
Director Al-Kateab made her Oscar-nominated directorial debut with “For Sama,” which followed her own experience as a journalist who elected to stay with her husband and young daughter in the embattled city of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. After “For Sama” won four BAFTA awards, making it the most nominated documentary in BAFTA’s history, Al-Kateab started the “Action For Sama,” advocacy campaign which raises awareness on Syrian conflicts.
Oscar-winning producer Natasegara will produce the film alongside Bryn Mooser, a former Peace Corps worker and Oscar-nominated producer who founded the nonfiction film and television studio Xtr in 2019.
“I am so...
The film is in production at the Tokyo Olympics, where Al-Kateab and producer Joanna Natasegara are following the team consisting of 29 athletes originating from 11 countries, and residing in 13 host nations.
Director Al-Kateab made her Oscar-nominated directorial debut with “For Sama,” which followed her own experience as a journalist who elected to stay with her husband and young daughter in the embattled city of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. After “For Sama” won four BAFTA awards, making it the most nominated documentary in BAFTA’s history, Al-Kateab started the “Action For Sama,” advocacy campaign which raises awareness on Syrian conflicts.
Oscar-winning producer Natasegara will produce the film alongside Bryn Mooser, a former Peace Corps worker and Oscar-nominated producer who founded the nonfiction film and television studio Xtr in 2019.
“I am so...
- 8/4/2021
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
“Cruella” is loaded with pop-song needle drops throughout, but it’s the oft-used Rolling Stones hit at the end that ties it all together: The studio that gave us “Maleficent” and the director of “I, Tonya” have teamed up to rehabilitate yet another villain, in a film that could have just as easily been titled “Sympathy for the de Vil.”
Yes, the dastardly fashionista who wanted to skin 101 Dalmatians just to make a coat has been officially retrofitted here, but there’s plenty to enjoy if you don’t mind the fact that this new version of the character eschews fur, canine or otherwise, and doesn’t even smoke. Purists may balk, but viewers who think of this less as a reboot of Dodie Smith’s memorable monster and more as a Disney spin on Derek Jarman’s “Jubilee” for gay 8-year-olds will find “Cruella” to be flashy fun, even...
Yes, the dastardly fashionista who wanted to skin 101 Dalmatians just to make a coat has been officially retrofitted here, but there’s plenty to enjoy if you don’t mind the fact that this new version of the character eschews fur, canine or otherwise, and doesn’t even smoke. Purists may balk, but viewers who think of this less as a reboot of Dodie Smith’s memorable monster and more as a Disney spin on Derek Jarman’s “Jubilee” for gay 8-year-olds will find “Cruella” to be flashy fun, even...
- 5/26/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
It’s true of most Disney films that the villain is the most memorable character, and often—like with Ursula in The Little Mermaid—the most beautifully drawn, as if even the animators enjoyed their company more. In no case is this more true than in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Outfitted in a huge mink coat lined with blood-red silk and with acid green cigarette smoke billowing around her, Cruella De Vil is more charismatic and entertaining than the upstanding protagonists (and this includes the dogs).
It’s probably inevitable in the current climate—where every thread of plot from Disney’s intellectual property is spun into a standalone project—that Cruella De Vil would get an origin story, one that explains how someone could be callous enough to murder puppies for a coat. But Cruella goes to great lengths to make the villain sympathetic on her journey from a Dickensian childhood,...
It’s probably inevitable in the current climate—where every thread of plot from Disney’s intellectual property is spun into a standalone project—that Cruella De Vil would get an origin story, one that explains how someone could be callous enough to murder puppies for a coat. But Cruella goes to great lengths to make the villain sympathetic on her journey from a Dickensian childhood,...
- 5/26/2021
- by Gabrielle Marceau
- The Film Stage
If you’re looking at our official racetrack odds, you’d see that “A Love Song for Latasha” looks to be out front for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The odds that are shown in our predictions center are taken from the predictions made by our Expert film journalists, Gold Derby Editors, Top 24 Users and our regular Gold Derby readers making their predictions.
But could another contender come in and take the honor on April 25th? Do any of the other nominees fit a more conventional mold of what usually wins in this category? Let’s answer these questions by taking a detailed look at the five short documentaries that make up this year’s nominees, in order by their current Gold Derby odds.
“A Love Song for Latasha” (odds of winning: 17/5)
Friends of Latasha Harlins remember the person she was before her untimely shooting death at age 15 that...
But could another contender come in and take the honor on April 25th? Do any of the other nominees fit a more conventional mold of what usually wins in this category? Let’s answer these questions by taking a detailed look at the five short documentaries that make up this year’s nominees, in order by their current Gold Derby odds.
“A Love Song for Latasha” (odds of winning: 17/5)
Friends of Latasha Harlins remember the person she was before her untimely shooting death at age 15 that...
- 4/23/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
“It became even more important to do a direct look at death and grief and loss,” declares Skye Fitzgerald, the director the documentary “Hunger Ward.” The film about the deadly impacts of civil war has been nominated for Best Documentary Short at this year’s Oscars. MTV Documentary Films recently acquired “Hunger Ward,” which is now streaming on Paramount+. Watch our exclusive video interview with Fitzgerald above.
“Hunger Ward” is the third in a trilogy of films about refugees and displaced peoples, following 2015’s “50 Feet from Syria” and 2018’s “Lifeboat,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Short. “Hunger Ward” focuses on the widespread famine and starvation in Yemen caused by the ongoing civil war. Much of the film follows Dr. Aida Al-Sadeeq and nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they treat children dying of starvation and malnutrition.
