Lynne Marta, the actress who appeared in films including Joe Kidd and Footloose, as a regular on Love, American Style and as a guest star on dozens of other TV shows, has died. She was 78.
Marta died Thursday in her Los Angeles home after a battle with cancer, her friend Chris Saint-Hilaire told The Hollywood Reporter.
The New Jersey native also showed up on episodes of such Aaron Spelling-produced series as The Mod Squad, The Rookies, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Vega$ and Matt Houston and on Quinn Martin productions like The F.B.I., Dan August, Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, The Manhunter and Caribe.
As the companion of a wealthy landowner (Robert Duvall), Marta caught the eye of a bounty hunter (Clint Eastwood) in John Sturges’ Joe Kidd (1972), and she portrayed Lulu Warnicker, the aunt of Kevin Bacon’s Ren, in the Herbert Ross-directed Footloose (1984).
The younger of two daughters,...
Marta died Thursday in her Los Angeles home after a battle with cancer, her friend Chris Saint-Hilaire told The Hollywood Reporter.
The New Jersey native also showed up on episodes of such Aaron Spelling-produced series as The Mod Squad, The Rookies, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Vega$ and Matt Houston and on Quinn Martin productions like The F.B.I., Dan August, Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, The Manhunter and Caribe.
As the companion of a wealthy landowner (Robert Duvall), Marta caught the eye of a bounty hunter (Clint Eastwood) in John Sturges’ Joe Kidd (1972), and she portrayed Lulu Warnicker, the aunt of Kevin Bacon’s Ren, in the Herbert Ross-directed Footloose (1984).
The younger of two daughters,...
- 1/16/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Waltons is a classic American drama that ran for nine seasons on television throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with a number of television specials in the early 1990s. The show helped make some of the actors household names, including Richard Thomas, who played John-Boy Walton.
Richard Thomas as John Boy | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
However, many of the child actors on the show have spoken out in recent years to let the world know that they were not adequately compensated for their work on the show, leading many of them to have a lower net worth than other child actors of the era and find work outside of Hollywood since the end of the series.
‘The Waltons’ is a classic family television show
The Waltons premiered in September 1972 and featured a Great Depression-era family living in the mountains of Virginia. The family consisted of a set of grandparents,...
Richard Thomas as John Boy | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
However, many of the child actors on the show have spoken out in recent years to let the world know that they were not adequately compensated for their work on the show, leading many of them to have a lower net worth than other child actors of the era and find work outside of Hollywood since the end of the series.
‘The Waltons’ is a classic family television show
The Waltons premiered in September 1972 and featured a Great Depression-era family living in the mountains of Virginia. The family consisted of a set of grandparents,...
- 3/4/2023
- by Terri Deno
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Billy Goldenberg, the Emmy-winning composer and songwriter, died Monday night at his home in New York City. He was 84.
Goldenberg wrote the themes for such 1970s TV series as “Kojak,” “Harry O” and “Rhoda,” composed the pilot scores for “Night Gallery” and “Columbo,” and won Emmys for the TV-movie “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” and miniseries “The Lives of Benjamin Franklin,” “King” and “Rage of Angels.”
He expanded his 1975 “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” song score, with lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman, into the score of the 1978 Broadway musical “Ballroom,” directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett of “A Chorus Line” fame. It earned eight Tony nominations including Best Musical.
Reminiscing Wednesday about their collaboration on “Ballroom,” Alan Bergman told Variety: “Billy was one of the rare composers who was also a dramatist. Lots of people can write melodies, but you could tell Billy the situation, what the characters were feeling,...
Goldenberg wrote the themes for such 1970s TV series as “Kojak,” “Harry O” and “Rhoda,” composed the pilot scores for “Night Gallery” and “Columbo,” and won Emmys for the TV-movie “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” and miniseries “The Lives of Benjamin Franklin,” “King” and “Rage of Angels.”
He expanded his 1975 “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom” song score, with lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman, into the score of the 1978 Broadway musical “Ballroom,” directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett of “A Chorus Line” fame. It earned eight Tony nominations including Best Musical.
Reminiscing Wednesday about their collaboration on “Ballroom,” Alan Bergman told Variety: “Billy was one of the rare composers who was also a dramatist. Lots of people can write melodies, but you could tell Billy the situation, what the characters were feeling,...
- 8/5/2020
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Production will begin later this year on a new female driven international espionage thriller The Rhythm Section, with financing from leading independent studio Im Global, it was announced today by Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of Eon Productions in London and Im Global Founder and CEO, Stuart Ford in Los Angeles.
Wilson and Broccoli, who have produced the last eight Bond films (Spectre, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, Goldeneye), will produce. Ford and Im Global’s Academy Award winning head of production Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, upcoming Detroit) and author/screenwriter Mark Burnell will serve as executive producers.
The Rhythm Section is a contemporary adaptation of the first of British thriller writer Mark Burnell’s “Stephanie Patrick” series of four novels.
Heroine, Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) is on a path of self-destruction after...
Wilson and Broccoli, who have produced the last eight Bond films (Spectre, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, Goldeneye), will produce. Ford and Im Global’s Academy Award winning head of production Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, upcoming Detroit) and author/screenwriter Mark Burnell will serve as executive producers.
The Rhythm Section is a contemporary adaptation of the first of British thriller writer Mark Burnell’s “Stephanie Patrick” series of four novels.
Heroine, Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) is on a path of self-destruction after...
