By Lee Pfeiffer
"Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood" is an acclaimed 2017 documentary by director Matt Tyrnauer, that centers on one Scotty Bowers, who passed away in 2019 but who lived to see the release of the film, which chronicles his rather eyebrow-raising adventures in Tinseltown. Who was Scotty Bowers? To the average person, his name won't ring any bells unless they read his autobiography, "Full Service" which was considered to be a "must" among movie fans who relish stories about the sex lives of legendary actors, actresses and directors. The film opens with Bowers, then in his 90s but seemingly as fit as a fiddle, enthusiastically promoting his book at signing sessions where he engages with appreciative admirers. Just what made Bowers unique enough to merit a feature-length documentary? He was always open about his experiences in old Hollywood in terms of providing sexual favors for both men and women,...
"Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood" is an acclaimed 2017 documentary by director Matt Tyrnauer, that centers on one Scotty Bowers, who passed away in 2019 but who lived to see the release of the film, which chronicles his rather eyebrow-raising adventures in Tinseltown. Who was Scotty Bowers? To the average person, his name won't ring any bells unless they read his autobiography, "Full Service" which was considered to be a "must" among movie fans who relish stories about the sex lives of legendary actors, actresses and directors. The film opens with Bowers, then in his 90s but seemingly as fit as a fiddle, enthusiastically promoting his book at signing sessions where he engages with appreciative admirers. Just what made Bowers unique enough to merit a feature-length documentary? He was always open about his experiences in old Hollywood in terms of providing sexual favors for both men and women,...
- 4/21/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“You cannot capture a man’s entire life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one.” That’s a valuable piece of screenwriting advice offered up by legendary movie writer Herman J. Mankiewicz in “Mank,” but it’s also the film lowering the bar for itself – impressions of people and incidents are all that this immaculately produced and beautifully acted film ultimately has to offer.
In telling the story of the creation of the original screenplay for what would become “Citizen Kane,” one of the true masterpieces of American cinema, director David Fincher (working from a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher) frames the film as the story of a career-dead, alcoholic Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) drumming out one final script partially to fulfill a contract with Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre but mainly to settle an old grudge against former benefactor William Randolph Hearst.
In telling the story of the creation of the original screenplay for what would become “Citizen Kane,” one of the true masterpieces of American cinema, director David Fincher (working from a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher) frames the film as the story of a career-dead, alcoholic Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) drumming out one final script partially to fulfill a contract with Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre but mainly to settle an old grudge against former benefactor William Randolph Hearst.
- 11/6/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Seth Rogen and his writing/producing partner Evan Goldberg are set to team up with ‘Call Me By Your Name’ filmmaker Luca Guadagnino to tell the story of a marine who turned to hustler Scotty Bowers.
Based on Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary ‘Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood’, the story is set to follow WW2 Marine combat veteran Scotty Bowers. Having fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima, Bowers then became a legendary bisexual male hustler and date-arranger for gay Hollywood stars from the 1940s through until the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
The documentary is based on Bowers’ book ‘Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars’, a dishy tell-all that was so titled because Bowers arranged these liaisons from a gas station he ran in the shadow of the Hollywood studios. Despite the prurient nature of his business,...
Based on Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary ‘Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood’, the story is set to follow WW2 Marine combat veteran Scotty Bowers. Having fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima, Bowers then became a legendary bisexual male hustler and date-arranger for gay Hollywood stars from the 1940s through until the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
The documentary is based on Bowers’ book ‘Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars’, a dishy tell-all that was so titled because Bowers arranged these liaisons from a gas station he ran in the shadow of the Hollywood studios. Despite the prurient nature of his business,...
- 7/30/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
More than 70 years since he first arrived to Hollywood, Scotty Bowers is finally having his moment on screen. Recently his alleged exploits inspired the frothy fun of Ryan Murphy’s revisionist Netflix series, Hollywood, but now Bowers himself is getting a more prestigious biopic treatment in Searchlight Pictures’ narrative adaptation of Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, a 2017 documentary about Bowers made at the end of his life. Genuinely, how can this not be a major, awards-friendly affair with Luca Guadagnino, director of Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Suspiria (2018), now attached to direct?
The news comes out of Deadline, which reports Gaudagnino signed on to helm this week, and that he will be working from a script by none other than Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. It’s an odd pairing given Guadagnino’s generally naturalistic approach to storytelling, and Rogen and Goldberg’s penchant for raunchy free-wheeling studio comedy,...
The news comes out of Deadline, which reports Gaudagnino signed on to helm this week, and that he will be working from a script by none other than Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. It’s an odd pairing given Guadagnino’s generally naturalistic approach to storytelling, and Rogen and Goldberg’s penchant for raunchy free-wheeling studio comedy,...
- 7/29/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
In an unexpected pairing and surprising announcement, Searchlight Pictures, has slated “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino to direct the dramatic adaptation of the Matt Tyrnauer-directed documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.” The twist? Searchlight also set Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan to adapt and write the screenplay.
Read More: The Best Films Of 2020… So Far
“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” is a 2017 documentary from Matt Tyrnauer, originally based on Scotty Bowers’s 2012 tell-all book “Full Service.” Searchlight obtained the rights to the narrative adaptation of the documentary last year.
Continue reading Luca Guadagnino To Direct ‘Scotty & The Secret History of Hollywood’; Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogan Writing Script at The Playlist.
Read More: The Best Films Of 2020… So Far
“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” is a 2017 documentary from Matt Tyrnauer, originally based on Scotty Bowers’s 2012 tell-all book “Full Service.” Searchlight obtained the rights to the narrative adaptation of the documentary last year.
Continue reading Luca Guadagnino To Direct ‘Scotty & The Secret History of Hollywood’; Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogan Writing Script at The Playlist.
- 7/29/2020
- by Tyler Casalini
- The Playlist
In his post-Call Me by Your Name career, Luca Guadagnino seems keen to do the unexpected. After remaking Dario Argento’s Suspiria, he became attached to a Coens-scripted Scarface reboot, co-wrote and directed an 8-hour HBO series, helmed a Venice-bound documentary about a famous shoemaker featuring Martin Scorsese, and now, he’s uniting with a famous comedic duo for a Hollywood biopic about a legendary hustler.
Deadline reports the Italian director has come aboard a narrative version of Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, scripted by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Set up at Searchlight Pictures, the biopic will follow Scotty Bowers, the bisexual Hollywood pimp who worked for numerous major stars from the 1940s through the 1980s, including Rock Hudson, Katherine Hepburn, and Bette Davis. He also claimed he slept with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who dressed in drag during their sexual escapades.
Deadline reports the Italian director has come aboard a narrative version of Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, scripted by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Set up at Searchlight Pictures, the biopic will follow Scotty Bowers, the bisexual Hollywood pimp who worked for numerous major stars from the 1940s through the 1980s, including Rock Hudson, Katherine Hepburn, and Bette Davis. He also claimed he slept with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who dressed in drag during their sexual escapades.
- 7/29/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Call Me by Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino will direct Searchlight’s untitled Scotty Bowers project with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg writing the script.
Matt Tyrnauer and Corey Reeser are producing through Altimeter Films, with Rogen and Goldberg producing through their Point Grey Pictures.
The project is based on the 2017 documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” by Tyrnauer, a portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Bowers, whose memoir chronicled his decades spent as a sexual procurer to the stars.