SEE2021 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories at the 93rd...
“Hunger Ward” is the third in a trilogy of films about refugees and displaced peoples, following 2015’s “50 Feet from Syria” and 2018’s “Lifeboat,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Short. “Hunger Ward” focuses on the widespread famine and starvation in Yemen caused by the ongoing civil war. Much of the film follows Dr. Aida Al-Sadeeq and nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they treat children dying of starvation and malnutrition.
SEE2021 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories at the 93rd...
- 4/2/2021
- by Tony Ruiz
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: A wider audience is about to get the chance to see director Skye Fitzgerald’s Hunger Ward, the Oscar-nominated short film from MTV Documentary Films.
The film, an unsparing look at the suffering of children in Yemen who have been reduced to starvation during the country’s civil war, will premiere on the Paramount+ streaming platform on Friday. Hunger Ward will be released the same day in more than 120 theaters, coupled with virtual cinema engagements, as part of the Academy’s 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films program.
“It is an honor to have MTV Documentary Films and Paramount+ bring Hunger Ward’s urgent message of the humanitarian crisis affecting children of Yemen to a broad and engaged audience,” Fitzgerald said. Added Sheila Nevins, head of MTV Documentary Films, “The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes. Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald...
The film, an unsparing look at the suffering of children in Yemen who have been reduced to starvation during the country’s civil war, will premiere on the Paramount+ streaming platform on Friday. Hunger Ward will be released the same day in more than 120 theaters, coupled with virtual cinema engagements, as part of the Academy’s 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films program.
“It is an honor to have MTV Documentary Films and Paramount+ bring Hunger Ward’s urgent message of the humanitarian crisis affecting children of Yemen to a broad and engaged audience,” Fitzgerald said. Added Sheila Nevins, head of MTV Documentary Films, “The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes. Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald...
- 4/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Never underestimate the power of a good short film prediction to give you an edge on the office Oscars pool. With the Academy nominations newly announced, the Oscar contenders for documentary short have been whittled down to a lucky 5 films for the 93rd Academy Awards. Per usual, the group includes a range of social issue films, addressing topics from gun violence to the war in Yemen to the Hong Kong protests. When it comes time to bet on the winners, always go for old people and tearjerkers.
Netflix scored a nomination with Sophia Nahli Allison’s powerful “A Love Song for Latasha,” a lyrical ode to Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles whose 1991 shooting death became a flashpoint in the LA uprisings. The 19-minute film, which screened as part of Ava DuVernay’s Array 360 programming, is bursting with sun-kissed sidewalks and faded basketball courts, clean line...
Netflix scored a nomination with Sophia Nahli Allison’s powerful “A Love Song for Latasha,” a lyrical ode to Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles whose 1991 shooting death became a flashpoint in the LA uprisings. The 19-minute film, which screened as part of Ava DuVernay’s Array 360 programming, is bursting with sun-kissed sidewalks and faded basketball courts, clean line...
- 3/20/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Exclusive: MTV Documentary Films is adding Skye Fitzgerald’s Hunger Ward to its portfolio of Oscar-contending films.
The MTV division led by Sheila Nevins announced Tuesday it has acquired the short film, a devastating look at children suffering starvation in Yemen as a direct result of war in the Middle Eastern country. Hunger Ward, which made the Oscar documentary short subject shortlist earlier this month, will premiere on Pluto TV March 1.
“The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes,” Nevins noted. “Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has made a documentary that says ‘no more.’ It is a must see for anyone with heart.”
Hunger Ward marks the third installment in a trilogy of short films by Fitzgerald exploring the plight of refugees and other people displaced by conflict. His 2015 film 50 Feet from Syria made the Oscar documentary shortlist and his 2018 Lifeboat earned an Oscar nomination.
The MTV division led by Sheila Nevins announced Tuesday it has acquired the short film, a devastating look at children suffering starvation in Yemen as a direct result of war in the Middle Eastern country. Hunger Ward, which made the Oscar documentary short subject shortlist earlier this month, will premiere on Pluto TV March 1.
“The greatest humanitarian crisis exists in Yemen. Children are starving to death in front of America’s eyes,” Nevins noted. “Filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has made a documentary that says ‘no more.’ It is a must see for anyone with heart.”
Hunger Ward marks the third installment in a trilogy of short films by Fitzgerald exploring the plight of refugees and other people displaced by conflict. His 2015 film 50 Feet from Syria made the Oscar documentary shortlist and his 2018 Lifeboat earned an Oscar nomination.
- 2/23/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Abeer, one of the main subjects of Skye Fitzgerald’s short documentary Hunger Ward, is as pretty as a fairytale princess, with eloquent brown eyes and a smile—when it appears—to melt the heart.
But the conditions of Abeer’s life, far from storybook, are those of cruel reality. She is one of an estimated two million children in Yemen facing starvation as a result of the country’s civil war.
“This lack of food, or lack of access to food, it’s human-caused,” Fitzgerald tells Deadline. “We often think of famine, and we think of drought, we think of crop failure, we think of locusts. This is not the case in Yemen…Hunger being used as a weapon of war [is] such a horrible thought to me.”
Aged 6, Abeer weights but 12 pounds. Omeima, a 10-year-old girl who appears in Hunger Ward, weighs only 24 pounds.
“I have a 10-year-old son who weighs 93 pounds,...
But the conditions of Abeer’s life, far from storybook, are those of cruel reality. She is one of an estimated two million children in Yemen facing starvation as a result of the country’s civil war.