- 7/13/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Nicki Minaj is no stranger to drama in the spotlight and the latest in her long history of verbal sparring-mates (Miley, Mariah, Iggy, oh my) is none other than rapper and reality TV star Remy Ma.
Thursday night, Minaj, 34, gave fans a whole set of new tunes to groove to when she dropped three new songs with a plethora of responses to Remy Ma’s Internet-breaking diss track “ShETHER.”
Remy Ma, 36 — whose nearly 7-minute chart-topping diss track nearly broke the Internet — has yet to strike back, but Minaj gave her a deadline of 72 hours.
Truth be told, Minaj and Remy Ma...
Thursday night, Minaj, 34, gave fans a whole set of new tunes to groove to when she dropped three new songs with a plethora of responses to Remy Ma’s Internet-breaking diss track “ShETHER.”
Remy Ma, 36 — whose nearly 7-minute chart-topping diss track nearly broke the Internet — has yet to strike back, but Minaj gave her a deadline of 72 hours.
Truth be told, Minaj and Remy Ma...
- 3/10/2017
- by Nicole Sands
- PEOPLE.com
From the moment he walked into Orlando's Florida Hospital for Children with a headache so severe that he couldn't tolerate the slightest touch, the odds of survival were stacked against 16-year-old Sebastian DeLeon. But thanks to a sharp-eyed laboratory coordinator and the quick delivery of a drug not yet approved for treatment of his condition, the South Florida teen is on the mend and his case may prove a precedent for emergency room protocols nationwide. DeLeon, who had recently worked as a camp counselor in Broward County, was vacationing with his family in Orlando when he experienced a pounding headache on Friday,...
- 8/24/2016
- by Devan Stuart Lesley, @devanslesley
- PEOPLE.com
From the moment he walked into Orlando's Florida Hospital for Children with a headache so severe that he couldn't tolerate the slightest touch, the odds of survival were stacked against 16-year-old Sebastian DeLeon. But thanks to a sharp-eyed laboratory coordinator and the quick delivery of a drug not yet approved for treatment of his condition, the South Florida teen is on the mend and his case may prove a precedent for emergency room protocols nationwide. DeLeon, who had recently worked as a camp counselor in Broward County, was vacationing with his family in Orlando when he experienced a pounding headache on Friday,...
- 8/24/2016
- by Devan Stuart Lesley, @devanslesley
- PEOPLE.com
Burbank, CA (May 9, 2016) – For the 100 on Earth, they have learned the hard way that in the fight for survival there are no heroes and there are no villains – there is only the living and the dead. Join stars Isaiah Washington and Henry Ian Cusick while they fight for the human race as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Wbhe) releases the thrilling The 100: The Complete Third Season on DVD on July 19, 2016. One of the top shows on The CW is based on the bestselling young adult book The 100, by Kass Morgan, and has a built-in audience that is excited to see these characters come to life. The 100: The Complete Third Season will feature all 16 episodes and is available to own on July 19, 2016 for $39.99 Srp.
Due to overwhelming fan demand, The 100: The Complete Third Season also arrives July 19, 2016 on Blu-rayTM courtesy of Warner Archive. The Blu-rayTM release of The 100:...
Due to overwhelming fan demand, The 100: The Complete Third Season also arrives July 19, 2016 on Blu-rayTM courtesy of Warner Archive. The Blu-rayTM release of The 100:...
- 5/11/2016
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Luna refused the Flame once, but would she change her mind on The 100 Season 3 Episode 14, "Red Sky at Morning" or would she continue to refuse Clarke's request? The resolution of the Flame took a few unexpected twist, though not nearly as many as the battle against Alie.
Luna has strong feelings about the life she left behind and her current beliefs. Check out the best lines and exchanges including Luna and others from "Red Sky at Morning."...
Luna has strong feelings about the life she left behind and her current beliefs. Check out the best lines and exchanges including Luna and others from "Red Sky at Morning."...
- 5/5/2016
- by editor@buddytv.com
- buddytv.com
Been meaning to catch up with Sam and Dean Winchester, but just haven't found the time? Our Supernatural tips for beginners may help...
Maps To TV Shows: Is there a popular show you’d really like to watch but you just don’t have time to wade through years of it all at once? Do you just want to know why that one character keeps turning up on Tumblr? Do the fans all tell you ‘season one is a bit iffy but stick with it, it gets great!’, leaving you with absolutely zero desire ever to watch the boring/silly/just plain weird season one? Then Maps To TV Shows is for you!
In these articles, we’ll outline routes through popular TV shows focusing on particular characters, story arcs or episode types. Are you really into the Klingon episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation? Do you want to...
Maps To TV Shows: Is there a popular show you’d really like to watch but you just don’t have time to wade through years of it all at once? Do you just want to know why that one character keeps turning up on Tumblr? Do the fans all tell you ‘season one is a bit iffy but stick with it, it gets great!’, leaving you with absolutely zero desire ever to watch the boring/silly/just plain weird season one? Then Maps To TV Shows is for you!
In these articles, we’ll outline routes through popular TV shows focusing on particular characters, story arcs or episode types. Are you really into the Klingon episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation? Do you want to...
- 1/13/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
The Corner Show #1 discovered and curated by Drew McWeeny The following is the first installment in a new regular feature here at HitFix. People are fascinated by stories of films that were almost made, and we've certainly dug into that subject in the past. This is a new way of doing that in an ongoing format, and we hope you enjoy what is meant to be a game, a fun way of looking at an alternate movie history. It is safe to say that I had a very challenging 2014. So maybe what happened was a complete break with reality. Who could blame me? There's only so much anyone can take, and I've certainly had my own limits tested recently. So trust me.. at first, I considered forgetting all about what happened this past weekend and never writing a word about it. But it was so strange and so special that...