Fox Searchlight began developing the movie project two years ago after the documentary was released by Greenwich Entertainment. “Scotty” follows Bowers, a World War II Marine combat veteran who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and became a legendary bisexual male hustler and all-purpose date-arranger for Hollywood movie stars from the 1940s until the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Bowers’ memoir “Full Service” was published...
Matt Tyrnauer and Corey Reeser are producing through Altimeter Films, with Rogen and Goldberg producing through their Point Grey Pictures.
The project is based on the 2017 documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” by Tyrnauer, a portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Bowers, whose memoir chronicled his decades spent as a sexual procurer to the stars.
Fox Searchlight began developing the movie project two years ago after the documentary was released by Greenwich Entertainment. “Scotty” follows Bowers, a World War II Marine combat veteran who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and became a legendary bisexual male hustler and all-purpose date-arranger for Hollywood movie stars from the 1940s until the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Bowers’ memoir “Full Service” was published...
- 7/29/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
“Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino is set to direct a film about the life of Scotty Bowers, a legendary Hollywood figure who secretly procured sex partners of all stripes to Old Hollywood stars, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
The project, currently untitled, is set at Searchlight Pictures. The studio has set Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to write the script based on “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” Matt Tyrnauer’s 2017 documentary film that profiles Bowers, a WWII vet, and how he not only helped straight stars fulfill lustful desires but also allowed secretly closeted LGBTQ stars to live out their lives.
The documentary shows how Bowers worked behind the scenes in Hollywood arranging partners for gay stars between the 1940s through the beginning of the AIDS crisis in the ’80s. The documentary is also based on Bowers’ own memoir called “Full...
The project, currently untitled, is set at Searchlight Pictures. The studio has set Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to write the script based on “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” Matt Tyrnauer’s 2017 documentary film that profiles Bowers, a WWII vet, and how he not only helped straight stars fulfill lustful desires but also allowed secretly closeted LGBTQ stars to live out their lives.
The documentary shows how Bowers worked behind the scenes in Hollywood arranging partners for gay stars between the 1940s through the beginning of the AIDS crisis in the ’80s. The documentary is also based on Bowers’ own memoir called “Full...
- 7/29/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Luca Guadagnino is adding another project to his growing list of upcoming directorial projects. Deadline reports Searchlight Pictures has attached the “Call Me By Your Name” and “Suspiria” director to helm its narrative feature adaptation of Matt Tyrnauer’s 2017 documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.” In an unexpected and enticing move, the Searchlight release will pair Guadagnino with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The comedy duo are best known for writing and/or directing projects such as “This Is the End,” “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” and more.
Similar to the documentary, Searchlight’s feature will tell the true story of Scotty Bowers, a World War II veteran who became a notorious gay male hustler in Hollywood starting in the 1940s and ending in the 1980s during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. The documentary was based on Bowers’ book “Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret...
Similar to the documentary, Searchlight’s feature will tell the true story of Scotty Bowers, a World War II veteran who became a notorious gay male hustler in Hollywood starting in the 1940s and ending in the 1980s during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. The documentary was based on Bowers’ book “Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret...
- 7/29/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Searchlight Pictures, which last year acquired rights to make a narrative film from the Matt Tyrnauer-directed documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, has set Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to write the script and Luca Guadagnino to direct the film.
Tyrnauer and his Altimeter Films partner Corey Reeser will be joined as producers by Point Grey Pictures.
The film focuses on Scotty Bowers, a World War II Marine combat veteran who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and became a legendary bisexual male hustler and date-arranger for gay Hollywood movie stars from the 1940s until the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The docu is based on Bowers’ book Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars, a dishy tell-all that was so titled because Bowers arranged these liaisons from a gas station he ran in the shadow of the Hollywood studios.
Tyrnauer and his Altimeter Films partner Corey Reeser will be joined as producers by Point Grey Pictures.
The film focuses on Scotty Bowers, a World War II Marine combat veteran who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and became a legendary bisexual male hustler and date-arranger for gay Hollywood movie stars from the 1940s until the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The docu is based on Bowers’ book Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars, a dishy tell-all that was so titled because Bowers arranged these liaisons from a gas station he ran in the shadow of the Hollywood studios.
- 7/29/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The director behind the Oscar-winning drama Call Me by Your Name and the comedy duo behind Pineapple Express are teaming for an Old Hollywood biopic.
Italian director Luca Guadagnino will helm from a script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg a movie about Scotty Bowers, the supposed "male madame" to stars like Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.
Bowers' best-selling 2012 memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars. The feature film will be based on the 2017 documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood by Matt Tyrnauer.
According to a 2019 THR obituary, Bowers' claims ...
Italian director Luca Guadagnino will helm from a script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg a movie about Scotty Bowers, the supposed "male madame" to stars like Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.
Bowers' best-selling 2012 memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars. The feature film will be based on the 2017 documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood by Matt Tyrnauer.
According to a 2019 THR obituary, Bowers' claims ...
- 7/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The director behind the Oscar-winning drama Call Me by Your Name and the comedy duo behind Pineapple Express are teaming for an Old Hollywood biopic.
Italian director Luca Guadagnino will helm from a script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg a movie about Scotty Bowers, the supposed "male madame" to stars like Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.
Bowers' best-selling 2012 memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars. The feature film will be based on the 2017 documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood by Matt Tyrnauer.
According to a 2019 THR obituary, Bowers' claims ...
Italian director Luca Guadagnino will helm from a script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg a movie about Scotty Bowers, the supposed "male madame" to stars like Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.
Bowers' best-selling 2012 memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars. The feature film will be based on the 2017 documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood by Matt Tyrnauer.
According to a 2019 THR obituary, Bowers' claims ...
- 7/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Caution: This story contains mild spoilers for the first episode of “Hollywood.”
Ryan Murphy’s limited series “Hollywood” is a mixture of fiction and fact, with its fictional characters set against actual events and people in the movie industry during the years after World War II. And because of the way the Netflix limited series approaches its story, it can be tricky to tell the truth from the fantasy, particularly since the whole idea of “Hollywood” is to tell a story of what could have been, not what was.
But that alternative history uses real history as a jumping-off point, so viewers are bound to wonder about some of the events and settings depicted in the miniseries — particularly the first few episodes, before the story veers into obvious invention.
One of the prime settings for the series is a Hollywood gas station run by a suave operator named Ernie West...
Ryan Murphy’s limited series “Hollywood” is a mixture of fiction and fact, with its fictional characters set against actual events and people in the movie industry during the years after World War II. And because of the way the Netflix limited series approaches its story, it can be tricky to tell the truth from the fantasy, particularly since the whole idea of “Hollywood” is to tell a story of what could have been, not what was.
But that alternative history uses real history as a jumping-off point, so viewers are bound to wonder about some of the events and settings depicted in the miniseries — particularly the first few episodes, before the story veers into obvious invention.
One of the prime settings for the series is a Hollywood gas station run by a suave operator named Ernie West...
- 5/13/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Hollywood, Ryan Murphy’s jaunty fantasy of 1940s Tinseltown, is a reimagining of film history featuring both real-world and fictional silver-screen luminaries. And according to many of the critics who’ve reviewed it thus far, it leans more heavily toward fiction, arguably whitewashing history in a problematic fashion.
The gas station sex ring run by the debonair pimp Ernie (Dylan McDermott), however, is not a product of the Hollywood imagination. It’s fully based in fact — or at least, one longtime Hollywood man-about-town’s version of it. Ernie is partly based on Scotty Bowers,...