“This lack of food, or lack of access to food, it’s human-caused,” Fitzgerald tells Deadline. “We often think of famine, and we think of drought, we think of crop failure, we think of locusts. This is not the case in Yemen…Hunger being used as a weapon of war [is] such a horrible thought to me.”
Aged 6, Abeer weights but 12 pounds. Omeima, a 10-year-old girl who appears in Hunger Ward, weighs only 24 pounds.
“I have a 10-year-old son who weighs 93 pounds,...
- 1/14/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Dane Morck, the co-creator of the CW series All American, has signed with Zero Gravity. He will serve as the Executive Consultant going into Season 3 of the sports drama.
Prior to All American Morck worked in the unscripted space under Vin di Bona on America’s Funniest Home Videos and was a development exec at di Bona’s production banner Fishbowl Worldwide Media. While at Fishbowl, he worked on Bravo’s Toned Up, Animal Planet’s Insane Pools: Off the Deep End as well as projects for Travel, HGTV, Nat Geo Wild, and NFL Network.
Morck and his producing partner/ex NFL player, Spencer Paysinger established Moore Street Productions in 2019. The company worked on many projects including an original sports and entertainment podcast with Lebron James’ Uninterrupted.
Morck continues to be repped by Gochman Law Group.
Producer and Black List screenwriter Evan Mirzai has signed with Innovative Artists across all departments.
Prior to All American Morck worked in the unscripted space under Vin di Bona on America’s Funniest Home Videos and was a development exec at di Bona’s production banner Fishbowl Worldwide Media. While at Fishbowl, he worked on Bravo’s Toned Up, Animal Planet’s Insane Pools: Off the Deep End as well as projects for Travel, HGTV, Nat Geo Wild, and NFL Network.
Morck and his producing partner/ex NFL player, Spencer Paysinger established Moore Street Productions in 2019. The company worked on many projects including an original sports and entertainment podcast with Lebron James’ Uninterrupted.
Morck continues to be repped by Gochman Law Group.
Producer and Black List screenwriter Evan Mirzai has signed with Innovative Artists across all departments.
- 10/8/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Spin Film and Vulcan Productions announced on Wednesday that Oscar-nominated director Skye Fitzgerald is in the last stages of post-production on “Hunger Ward,” a short documentary about the war in Yemen.
“Hunger Ward,” filmed in Yemen in early 2020, follows two female health care workers, Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi, who are fighting in opposition of widespread starvation in the country. The crisis has affected children due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, which the documentary follows closely.
“Though the war in Yemen has recently fallen off the front page, violence, hunger and heartbreak continue to be the norm throughout the country. The fact that children are dying from malnutrition and outright starvation in 2020 is an outrage and an indictment of the entire global community,” said Fitzgerald in a statement. “The Covid crisis is only exacerbating the situation and making it even more dangerous for local doctors and aid workers to function effectively.
“Hunger Ward,” filmed in Yemen in early 2020, follows two female health care workers, Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi, who are fighting in opposition of widespread starvation in the country. The crisis has affected children due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, which the documentary follows closely.
“Though the war in Yemen has recently fallen off the front page, violence, hunger and heartbreak continue to be the norm throughout the country. The fact that children are dying from malnutrition and outright starvation in 2020 is an outrage and an indictment of the entire global community,” said Fitzgerald in a statement. “The Covid crisis is only exacerbating the situation and making it even more dangerous for local doctors and aid workers to function effectively.
- 8/26/2020
- by Mackenzie Nichols
- Variety Film + TV
Always be wary of claims of “first” or “only.” Such is the case with brand-new streaming platform Documentary Plus+, which announced this summer that it would be “the first of its kind to focus exclusively on documentary films.” The venture comes from Xtr, the well-financed Los Angeles-based nonfiction film and television studio that Oscar-nominated documentary short producer Bryn Mooser (“Lifeboat”) launched last year.
Xtr, which took five co-financed films to Sundance 2020 — including well-received docs “Feels Good Man,” “Mucho Mucho Amor,” and “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” — plans to roll out Documentary Plus+ this fall; a representative said they’re hoping for the end of September.
Billed as a “highly curated documentary streaming service,” Documentary Plus+ aims to “provide audiences with the best in documentary film and further serve as a permanent home for the work of nonfiction filmmakers along with added distribution and amplification of their projects across all social channels.
Xtr, which took five co-financed films to Sundance 2020 — including well-received docs “Feels Good Man,” “Mucho Mucho Amor,” and “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” — plans to roll out Documentary Plus+ this fall; a representative said they’re hoping for the end of September.
Billed as a “highly curated documentary streaming service,” Documentary Plus+ aims to “provide audiences with the best in documentary film and further serve as a permanent home for the work of nonfiction filmmakers along with added distribution and amplification of their projects across all social channels.
- 8/20/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Speaking at the virtual Contenders Television: The Nominees event, Star Trek: Short Treks executive producer Alex Kurtzman said that the unique aspect of the Emmy-nominated series are the experiments it allows and its bridge to the greater Trekverse.
“I love the idea of using the shorts to run an experiment, which is how we can tell a satisfying Start Trek stories in a shorter form, often the kinds of scenes or the kinds of stories that would be happening on the ship but wouldn’t necessarily make it into the main episode,” he said.
CBS All Access’ short-form anthology series originated as a spinoff from Star Trek: Discovery, serving as companion to the sci-fi drama. Meanwhile, one of the Season 2 episodes, “Q&a”, serves a setup for the upcoming Strange New Worlds anthology series.
“Q&A” was one of two Short Treks episode showcased during the Contenders TV presentation, along...