- 1/6/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
In honor of Supernatural's 200th episode, EW took a quick trip down the road so far. And by quick, we mean that we ranked every episode of Supernatural ever. From Sam and Dean's first battle against the Woman in White to Sam's recent rescue of Demon Dean, we left nothing out, and we're pretty sure it was just as difficult as that one time that Sam and Dean stopped the apocalypse. If you're looking for our Top 40 picks, check out gallery No. 1, and for our Worst 10, head here. For everything in between, scroll down, relive the memories (and...
- 11/7/2014
- by Samantha Highfill and Jonathon Dornbush
- EW.com - PopWatch
"Brap-pa-dap-ba-dap-ba-dap! All in, fair warned! Sold your way for $2,000!"
If that phrase means anything to you, then you're likely a huge fan of Storage Hunters, Dave's biggest hit from across the Atlantic. It's now coming back for a UK spinoff, with auctioneer and comedian Sean Kelly keeping things under control once again.
Ahead of the brand new series, Digital Spy sat down with Kelly about how the show is different from its predecessor. Here's what we found out:
Sean was amazed at the UK's love for Storage Hunters
"A comedian friend of mine, George Lopez, he and I were doing a charity fundraiser together and he's like, 'Dude you should get on Twitter'. He had to explain to me how it works and so I sent out like two tweets and all of a sudden I started getting thousands of followers in the UK and I'm like, 'What is this?...
If that phrase means anything to you, then you're likely a huge fan of Storage Hunters, Dave's biggest hit from across the Atlantic. It's now coming back for a UK spinoff, with auctioneer and comedian Sean Kelly keeping things under control once again.
Ahead of the brand new series, Digital Spy sat down with Kelly about how the show is different from its predecessor. Here's what we found out:
Sean was amazed at the UK's love for Storage Hunters
"A comedian friend of mine, George Lopez, he and I were doing a charity fundraiser together and he's like, 'Dude you should get on Twitter'. He had to explain to me how it works and so I sent out like two tweets and all of a sudden I started getting thousands of followers in the UK and I'm like, 'What is this?...
- 10/24/2014
- Digital Spy
Among all of Walt Disney Studios' properties, the division that has the most unblemished success is Pixar. And frankly, from box office to Oscars that respect is well deserved. While Lucasfilm is bringing on buzz worthy filmmakers and screenwriters to tackle the new standalone trilogy and spinoff movies, the only label with a chance of taking Pixar's crown is Marvel Studios. Under the careful eye of Kevin Feige, Marvel began its journey independently just six years ago with "Iron Man." That same summer also provided the partial stumble "The Incredible Hulk" (it just wasn't a significant improvement over Ang Lee's version). But, the studio soon silenced critics with "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger." Eventually the long awaited "The Avengers" took the company to a completely different level with critics, as a pop culture force and at the box office. Moreover, the quality control hasn't stopped. "Iron Man 3,...
- 8/3/2014
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
The road so far …
It wasn’t exactly easy for genre television in 2005. Well, it’s really never been easy for genre television ever in the history of television, but in 2005, a deluge of genre shows premiered and almost all of them had fallen prey to the swift axe of the television gods by the next year. Start by thinking about television now. It’s a fruitful time for horror and science fiction and fantasy. There are a multitude of genre shows, running the gamut from The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, to True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. They’re all massive hits.
Now, think of all of the shows that premiered around that time in 2005. There was Surface, and that was cancelled after ten episodes by NBC. Invasion, a well-regarded show written by Shaun Cassidy (who created one of my favorite shows, American Gothic) and that was cancelled...
It wasn’t exactly easy for genre television in 2005. Well, it’s really never been easy for genre television ever in the history of television, but in 2005, a deluge of genre shows premiered and almost all of them had fallen prey to the swift axe of the television gods by the next year. Start by thinking about television now. It’s a fruitful time for horror and science fiction and fantasy. There are a multitude of genre shows, running the gamut from The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, to True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. They’re all massive hits.
Now, think of all of the shows that premiered around that time in 2005. There was Surface, and that was cancelled after ten episodes by NBC. Invasion, a well-regarded show written by Shaun Cassidy (who created one of my favorite shows, American Gothic) and that was cancelled...
- 6/4/2014
- by Nathan Smith
- Nerdly
Taking time away from the recording studio, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis cover the May 2014 issue of Status magazine.
During his interview with the publication, the Seattle native chatted about everything from creating his stage name to his friendship with Ryan.
Highlights from Macklemore's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit Status!
On the name Macklemore:
"The name was actually made up by myself. I was in a graphic art class and we had a superhero in a plastic... but he had no name and logo. It was our job to create those for him. I came up with Professor Macklemore. That same summer, I went to live in New York City. I was 17 and whenever I could go out thrift shopping, I would buy crazy costumes and outfits and go out on the town in New York and kick it. I would be Professor Macklemore... Eventually, I...
During his interview with the publication, the Seattle native chatted about everything from creating his stage name to his friendship with Ryan.
Highlights from Macklemore's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit Status!
