Marla Adams, the Emmy-winning soap opera veteran who starred as the scheming Dina Abbott Mergeron during parts of five decades on The Young and the Restless, has died. She was 85.
Adams died Thursday in Los Angeles, Matt Kane, director of media and talent for Y&r, announced.
When she was just starting out, Adams appeared in 1958 alongside Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne on Broadway in The Visit and portrayed June, the high school best friend of Natalie Wood’s Deanie, in Elia Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass (1961).
Her first prominent role on a daytime drama came on CBS’ The Secret Storm, where she played bad girl Belle Clemens from 1968 until the show’s 1974 demise. “I was the bitch of daytime,” she said in a 2016 interview. “I played a good bitch.”
Adams joined Y&r in 1982 but left when her three-year contract was up. She returned to Genoa City for brief...
Adams died Thursday in Los Angeles, Matt Kane, director of media and talent for Y&r, announced.
When she was just starting out, Adams appeared in 1958 alongside Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne on Broadway in The Visit and portrayed June, the high school best friend of Natalie Wood’s Deanie, in Elia Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass (1961).
Her first prominent role on a daytime drama came on CBS’ The Secret Storm, where she played bad girl Belle Clemens from 1968 until the show’s 1974 demise. “I was the bitch of daytime,” she said in a 2016 interview. “I played a good bitch.”
Adams joined Y&r in 1982 but left when her three-year contract was up. She returned to Genoa City for brief...
- 4/26/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Get ready for your next marathon with Max! This February, the streamer is saying goodbye to major award winners, camp classics, and more. Most of the platform’s exits will take place on the final day of the month, including the genre and history-changing “The Exorcist,” the recent Oscar winner “Drive My Car,” and more, but Max will remove several other major TV and film titles throughout the month.
We at The Streamable have assembled our top picks for what’s leaving Max this month— continue below to find your next thing to watch and see the full list below to plan your next movie night before they’re gone!
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Max in February 2024? “Drive My Car” | Thursday, Feb. 29
A recent Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film, the Japanese drama stars Hidetoshi Nishijima as Yūsuke Kafuku,...
We at The Streamable have assembled our top picks for what’s leaving Max this month— continue below to find your next thing to watch and see the full list below to plan your next movie night before they’re gone!
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Max in February 2024? “Drive My Car” | Thursday, Feb. 29
A recent Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film, the Japanese drama stars Hidetoshi Nishijima as Yūsuke Kafuku,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
“You are a lousy substitute for someone who really cares.”
Landmark’s The Plaza Frontenac Theatre hosts RetroREPLAY Tuesdays. Tickets are only 7 and can be purchased in advance Here. The RetroREPLAY for May 24th is Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest . Showtimes ar 1pm and 7pm
The relationship between Christina Crawford and her adoptive mother Joan Crawford is presented from Christina’s view. Unable to bear children, Joan, in 1940, was denied children through regular adoption agencies due to her twice divorced status and being a single working person. Her lover at the time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lawyer Greg Savitt, was able to go through a brokerage to adopt a baby girl, who would be Christina, the first of Joan’s four adoptive children. Joan believes that her own difficult upbringing has made her a stronger person, and decides that, while providing the comforts that a successful Hollywood actress can afford, she will not...
Landmark’s The Plaza Frontenac Theatre hosts RetroREPLAY Tuesdays. Tickets are only 7 and can be purchased in advance Here. The RetroREPLAY for May 24th is Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest . Showtimes ar 1pm and 7pm
The relationship between Christina Crawford and her adoptive mother Joan Crawford is presented from Christina’s view. Unable to bear children, Joan, in 1940, was denied children through regular adoption agencies due to her twice divorced status and being a single working person. Her lover at the time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lawyer Greg Savitt, was able to go through a brokerage to adopt a baby girl, who would be Christina, the first of Joan’s four adoptive children. Joan believes that her own difficult upbringing has made her a stronger person, and decides that, while providing the comforts that a successful Hollywood actress can afford, she will not...