“I love the idea of using the shorts to run an experiment, which is how we can tell a satisfying Start Trek stories in a shorter form, often the kinds of scenes or the kinds of stories that would be happening on the ship but wouldn’t necessarily make it into the main episode,” he said.
CBS All Access’ short-form anthology series originated as a spinoff from Star Trek: Discovery, serving as companion to the sci-fi drama. Meanwhile, one of the Season 2 episodes, “Q&a”, serves a setup for the upcoming Strange New Worlds anthology series.
“Q&A” was one of two Short Treks episode showcased during the Contenders TV presentation, along...
- 8/16/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Varèse Sarabande Records has announced the upcoming CD release of Dracula 2000 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Academy Award®-nominated Marco Beltrami. The limited edition soundtack will be released on July 24, as a standalone record for the first time ever—with only 1,000 copies available. With the announcement of this exciting upcoming release, pre-order is available now on varesesarabande.com.
Dracula 2000 made its official CD debut in Varèse Sarabande’s sold-out 2016 box set, “Little Box of Horrors.” The album was mastered by James Nelson from sources provided by Marco Beltrami. The CD booklet includes extensive liner notes by film music journalist Daniel Schweiger.
Marco Beltrami has received Academy Award®-nominations for his iconic scores to 3:10 to Yuma and The Hurt Locker. He has also lent his voice to such hit films as Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, I, Robot and the Scream series.
See...
Dracula 2000 made its official CD debut in Varèse Sarabande’s sold-out 2016 box set, “Little Box of Horrors.” The album was mastered by James Nelson from sources provided by Marco Beltrami. The CD booklet includes extensive liner notes by film music journalist Daniel Schweiger.
Marco Beltrami has received Academy Award®-nominations for his iconic scores to 3:10 to Yuma and The Hurt Locker. He has also lent his voice to such hit films as Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, I, Robot and the Scream series.
See...
- 7/2/2020
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Boys unleashed an unapologetically ultraviolent response to the entertainment industry’s seemingly interminable array of live-action superhero fare with a TV series created by Supernatural and Timeless‘s Eric Kripke, adapting the bleak comic book series from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The result was a serial offering that’s said to be one of the most-watched shows for the Amazon Prime Video platform.
Amazon was clearly privy to the fact that The Boys was something special even before it premiered, since the online retail monolith’s streaming arm preemptively ordered a second season of the series back in July 2019. If you’re so inclined, do check out our review of The Boys Season 1.
Here’s everything to know about The Boys Season 2!
The Boys Season 2 Release Date
The Boys Season 2 is set to arrive on Amazon Prime Video on September 4, 2020, an announcement made during a June livestream with...
Amazon was clearly privy to the fact that The Boys was something special even before it premiered, since the online retail monolith’s streaming arm preemptively ordered a second season of the series back in July 2019. If you’re so inclined, do check out our review of The Boys Season 1.
Here’s everything to know about The Boys Season 2!
The Boys Season 2 Release Date
The Boys Season 2 is set to arrive on Amazon Prime Video on September 4, 2020, an announcement made during a June livestream with...
- 6/26/2020
- by Joseph Baxter
- Den of Geek
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as co-pilot Tobias Ellis in the drama/thriller 7500.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
7500 is the code that airlines use for a hijacking, and hijacking is the subject of Amazon’s drama/thriller 7500. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tobias Ellis, a young American co-pilot working for a German airline, who on a Berlin to Paris flight is confronted with tough choices when hijackers storm the cockpit, and stab the more experienced German pilot. 7500 is streaming on Amazon Prime, starting June 18, 2020.
With the German pilot Michael (Carlo Kitzlinger) disabled, the inexperienced Tobias must take charge of the situation. To make matters more tense, Tobias’ German-Turkish fiancee Gokce (German actress Aylin Tezel) is a flight attendant on the plane. The one advantage Tobias has is that the four hijackers have no guns and are armed only with improvised knives made from broken glass.
The whole film takes place in the...
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
7500 is the code that airlines use for a hijacking, and hijacking is the subject of Amazon’s drama/thriller 7500. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tobias Ellis, a young American co-pilot working for a German airline, who on a Berlin to Paris flight is confronted with tough choices when hijackers storm the cockpit, and stab the more experienced German pilot. 7500 is streaming on Amazon Prime, starting June 18, 2020.
With the German pilot Michael (Carlo Kitzlinger) disabled, the inexperienced Tobias must take charge of the situation. To make matters more tense, Tobias’ German-Turkish fiancee Gokce (German actress Aylin Tezel) is a flight attendant on the plane. The one advantage Tobias has is that the four hijackers have no guns and are armed only with improvised knives made from broken glass.
The whole film takes place in the...
- 6/22/2020
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This article contains Hollywood spoilers. You can find our easter egg guide for the previous episode here.
If you wanted a star-gazing episode from Ryan Murphy (or perhaps a different four-letter word to do with stars), then this is it. In one episode we get Vivien Leigh, Tallulah Bankhead, Alfred Hitchcock, Noel Coward, and some juicy gossip about Errol Flynn. So get ready to go to a George Cukor party!
Hollywood Episode 3
-The third episode begins to the sound of Ella Fitzgerald’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light.”
-Ernie reveals to the boys that they’re going to a George Cukor party. While I was aware that Cole Porter and, at this point, retired director James Whale enjoyed scandalous pool parties, I’d been under the impression that Cukor was more deeply in the closet, preferring urbane Saturday night parties with celebrities. Which is still true, but according to Scotty Bowers,...