On the name Macklemore:
"The name was actually made up by myself. I was in a graphic art class and we had a superhero in a plastic... but he had no name and logo. It was our job to create those for him. I came up with Professor Macklemore. That same summer, I went to live in New York City. I was 17 and whenever I could go out thrift shopping, I would buy crazy costumes and outfits and go out on the town in New York and kick it. I would be Professor Macklemore... Eventually, I...
- 4/10/2014
- GossipCenter
In a world full of Hollywood reboots of movies that should have never been released in the first place, last night’s episode of Supernatural had a bit of that feeling going on. It was a reboot of a familiar concept and a proper filler episode before we get to more of the good stuff next week.
I’m all right with that! Any time we have an episode that harkens back to what the show used to be in the earlier seasons, just Sam and Dean and the family business, I get a little grin on my face and reach for the popcorn.
That’s not to say there was no plot development this week at all. We touched on the “Sam is possessed by an angel” button quite a bit, Dean’s attempts to keep it from Sam, and his fear that Zeke will be in his little...
I’m all right with that! Any time we have an episode that harkens back to what the show used to be in the earlier seasons, just Sam and Dean and the family business, I get a little grin on my face and reach for the popcorn.
That’s not to say there was no plot development this week at all. We touched on the “Sam is possessed by an angel” button quite a bit, Dean’s attempts to keep it from Sam, and his fear that Zeke will be in his little...
- 11/6/2013
- by Arik Littrell
- The Backlot
In the late eighties, a month after the release of La Bamba—at the time the biggest Latino box office hit ever—Newsweek magazine proclaimed that it was the era of the “Hispanic Hollywood.” That same summer came the release of the Chicano classic Born in East L.A. written, directed, and starring Cheech Marin. Compared to the box office smash La Bamba which made $54 million, Marin’s comedy was only a modest success making $17 million. But, for Latino films which struggle to make it to millions in ticket sales these two films were blockbusters that made Hollywood studios stand up and take notice of the moneymaking potential that laid in the hands of the Latino moviegoing audience.
The 1980 census had thrown the industry into a tizzy when it brought to light that the Latino population had grown by more than half since the previous decade. Then Variety published a report on the ‘Top 20 Hispanic Markets’ where it revealed that Latinos were a huge part of the total population of large cities like L.A. and New York, that they spent 30% more on entertainment than the average American, and that they held an overall purchasing power of $180 billion (now it’s more than $1 trillion). Movie studio bigwigs suddenly saw dollar signs in the barrios of the U.S.A. For the first time they saw the advantage of distributing films with Latino stories, creating bilingual marketing campaigns, and circulating movie prints that were subtitled or dubbed in Spanish.
In March of 1988, amidst Hollywood’s giddiness over the Latino box office, Warner Bros. released Stand and Deliver theatrically. It was a small, independently made Latino film starring the legendary Edward James Olmos and a young Lou Diamond Phillips. Based on actual events the movie tells the story of Jaime Escalante (Olmos), a Bolivian immigrant, who teaches math at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles to mostly Latino students. The school is facing losing its accreditation and the students are failing miserably. Mr. Escalante, or Kimo as his students call him, decides to teach AP Calculus against the advice of the school administration. The chair of the math department says, “You can’t teach logarithms to illiterates.” Kimo responds, “Students will rise to the level of expectation.” When a record number of students pass the AP Calculus exam they are accused of cheating by the Educational Testing Service.
The film, 25 years later, is now a Latino classic thanks in large part to Edward James Olmos. He not only produced and starred in the film but also participated in an aggressive grassroots marketing campaign. He traveled across the country championing the film, doing interviews, setting up community screenings, and even giving away free tickets to anyone who wanted to see the film. It’s now one of the most watched Latino films, ever.
LatinoBuzz got a chance to chat with Edward James Olmos about the 25th anniversary of the film, the state of Latino filmmaking, and the upcoming release of Filly Brown, a film his son directed and stars himself along with the late Jenny Rivera in her first (and sadly last) movie role.
LatinoBuzz: Stand and Deliver earned close to $14 million dollars at the box office. This is a huge feat for a Latino film, even today. Last year’s most successful Latino movie made a little under $6 million. What do you think contributed to Stand and Deliver’s success?
Ejo: The biggest contributor, the biggest factor of its success is the story, hands down the story. It’s a universal story and we wanted people see it. So, we allowed people to see it. We practically gave the film away to anyone who wanted to see it. And because of that the word of mouth was strong. Now practically everyone has seen this movie. Most students see it at least once before leaving high school. Sometimes they see it two or three times in school. The usage of the film by teachers has been incredible. And it’s because of the story. It’s an inspirational piece, it’s uplifting and it’s not only inspiring for the kids but for the teachers too.
LatinoBuzz: 25 years after the release of Stand and Deliver it is still incredibly difficult to raise funds for a Latino movie. How difficult was it to raise the money back then? Why do you think it still remains a challenge to fund a Latino film?
Ejo: I think the budget for the film was $1.2 million. It was really hard to raise the money. And today it hasn’t changed an inch. It’s still really difficult to make a Latino film, it’s nearly impossible. I think one of the major factors that make it difficult to raise the money is that studios have no need to make Latino films. Because Latinos will go see the Fast and Furious or some other big budget action movie or a horror film. In fact about 37% of the people who are going to theaters during the opening weekend of one of these big budget studio films are Latinos. And it’s even more so for something like the Fast and the Furious. It’s closer to about 50% Latinos. They are spending millions of dollars on movie tickets. The market is very ripe for these fast car action films so there’s no need to put in a Latino lead actor or have a Latino story. They can keep it more universal and then don’t nurture Latino talent.