- 5/18/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hello everyone! A new month is upon us and we have an eclectic array of films heading to Blu-ray and DVD this week to kick things off. Arrow Video has put together a 4-Disc Limited Edition Collector’s Set celebrating Bill Rebane called Weird Wisconsin, and Code Red is releasing The Love Butcher on Blu-ray as well. Paramount is showing some love to the cult film Mommie Dearest as well with a brand new Blu in 4K, and we also have a few new indie titles arriving on June 1st—Spare Parts and Sorority House.
The Love Butcher
A string of murders in a posh neighborhood has the police department stumped and the local press is breathing down their necks. Strangely, nobody notices that several victims share the same gardener, a bent, elderly man with a crippled arm named Caleb. Even though all of the murder weapons are lawn care tools,...
The Love Butcher
A string of murders in a posh neighborhood has the police department stumped and the local press is breathing down their necks. Strangely, nobody notices that several victims share the same gardener, a bent, elderly man with a crippled arm named Caleb. Even though all of the murder weapons are lawn care tools,...
- 6/2/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Latest Addition to the Paramount Presents Line Debuts June 1, 2021 with New Special Features
The endlessly quotable and unforgettable drama Mommie Dearest celebrates its 40th anniversary with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, debuting June 1, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Newly restored from a 4K film transfer, Mommie Dearest is presented in a limited-edition Blu-ray Disc™ with collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the film’s theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments. The Blu-ray includes a new Filmmaker Focus with biographer Justin Bozung on the film and its director Frank Perry, a new audio commentary with American drag queen Hedda Lettuce, access to a Digital copy of the film, as well as previously released bonus content. Special features are detailed below:
· Commentary by American drag queen Hedda Lettuce –New!
· Filmmaker...
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Latest Addition to the Paramount Presents Line Debuts June 1, 2021 with New Special Features
The endlessly quotable and unforgettable drama Mommie Dearest celebrates its 40th anniversary with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, debuting June 1, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Newly restored from a 4K film transfer, Mommie Dearest is presented in a limited-edition Blu-ray Disc™ with collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the film’s theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments. The Blu-ray includes a new Filmmaker Focus with biographer Justin Bozung on the film and its director Frank Perry, a new audio commentary with American drag queen Hedda Lettuce, access to a Digital copy of the film, as well as previously released bonus content. Special features are detailed below:
· Commentary by American drag queen Hedda Lettuce –New!
· Filmmaker...
- 4/23/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Joan Crawford would’ve celebrated her 114th birthday on March 23, 2020. Though she’s probably best remembered for the portrayals of her by other actresses, the Oscar-winning performer starred in a number of classics before her death in 1977 at the age of 71. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1906, Crawford made her debut as a body double for Norma Shearer in “Ladies of the Night” (1925). She worked her way up into starring roles in several MGM titles, most notably the ensemble drama “Grand Hotel” (1932). Yet a dip in audience enthusiasm led to her being labeled “box office poison,” which would haunt her for several years.
Crawford moved to Warner Bros. in 1943, and just two years later, she was re-igniting the box office and scooping up a Best Actress Oscar for “Mildred Pierce” (1945). The role of an...
Born in 1906, Crawford made her debut as a body double for Norma Shearer in “Ladies of the Night” (1925). She worked her way up into starring roles in several MGM titles, most notably the ensemble drama “Grand Hotel” (1932). Yet a dip in audience enthusiasm led to her being labeled “box office poison,” which would haunt her for several years.
Crawford moved to Warner Bros. in 1943, and just two years later, she was re-igniting the box office and scooping up a Best Actress Oscar for “Mildred Pierce” (1945). The role of an...
- 3/3/2020
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Elvis fans laud this high-end drama, an attempt by the superstar to lock into a mainstream acting career. Presley has fine dramatic support, especially from his three leading ladies, but the requirement that an Elvis movie be all things to all people — especially marketers — really takes its toll. It’s a soap where almost nothing is believable, except to true believers for whom Presley can do no wrong.
Wild in the Country
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1961 / Color / 2:35 widescreen 1:37 academy / 114 min. / Street Date August 20, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, William Mims, Raymond Greenleaf, Christina Crawford, Pat Buttram, Doreen Lang, Alan Napier, Jason Robards Sr..