If you wanted a star-gazing episode from Ryan Murphy (or perhaps a different four-letter word to do with stars), then this is it. In one episode we get Vivien Leigh, Tallulah Bankhead, Alfred Hitchcock, Noel Coward, and some juicy gossip about Errol Flynn. So get ready to go to a George Cukor party!
Hollywood Episode 3
-The third episode begins to the sound of Ella Fitzgerald’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light.”
-Ernie reveals to the boys that they’re going to a George Cukor party. While I was aware that Cole Porter and, at this point, retired director James Whale enjoyed scandalous pool parties, I’d been under the impression that Cukor was more deeply in the closet, preferring urbane Saturday night parties with celebrities. Which is still true, but according to Scotty Bowers,...
- 5/2/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Editors’ Note: With full acknowledgment of the big-picture implications of a pandemic that has already claimed thousands of lives, cratered global economies and closed international borders, Deadline’s Coping With Covid-19 Crisis series is a forum for those in the entertainment space grappling with myriad consequences of seeing a great industry screech to a halt. The hope is for an exchange of ideas and experiences, and suggestions on how businesses and individuals can best ride out a crisis that doesn’t look like it will abate any time soon. If you have a story, email mike@deadline.com.
Bryn Mooser, the Oscar-nominated producer of Lifeboat and Body Team 12, launched non-fiction studio Xtr last year. He was set to premiere You Cannot Kill David Arquette, a feature documentary exploring how the Scream actor’s pursuit of a professional wrestling belt impacted his career, at the SXSW festival before it was cancelled...
Bryn Mooser, the Oscar-nominated producer of Lifeboat and Body Team 12, launched non-fiction studio Xtr last year. He was set to premiere You Cannot Kill David Arquette, a feature documentary exploring how the Scream actor’s pursuit of a professional wrestling belt impacted his career, at the SXSW festival before it was cancelled...
- 3/27/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Stars: Jeff Kober, Caroline Day, Matty Cardarople, Brett Azar, Eric Tabach, Ashley Austin Morris, Sophie Faulkenberry, John Behlmann, Matthew Gumley, Noah Gaynor, Max Miller | Written by Jon Adler, Ted Weihman | Directed by Tony Glazer
Dead Sound, directed by Tony Glazer (Junction) tells the story of four best friends who decide to attend a massive blow-out high school graduation party on Block Island. After missing the last ferry they decide to hire a fishing boat to take them on what should be a simple journey. What they get is the trip from hell, with a captain and his first mate that have no intention of taking the kids to Block Island, putting them into a fight to survive and to simply make it back to land… any land.
It would seem, given the recent release of Harpoon, Blood Vessel, the Gary Oldman-starrer Mary, and now Dead Sound, that horror set...
Dead Sound, directed by Tony Glazer (Junction) tells the story of four best friends who decide to attend a massive blow-out high school graduation party on Block Island. After missing the last ferry they decide to hire a fishing boat to take them on what should be a simple journey. What they get is the trip from hell, with a captain and his first mate that have no intention of taking the kids to Block Island, putting them into a fight to survive and to simply make it back to land… any land.
It would seem, given the recent release of Harpoon, Blood Vessel, the Gary Oldman-starrer Mary, and now Dead Sound, that horror set...
- 3/6/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
With the Academy Awards just around the corner, it’s time to talk about the “who didn’ts” — the actors who never won an Oscas, let alone received a nomination-as well as classic films that never saw Oscar gold. And there are plenty of who didn’t filmmakers. Countless legendary directors didn’t win Oscars or even earn nominations.
Martin Scorsese, who is one of the most influential, acclaimed directors of the past 50 years has only won for directing 2006’s Best Picture winner “The Departed.” Though his 1976 masterpiece “Taxi Driver” was nominated for Best Picture, he didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He first got his first directing nomination for his 1980 masterwork “Raging Bull,” but lost to Robert Redford for “Ordinary People.”
Scorsese has received a lot of Oscar love. As far as producing, writing and directing, he’s received 14 nominations. And this year, he’s nominated...
Martin Scorsese, who is one of the most influential, acclaimed directors of the past 50 years has only won for directing 2006’s Best Picture winner “The Departed.” Though his 1976 masterpiece “Taxi Driver” was nominated for Best Picture, he didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He first got his first directing nomination for his 1980 masterwork “Raging Bull,” but lost to Robert Redford for “Ordinary People.”
Scorsese has received a lot of Oscar love. As far as producing, writing and directing, he’s received 14 nominations. And this year, he’s nominated...
- 1/30/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The Force is no longer with us. Don’t deny it. Just say it and accept it. Let go of the fear. In losing the Force, much to regain we have. Maybe even our souls.
“Star Wars” is over! Long live “Star Wars”!
But not, if there is a God, for too long. Have you seen the President of the United States that 40 years of living inside the addictive narcotic of fantasy culture has brought us? Maybe it’s time to give up a dream that was actually played out long ago.
In the mid-1970s, when everything except punk rock moved at a pace so slow that Jimmy Carter’s drawl seemed charismatic, two movies, “Jaws” and “Star Wars,” famously gave rise to the new blockbuster aesthetic of Hollywood. It was a retro revolution, and it wasn’t just about movies. It was about a way that all of...
“Star Wars” is over! Long live “Star Wars”!
But not, if there is a God, for too long. Have you seen the President of the United States that 40 years of living inside the addictive narcotic of fantasy culture has brought us? Maybe it’s time to give up a dream that was actually played out long ago.
