Musical tag-teaming doesn’t have results much more fruitful than what came about when the showrunners of “A Small Light” picked Ariel Marx to compose the score for the limited series and Este Haim to serve as executive music producer. Neither Haim nor Marx was in a position to take anything about the job lightly, given that the eight-episode series for National Geographic and Disney+ tells the story of a Dutch woman, Miep Gies, who helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. Yet, in their very separate roles, both found ways to bring musical light or even levity into a drama that inevitably skews toward tension.
Este Haim took on the Emp job for the first time with “A Small Light” after previously scoring or co-composing “Maid” and “Cha Cha Smooth” — on top of her day job as one-third of the rocking sister trio Haim. For “A Small Light,...
Este Haim took on the Emp job for the first time with “A Small Light” after previously scoring or co-composing “Maid” and “Cha Cha Smooth” — on top of her day job as one-third of the rocking sister trio Haim. For “A Small Light,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
National Geographic’s “A Small Light” takes the well known story of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who hid in a cramped Amsterdam attic with her family during the Nazi occupation, and presents it though a new lens.
The narrative focuses on a tenacious young woman, Miep Gies (Bel Powley), Otto Frank’s secretary, who risked everything to save the Frank family and many others. While the story centers around the horrors of World War II, the story finds resilience and hope through it all.
Here the artisans behind the limited series break down how their respective crafts reflect hope, resilience and the atrocities of war.
Costume design
Costume designer Matthew Simonelli wanted to pay respect to the period and region. “It had to feel 1942, but that it was taking place in Amsterdam,” Simonelli says.
The Amsterdam Museum‘s exhibit on wartime fashion was his biggest guide where he was...
The narrative focuses on a tenacious young woman, Miep Gies (Bel Powley), Otto Frank’s secretary, who risked everything to save the Frank family and many others. While the story centers around the horrors of World War II, the story finds resilience and hope through it all.
Here the artisans behind the limited series break down how their respective crafts reflect hope, resilience and the atrocities of war.
Costume design
Costume designer Matthew Simonelli wanted to pay respect to the period and region. “It had to feel 1942, but that it was taking place in Amsterdam,” Simonelli says.
The Amsterdam Museum‘s exhibit on wartime fashion was his biggest guide where he was...
- 6/21/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The very first episode of The Monkees, “Royal Flush,” won the series‘ director an Emmy Award in 1967. The Monkees‘ creators, Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider won their own golden statuettes in the Best Comedy Series category that same legendary evening.
Davy Jones is seated on the sand in front of fellow ‘The Monkees’ co-stars Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz in ‘Royal Flush’ | Keystone Features/Getty Images The first episode of ‘The Monkees’ was ‘Royal Flush’
The Monkees episodes may not have been the first to feature slapstick on television. However, the series was one of the first to include music shorts within each 30-minute episode.
Viewers were treated to a new music montage each week, driving The Monkees‘ record sales to number one on the Billboard Charts. However, the series also found a home with viewers who enjoyed its light humor.
In the series very first episode, “Royal Flush,...
Davy Jones is seated on the sand in front of fellow ‘The Monkees’ co-stars Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz in ‘Royal Flush’ | Keystone Features/Getty Images The first episode of ‘The Monkees’ was ‘Royal Flush’
The Monkees episodes may not have been the first to feature slapstick on television. However, the series was one of the first to include music shorts within each 30-minute episode.
Viewers were treated to a new music montage each week, driving The Monkees‘ record sales to number one on the Billboard Charts. However, the series also found a home with viewers who enjoyed its light humor.
In the series very first episode, “Royal Flush,...
- 6/9/2023
- by Lucille Barilla
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
As original true crime dramas go, “A Friend of the Family” is a highly unusual one — not just for its harrowing subject matter but due also to its production pedigree. The nine-part limited series premiered on streamer Peacock last October, telling the story of Jan Broberg and her family. In the 1970s, Broberg was a young girl and adolescent who was systematically groomed — along with her parents and younger siblings — by her next-door neighbor, a charismatic, master manipulator sociopath and pedophile named Bob Berchtold. He kidnapped Jan twice — when she was age 12 and again at 14 — and went largely unmonitored and unprosecuted for the better part of a decade. The vividly-dramatized docudrama stars Oscar winner Anna Paquin, Colin Hanks, Jake Lacy and Mckenna Grace.
To shine a spotlight on the show’s powerful, wrenching and superbly-rendered narrative, watch Gold Derby’s special 42-minute “Making of” roundtable discussion of “Friend of the Family...