Cinematography: William C. Mellor
Editor : Dorothy Spencer
Original Music: Kenyon Hopkins
Written by Clifford Odets from a novel by J. R. Salamanca
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Philip Dunne...
Wild in the Country
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1961 / Color / 2:35 widescreen 1:37 academy / 114 min. / Street Date August 20, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, William Mims, Raymond Greenleaf, Christina Crawford, Pat Buttram, Doreen Lang, Alan Napier, Jason Robards Sr..
Cinematography: William C. Mellor
Editor : Dorothy Spencer
Original Music: Kenyon Hopkins
Written by Clifford Odets from a novel by J. R. Salamanca
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Philip Dunne...
- 8/20/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Joan Crawford would’ve celebrated her 113th birthday on March 23, 2019. Though she’s probably best remembered for the portrayals of her by other actresses, the Oscar-winning performer starred in a number of classics before her death in 1977 at the age of 71. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1906, Crawford made her debut as a body double for Norma Shearer in “Ladies of the Night” (1925). She worked her way up into starring roles in several MGM titles, most notably the ensemble drama “Grand Hotel” (1932). Yet a dip in audience enthusiasm led to her being labeled “box office poison,” which would haunt her for several years.
SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Crawford moved to Warner Bros. in 1943, and just two years later, she was re-igniting the box office and scooping up a...
Born in 1906, Crawford made her debut as a body double for Norma Shearer in “Ladies of the Night” (1925). She worked her way up into starring roles in several MGM titles, most notably the ensemble drama “Grand Hotel” (1932). Yet a dip in audience enthusiasm led to her being labeled “box office poison,” which would haunt her for several years.
SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Crawford moved to Warner Bros. in 1943, and just two years later, she was re-igniting the box office and scooping up a...
- 3/23/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
1968: Joan Crawford aired for the final time on The Secret Storm.
1980: Edge of Night's Clown Puppet killer was lurking.
1985: Capitol's Leanne collapsed.
1985: Santa Barbara's C.C. remained on life support."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Mrs. Johnson (Clarice Blackburn) walked in while Joe (Joel Crothers) was trying to kill Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) so Joe ran off. Elizabeth (Joan Bennett) and Roger (Louis Edmonds) found Joe in the Collins mausoleum and brought him back to Collinwood where he addmitted that he tried to kill Barnabas, and said he would try again.
1980: Edge of Night's Clown Puppet killer was lurking.
1985: Capitol's Leanne collapsed.
1985: Santa Barbara's C.C. remained on life support."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Mrs. Johnson (Clarice Blackburn) walked in while Joe (Joel Crothers) was trying to kill Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) so Joe ran off. Elizabeth (Joan Bennett) and Roger (Louis Edmonds) found Joe in the Collins mausoleum and brought him back to Collinwood where he addmitted that he tried to kill Barnabas, and said he would try again.
- 10/31/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1933: The Romance of Helen Trent premiered.
1987: Matthew Ashford debuted as Jack on Days of our Lives.
1985: Guiding Light's Reva almost ran into Josh at Cedars.
2008: All My Children's Reese and Miranda surprised Bianca."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1933: The Romance of Helen Trent debuted over CBS Radio. The show aired 7,222 episodes during its run until June 24, 1960. Created by the husband-and-wife team of Frank and Anne Hummert, Helen Trent was conceived as the epitome of virtue in a world where behavior was usually judged in black-and-white terms. Helen Trent never smoked, drank, or...
1987: Matthew Ashford debuted as Jack on Days of our Lives.
1985: Guiding Light's Reva almost ran into Josh at Cedars.
2008: All My Children's Reese and Miranda surprised Bianca."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1933: The Romance of Helen Trent debuted over CBS Radio. The show aired 7,222 episodes during its run until June 24, 1960. Created by the husband-and-wife team of Frank and Anne Hummert, Helen Trent was conceived as the epitome of virtue in a world where behavior was usually judged in black-and-white terms. Helen Trent never smoked, drank, or...
- 10/31/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1968: Oltl's Jim asked Price to assist with Carla's case.
1980: The Edge of Night's Geraldine interrupted Raven's plans.
1985: Days of our Lives' Patch attacked Hope.