In the mid-1970s, when everything except punk rock moved at a pace so slow that Jimmy Carter’s drawl seemed charismatic, two movies, “Jaws” and “Star Wars,” famously gave rise to the new blockbuster aesthetic of Hollywood. It was a retro revolution, and it wasn’t just about movies. It was about a way that all of...
- 12/25/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
A decade is a long time in television, and we're gathering the best programming across a bunch of fun categories.
We're starting with the best action/adventure series.
Did your favorite make the list?
Game of Thrones - HBO (2011-2019)
Let’s get it out of the way. Games of Thrones had a rocky ending. That doesn’t take away from the seven incredible seasons that came before it, though. Game of Thrones is one of the defining shows of the decade.
Having such a large ensemble cast is no easy task, but Game of Thrones managed to get us invested in each player in the war for the Iron Throne. The show had something for everyone: action, adventure, romance, and dragons.
From its opening scene being introduced to the white walkers, to the birth of Dany’s dragons, to the Red Wedding, to the wall being brought down, the...
We're starting with the best action/adventure series.
Did your favorite make the list?
Game of Thrones - HBO (2011-2019)
Let’s get it out of the way. Games of Thrones had a rocky ending. That doesn’t take away from the seven incredible seasons that came before it, though. Game of Thrones is one of the defining shows of the decade.
Having such a large ensemble cast is no easy task, but Game of Thrones managed to get us invested in each player in the war for the Iron Throne. The show had something for everyone: action, adventure, romance, and dragons.
From its opening scene being introduced to the white walkers, to the birth of Dany’s dragons, to the Red Wedding, to the wall being brought down, the...
- 12/23/2019
- by TV Fanatic Staff
- TVfanatic
Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) is showing October 31 – November 29, 2019 on Mubi in France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.To begin with a plainly intended pun, Alfred Hitchcock was soaring high when he set out to make The Birds in 1962. Coming off the phenomenal success of Psycho, a groundbreaking film executed two years earlier, the legendary British filmmaker, by this point a mainstay in American popular culture, had somehow managed to one-up himself at seemingly every turn: “What will you do for an encore?”, Lew Wasserman supposedly asked Hitch after the triumph of his iconic 1960 horror classic, which garnered him his fifth and final Academy Award nomination for best director. To answer that question, for his first Universal Pictures release since 1943’s Shadow of a Doubt, Hitchcock moved away from the low-key, black and white ambiance and shocking terror of Psycho and opted for a Technicolor rendering of sweeping, enigmatic,...
- 10/23/2019
- MUBI
Bryn Mooser, two-time Oscar nominee and the co-founder and former CEO of media company Ryot, today announced the launch of Xtr, a premium nonfiction film and television studio. Xtr is developing a slate of documentary films and nonfiction series, with partners such as Anonymous Content, Vice Studios, and Futurism.
“This is the beginning of a revolution in documentary storytelling,” said Mooser, CEO, Xtr. “New technology is enabling emerging voices, while established names from across the industry are turning their energy toward nonfiction. With streaming platforms that can reach bigger audiences than ever before, we are witnessing a true democratization of both filmmaking and distribution. At Xtr we aim to help propel the documentary filmmakers of today into the industry giants of tomorrow.”
Xtr recently closed an investment round from film and television vets and entrepreneurs, including former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, Franklin McLarty, Mark McLarty, Christina and David Arquette,...
“This is the beginning of a revolution in documentary storytelling,” said Mooser, CEO, Xtr. “New technology is enabling emerging voices, while established names from across the industry are turning their energy toward nonfiction. With streaming platforms that can reach bigger audiences than ever before, we are witnessing a true democratization of both filmmaking and distribution. At Xtr we aim to help propel the documentary filmmakers of today into the industry giants of tomorrow.”
Xtr recently closed an investment round from film and television vets and entrepreneurs, including former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, Franklin McLarty, Mark McLarty, Christina and David Arquette,...
- 9/12/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Bryn Mooser is taking a new run at the documentary space with Xtr, a nonfiction film and TV studio backed by Hollywood and business figures including David Arquette and Christina McLarty Arquette, Lyn and Norman Lear, and former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong.
Mooser is the co-founder and former CEO of Ryot, the immersive-entertainment studio acquired in 2016 by Huffington Post, which is now part of Verizon Media (through the telco’s acquisition of AOL). He exited Ryot at the end of 2018 to work on forming Xtr.
“There’s this incredible moment in documentary films – you have an explosion of platforms, and audiences are responding to this kind of content,” he said. Ten years ago, if you wanted to watch a documentary film “you’d have to be in a big city… or maybe there was one row in Blockbuster.”
Mooser said Xtr has raised “mid-seven figures” in seed funding. Other investors...
Mooser is the co-founder and former CEO of Ryot, the immersive-entertainment studio acquired in 2016 by Huffington Post, which is now part of Verizon Media (through the telco’s acquisition of AOL). He exited Ryot at the end of 2018 to work on forming Xtr.
“There’s this incredible moment in documentary films – you have an explosion of platforms, and audiences are responding to this kind of content,” he said. Ten years ago, if you wanted to watch a documentary film “you’d have to be in a big city… or maybe there was one row in Blockbuster.”
Mooser said Xtr has raised “mid-seven figures” in seed funding. Other investors...
- 9/12/2019
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Bryn Mooser— the Oscar-nominated co-founder of documentary-focused media company Ryot— has launched a new non-fiction venture with film and television studio Xtr.
The Echo Park-based Xtr will develop and produce features and docuseries, with a slate to be announced that includes 10 upcoming features, and partnerships with Anonymous Content, Vice Studios and Futurism.