To shine a spotlight on the show’s powerful, wrenching and superbly-rendered narrative, watch Gold Derby’s special 42-minute “Making of” roundtable discussion of “Friend of the Family...
- 6/7/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Ariel Marx recalls that her marching orders after being hired to compose the musical score for the powerful Holocaust-themed Nat Geo limited series “A Small Light” was to put a contemporary modern spin on a story that’s been told many times before but never quite like this. “It was inspiring to bring something that would make it feel lived in and accessible,” she says. “I was told by (executive producers) Tony (Phelan), Joan (Rater) and Susanna (Fogel) that they wanted to dust the cobwebs off the story. For me musically, that meant getting to explore a lot of different genres. The score is inspired by Benny Goodman and Tom Waits and the Squirrel Nut Zippers and contemporary neo-classical. It also has a large use of electronics. All of those elements really helped anchor it.” See our exclusive video interview above.
“A Small Light” tells the true story of Miep Gies,...
“A Small Light” tells the true story of Miep Gies,...
- 5/14/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
“The story itself is just so compelling… it’s all about healing,” shares Caroline B. Marx about what drew her to the new Hulu series “UnPrisoned,” which centers on a daughter attempting to reconcile with her father after his 17-year prison sentence. The costume designer appreciated that the show is “based on reality” — it draws inspiration from the life of creator Tracy McMillan — and that it is “socially relevant.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Kerry Washington stars as Paige, a relationship therapist who welcomes her father Edwin (Delroy Lindo) into her home despite the effects his incarceration had on her as a child. Marx collaborated closely with the actress to pick the color palate of Paige’s fashion, which McMillan had described to her as “Minneapolis but by way of Brooklyn.” The creator conceived of Paige as a “hipster but she’s adulting now,” but Tracy herself “doesn’t wear color at all,...
Kerry Washington stars as Paige, a relationship therapist who welcomes her father Edwin (Delroy Lindo) into her home despite the effects his incarceration had on her as a child. Marx collaborated closely with the actress to pick the color palate of Paige’s fashion, which McMillan had described to her as “Minneapolis but by way of Brooklyn.” The creator conceived of Paige as a “hipster but she’s adulting now,” but Tracy herself “doesn’t wear color at all,...
- 5/13/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Danielle Haim takes on the classic Doris Day record “Till We Meet Again” for the first official release from A Small Light: Songs From the Limited Series, the soundtrack set for release on May 23 to accompany the new National Geographic series.
Este Haim served as executive music producer on A Small Light, which premiered on May 1 but will be unveiling its soundtrack two songs at a time for the duration of the month. Alongside Danielle Haim’s “Till We Meet Again,” Kamasi Washington has shared his rendition of Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl.
Este Haim served as executive music producer on A Small Light, which premiered on May 1 but will be unveiling its soundtrack two songs at a time for the duration of the month. Alongside Danielle Haim’s “Till We Meet Again,” Kamasi Washington has shared his rendition of Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl.
- 5/5/2023
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
In news that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with her subversive antics, Grimes is inviting fans — or rather, flat-out encouraging them — to make an AI-generated song using her voice.
“I’ll split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that uses my voice,” Grimes tweeted on April 23rd in reference to “Heart On My Sleeve,” the phony Drake and The Weeknd song that went viral earlier this month. While that AI-generated tune prompted Universal Music Group to file a copyright claim, Grimes insists that this would be totally kosher: “Feel free to use my voice without penalty. I have no label and no legal bindings.”
She went on to say that she thinks “it’s cool to be fused [with] a machine” and that she likes “the idea of open sourcing all art and killing copyright,” a rich statement coming from someone who shares children with the second-wealthiest man in the world.
“I’ll split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that uses my voice,” Grimes tweeted on April 23rd in reference to “Heart On My Sleeve,” the phony Drake and The Weeknd song that went viral earlier this month. While that AI-generated tune prompted Universal Music Group to file a copyright claim, Grimes insists that this would be totally kosher: “Feel free to use my voice without penalty. I have no label and no legal bindings.”
She went on to say that she thinks “it’s cool to be fused [with] a machine” and that she likes “the idea of open sourcing all art and killing copyright,” a rich statement coming from someone who shares children with the second-wealthiest man in the world.
- 5/2/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Music
Perry Cross, who served as Johnny Carson’s first producer on The Tonight Show before he exited to run an ABC program hosted by Jerry Lewis that came and went after 13 episodes, has died. He was 95.