2010: General Hospital's Mike appeared for the final time."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: Joan Crawford made the second of four appearances on The Secret Storm as Joan Borman Kane, substituting for her sick daughter Christina Crawford.
1968: On One Life to Live, Joe (Lee Patterson) told Anna (Doris Belack) about his feelings for her, which went beyond the boundaries of friendship. Meredith (Trish Van Devere) had left...
1980: The Edge of Night's Geraldine interrupted Raven's plans.
1985: Days of our Lives' Patch attacked Hope.
2010: General Hospital's Mike appeared for the final time."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: Joan Crawford made the second of four appearances on The Secret Storm as Joan Borman Kane, substituting for her sick daughter Christina Crawford.
1968: On One Life to Live, Joe (Lee Patterson) told Anna (Doris Belack) about his feelings for her, which went beyond the boundaries of friendship. Meredith (Trish Van Devere) had left...
- 10/29/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Previously
Ch. 1 "Pilot"
Ch. 2 "The Other Woman"
Feud's writing team is nothing if not devoted to playing to a single theme per episode. All but a couple of scenes in chapter 3 of Feud are devoted to the notion of mothering (though Victor Buono's more generous notion of "legacy" might have been a smarter move for retroactive potency). Or at least the show spends this hour playing with our pre-conceptions of the mothering skills of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. That's evident in the way it pulls the episode title from the infamous Christina Crawford memoir that damned Joan forever in the public eye as a psychopath and child abuser. In one of the earliest scenes we even get a potent reminder of this memoir as Joan pretends she's not going to send Christina a card congratulating her on the opening of a play until she reads reviews, but then signs the card "Mommie Dearest,...
Ch. 1 "Pilot"
Ch. 2 "The Other Woman"
Feud's writing team is nothing if not devoted to playing to a single theme per episode. All but a couple of scenes in chapter 3 of Feud are devoted to the notion of mothering (though Victor Buono's more generous notion of "legacy" might have been a smarter move for retroactive potency). Or at least the show spends this hour playing with our pre-conceptions of the mothering skills of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. That's evident in the way it pulls the episode title from the infamous Christina Crawford memoir that damned Joan forever in the public eye as a psychopath and child abuser. In one of the earliest scenes we even get a potent reminder of this memoir as Joan pretends she's not going to send Christina a card congratulating her on the opening of a play until she reads reviews, but then signs the card "Mommie Dearest,...
- 3/20/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
She created some of Hollywood's most memorable roles in such revolutionary films as Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network while simultaneously seducing a generation, but Faye Dunaway never thought she was beautiful as a young girl growing up in Bascom, Florida. When she first saw herself in the early dailies of Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, she couldn't look at the screen. "Just to see the face, to see that it's too round - but it was more than that," she says. "I didn't think my face was beautiful. I guess I found a lot wrong with it." And what about her remarkable cheekbones?...
- 9/2/2016
- by Liz McNeil and Kara Warner
- PEOPLE.com
She created some of Hollywood's most memorable roles in such revolutionary films as Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network while simultaneously seducing a generation, but Faye Dunaway never thought she was beautiful as a young girl growing up in Bascom, Florida. When she first saw herself in the early dailies of Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, she couldn't look at the screen. "Just to see the face, to see that it's too round - but it was more than that," she says. "I didn't think my face was beautiful. I guess I found a lot wrong with it." And what about her remarkable cheekbones?...
- 9/2/2016
- by Liz McNeil and Kara Warner
- PEOPLE.com
Universal Pictures
In rough cut, Jaws The Revenge had one of the funniest endings ever as the Great White attempted to play chicken with Lorraine Gary’s boat, only to end up impaled on the broken prow. Fearing a disaster, the producers cut the scene from the original theatrical version, which seemed to end with the shark exploding for no clear reason.
If they’d left the scene intact, however, they might’ve been able to sell the picture as a good bad movie. Sound unlikely? That’s exactly what happened when Mommie Dearest (1981), an overwrought adaptation of Christina Crawford’s account of growing up as Joan Crawford’s adopted daughter, left audiences rolling in the aisles.
Viewers were amused by Faye Dunaway’s Ott impersonation of the Hollywood legend, particularly in a sequence where she whips her daughter with a coat hanger while uttering the immortal line, “No wire hangers – Ever!