Mooser acted as the CEO of Ryot and sold the company to Verizon Media in 2016, leaving the company in late 2018. He worked on 2015's Oscar-nominated doc short Body Team 12 under Ryot, and was nominated again in 2019 for short Lifeboat.
"After I ...
The Echo Park-based Xtr will develop and produce features and docuseries, with a slate to be announced that includes 10 upcoming features, and partnerships with Anonymous Content, Vice Studios and Futurism.
Mooser acted as the CEO of Ryot and sold the company to Verizon Media in 2016, leaving the company in late 2018. He worked on 2015's Oscar-nominated doc short Body Team 12 under Ryot, and was nominated again in 2019 for short Lifeboat.
"After I ...
- 9/12/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bryn Mooser— the Oscar-nominated co-founder of documentary-focused media company Ryot— has launched a new non-fiction venture with film and television studio Xtr.
The Echo Park-based Xtr will develop and produce features and docuseries, with a slate to be announced that includes 10 upcoming features, and partnerships with Anonymous Content, Vice Studios and Futurism.
Mooser acted as the CEO of Ryot and sold the company to Verizon Media in 2016, leaving the company in late 2018. He worked on 2015's Oscar-nominated doc short Body Team 12 under Ryot, and was nominated again in 2019 for short Lifeboat.
"After I ...
The Echo Park-based Xtr will develop and produce features and docuseries, with a slate to be announced that includes 10 upcoming features, and partnerships with Anonymous Content, Vice Studios and Futurism.
Mooser acted as the CEO of Ryot and sold the company to Verizon Media in 2016, leaving the company in late 2018. He worked on 2015's Oscar-nominated doc short Body Team 12 under Ryot, and was nominated again in 2019 for short Lifeboat.
"After I ...
- 9/12/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The civil war in Syria has led to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the 21st century, and documentary filmmakers have been paying attention. For the last four years, films about the attacks on Syrian citizens by the Assad regime with the help of the Russian military, and about the resultant flood of refugees trying to flee the country, have surfaced at nearly every film festival that showcases nonfiction filmmaking.
The latest is “The Cave,” which opened the documentary program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
“The Cave” follows on the heels of 2017’s “Cries From Syria,” “City of Ghosts,” “Hell on Earth” and the Oscar-nominated “Last Men in Aleppo,” 2018’s “Of Fathers and Sons” and of the Oscar-nominated short docs “Lifeboat,” “Watani: My Homeland,” “4.1 Miles” and “The White Helmets” (which won), as well as “For Sama” which provoked a strong response at this year’s Cannes film festival in May.
The latest is “The Cave,” which opened the documentary program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
“The Cave” follows on the heels of 2017’s “Cries From Syria,” “City of Ghosts,” “Hell on Earth” and the Oscar-nominated “Last Men in Aleppo,” 2018’s “Of Fathers and Sons” and of the Oscar-nominated short docs “Lifeboat,” “Watani: My Homeland,” “4.1 Miles” and “The White Helmets” (which won), as well as “For Sama” which provoked a strong response at this year’s Cannes film festival in May.
- 9/5/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Joseph Baxter Dec 8, 2019
They Boys Season 2 has been made official by Amazon, and is already adding newcomers to the cast.
The Boys unleashed an unapologetically ultraviolent response to the entertainment industry’s seemingly interminable array of live-action superhero fare with a TV series created by Supernatural and Timeless's Eric Kripke, adapting the bleak comic book series from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The result was a serial offering that's said to be one of the most-watched shows for the Amazon Prime Video platform.
Amazon was clearly privy to the fact that The Boys was something special even before it premiered, since the online retail monolith's streaming arm preemptively ordered a second season of the series back in July during Sdcc season.
Here's everything to know about The Boys Season 2!
The Boys Season 2 Trailer
The first teaser for The Boys season 2 has arrived. Amazon Prime unveiled this first clip during...
They Boys Season 2 has been made official by Amazon, and is already adding newcomers to the cast.
The Boys unleashed an unapologetically ultraviolent response to the entertainment industry’s seemingly interminable array of live-action superhero fare with a TV series created by Supernatural and Timeless's Eric Kripke, adapting the bleak comic book series from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The result was a serial offering that's said to be one of the most-watched shows for the Amazon Prime Video platform.
Amazon was clearly privy to the fact that The Boys was something special even before it premiered, since the online retail monolith's streaming arm preemptively ordered a second season of the series back in July during Sdcc season.
Here's everything to know about The Boys Season 2!
The Boys Season 2 Trailer
The first teaser for The Boys season 2 has arrived. Amazon Prime unveiled this first clip during...
- 7/12/2019
- Den of Geek
Dim the lights and pull the curtain: it's time for Riverdale's next musical episode on Riverdale Season 3 Episode 16.
Croquet mallets, plaid skirts, and '80s hair mean that we're heading into the world of Heathers, the teen dark comedy. And just like a musical, the songs infused itself into the plot of Riverdale.
Was the performance a showstopper or did it need to pull the curtain?
"Big Fun" was Riverdale's second debut with a full musical episode; the first was the Carrie musical on Riverdale Season 2 Episode 18.
But this time around, the musical didn't light up the stage like its predecessor.
You could say that it didn't provide ... big fun. (*crickets* You didn't like the play on words? Fine!)
Overall, the musical numbers looked clunky and missed the same sheen/glow that Riverdale typically puts into their performances.
Whereas the cast connected to their roles in the Carrie musical,...
Croquet mallets, plaid skirts, and '80s hair mean that we're heading into the world of Heathers, the teen dark comedy. And just like a musical, the songs infused itself into the plot of Riverdale.