The little Latino talent that is out there, they get cast in mainstream films and blockbusters—like Selena Gomez the actress in Spring Breakers—and will be whitewashed. The few Latino actors that are in the mainstream—someone like Jennifer Lopez, she’s done Anaconda, The Wedding Planner, mostly mainstream films. She’s done very few Latino-themed pieces, you can count them on one hand.
I did it differently. Had I done the movies that were offered to me in my prime, at the height of my career, I would have been alongside the likes of Denzel Washington. But, I chose not to do those movies. I chose to do Stand and Deliver, American Me, Zoot Suit—Latino movies that ended up being successful but were not blockbusters. I just wanted to do my part and get those stories out there before I pass.
Stand and Deliver has been the most successful thing I have done in my life. So many people have seen it. There was really no need for me to do anything else. And the fact that we were able to do the film, it was a miracle.
LatinoBuzz: Your performance in Stand and Deliver garnered you an Oscar nomination for Best Actor making you the first American-born Latino to receive this honor. Do you remember the day you found out you were nominated? What effect did the nomination have on your acting career?
Ejo: I was in Miami on the set of Miami Vice. It was around 8:30 in the morning. I was walking from my trailer to the set and someone walked up to me, someone I didn’t even know. They said, “You were just nominated for an Oscar.” I asked him, “Excuse me?” And he said, “Yeah, for Stand and Deliver” and then just walked away. Of course I called my family right away and then Jaime (Escalante). I called him and woke him up. It was around 5:30 in the morning over there, in California. I told him, “Congratulations, you just won me an Oscar nomination.” Jaime said, “What do you mean? That wasn’t my performance, it was yours.” And I said, “No, it was all you. I just impersonated you. It was all you.”
It’s really difficult to figure out how to make a performance work, it’s like putting lightning in a bottle. But, it was really just an impersonation of him. From meeting and watching and observing Jaime I realized there is a reason why he was successful at teaching, it’s his personality. And I found that out on set. He was always there on set while we were filming. He was always standing there next to the camera. I would look at him after finishing a scene and he would have his arms crossed on his chest, his head tilted, his eyes a little bit squinted and then he would put his thumb up. That’s it. He wouldn’t say anything, just the thumbs up.
And as far as the nomination it opened up a big opportunity for me with a big studio. I signed a development deal. Tom Pollock, who was head of Universal at the time, asked me what I wanted to make. I got the chance to make a movie that I had been trying to make for 18 years, American Me. And it was as strong a movie and as important as Stand and Deliver.
LatinoBuzz: Stand and Deliver is filled with witty dialogue that people quote even 25 years later. Some of my favorite lines are, “You burros have math in your blood” and “His body is decomposing in my locker.” Any favorite lines of dialogue?
Ejo: Oh yeah, there are so many of them. There’s the one that everyone quotes when he calls the kid, “the finger man.” And that was all Jaime, all those lines were Jaime. There was nothing of that stuff that we made up. I rewrote the script, him and I, we wrote it together. All the dialogue in the shooting script was ours. We were never credited but we wrote it. He told me line by line what he said. He remembered everything. The scene where he comes back from the hospital and surprises the kids. When they yell “Bulldogs, dog-dog-dog-dog” and he says, “Thank you for babysitting my canguros.” When he makes them line up, “Against the wall like a snake.” He told me exactly what he said to each kid while they were standing in line and I put it in there.
The scene where he talks to the guys from Ets (Educational Testing Service) and they accuse him of cheating, the part that Andy Garcia plays, he told me exactly what he said to those guys. Exactly that scene, word for word, was said by Jaime. That scene, the dialogue is meticulously written. If you go back and watch it again—the rhythm, beat by beat, it is incredibly written. It’s because Jaime is a mathematician, he was meticulous with details, you have to be.
I remember lines from a lot the movies I made like Zoot Suit and American Me but most of the ones I remember are from Stand and Deliver.
LatinoBuzz: You are part of some of the most iconic Latino films. We haven’t had a huge hit like that in a few years. What do you think it will take to get there again?
I don’t know but the main issue is distribution. Right now I am focused on April 19th, the release of Filly Brown. That movie is my cause right now. There have been some major mistakes around publicity. Pantelion took over the distribution after Indomina went under. Indomina, they were young and couldn’t handle it, they didn’t know what they were doing. So, we sold it to Lionsgate/Pantelion and they moved up the release date, they made it earlier. And I told them that they made the biggest mistake for a film of this caliber. They aren’t giving people a chance to find out about the film. They need time for word of mouth to spread. Latinos and Spanish speakers, they will show up because of Jenny Rivera, because of their love for her and their love for me. But they are losing out on the chance to attract an audience of non-Latinos that will love this film. The are going to do what is always done with Latino films and independent films—putting the movie out there without giving the audience a chance to find out about it. You need to give it away and then they will tell other people—and then thousands of people will find out about it. It takes time. Unfortunately, with this film, if it works, will probably be attributed to Jenny’s tragic accident.
It’s an issue. Studios want to tell universal stories. We want to do the same thing. But, we want to use Latino stories with Latino faces to tell universal stories. We’re only one group. We are all humans and we all want to tell human stories.
Filly Brown opens in theaters across the country on April 19. The film stars Gina Rodriguez as a rapper who needs to make it big so she can raise money to get her mom (Jenny Rivera) out of jail. In conjunction with the film's release the official soundtrack will be available beginning April 16. Filly Brown on Facebook.