In rough cut, Jaws The Revenge had one of the funniest endings ever as the Great White attempted to play chicken with Lorraine Gary’s boat, only to end up impaled on the broken prow. Fearing a disaster, the producers cut the scene from the original theatrical version, which seemed to end with the shark exploding for no clear reason.
If they’d left the scene intact, however, they might’ve been able to sell the picture as a good bad movie. Sound unlikely? That’s exactly what happened when Mommie Dearest (1981), an overwrought adaptation of Christina Crawford’s account of growing up as Joan Crawford’s adopted daughter, left audiences rolling in the aisles.
Viewers were amused by Faye Dunaway’s Ott impersonation of the Hollywood legend, particularly in a sequence where she whips her daughter with a coat hanger while uttering the immortal line, “No wire hangers – Ever!
- 3/15/2016
- by Ian Watson
- Obsessed with Film
Joan Crawford in 'Mildred Pierce.' 'Mildred Pierce' review: Very entertaining soap opera Time has a way of making some films seem grander than they really are. A good example is Mildred Pierce, the 1945 black-and-white melodrama directed by Casablanca's Michael Curtiz, and that won star Joan Crawford a Best Actress Oscar. Mildred Pierce is in no way, shape, or form great art, even though it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, as a soap opera it's quite entertaining – no, make that very entertaining; and entertainment is a quality that can stand on its own. (The problem in recent decades is that cinema has become nothing but entertainment.) In the case of Mildred Pierce, the entertainment is formulaic and rather predictable – but in an enjoyable, campy sort of way. Unbridled Hollywood melodrama Now, what makes Mildred Pierce a melodrama is something known as the Dumbest Possible Action – Dpa for short.
- 12/12/2015
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
At the time of its production, Louis Malle’s 1978 title Pretty Baby (the title derived from the Tony Jackson song) was quite the scandal, a period piece frankly depicting child prostitution in turn of the century New Orleans. But like many provocative titles from the period (another being Richard Brooks’ Looking For Mr. Goodbar), decades of suppression has resulted in unavailability and a disappearance from modern cinematic conversations. Recently made available courtesy of the Warner Bros. Archive collection (solely on DVD) this is property begging for a more masterful restoration.
In the Red Lights district of 1917 New Orleans, legal prostitution is on the wane as a surge of conservative, religious rhetoric begins to sweep through the country. Nell (Francis Faye) owns a booming brothel in the famed Storyville district, and one of her most notable employees is Hattie (Susan Sarandon), whose twelve-year-old daughter Violet (Brooke Shields) has grown up within the house.
In the Red Lights district of 1917 New Orleans, legal prostitution is on the wane as a surge of conservative, religious rhetoric begins to sweep through the country. Nell (Francis Faye) owns a booming brothel in the famed Storyville district, and one of her most notable employees is Hattie (Susan Sarandon), whose twelve-year-old daughter Violet (Brooke Shields) has grown up within the house.
- 10/20/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The poster for Voyage of the Damned makes a bold claim, and maybe those who saw Stuart Rosenberg’s star-studded blockbuster in 1976 have remembered it ever since. Until a couple of weeks ago, however, when I saw it in a list of past Oscar nominees, I had never heard of it, and I don’t think it would be unfair to say that it is a film that has not stood the test of time.
Voyage of the Damned, which chronicles the tragic failed escape of 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, was nominated for three Oscars (for Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and for Lee Grant for Best Supporting Actress, the lone acting nominee among a boatload of international heavyweights).
Oscar nominations, especially for acting, tend to confer a certain amount of immortality on their recipients (you are forever “Academy Award nominee Lee Grant”) and there are many films and...
Voyage of the Damned, which chronicles the tragic failed escape of 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, was nominated for three Oscars (for Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and for Lee Grant for Best Supporting Actress, the lone acting nominee among a boatload of international heavyweights).
Oscar nominations, especially for acting, tend to confer a certain amount of immortality on their recipients (you are forever “Academy Award nominee Lee Grant”) and there are many films and...