The gas station sex ring run by the debonair pimp Ernie (Dylan McDermott), however, is not a product of the Hollywood imagination. It’s fully based in fact — or at least, one longtime Hollywood man-about-town’s version of it. Ernie is partly based on Scotty Bowers,...
- 5/8/2020
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix's Hollywood puts a new spin on old Hollywood, with plot lines that never could have happened in real life. One, though, did: the famous gas station in Hollywood is real - or, at least, based on reality. In the show, a very special gas station serves as a cover for a very different kind of "service": hooking up wealthy and famous clients with prostitutes or other clients. Although it might sound like the kind of thing made up for TV scandal, it's actually a famous part of the underbelly of old Hollywood.
The premise of a gas station with special "services" is based on the real story of a man named Scotty Bowers, a former Marine who owned a gas station in Hollywood in the 1940s that had a similar reputation. Bowers is not an actual character in Hollywood, but there are two original characters who fill a similar role.
The premise of a gas station with special "services" is based on the real story of a man named Scotty Bowers, a former Marine who owned a gas station in Hollywood in the 1940s that had a similar reputation. Bowers is not an actual character in Hollywood, but there are two original characters who fill a similar role.
- 5/2/2020
- by Amanda Prahl
- Popsugar.com
Ryan Murphy's latest project is the Netflix limited series Hollywood, and after seeing the first trailer, it's easy to wonder if it's based on a true story. The answer to that question is actually a little bit complicated. We're breaking down what's pure fiction and what's based on reality - or, at the very least, real gossip.
What Is Hollywood on Netflix About?
At first glance, it looks like Hollywood is just your typical showbiz drama, set in the glamorous and dangerous world of post-World War II Hollywood. But there's a twist: it's set in a "what if?" sort of alternate timeline where many of the prejudices of the real world don't exist, exploring instead all the creativity that could have come from the kinds of people that the real Hollywood of the 1940s overlooked.
"With the present so fraught and the future uncertain, we turned to the past for direction,...
What Is Hollywood on Netflix About?
At first glance, it looks like Hollywood is just your typical showbiz drama, set in the glamorous and dangerous world of post-World War II Hollywood. But there's a twist: it's set in a "what if?" sort of alternate timeline where many of the prejudices of the real world don't exist, exploring instead all the creativity that could have come from the kinds of people that the real Hollywood of the 1940s overlooked.
"With the present so fraught and the future uncertain, we turned to the past for direction,...
- 4/27/2020
- by Amanda Prahl
- Popsugar.com
Exclusive: Pete Berg and Matt Tyrnauer will use the inner workings of a lingerie empire as the fabric for a limited documentary series. Tyrnauer, who helmed the 2009 documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor, will direct The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s Secret, with Film 45’s Berg, Matthew Goldberg, Brandon Carroll, and Elizabeth Rogers exec producing with Tyrnauer and his Altimeter partner Corey Reeser. The three part limited series will be a co-production between Film 45 and Altimeter.
The docu-series will shed light on the inner workings of a once-powerful sector of the world of fashion, adding context to both the positive and negative aspects of a rapidly transforming industry with global impact, and exploring the extensive connection between fashion and culture and what happens when a brand hits the cultural zeitgeist.
Victoria’s Secret rose from a small mail order brand to a global juggernaut featuring retail stores, commercials with gorgeous supermodels donning the product,...
The docu-series will shed light on the inner workings of a once-powerful sector of the world of fashion, adding context to both the positive and negative aspects of a rapidly transforming industry with global impact, and exploring the extensive connection between fashion and culture and what happens when a brand hits the cultural zeitgeist.
Victoria’s Secret rose from a small mail order brand to a global juggernaut featuring retail stores, commercials with gorgeous supermodels donning the product,...
- 3/6/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Scotty Bowers, whose 2012 memoir Full Service gave an insight into the secretive sex lives of high-profile movie stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood, has died at the age of 96.
Bowers, whose Twitter account confirmed his passing, died of natural causes at his home in Laurel Canyon, California, on Sunday (October 13).
Bowers’ colorful life saw him work as a marine and gas station attendant before meeting the Oscar-nominated actor Walter Pidgeon, who paved the way for the young Bowers to become a sexual companion and facilitator to many of the era’s biggest stars. In Full Service, he claimed to have had relationships with the likes of Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Spencer Tracy, Charles Laughton, Cole Porter, and Laurence Olivier.
He also claimed in the rip-roaring book to have slept with female stars including Bette Davis and Lana Turner, and arranged female companionship for Katharine Hepburn, who he said was...
Bowers, whose Twitter account confirmed his passing, died of natural causes at his home in Laurel Canyon, California, on Sunday (October 13).
Bowers’ colorful life saw him work as a marine and gas station attendant before meeting the Oscar-nominated actor Walter Pidgeon, who paved the way for the young Bowers to become a sexual companion and facilitator to many of the era’s biggest stars. In Full Service, he claimed to have had relationships with the likes of Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Spencer Tracy, Charles Laughton, Cole Porter, and Laurence Olivier.
He also claimed in the rip-roaring book to have slept with female stars including Bette Davis and Lana Turner, and arranged female companionship for Katharine Hepburn, who he said was...
- 10/16/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Scotty Bowers, a “sexual matchmaker” for dozens of stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood who wrote about his colorful — and sometimes unbelivable — life in his memoir “Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars,” died at his Laurel Canyon home on Sunday. He was 96.
The story of his experiences was told in the 2017 documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” directed by Matt Trynauer, who confirmed his death.
A former U.S. Marine and gas station attendant, Bowers also worked as a bartender and as a go-fer to friend such as George Cukor. But the most notable part of his life was as a helpful procurer for everyone, he claimed, from Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Elsa Lanchester to Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Spencer Tracy and Charles Laughton.
The actors and filmmakers, who were often bound by morality clauses in their studio contracts,...
The story of his experiences was told in the 2017 documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” directed by Matt Trynauer, who confirmed his death.
A former U.S. Marine and gas station attendant, Bowers also worked as a bartender and as a go-fer to friend such as George Cukor. But the most notable part of his life was as a helpful procurer for everyone, he claimed, from Rock Hudson, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Elsa Lanchester to Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Spencer Tracy and Charles Laughton.
The actors and filmmakers, who were often bound by morality clauses in their studio contracts,...
- 10/14/2019
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Scotty Bowers, the legendary Hollywood sex-fixer who was the subject of the 2017 documentary film “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” has died at the age of 96.
“Scotty Bowers July 1, 1923 – October 13, 2019,” read a tweet from Bowers’ official Twitter page posted Monday, followed by a quote from the film: “And remember… it’s as good as it gets right now, baby.”
Bowers first told his story in his 2012 memoir “Full Service,” which detailed his days running a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard in the 1940s, from whence he connected male and female sex workers to gay and bisexual Hollywood types across the industry.
Also Read: Tell-All Bares Sex Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Age
Whether his clients were hooking up in the station’s bathrooms (or in a convenient on-site trailer), or going back up to their mansions for a “dip in the pool,” Bowers claims to have personally serviced or provided companions for hundreds,...
“Scotty Bowers July 1, 1923 – October 13, 2019,” read a tweet from Bowers’ official Twitter page posted Monday, followed by a quote from the film: “And remember… it’s as good as it gets right now, baby.”