Stand and Deliver is available for viewing on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix.
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.
The 1980 census had thrown the industry into a tizzy when it brought to light that the Latino population had grown by more than half since the previous decade. Then Variety published a report on the ‘Top 20 Hispanic Markets’ where it revealed that Latinos were a huge part of the total population of large cities like L.A. and New York, that they spent 30% more on entertainment than the average American, and that they held an overall purchasing power of $180 billion (now it’s more than $1 trillion). Movie studio bigwigs suddenly saw dollar signs in the barrios of the U.S.A. For the first time they saw the advantage of distributing films with Latino stories, creating bilingual marketing campaigns, and circulating movie prints that were subtitled or dubbed in Spanish.
In March of 1988, amidst Hollywood’s giddiness over the Latino box office, Warner Bros. released Stand and Deliver theatrically. It was a small, independently made Latino film starring the legendary Edward James Olmos and a young Lou Diamond Phillips. Based on actual events the movie tells the story of Jaime Escalante (Olmos), a Bolivian immigrant, who teaches math at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles to mostly Latino students. The school is facing losing its accreditation and the students are failing miserably. Mr. Escalante, or Kimo as his students call him, decides to teach AP Calculus against the advice of the school administration. The chair of the math department says, “You can’t teach logarithms to illiterates.” Kimo responds, “Students will rise to the level of expectation.” When a record number of students pass the AP Calculus exam they are accused of cheating by the Educational Testing Service.
The film, 25 years later, is now a Latino classic thanks in large part to Edward James Olmos. He not only produced and starred in the film but also participated in an aggressive grassroots marketing campaign. He traveled across the country championing the film, doing interviews, setting up community screenings, and even giving away free tickets to anyone who wanted to see the film. It’s now one of the most watched Latino films, ever.
LatinoBuzz got a chance to chat with Edward James Olmos about the 25th anniversary of the film, the state of Latino filmmaking, and the upcoming release of Filly Brown, a film his son directed and stars himself along with the late Jenny Rivera in her first (and sadly last) movie role.
LatinoBuzz: Stand and Deliver earned close to $14 million dollars at the box office. This is a huge feat for a Latino film, even today. Last year’s most successful Latino movie made a little under $6 million. What do you think contributed to Stand and Deliver’s success?
Ejo: The biggest contributor, the biggest factor of its success is the story, hands down the story. It’s a universal story and we wanted people see it. So, we allowed people to see it. We practically gave the film away to anyone who wanted to see it. And because of that the word of mouth was strong. Now practically everyone has seen this movie. Most students see it at least once before leaving high school. Sometimes they see it two or three times in school. The usage of the film by teachers has been incredible. And it’s because of the story. It’s an inspirational piece, it’s uplifting and it’s not only inspiring for the kids but for the teachers too.
LatinoBuzz: 25 years after the release of Stand and Deliver it is still incredibly difficult to raise funds for a Latino movie. How difficult was it to raise the money back then? Why do you think it still remains a challenge to fund a Latino film?
Ejo: I think the budget for the film was $1.2 million. It was really hard to raise the money. And today it hasn’t changed an inch. It’s still really difficult to make a Latino film, it’s nearly impossible. I think one of the major factors that make it difficult to raise the money is that studios have no need to make Latino films. Because Latinos will go see the Fast and Furious or some other big budget action movie or a horror film. In fact about 37% of the people who are going to theaters during the opening weekend of one of these big budget studio films are Latinos. And it’s even more so for something like the Fast and the Furious. It’s closer to about 50% Latinos. They are spending millions of dollars on movie tickets. The market is very ripe for these fast car action films so there’s no need to put in a Latino lead actor or have a Latino story. They can keep it more universal and then don’t nurture Latino talent.
The little Latino talent that is out there, they get cast in mainstream films and blockbusters—like Selena Gomez the actress in Spring Breakers—and will be whitewashed. The few Latino actors that are in the mainstream—someone like Jennifer Lopez, she’s done Anaconda, The Wedding Planner, mostly mainstream films. She’s done very few Latino-themed pieces, you can count them on one hand.
I did it differently. Had I done the movies that were offered to me in my prime, at the height of my career, I would have been alongside the likes of Denzel Washington. But, I chose not to do those movies. I chose to do Stand and Deliver, American Me, Zoot Suit—Latino movies that ended up being successful but were not blockbusters. I just wanted to do my part and get those stories out there before I pass.
Stand and Deliver has been the most successful thing I have done in my life. So many people have seen it. There was really no need for me to do anything else. And the fact that we were able to do the film, it was a miracle.
LatinoBuzz: Your performance in Stand and Deliver garnered you an Oscar nomination for Best Actor making you the first American-born Latino to receive this honor. Do you remember the day you found out you were nominated? What effect did the nomination have on your acting career?
Ejo: I was in Miami on the set of Miami Vice. It was around 8:30 in the morning. I was walking from my trailer to the set and someone walked up to me, someone I didn’t even know. They said, “You were just nominated for an Oscar.” I asked him, “Excuse me?” And he said, “Yeah, for Stand and Deliver” and then just walked away. Of course I called my family right away and then Jaime (Escalante). I called him and woke him up. It was around 5:30 in the morning over there, in California. I told him, “Congratulations, you just won me an Oscar nomination.” Jaime said, “What do you mean? That wasn’t my performance, it was yours.” And I said, “No, it was all you. I just impersonated you. It was all you.”