- 3/1/2014
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
This news is tearing me apart! Apparently James Franco is set to produce a movie based on Greg Sestero‘s book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room, a memoir about Sestero’s acting gig in the 2003 cult classic — and touted “worst movie of all time” — The Room. Franco will star in the project too, presumably as The Room‘s director and star Tommy Wiseau, and he’ll be camping it up alongside Seth Rogen and his brother Dave Franco, who will probably play Sestero. Sigh, Dave Franco. Nudity is always a good option for him!
For the hell of it, let’s recast other notoriously bad movies for potential biopics.
Mommie Dearest
Julianne Moore as Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford
Chloe Grace Moretz as Diana Scarwid as Christina Crawford
Now this! This is the remake that Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz were made for. While the...
For the hell of it, let’s recast other notoriously bad movies for potential biopics.
Mommie Dearest
Julianne Moore as Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford
Chloe Grace Moretz as Diana Scarwid as Christina Crawford
Now this! This is the remake that Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz were made for. While the...
- 2/11/2014
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
"Joan Crawford Week!" concludes at Trailers from Hell with producer-director Dan Ireland's introduction to Frank Perry's Razzie winner "Mommie Dearest," starring Faye Dunaway as ferocious momma Crawford. "No wire hangers, ever!" Joan Crawford once noted in an early 70s interview that among current actresses only Faye Dunaway had "what it takes" to become a true star. Faye repaid the compliment by portraying Joan in this movie based on daughter Christina Crawford's tell-all book about the dysfunctional household she grew up in with her mercurial movie star mom. Despite its numerous "Razzie" awards for Worst Picture it's developed a rabid fan following over the years.
- 7/6/2012
- by Trailers From Hell
- Thompson on Hollywood
Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, Autumn Leaves Betty Barker (photo), Joan Crawford's longtime personal assistant, died last January 27 in Los Angeles. Barker was 95 years old. According to a paid obituary published in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles-born (Sept. 30, 1916) Barker grew up in the L.A. suburb of Alhambra. Following a stint in Washington, D.C., in 1944 Barker returned to Los Angeles, where she began her secretarial career at Rko. Later, she was to become a personal secretary to Howard Hughes, who gained control of the studio in 1948. When Rko officially moved to Las Vegas in 1955, Barker opted to remain in Los Angeles. That's when she began her professional association with Joan Crawford, whom, as per the Times obit, she had known since the early 1930s. By then a Hollywood star for nearly three decades, Crawford was still busy, appearing in movies such as Ranald MacDougall's Queen Bee,...
- 2/16/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
5 Movie Psychos Worthier of a TV Series Than Hannibal Lecter
Watch out, Clarice: The Silence of the Lambs’s unforgettable cannibal Hannibal Lecter is coming to NBC in his own series for at least 13 episodes. Anthony Hopkins’ classic role is both an obvious choice for serialization and a seemingly uninspired one: We’ve already seen two theatrical updates of Hannibal’s tale, and neither did much to buttress his legacy. Here, I name five freaks worthier of a full-season pickup.
Mommie Dearest’s Joan Crawford
I don’t have to tell anyone here that Mommie Dearest is an unforgettable feast of shrieks, delirium, and Joan Crawford’s Egyptian death mask of a face. Though the movie is remembered as a cult classic, an episodic chronicle of Christina Crawford’s unfortunate, hanger-throttled childhood could make for an enthralling CW series.
Potential Episode: Christina accidentally brings up Bette Davis’s name at...
Watch out, Clarice: The Silence of the Lambs’s unforgettable cannibal Hannibal Lecter is coming to NBC in his own series for at least 13 episodes. Anthony Hopkins’ classic role is both an obvious choice for serialization and a seemingly uninspired one: We’ve already seen two theatrical updates of Hannibal’s tale, and neither did much to buttress his legacy. Here, I name five freaks worthier of a full-season pickup.
Mommie Dearest’s Joan Crawford
I don’t have to tell anyone here that Mommie Dearest is an unforgettable feast of shrieks, delirium, and Joan Crawford’s Egyptian death mask of a face. Though the movie is remembered as a cult classic, an episodic chronicle of Christina Crawford’s unfortunate, hanger-throttled childhood could make for an enthralling CW series.