Bowers first told his story in his 2012 memoir “Full Service,” which detailed his days running a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard in the 1940s, from whence he connected male and female sex workers to gay and bisexual Hollywood types across the industry.
Also Read: Tell-All Bares Sex Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Age
Whether his clients were hooking up in the station’s bathrooms (or in a convenient on-site trailer), or going back up to their mansions for a “dip in the pool,” Bowers claims to have personally serviced or provided companions for hundreds,...
- 10/14/2019
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
As first reported by Variety, Starz is developing a spin-off series of the critically-acclaimed feature film “Blindspotting.” The half-hour dramedy has cast Jasmine Cephas Jones, reprising her role as Ashley from the film, as its lead. This will mark the third time Cephas Jones has worked with Daveed Diggs, the first, of course, being the two actors’ roles as part of the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton.”
The Starz spin-off series will follow Ashley in the aftermath of her partner of 12 years and the father of her child, the short-tempered Miles (Rafael Casal) suddenly being incarcerated. As a result, Ashley and her son Sean are soon forced to move in with Miles’ mother and half-sister, where Ashley will have to “navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis.” Just like in the 2018 movie, all of this takes place along the backdrop of a quickly-changing—and perhaps not for the better—Oakland.
The Starz spin-off series will follow Ashley in the aftermath of her partner of 12 years and the father of her child, the short-tempered Miles (Rafael Casal) suddenly being incarcerated. As a result, Ashley and her son Sean are soon forced to move in with Miles’ mother and half-sister, where Ashley will have to “navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis.” Just like in the 2018 movie, all of this takes place along the backdrop of a quickly-changing—and perhaps not for the better—Oakland.
- 10/3/2019
- by LaToya Ferguson
- Indiewire
Matt Tyrnauer: "When you start to drill down into important moments in American history and really understand them and try to organise them in a way as this film does, where an audience can comprehend them and really connect with them, you realise how little we're taught." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In the second half of my conversation with Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor; Citizen Jane: Battle For The City; Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood; Studio 54 on Ian Schrager) on his latest documentary Where's My Roy Cohn? we discussed what George McGovern told him about the 'Big Lie', how Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper, Ronald Reagan and others were used during 'The Blacklist', and Joseph Welsh's historic response during the Army-McCarthy hearings and Welsh's role in Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder, starring James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara.
Matt Tyrnauer: "In the post-war period in this country,...
In the second half of my conversation with Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor; Citizen Jane: Battle For The City; Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood; Studio 54 on Ian Schrager) on his latest documentary Where's My Roy Cohn? we discussed what George McGovern told him about the 'Big Lie', how Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper, Ronald Reagan and others were used during 'The Blacklist', and Joseph Welsh's historic response during the Army-McCarthy hearings and Welsh's role in Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder, starring James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara.
Matt Tyrnauer: "In the post-war period in this country,...
- 10/2/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
It’s not often that the indie box office overlaps with the top of the overall box office, but such was the case this weekend with Focus Features/Carnival’s “Downton Abbey,” which was only outperformed by “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” for the top per screen average.
Sony Pictures Classics’ “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” earned that top spot, opening in a traditional four-screen, Los Angeles/New York indie release and grossed $42,364 for an average of $10,591.
Directed by Matt Tyrnauer (“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”), “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” compiles the history of one of America’s most infamous far-right political influencers and “fixers.” Cohn, who served as chief counsel for Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare in the 1950s and later served as the mentor and lawyer for Donald Trump, was disbarred in 1986 for unethical conduct. The film has a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Also...
Sony Pictures Classics’ “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” earned that top spot, opening in a traditional four-screen, Los Angeles/New York indie release and grossed $42,364 for an average of $10,591.
Directed by Matt Tyrnauer (“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”), “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” compiles the history of one of America’s most infamous far-right political influencers and “fixers.” Cohn, who served as chief counsel for Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare in the 1950s and later served as the mentor and lawyer for Donald Trump, was disbarred in 1986 for unethical conduct. The film has a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Also...
- 9/22/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
The story of Scotty Bowers’ sexual adventures in Hollywood could easily fill a 10-volume set. For the time being, people can find his exploits chronicled in a single book, his 2013 memoir Full Service, or the Starz documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, which is now in the running for Emmy consideration.
Together, the memoir and film reveal a side of the movie capital long relegated to the shadows—a cloaked world where closeted stars of the 1940s, 50s and beyond, desperate for sexual release and intimacy, turned to Bowers for services.
“He’s the most notorious gay hustler in the history of Hollywood,” says director Matt Tyrnauer of Bowers, who turns 96 in a couple of months. “The experience of interviewing Scotty on and off over a two-year period was amazing, extraordinary and unique. It gave me a memory map, really, his map of a lost city.”
The key...
Together, the memoir and film reveal a side of the movie capital long relegated to the shadows—a cloaked world where closeted stars of the 1940s, 50s and beyond, desperate for sexual release and intimacy, turned to Bowers for services.
“He’s the most notorious gay hustler in the history of Hollywood,” says director Matt Tyrnauer of Bowers, who turns 96 in a couple of months. “The experience of interviewing Scotty on and off over a two-year period was amazing, extraordinary and unique. It gave me a memory map, really, his map of a lost city.”
The key...
- 5/3/2019
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Like any good Jewish mother, Karen Mason has a lot of opinions. Specifically, opinions about why her daughter is making a movie about her. “What are you gonna do with this?” she asks skeptically, as she tosses around boxes of gay porn magazines and DVDs with the workmanlike nonchalance of any small-business owner. Later, when she drops off a donation at USC’s National Gay & Lesbian Archives, she will marvel over a zine display: “You should be doing the documentary about this.” Of course, Karen’s dogged pragmatism, and her complex relationship to the smut that provided her family’s livelihood for thirty years, is why “Circus of Books” is such a rare delight — and a nearly perfect documentary.
Documentaries in which the filmmaker plays a part pose a particular challenge; they can elevate the form, but must be undertaken carefully. “Circus of Books” doesn’t mine the meta-theatrical...
Documentaries in which the filmmaker plays a part pose a particular challenge; they can elevate the form, but must be undertaken carefully. “Circus of Books” doesn’t mine the meta-theatrical...
- 4/27/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Review by Roger Carpenter
For 33 months in the late 70’s New York City became the epicenter for perhaps the most famous nightclub in the world. Birthed from the dreams of a couple of twenty-somethings and miraculously constructed in mere weeks, the rise and ultimate fall of the hottest discotheque in the world—Studio 54—is the stuff of legend.
Originally constructed as an opera house in 1927, there were a succession of owners until CBS Studios purchased the property in 1943. There the studio broadcast some of its most famous game shows like What’s My Line? and The $64,000 Question, as well as The Jack Benny Show and even Captain Kangaroo until they moved to a new location and started shopping the property around.
Enter two young hotshots named Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who purchased the property and proceeded to renovate it with the backing of Jack Dushey. Rubell was a brash entrepreneur while Schrager,...
For 33 months in the late 70’s New York City became the epicenter for perhaps the most famous nightclub in the world. Birthed from the dreams of a couple of twenty-somethings and miraculously constructed in mere weeks, the rise and ultimate fall of the hottest discotheque in the world—Studio 54—is the stuff of legend.