Was the performance a showstopper or did it need to pull the curtain?
"Big Fun" was Riverdale's second debut with a full musical episode; the first was the Carrie musical on Riverdale Season 2 Episode 18.
But this time around, the musical didn't light up the stage like its predecessor.
You could say that it didn't provide ... big fun. (*crickets* You didn't like the play on words? Fine!)
Overall, the musical numbers looked clunky and missed the same sheen/glow that Riverdale typically puts into their performances.
Whereas the cast connected to their roles in the Carrie musical,...
- 3/21/2019
- by Justin Carreiro
- TVfanatic
The 91st annual Oscars is officially in the books. Speaking of books, “Green Book” won Sunday’s final trophy — the coveted Best Picture Oscar. The film also brought Mahershala Ali another Best Supporting Actor statuette. “Green Book” won the Best Original Screenplay award as well.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” actually won the most Academy Awards with four. Like “Green Book,” “Black Panther” and “Roma” won three Oscars apiece.
Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) earned Sunday’s top acting honors. Alfonso Cuarón was named best director for “Roma.” See all of the winners and nominees below.
Also Read: Will 2019 Oscars Have A(nother) Record Low Audience?
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” *Winner Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
Best Documentary Feature
“Free Solo” *Winner “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” “Minding the Gap” “Of Fathers and Sons...
“Bohemian Rhapsody” actually won the most Academy Awards with four. Like “Green Book,” “Black Panther” and “Roma” won three Oscars apiece.
Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) earned Sunday’s top acting honors. Alfonso Cuarón was named best director for “Roma.” See all of the winners and nominees below.
Also Read: Will 2019 Oscars Have A(nother) Record Low Audience?
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” *Winner Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
Best Documentary Feature
“Free Solo” *Winner “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” “Minding the Gap” “Of Fathers and Sons...
- 2/25/2019
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
The 91st annual Academy Awards (Oscars) was a night of incredibly well-deserved wins, first time wins, and shocking wins. See the full list of nominees and winners below.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Winner) Amy Adams in “Vice” Marina de Tavira in “Roma” Emma Stone in “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz in “The Favourite” Best documentary feature “Free Solo” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill (Winner) “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim “Minding the Gap” Bing Liu and Diane Quon “Of Fathers and Sons” Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert “Rbg” Betsy West and Julie Cohen Achievement in makeup and hairstyling “Vice” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney (Winner) “Border” Goran Lundstrom and Pamela Goldammer “Mary Queen of Scots” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and...
Performance by an actress in a supporting role Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Winner) Amy Adams in “Vice” Marina de Tavira in “Roma” Emma Stone in “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz in “The Favourite” Best documentary feature “Free Solo” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill (Winner) “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim “Minding the Gap” Bing Liu and Diane Quon “Of Fathers and Sons” Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert “Rbg” Betsy West and Julie Cohen Achievement in makeup and hairstyling “Vice” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney (Winner) “Border” Goran Lundstrom and Pamela Goldammer “Mary Queen of Scots” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and...
- 2/25/2019
- by Andrew Wendowski
- Age of the Nerd
The 91st Academy Awards are set to honor the best films and performances released in 2018. “Roma” and “The Favourite” lead all films this year with 10 total nominations each, including Best Picture and Best Director. With “Roma,”
In addition to “Roma” and “The Favourite,” other films nominated in multiple categories include “Green Book,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “A Star Is Born,” “Vice,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The Oscars are set to air after a years-worth of controversies that found the Academy introducing and removing a Best Popular Film category and reversing their decision to move four of the categories to the telecast’s commercial breaks.
The complete nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are below. IndieWire will update the winners of each category in bold as they are announced live.
Best Picture
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”
Best Director
Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War...
In addition to “Roma” and “The Favourite,” other films nominated in multiple categories include “Green Book,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “A Star Is Born,” “Vice,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The Oscars are set to air after a years-worth of controversies that found the Academy introducing and removing a Best Popular Film category and reversing their decision to move four of the categories to the telecast’s commercial breaks.
The complete nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are below. IndieWire will update the winners of each category in bold as they are announced live.
Best Picture
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”
Best Director
Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War...
- 2/24/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The year’s biggest night in movies is officially here.
In the running for the evening’s biggest prize, best picture, are “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” “Vice,” “The Favourite” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “A Star Is Born.”
Best actress contenders include first-time nominee Yalitza Aparicio, Olivia Colman, Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close, and Lady Gaga. Close has won the Golden Globe and SAG Award for her role in “The Wife,” so all eyes will be on her to see if she can pull in her first win in seven nominations.
Leading men Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek, Viggo Mortensen, and Willem Dafoe are in consideration for the coveted prize of best actor, with Malek favored in predictions.
The night marks a rare instance in which the awards are going without a host in the wake of Kevin Hart’s departure following backlash over his homophobic remarks that were resurfaced from years ago.
In the running for the evening’s biggest prize, best picture, are “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” “Vice,” “The Favourite” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “A Star Is Born.”
Best actress contenders include first-time nominee Yalitza Aparicio, Olivia Colman, Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close, and Lady Gaga. Close has won the Golden Globe and SAG Award for her role in “The Wife,” so all eyes will be on her to see if she can pull in her first win in seven nominations.
Leading men Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek, Viggo Mortensen, and Willem Dafoe are in consideration for the coveted prize of best actor, with Malek favored in predictions.
The night marks a rare instance in which the awards are going without a host in the wake of Kevin Hart’s departure following backlash over his homophobic remarks that were resurfaced from years ago.
- 2/24/2019
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
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