It’s really difficult to figure out how to make a performance work, it’s like putting lightning in a bottle. But, it was really just an impersonation of him. From meeting and watching and observing Jaime I realized there is a reason why he was successful at teaching, it’s his personality. And I found that out on set. He was always there on set while we were filming. He was always standing there next to the camera. I would look at him after finishing a scene and he would have his arms crossed on his chest, his head tilted, his eyes a little bit squinted and then he would put his thumb up. That’s it. He wouldn’t say anything, just the thumbs up.
And as far as the nomination it opened up a big opportunity for me with a big studio. I signed a development deal. Tom Pollock, who was head of Universal at the time, asked me what I wanted to make. I got the chance to make a movie that I had been trying to make for 18 years, American Me. And it was as strong a movie and as important as Stand and Deliver.
LatinoBuzz: Stand and Deliver is filled with witty dialogue that people quote even 25 years later. Some of my favorite lines are, “You burros have math in your blood” and “His body is decomposing in my locker.” Any favorite lines of dialogue?
Ejo: Oh yeah, there are so many of them. There’s the one that everyone quotes when he calls the kid, “the finger man.” And that was all Jaime, all those lines were Jaime. There was nothing of that stuff that we made up. I rewrote the script, him and I, we wrote it together. All the dialogue in the shooting script was ours. We were never credited but we wrote it. He told me line by line what he said. He remembered everything. The scene where he comes back from the hospital and surprises the kids. When they yell “Bulldogs, dog-dog-dog-dog” and he says, “Thank you for babysitting my canguros.” When he makes them line up, “Against the wall like a snake.” He told me exactly what he said to each kid while they were standing in line and I put it in there.
The scene where he talks to the guys from Ets (Educational Testing Service) and they accuse him of cheating, the part that Andy Garcia plays, he told me exactly what he said to those guys. Exactly that scene, word for word, was said by Jaime. That scene, the dialogue is meticulously written. If you go back and watch it again—the rhythm, beat by beat, it is incredibly written. It’s because Jaime is a mathematician, he was meticulous with details, you have to be.
I remember lines from a lot the movies I made like Zoot Suit and American Me but most of the ones I remember are from Stand and Deliver.
LatinoBuzz: You are part of some of the most iconic Latino films. We haven’t had a huge hit like that in a few years. What do you think it will take to get there again?
I don’t know but the main issue is distribution. Right now I am focused on April 19th, the release of Filly Brown. That movie is my cause right now. There have been some major mistakes around publicity. Pantelion took over the distribution after Indomina went under. Indomina, they were young and couldn’t handle it, they didn’t know what they were doing. So, we sold it to Lionsgate/Pantelion and they moved up the release date, they made it earlier. And I told them that they made the biggest mistake for a film of this caliber. They aren’t giving people a chance to find out about the film. They need time for word of mouth to spread. Latinos and Spanish speakers, they will show up because of Jenny Rivera, because of their love for her and their love for me. But they are losing out on the chance to attract an audience of non-Latinos that will love this film. The are going to do what is always done with Latino films and independent films—putting the movie out there without giving the audience a chance to find out about it. You need to give it away and then they will tell other people—and then thousands of people will find out about it. It takes time. Unfortunately, with this film, if it works, will probably be attributed to Jenny’s tragic accident.
It’s an issue. Studios want to tell universal stories. We want to do the same thing. But, we want to use Latino stories with Latino faces to tell universal stories. We’re only one group. We are all humans and we all want to tell human stories.
Filly Brown opens in theaters across the country on April 19. The film stars Gina Rodriguez as a rapper who needs to make it big so she can raise money to get her mom (Jenny Rivera) out of jail. In conjunction with the film's release the official soundtrack will be available beginning April 16. Filly Brown on Facebook.
Stand and Deliver is available for viewing on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix.
Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.
- 4/10/2013
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
Trailer for The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol 1,
released by Fantoma in 2007
Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer was born on this day in 1927 and if you pay him a call at his official site, you'll find a biographical overview he's got to relish. In 2003, Maximilian Le Cain, writing for Senses of Cinema, cut straight to the chase in his opening paragraph: "Offering a description of himself for the program of a 1966 screening, Kenneth Anger stated his 'lifework' as being Magick and his 'magical weapon' the cinematograph. A follower of Aleister Crowley's teachings, Anger is a high level practitioner of occult magic who regards the projection of his films as ceremonies capable of invoking spiritual forces. Cinema, he claims, is an evil force. Its point is to exert control over people and events and his filmmaking is carried out with precisely that intention."
Then: "Whatever one's view of this belief may be,...
released by Fantoma in 2007
Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer was born on this day in 1927 and if you pay him a call at his official site, you'll find a biographical overview he's got to relish. In 2003, Maximilian Le Cain, writing for Senses of Cinema, cut straight to the chase in his opening paragraph: "Offering a description of himself for the program of a 1966 screening, Kenneth Anger stated his 'lifework' as being Magick and his 'magical weapon' the cinematograph. A follower of Aleister Crowley's teachings, Anger is a high level practitioner of occult magic who regards the projection of his films as ceremonies capable of invoking spiritual forces. Cinema, he claims, is an evil force. Its point is to exert control over people and events and his filmmaking is carried out with precisely that intention."
Then: "Whatever one's view of this belief may be,...
- 2/2/2012
- MUBI
So with this ominous title we kick off episode 14 of season 6. We are officially done with the first chapter of the story, the quest for Sam's soul, and onto the main villain part plus the fallout from the whole soul business.