Originally constructed as an opera house in 1927, there were a succession of owners until CBS Studios purchased the property in 1943. There the studio broadcast some of its most famous game shows like What’s My Line? and The $64,000 Question, as well as The Jack Benny Show and even Captain Kangaroo until they moved to a new location and started shopping the property around.
Enter two young hotshots named Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who purchased the property and proceeded to renovate it with the backing of Jack Dushey. Rubell was a brash entrepreneur while Schrager,...
- 2/21/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Matt Tyrnauer captures Karl Lagerfeld's proclamation backstage at Valentino's 45th anniversary fashion show in Rome in his Valentino: The Last Emperor
Matt Tyrnauer, the director of Where's My Roy Cohn?, Studio 54, Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City, and Valentino: The Last Emperor, sent the following remembrance in honour of Karl Lagerfeld, who died yesterday in Paris at the age of 85.
"Karl Lagerfeld was an astonishing force of nature. One thing I noticed about fashion legends is that it usually takes two to tango: the creative force and more silent business partner. Think Valentino and Giammetti; Saint Laurent and Bergé. In the case of Karl, he was more of a lone wolf, a one-man-band who managed to keep the legend alive, the business going, and the creativity flowing for generations as a solo act. He was also one of the most witty...
Matt Tyrnauer, the director of Where's My Roy Cohn?, Studio 54, Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City, and Valentino: The Last Emperor, sent the following remembrance in honour of Karl Lagerfeld, who died yesterday in Paris at the age of 85.
"Karl Lagerfeld was an astonishing force of nature. One thing I noticed about fashion legends is that it usually takes two to tango: the creative force and more silent business partner. Think Valentino and Giammetti; Saint Laurent and Bergé. In the case of Karl, he was more of a lone wolf, a one-man-band who managed to keep the legend alive, the business going, and the creativity flowing for generations as a solo act. He was also one of the most witty...
- 2/20/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Indie producers usually don’t have the luxury, or inclination, to adapt a Disney theme park ride or Marvel comic into a film. Their closest to sure box office bets, aside from low-budget horror fare, now appear to be projects with pre-sold themes and subjects that are often based on celebrities — the indie world’s version of brands. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Sundance’s biggest 2018 doc hits and many famous names in its 2019 lineup.
On the heels of last year’s indie hits about Mr. Rogers, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Ku Klux Klan, this year’s doc slate features such well-known (and sometimes infamous) subjects as alleged sex offenders Michael Jackson and Harvey Weinstein, Trump’s infamous mentors Roy Cohn and Steve Bannon, David Crosby, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Halston, Miles Davis, Mike Wallace, Leonard Cohen, Anton Yelchin, Toni Morrison, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Apollo 11, the Satanic Temple and...
On the heels of last year’s indie hits about Mr. Rogers, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Ku Klux Klan, this year’s doc slate features such well-known (and sometimes infamous) subjects as alleged sex offenders Michael Jackson and Harvey Weinstein, Trump’s infamous mentors Roy Cohn and Steve Bannon, David Crosby, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Halston, Miles Davis, Mike Wallace, Leonard Cohen, Anton Yelchin, Toni Morrison, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Apollo 11, the Satanic Temple and...
- 1/23/2019
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released trailers for “”Marvel’s The Punisher” and “One Day At a Time.”
First Looks
Netflix has debuted the trailer for the second season of “Marvel’s The Punisher“ starring Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, the titular marine-turned-vigilante. In the sophomore season, Castle is drawn back to his life as The Punisher after getting caught up in the attempted murder of a young girl. The series will stream on Netflix on Jan. 18.
Netflix has dropped the first trailer for the third season of “One Day At a Time” starring Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, and Isabella Gomez. The new season will have the Cuban-American family address relationships, drugs and changing family dynamics. The comedy series will stream on Netflix on Feb. 8.
Streaming platform Sony Crackle has dropped the trailer for season two of “The Oath” from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. The crime drama...
First Looks
Netflix has debuted the trailer for the second season of “Marvel’s The Punisher“ starring Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, the titular marine-turned-vigilante. In the sophomore season, Castle is drawn back to his life as The Punisher after getting caught up in the attempted murder of a young girl. The series will stream on Netflix on Jan. 18.
Netflix has dropped the first trailer for the third season of “One Day At a Time” starring Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, and Isabella Gomez. The new season will have the Cuban-American family address relationships, drugs and changing family dynamics. The comedy series will stream on Netflix on Feb. 8.
Streaming platform Sony Crackle has dropped the trailer for season two of “The Oath” from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. The crime drama...
- 1/10/2019
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Starz announced on Thursday that it has acquired four new documentaries, including “Daughters of the Sexual Revolution,” about a controversy surrounding the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and the Oscar-shortlisted documentary feature “Of Fathers and Sons.”
“Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” is a behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution. The documentary originally premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2018, and it will be available for download or streaming via the Starz app on Jan. 14. at 9 p.m. Et/Pt.
“Of Fathers and Sons” won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance in 2018, and it is now on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. It’s about a man who gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and follows them over the course of two years.
“Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” is a behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution. The documentary originally premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2018, and it will be available for download or streaming via the Starz app on Jan. 14. at 9 p.m. Et/Pt.
“Of Fathers and Sons” won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance in 2018, and it is now on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. It’s about a man who gains the trust of a radical Islamist family and follows them over the course of two years.
- 1/10/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Starz has acquired four new documentaries, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the behind-the-scenes story of how the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders became a controversial pop culture phenomenon at the height of the sexual revolution, Of Fathers and Sons, currently on the Oscars short-list for 2019 Documentary Feature, along with Inside My Heart and Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, for premiere this spring on the premium cabler. They join previously announced Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood and White Boy.
“Starz has acquired an exceptional slate of documentary films spanning a wide range of topics – from empowered feminists in the ‘70s, to life inside a jihadist military household and a groundbreaking artist who would change the future of fashion,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz. “These films will no doubt engage our audience as we continue our commitment...
“Starz has acquired an exceptional slate of documentary films spanning a wide range of topics – from empowered feminists in the ‘70s, to life inside a jihadist military household and a groundbreaking artist who would change the future of fashion,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz. “These films will no doubt engage our audience as we continue our commitment...
- 1/10/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Documentaries managed to find an even broader audience this year, with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu doubling down on non-fiction, both as producers and distributors of new unscripted films and TV shows. But whether they screened in theaters, at home or at film festivals, these documentaries were the best of the best:
10. “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”: Matt Tyrnauer’s portrait of legendary Tinseltown “procurer” Scotty Bowers had plenty of vintage show-biz dish, but it also raised interesting questions about who decides when and how Lgbtq history is “appropriate” to share with the masses.
9. “Hale County This Morning, This Evening”: Equal parts visual poem and ethnographic documentary, RaMell Ross’ debut film examines a handful of residents of the titular Alabama county as his camera turns quotidian moments into something breathtaking and magical.
8. “Bathtubs Over Broadway”: Besides providing a fascinating glimpse into the industrial musical...
10. “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”: Matt Tyrnauer’s portrait of legendary Tinseltown “procurer” Scotty Bowers had plenty of vintage show-biz dish, but it also raised interesting questions about who decides when and how Lgbtq history is “appropriate” to share with the masses.
9. “Hale County This Morning, This Evening”: Equal parts visual poem and ethnographic documentary, RaMell Ross’ debut film examines a handful of residents of the titular Alabama county as his camera turns quotidian moments into something breathtaking and magical.
8. “Bathtubs Over Broadway”: Besides providing a fascinating glimpse into the industrial musical...