Potential Episode: Christina accidentally brings up Bette Davis’s name at...
- 2/15/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
Parent's anniversary is filmed by their son, Cody (Colin Ford) and his mother, Laura ( Fay Masterson) is angry at children breaking the lamp again. She takes the video camera to film them and is beaten and left to die. Horatio (David Caruso) posits it's safe to say it was "overkill." Me Tom (Christian Clemenson) concludes that every blow was fatal and she was swung at from all angles, demonstrating rage from the killer. Jesse (Eddie Cibrian) thinks she could have interrupted an intruder and Natalia (Eva La Rue) believes he could have killed her. Isn't that what Jesse just said. Jesse notices a void on the ground, so something was there to stop the blood spatter. Jesse notices Cody is sad, as sits drawing pictures. (Which was the clue.) He controls whatever he draws in his pictures. Horatio tells him he's a good record for catching the bad guy and...
- 6/28/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
The Hand (Original Release Date: 24 April 1981)
The Hand is the answer to the question "What else did that kid who played Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest do?" That's the kind of movie The Hand is: one you're liable to know about because of its relationship to another movie, director, or star, and not one you're liable to have seen. (Another answer to this question, it turns out, is The Happening, where she plays "Woman with Hands Over Ears." I consider this neither a step up nor down, and, without bothering to look at the three decades' worth of [likely] bit parts in between, declare her career to be remarkably consistent.)
I consider myself reasonably familiar with the careers of Michael Caine and Oliver Stone, and feel I should have at least known The Hand existed. I didn't. It also never would have occurred to me to pair Caine and Stone, but...
The Hand is the answer to the question "What else did that kid who played Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest do?" That's the kind of movie The Hand is: one you're liable to know about because of its relationship to another movie, director, or star, and not one you're liable to have seen. (Another answer to this question, it turns out, is The Happening, where she plays "Woman with Hands Over Ears." I consider this neither a step up nor down, and, without bothering to look at the three decades' worth of [likely] bit parts in between, declare her career to be remarkably consistent.)
I consider myself reasonably familiar with the careers of Michael Caine and Oliver Stone, and feel I should have at least known The Hand existed. I didn't. It also never would have occurred to me to pair Caine and Stone, but...
- 4/29/2011
- by Thurston McQ
- Corona's Coming Attractions
We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.
Everyone, including yours truly, is uber-excited about the long overdue sequel to Tron, Tron: Legacy. When Bayer requested that I do a Top 7 Movies That Need Sequels, I was intrigued and excited. When Bayer also gave Calhoun that same assignment I was somewhat less intrigued and excited; and when Calhoun hogged up all the movies I was going to pick and ran off giggling, the romance was over.
Kersten’s Top 7 Movies (20 yrs+) That Deserve Sequels
In desperately searching for movies that should have a sequel that aren’t on Calhoun’s list, I’ve amassed a list of sequel abominations, sequels that would mean a desecration of the art of film and make us all feel like dirty wh*res. These are the sequels that would improve upon celluloid the way the Visigoths tidied up Rome.
Yes, folks. It’s the...
Everyone, including yours truly, is uber-excited about the long overdue sequel to Tron, Tron: Legacy. When Bayer requested that I do a Top 7 Movies That Need Sequels, I was intrigued and excited. When Bayer also gave Calhoun that same assignment I was somewhat less intrigued and excited; and when Calhoun hogged up all the movies I was going to pick and ran off giggling, the romance was over.
Kersten’s Top 7 Movies (20 yrs+) That Deserve Sequels
In desperately searching for movies that should have a sequel that aren’t on Calhoun’s list, I’ve amassed a list of sequel abominations, sequels that would mean a desecration of the art of film and make us all feel like dirty wh*res. These are the sequels that would improve upon celluloid the way the Visigoths tidied up Rome.
Yes, folks. It’s the...
- 12/18/2010
- by Morrow McLaughlin
- The Scorecard Review
Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (right) in Baby Jane
How's this for a provocative take on Joan Crawford? Although she is one of the most-written-about women of the 20th century (and the subject of the most famous celebrity tell-all of all time, Mommie Dearest, written by her daughter Christina), much of what was written about her was ... an outright lie, or at least partially wrong.