Please check out the Out of the Box television blog for more like this!
Previously, on Lost Supernatural
Last week we left off with the shocker of Sam convulsing on the floor, while internally burning in hell. We pick up right at that moment, with Dean desperately shaking him. We even get a "Sammy!" and it's super emotional (slightly lessened by the fact we knew he'd be up and about since seeing the promo). Luckily the fire dies out in his eyes in a very Lost-like shot (those guys really ruined that for anyone else), and he seems okay for now. Phew, false alarm.
Instead of immediate...
Please check out the Out of the Box television blog for more like this!
Previously, on Lost Supernatural
Last week we left off with the shocker of Sam convulsing on the floor, while internally burning in hell. We pick up right at that moment, with Dean desperately shaking him. We even get a "Sammy!" and it's super emotional (slightly lessened by the fact we knew he'd be up and about since seeing the promo). Luckily the fire dies out in his eyes in a very Lost-like shot (those guys really ruined that for anyone else), and he seems okay for now. Phew, false alarm.
Instead of immediate...
- 2/20/2011
- by Selina
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
Update: As we suspected, this looks to be completely and totally false. Leave it to The Sun to post internet rumors as fact.
Before you read anything in this post, know that this news comes from the ever-unreliable British tabloid The Sun, so prepare your pinch of salt and set your expectations to "lowered."
Anyway, the paper reports that the Bond producers have finally settled on a title for the long-gestating, financially troubled 23rd 007 Adventure and that title is 'Red Sky At Night.' You may recognize that as a piece from an old sailor's rhyme:
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor take warning."
So what does an old weather-predicting adage that was probably constructed by rum-drunk men floating across the Atlantic a few centuries back have to do with the great superspy James Bond? Probably nothing, but it sure...
Update: As we suspected, this looks to be completely and totally false. Leave it to The Sun to post internet rumors as fact.
Before you read anything in this post, know that this news comes from the ever-unreliable British tabloid The Sun, so prepare your pinch of salt and set your expectations to "lowered."
Anyway, the paper reports that the Bond producers have finally settled on a title for the long-gestating, financially troubled 23rd 007 Adventure and that title is 'Red Sky At Night.' You may recognize that as a piece from an old sailor's rhyme:
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor take warning."
So what does an old weather-predicting adage that was probably constructed by rum-drunk men floating across the Atlantic a few centuries back have to do with the great superspy James Bond? Probably nothing, but it sure...
- 1/21/2011
- by Jacob Hall
- Moviefone
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
Update: As we suspected, this looks to be completely and totally false. Leave it to The Sun to post internet rumors as fact.
Before you read anything in this post, know that this news comes from the ever-unreliable British tabloid The Sun, so prepare your pinch of salt and set your expectations to "lowered."
Anyway, the paper reports that the Bond producers have finally settled on a title for the long-gestating, financially troubled 23rd 007 Adventure and that title is 'Red Sky At Night.' You may recognize that as a piece from an old sailor's rhyme:
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor take warning."
So what does an old weather-predicting adage that was probably constructed by rum-drunk men floating across the Atlantic a few centuries back have to do with the great superspy James Bond? Probably nothing, but it sure...
Update: As we suspected, this looks to be completely and totally false. Leave it to The Sun to post internet rumors as fact.
Before you read anything in this post, know that this news comes from the ever-unreliable British tabloid The Sun, so prepare your pinch of salt and set your expectations to "lowered."
Anyway, the paper reports that the Bond producers have finally settled on a title for the long-gestating, financially troubled 23rd 007 Adventure and that title is 'Red Sky At Night.' You may recognize that as a piece from an old sailor's rhyme:
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailor take warning."
So what does an old weather-predicting adage that was probably constructed by rum-drunk men floating across the Atlantic a few centuries back have to do with the great superspy James Bond? Probably nothing, but it sure...
- 1/21/2011
- by Jacob Hall
- Cinematical
There are dead malls, and then there is Dixie Square. The suburban Chicago mall made famous by The Blues Brothers--who destroyed it on-screen in a spectacular car chase--had already closed by the time the film was shot in 1979. It's just sat there ever since, not worth the cost of tearing it down. By now, trees sprout from the parking lot and the ceilings have turned to mush. Every attempt to redevelop the site--into a showroom for kitchen implements or senior housing--has fallen through due to asbestos, fire, and one suitor accused of threatening his creditors with a gun.
Last week, a shadowy group of local investors let it slip that they had won permission to demolish the mess. They intend to replace it with a constellation of discount big-box stores floating in a fresh sea of pavement. This shouldn't be surprising considering the partners' backgrounds, several reportedly build stores...
Last week, a shadowy group of local investors let it slip that they had won permission to demolish the mess. They intend to replace it with a constellation of discount big-box stores floating in a fresh sea of pavement. This shouldn't be surprising considering the partners' backgrounds, several reportedly build stores...
- 2/23/2010
- by Greg Lindsay
- Fast Company
Oh snap! Red sky at morning, Aussies take warning Soup's on: tomato and blue cheese soup You can wear blue eye makeup without looking totally '80s A 19-pound baby sets birth weight record! 10 reasons to love Burberry Spring 2010 Etsy finds: gorgeous custom furniture Buzz's favorite dance flicks Eight reasons hiring managers haven't called back You asked: how do I treat a big bruise? Gianna's in Berlin, so her first date with Knut is coming soon! The best websites for finding live music you love...
- 9/24/2009
- by PopSugar
- Popsugar.com
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