- 12/13/2018
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Director Matt Tyrnauer finds himself in contention for awards this year with not one but two feature-length documentaries. Taken together, they offer a unique social and cultural history of America from the late 1940s into the 1980s.
Studio 54 centers on the latter end of that time period, when entrepreneurs Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager transformed an old theater space in Manhattan into “the greatest nightclub of all time,” as Tyrnauer and many others consider it.
“You could look at other genres of nightclub like the Stork Club and say, ‘That was great, too,’” the director notes. “But there was certainly nothing in the modern era that ever approached Studio 54, as hard as everyone tried.”
From 1977 to 1979—the height of the disco era—the club became a magnet for celebrities and the non-famous, who cavorted in a drug-fueled atmosphere of revelry and wild abandon.
“It was the perfect expression of...
Studio 54 centers on the latter end of that time period, when entrepreneurs Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager transformed an old theater space in Manhattan into “the greatest nightclub of all time,” as Tyrnauer and many others consider it.
“You could look at other genres of nightclub like the Stork Club and say, ‘That was great, too,’” the director notes. “But there was certainly nothing in the modern era that ever approached Studio 54, as hard as everyone tried.”
From 1977 to 1979—the height of the disco era—the club became a magnet for celebrities and the non-famous, who cavorted in a drug-fueled atmosphere of revelry and wild abandon.
“It was the perfect expression of...
- 12/7/2018
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Matt Tynauer’s frank, unrated documentary about the wild times of gay and straight hustler-procurer Scotty Bowers is built around his 2012 tell-all book about the Hollywood sex underground of the late ’40s and ’50s. Scotty tells his own story in a way that compels belief. It’s a fine docu but not for all audiences, as some hardcore content is included.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
DVD
Kino Lorber/Greenwich Entertainment
2017 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date November 6, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Scotty Bowers, Peter Bart, Stephen Fry, Robert Hofler, William Mann.
Cinematography: Chris Dapkins
Film Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Daniel Morfesis
Original Music: Jane Antonia Cornish
Produced by Josh Braun, Corey Reeser
Directed by Matt Tyrnauer
And now for something completely different. This well-produced and convincing documentary is about George ‘Scotty’ Bowers, a remarkable man who was ground zero for the Hollywood gay subculture of the post-war years.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
DVD
Kino Lorber/Greenwich Entertainment
2017 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date November 6, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Scotty Bowers, Peter Bart, Stephen Fry, Robert Hofler, William Mann.
Cinematography: Chris Dapkins
Film Editors: Bob Eisenhardt, Daniel Morfesis
Original Music: Jane Antonia Cornish
Produced by Josh Braun, Corey Reeser
Directed by Matt Tyrnauer
And now for something completely different. This well-produced and convincing documentary is about George ‘Scotty’ Bowers, a remarkable man who was ground zero for the Hollywood gay subculture of the post-war years.
- 11/20/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Broadcast Film Critics and the Broadcast Television Journalists associations had a good feeling about “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” on Saturday at their third annual Critics’ Choice documentary honors event. They bestowed the evening’s top prizes, both Best Documentary and Best Director — as well as Best Editing — to Morgan Neville‘s moving portrait of beloved children’s show TV host Fred Rogers.
According to Box Office Mojo, the winner is the highest-grossing doc of the year so far, raking in $23 million.
Among the other winners at the Brooklyn-based event hosted by Bill Nye the Science Guy:
Best Sports Documentary: “Free Solo,” about the first free solo climb of El Capitan at National Yosemite Park.
Best Limited Documentary Series: “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling”
Best Ongoing Documentary Series: “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown”
Best Political Documentary: “Rbg,” about Supreme Court Justic Ruth Bader Ginsberg
SEECheck out the...
According to Box Office Mojo, the winner is the highest-grossing doc of the year so far, raking in $23 million.
Among the other winners at the Brooklyn-based event hosted by Bill Nye the Science Guy:
Best Sports Documentary: “Free Solo,” about the first free solo climb of El Capitan at National Yosemite Park.
Best Limited Documentary Series: “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling”
Best Ongoing Documentary Series: “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown”
Best Political Documentary: “Rbg,” about Supreme Court Justic Ruth Bader Ginsberg
SEECheck out the...
- 11/11/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Ever since the Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” brought audiences to tears at the Sundance Film Festival in January, it has been the frontrunner for the Best Documentary Oscar. Sure enough, the Focus Features release, the highest-grossing biodoc of all time, took home Best Documentary and Director for Morgan Neville as well as Best Editing at the Third Annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards on Saturday, November 10.
Its closest competitor, NatGeo’s vertiginous climbing movie “Free Solo,” also took home three Critics’ Choice documentary awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja). Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Free Solo” won Best Sports Documentary, Best Innovative Documentary, and Best Cinematography.
During the awards show hosted by Bill Nye at Bric in Brooklyn, filmmaker Michael Moore gave a rousing political speech as he accepted the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award,...
Its closest competitor, NatGeo’s vertiginous climbing movie “Free Solo,” also took home three Critics’ Choice documentary awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja). Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Free Solo” won Best Sports Documentary, Best Innovative Documentary, and Best Cinematography.
During the awards show hosted by Bill Nye at Bric in Brooklyn, filmmaker Michael Moore gave a rousing political speech as he accepted the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award,...
- 11/11/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Ever since the Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” brought audiences to tears at the Sundance Film Festival in January, it has been the frontrunner for the Best Documentary Oscar. Sure enough, the Focus Features release, the highest-grossing biodoc of all time, took home Best Documentary and Director for Morgan Neville as well as Best Editing at the Third Annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards on Saturday, November 10.
Its closest competitor, NatGeo’s vertiginous climbing movie “Free Solo,” also took home three Critics’ Choice documentary awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja). Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Free Solo” won Best Sports Documentary, Best Innovative Documentary, and Best Cinematography.
During the awards show hosted by Bill Nye at Bric in Brooklyn, filmmaker Michael Moore gave a rousing political speech as he accepted the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award,...
Its closest competitor, NatGeo’s vertiginous climbing movie “Free Solo,” also took home three Critics’ Choice documentary awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja). Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, “Free Solo” won Best Sports Documentary, Best Innovative Documentary, and Best Cinematography.
During the awards show hosted by Bill Nye at Bric in Brooklyn, filmmaker Michael Moore gave a rousing political speech as he accepted the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award,...
- 11/11/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” has been named the best documentary of 2018 at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, which were handed out on Saturday evening at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The film about “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” star Fred Rogers won in a category whose other nominees were “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Hal,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” “Minding the Gap,” “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Wild Wild Country.”
Michael Moore received a lifetime achievement award from Robert De Niro, who called him “an American hero.” Moore new film, “Fahrenheit 11/9,” was not nominated in the Best Documentary category, instead receiving a mention only in Best Political Documentary, where it lost to “Rbg.”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Leads All Films in Nominations for Cinema Eye Honors
“Quincy” won the award for best music documentary, while “Free Solo” won for best sports documentary and most innovative documentary.
The film about “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” star Fred Rogers won in a category whose other nominees were “Crime + Punishment,” “Dark Money,” “Free Solo,” “Hal,” “Hitler’s Hollywood,” “Minding the Gap,” “Rbg,” “Three Identical Strangers,” “Wild Wild Country.”