That's the very interesting perspective behind Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto (William Morrow, $25.99).
Spoto is a long-time biography veteran with dozens of other titles to his name (about Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and many others). But he seems to have a particular affinity for Joan, and even opens the book with her very kind and detailed response to a fan letter he wrote to her when he was eleven years old.
What's been written about Joan that isn't true?...
How's this for a provocative take on Joan Crawford? Although she is one of the most-written-about women of the 20th century (and the subject of the most famous celebrity tell-all of all time, Mommie Dearest, written by her daughter Christina), much of what was written about her was ... an outright lie, or at least partially wrong.
That's the very interesting perspective behind Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford by Donald Spoto (William Morrow, $25.99).
Spoto is a long-time biography veteran with dozens of other titles to his name (about Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and many others). But he seems to have a particular affinity for Joan, and even opens the book with her very kind and detailed response to a fan letter he wrote to her when he was eleven years old.
What's been written about Joan that isn't true?...
- 11/18/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
Fans of Jim Grimsley's 1995 gay coming-of-age novel Dream Boy may very well enjoy the 2008 movie version, which is finally out on DVD. After all, this is an amazingly faithful adaptation of the book.
I don't think too many others will find much here to appreciate.
The movie begins with a surprising lack of drama. In the 1970s, two boys in the rural south meet and fall in love: a shy, bookish type and his more outgoing "farmboy" neighbor. The pace is slow, but there are some nice moments (often taken directly from the book), as when the two boys' eyes meet in the mirror of the school bus. It's all very earnest, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but is a little jarring after the irony-infused 00s.
When the conflict finally kicks in about halfway through, there's certainly a lot of it: the boys are threatened by both...
I don't think too many others will find much here to appreciate.
The movie begins with a surprising lack of drama. In the 1970s, two boys in the rural south meet and fall in love: a shy, bookish type and his more outgoing "farmboy" neighbor. The pace is slow, but there are some nice moments (often taken directly from the book), as when the two boys' eyes meet in the mirror of the school bus. It's all very earnest, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but is a little jarring after the irony-infused 00s.
When the conflict finally kicks in about halfway through, there's certainly a lot of it: the boys are threatened by both...
- 3/11/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
It used to be that a celebrity would prove that he/she has a sense of humor about his/herself by doing a cameo in a tepid sketch on Saturday Night Live. (See: Drew Barrymore, any presidential candidate, etc.) But it appears that Martha Stewart has found a far more comprehensive and possibly a far funnier way to make fun of herself: Orchestrating her own Mystery Science Theater 3000-esque takedown of her old, exhaustingly detailed domestic how-to guide for the thoroughly bored/insane, Martha Stewart Living. The show is called Whatever, Martha, and it co-stars Martha's daughter, Alexis, and Alexis's deadpan, cutting comments about her mom. Lest you think Alexis Stewart is channeling Christina Crawford at the end of Mommie Dearest here and using her...
- 9/9/2008
- avclub.com
In 1978 Christina Crawford shocked the world with the first tell-all celebrity memoir, in which she exposed her Hollywood filmstar mother Joan as a cruel, abusive alcoholic. Thirty years on, and about to reissue her explosive book with new material, she gives her first interview in a decade. But why this compulsion to return to her painful past - especially when so many people don’t believe her?
Christina Crawford was 13 when she stopped believing her mother loved her. It was a young age at which to come to such a startling conclusion, to have one’s belief in the benignity of the world so profoundly altered. But it was at this age that she remembers her mother grabbed her by the throat, punched her in the face and slammed her head against the floor.
‘You never forget that,’ Christina says now, 55 years later. ‘It was up close and personal. She...
Christina Crawford was 13 when she stopped believing her mother loved her. It was a young age at which to come to such a startling conclusion, to have one’s belief in the benignity of the world so profoundly altered. But it was at this age that she remembers her mother grabbed her by the throat, punched her in the face and slammed her head against the floor.
‘You never forget that,’ Christina says now, 55 years later. ‘It was up close and personal. She...
- 5/24/2008
- by Elizabeth Day
- The Guardian - Film News
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