Michael Moore received a lifetime achievement award from Robert De Niro, who called him “an American hero.” Moore new film, “Fahrenheit 11/9,” was not nominated in the Best Documentary category, instead receiving a mention only in Best Political Documentary, where it lost to “Rbg.”
Also Read: 'Minding the Gap' Leads All Films in Nominations for Cinema Eye Honors
“Quincy” won the award for best music documentary, while “Free Solo” won for best sports documentary and most innovative documentary.
- 11/11/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said today that 166 films have been submitted for Feature Documentary consideration for the 91st Academy Awards. Among them are box office success stories Rgb, Three Identical Strangers, Free Solo and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The Academy notes that several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. This year, for the first time, films that have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival or have been submitted in the Foreign Language Film category as their country’s official selection, are also eligible in the category.
A shortlist of 15 films will be announced on December 17, and Oscar nominations will be unveil January 22. The hardware...
The Academy notes that several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. This year, for the first time, films that have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival or have been submitted in the Foreign Language Film category as their country’s official selection, are also eligible in the category.
A shortlist of 15 films will be announced on December 17, and Oscar nominations will be unveil January 22. The hardware...
- 11/8/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Heads up on what's newly available to you this week. Links go to previous coverage / reviews here at Tfe.
DVD/Blu-Ray
• Bel Canto -Julianne Moore as an opera singer. It was barely released
• BlacKkKlansman - Spike Lee's best in ages. We think it might be competitive for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing nominations. Do you?
• Christopher Robin - Ewan McGregor stars as the boy all grown up revisited by Pooh, Tigger, and the Hundred Acre Woods gang.
• Incredibles 2 - The year's fourth biggest hit globally with 1.2 billion in the bank
• Loving Pablo - Penelope Cruz & Javier Bardem star in this drama about a journalist and a drug lord.
• Papillon - Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam remake the Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen prison drama
• Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood - a salacious documentary about a man who allegedly secured same-sex sex for the movie stars of Old Hollywood.
DVD/Blu-Ray
• Bel Canto -Julianne Moore as an opera singer. It was barely released
• BlacKkKlansman - Spike Lee's best in ages. We think it might be competitive for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing nominations. Do you?
• Christopher Robin - Ewan McGregor stars as the boy all grown up revisited by Pooh, Tigger, and the Hundred Acre Woods gang.
• Incredibles 2 - The year's fourth biggest hit globally with 1.2 billion in the bank
• Loving Pablo - Penelope Cruz & Javier Bardem star in this drama about a journalist and a drug lord.
• Papillon - Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam remake the Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen prison drama
• Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood - a salacious documentary about a man who allegedly secured same-sex sex for the movie stars of Old Hollywood.
- 11/7/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Members of the Academy’s documentary branch received a generous gift from AMPAS on Friday: 77 new films that had qualified in this year’s Best Documentary Feature category.
And it turned what had been a modest year for docs — with a total of 83 films included in June, July, August and September groups — into one in which the number of eligible films that voters would need to watch nearly doubled.
The Academy also promised voters in the branch to expect a final batch of films in early November — which, if it hits double digits, will set a new record in the category.
Also Read: 'Free Solo' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
The previous high, set last year, was 170 films. With 160 already on the Oscar eligibility list and one additional (though likely small) batch yet to come, this year’s crop will give voters a lot of work to do before...
And it turned what had been a modest year for docs — with a total of 83 films included in June, July, August and September groups — into one in which the number of eligible films that voters would need to watch nearly doubled.
The Academy also promised voters in the branch to expect a final batch of films in early November — which, if it hits double digits, will set a new record in the category.
Also Read: 'Free Solo' Leads Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Nominations
The previous high, set last year, was 170 films. With 160 already on the Oscar eligibility list and one additional (though likely small) batch yet to come, this year’s crop will give voters a lot of work to do before...
- 10/27/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
“Free Solo,” “Quincy,” “Minding the Gap,” “Rbg,” “Three identical Strangers” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” are among the films nominated for the Audience Choice Prize at the 2018 Cinema Eye Honors, an awards show devoted to all facts of nonfiction filmmaking.
“Bathtubs Over Broadway,” “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.,” “On Her Shoulders” and “Shirkers” were also nominated in the Audience Choice category, which can be voted on by members of the public at the Cinema Eye website.
The bulk of the Cinema Eye Honors nominees will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 8, and the winners will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
Also Read: 'Free Solo,' 'Minding the Gap,' 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' Land Ida Documentary Nominations
In the Broadcast Film category, the nominees were four docs from HBO – “Baltimore Rising,” “Believer,” “The Final Year” and...
“Bathtubs Over Broadway,” “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.,” “On Her Shoulders” and “Shirkers” were also nominated in the Audience Choice category, which can be voted on by members of the public at the Cinema Eye website.
The bulk of the Cinema Eye Honors nominees will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 8, and the winners will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
Also Read: 'Free Solo,' 'Minding the Gap,' 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' Land Ida Documentary Nominations
In the Broadcast Film category, the nominees were four docs from HBO – “Baltimore Rising,” “Believer,” “The Final Year” and...
- 10/25/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
At their inaugural Fall Lunch in held in Los Angeles on Thursday, Cinema Eye Honors unveiled their first round of awards, including their annual list of significant nonfiction film subjects and a list of the year’s ten top Nonfiction Short Films. They also released nominees in four categories: Broadcast Film; a new award for Broadcast Series; the Heterodox Award, which recognizes fiction films that blur the line between fiction and documentary; and the annual Audience Choice Prize, voted on by documentary lovers around the world.
Netflix, Focus Features, and Hulu hosted the event at Casita Hollywood with many of the year’s top filmmakers on hand, including Kirby Dick, Morgan Neville, Matt Tyrnauer, Jimmy Chin, Rj Cutler, Lauren Greenfield, Alan Hicks, Laura Nix, and Brett Morgen. The full list of nonfiction film and craft nominees, including the five nominees for Outstanding Nonfiction Short Film, will be revealed on Thursday,...
Netflix, Focus Features, and Hulu hosted the event at Casita Hollywood with many of the year’s top filmmakers on hand, including Kirby Dick, Morgan Neville, Matt Tyrnauer, Jimmy Chin, Rj Cutler, Lauren Greenfield, Alan Hicks, Laura Nix, and Brett Morgen. The full list of nonfiction film and craft nominees, including the five nominees for Outstanding Nonfiction Short Film, will be revealed on Thursday,...
- 10/25/2018
- by Anne Thompson and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Cinema Eye Honors revealed the first awards announcements for the organization’s 12th annual awards on Thursday.
Audience choice nominees include recent documentary awards-circuit players such as “Free Solo,” “Minding the Gap,” “Quincy,” “Rbg,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The group also unveiled its list of “The Unforgettables,” honoring notable and significant nonfiction film subjects, such as rock climber Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”), recording artist M.I.A. (“Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”), Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“Rbg”), and television legend Fred Rogers (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”).
Joining the broadcast film category is a new field this year, broadcast series, which features contenders such as Netflix’s “Evil Genius” and “Wild Wild Country,” and Showtime’s “The Fourth Estate.”
In the Heterodox category, recognizing fiction films that actively blur the line between fiction and documentary, The Orchard and MoviePass’ “American Animals,” Magnolia’s “Skate Kitchen,” and...
Audience choice nominees include recent documentary awards-circuit players such as “Free Solo,” “Minding the Gap,” “Quincy,” “Rbg,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The group also unveiled its list of “The Unforgettables,” honoring notable and significant nonfiction film subjects, such as rock climber Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”), recording artist M.I.A. (“Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”), Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“Rbg”), and television legend Fred Rogers (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”).
Joining the broadcast film category is a new field this year, broadcast series, which features contenders such as Netflix’s “Evil Genius” and “Wild Wild Country,” and Showtime’s “The Fourth Estate.”
In the Heterodox category, recognizing fiction films that actively blur the line between fiction and documentary, The Orchard and MoviePass’ “American Animals,” Magnolia’s “Skate Kitchen,” and...
- 10/25/2018
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
Matt Tyrnauer on Norma Kamali in Studio 54: "She looks extraordinary and she's articulate and so real and was very open and had great insights." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
There is only one filmmaker who has documented Valentino Garavani (Valentino: The Last Emperor), Scotty Bowers (Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood), Jane Jacobs (Citizen Jane: Battle For The City) and Ian Schrager (Studio 54). In the second half of my conversation with Matt Tyrnauer, we discuss those films, the work of cinematographer Tom Hurwitz, Michael Jackson, Ron Galella, a Steve Rubell - Roy Cohn connection, and why he choose not to interview Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross and Sylvester Stallone for Studio 54.
By "total coincidence", Matt Tyrnauer had seen The Lifespan Of A Fact, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale at Studio 54, the evening before we met at Kino Lorber.
Matt Tyrnauer on Valentino Garavani with Giancarlo Giammetti...
There is only one filmmaker who has documented Valentino Garavani (Valentino: The Last Emperor), Scotty Bowers (Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood), Jane Jacobs (Citizen Jane: Battle For The City) and Ian Schrager (Studio 54). In the second half of my conversation with Matt Tyrnauer, we discuss those films, the work of cinematographer Tom Hurwitz, Michael Jackson, Ron Galella, a Steve Rubell - Roy Cohn connection, and why he choose not to interview Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross and Sylvester Stallone for Studio 54.
By "total coincidence", Matt Tyrnauer had seen The Lifespan Of A Fact, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale at Studio 54, the evening before we met at Kino Lorber.
Matt Tyrnauer on Valentino Garavani with Giancarlo Giammetti...
- 10/25/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Free Solo,” which captured rock climber Alex Honnold’s hair-raising ascent of Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-foot El Capitan rock formation, led the nominations for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, it was revealed Monday. The film netted six nominations including best documentary and best director.
Close behind with five mentions each were “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country,” from Hulu and Netflix respectively.
Voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics and Television Journalists Assns., the awards will be presented at a gala event hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The nominees are:
Best Documentary
“Crime + Punishment” – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
“Dark Money” – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
“Free Solo” – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Hal” – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope)
“Hitler’s Hollywood” – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland...
Close behind with five mentions each were “Minding the Gap” and “Wild Wild Country,” from Hulu and Netflix respectively.
Voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics and Television Journalists Assns., the awards will be presented at a gala event hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The nominees are:
Best Documentary
“Crime + Punishment” – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
“Dark Money” – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
“Free Solo” – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
“Hal” – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope)
“Hitler’s Hollywood” – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland...
- 10/15/2018
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
This weekend, new Oscar-contender “A Star Is Born” offered stiff competition for the older urban moviegoers who are drawn to specialized films. The strong limited-city opening of “The Hate U Give” (20th Century Fox) — designed to build word of mouth — and the expansion of the rock climbing documentary “Free Solo” (Greenwich) stood out as most impressive.
Both are well set up for wider successful results. The second weekend expansion of the Robert Redford anchored “The Old Man and the Gun” (Fox Searchlight) had a decent reaction, though not at the same level. It has positioned itself ahead of most other fall releases and could still thrive ahead.
Documentary “Studio 54” (Zeitgeist) also opened well, taking in $15,000 in its initial exclusive hometown New York date.
Not reported is Netflix’s unprecedented 21-screen release for Tamara Jenkins’ well-reviewed (Metascore: 83) Sundance premiere “Private Life,” which was well-received at the New York Film Festival.
Both are well set up for wider successful results. The second weekend expansion of the Robert Redford anchored “The Old Man and the Gun” (Fox Searchlight) had a decent reaction, though not at the same level. It has positioned itself ahead of most other fall releases and could still thrive ahead.
Documentary “Studio 54” (Zeitgeist) also opened well, taking in $15,000 in its initial exclusive hometown New York date.
Not reported is Netflix’s unprecedented 21-screen release for Tamara Jenkins’ well-reviewed (Metascore: 83) Sundance premiere “Private Life,” which was well-received at the New York Film Festival.
- 10/7/2018
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Sundance doc Studio 54 played a solo New York engagement over the weekend, taking in $15K with sold out shows. The film is the second release for filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer who also had Scotty And The Secret History of Hollywood in theaters over the summer.
20th Century Fox rolled out The Hate U Give in three dozen locations, grossing a half million. Racking up the big numbers, though, was Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s Free Solo, topping a million over the weekend with a $590K three-day gross in 41 theaters.
Cohen Media Group bowed fellow doc The Great Buster: A Celebration with two runs, taking in $7,234. Fox Searchlight expanded Robert Redford starrer The Old Man & The Gun to 49 theaters, grossing $385K. Neon jumped Monsters And Men to 143 theaters in its second frame grossing $146K, while The Orchard planted All About Nina in 23 theaters in its second frame, taking...
20th Century Fox rolled out The Hate U Give in three dozen locations, grossing a half million. Racking up the big numbers, though, was Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s Free Solo, topping a million over the weekend with a $590K three-day gross in 41 theaters.
Cohen Media Group bowed fellow doc The Great Buster: A Celebration with two runs, taking in $7,234. Fox Searchlight expanded Robert Redford starrer The Old Man & The Gun to 49 theaters, grossing $385K. Neon jumped Monsters And Men to 143 theaters in its second frame grossing $146K, while The Orchard planted All About Nina in 23 theaters in its second frame, taking...
- 10/7/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
The heavy roster of Specialties heading to theaters in the post-Labor Day period is ebbing a bit this weekend. Cuba Gooding, Jr. makes his debut as writer-director with thriller Bayou Caviar, in which he stars with Famke Janssen and Richard Dreyfuss in a day and date bow this weekend via Gravitas Ventures. Sundance fest debut documentary Studio 54 is the second recent theatrical feature by Matt Tyrnauer, following this summer’s Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood. Zeitgeist opens the title about the legendary New York nightclub in, of course, New York, before heading West next week. Vertical Entertainment is opening drama-thriller A Crooked Somebody directed by Trevor White and starring Rich Sommer, while Music Box is spearheading SXSW’s Finnish metal music-comedy, Heavy Trip.
A couple of studios are also giving their movies a limited start, including Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz starrer, Loving Pablo from Universal, while...
A couple of studios are also giving their movies a limited start, including Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz starrer, Loving Pablo from Universal, while...
- 10/5/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
In the past few years, Matt Tyrnauer has made it his stock-in-trade to pry into the seamy undersides of glitz and glamour — and all the sexy secrets that go along. Earlier this year, his documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood attempted to shock and awe with the tales of Scotty Bowers, legendary “pimp to the stars,” and his potentially scandalous conquests of famous men and women. He also delved into the backstory of fashion royalty with Valentino: The Last Emperor. But let’s not forget he also gave...
- 10/5/2018
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
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