Cross died March 9 of kidney cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son, Larry Cross, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cross started out producing Ernie Kovacs’ CBS weekday morning show in 1952 and also worked on The Red Skelton Hour, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Soupy Sales Show, Life With Linkletter, The Garry Moore Show and several Jonathan Winters live specials during his career.
Cross had been producing The Tonight Show in the immediate aftermath of host Jack Paar’s departure on March 30, 1962, guiding the NBC program in Hollywood and New York that featured guest hosts for six months until Carson took over.
NBC wanted Cross to be Carson’s producer,...
Cross died March 9 of kidney cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son, Larry Cross, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cross started out producing Ernie Kovacs’ CBS weekday morning show in 1952 and also worked on The Red Skelton Hour, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Soupy Sales Show, Life With Linkletter, The Garry Moore Show and several Jonathan Winters live specials during his career.
Cross had been producing The Tonight Show in the immediate aftermath of host Jack Paar’s departure on March 30, 1962, guiding the NBC program in Hollywood and New York that featured guest hosts for six months until Carson took over.
NBC wanted Cross to be Carson’s producer,...
- 4/4/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Projectile vomiting and exploding toilets aside, Ruben Östlund’s satire about the super-rich is more thoughtful than it initially appears – it’s a film for our times
Triangle of Sadness debuted at Cannes last May and won the Palme d’Or for best film. The chances of it repeating the feat at the Oscars 10 months later seems about as likely as Jeremy Clarkson duetting with Beyoncé. The Academy doesn’t seem to go for films that have 15-minute set pieces in which almost the entire cast projectile vomits, topped off with backed-up toilets exploding in a surge of sewage.
Well, more fool them – because Triangle of Sadness is a film for our times. It follows Carl (Harris Dickinson), a model, and his influencer girlfriend Yaya, as they take a free luxury cruise, Instagramming as they go. The other holidaymakers are particularly grotesque examples of the super-rich. There’s a sweet,...
Triangle of Sadness debuted at Cannes last May and won the Palme d’Or for best film. The chances of it repeating the feat at the Oscars 10 months later seems about as likely as Jeremy Clarkson duetting with Beyoncé. The Academy doesn’t seem to go for films that have 15-minute set pieces in which almost the entire cast projectile vomits, topped off with backed-up toilets exploding in a surge of sewage.
Well, more fool them – because Triangle of Sadness is a film for our times. It follows Carl (Harris Dickinson), a model, and his influencer girlfriend Yaya, as they take a free luxury cruise, Instagramming as they go. The other holidaymakers are particularly grotesque examples of the super-rich. There’s a sweet,...
- 3/7/2023
- by Alex Needham
- The Guardian - Film News
Note: This article contains spoilers for “The Last of Us” Episode 8
Troy Baker made a name for himself originating the role of Joel in “The Last of Us” video game franchise, but the actor recently told TheWrap that he almost backed out of his audition for the now-iconic 2013 action adventure.
“I walked into an audition just like anybody else and there was a character for a new game by Naughty Dog. I was very familiar with them and I wanted it real bad and I almost walked out of the audition because I didn’t feel like I was right for it,” he explained. “Luckily, par for the course, Neil [Druckmann]’s idea was better than mine and he chose me to be Joel for the game. And a lot of that was because Ashley [Johnson] and I just just clicked from the onset and this story is about that. It’s...
Troy Baker made a name for himself originating the role of Joel in “The Last of Us” video game franchise, but the actor recently told TheWrap that he almost backed out of his audition for the now-iconic 2013 action adventure.
“I walked into an audition just like anybody else and there was a character for a new game by Naughty Dog. I was very familiar with them and I wanted it real bad and I almost walked out of the audition because I didn’t feel like I was right for it,” he explained. “Luckily, par for the course, Neil [Druckmann]’s idea was better than mine and he chose me to be Joel for the game. And a lot of that was because Ashley [Johnson] and I just just clicked from the onset and this story is about that. It’s...
- 3/6/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Richard J. Anobile, a noted author of film books and post production supervisor and producer, died Feb. 10 in Toronto after a brief illness. He was 76.
Born in New York, Anobile wrote more than 30 film books. He started out with books about the Marx brothers, including “Why a Duck” in 1971, followed by “The Marx Brothers Scrapbook,” Anobile co-authored the book with Groucho Marx, and it featured interviews with the then-octogenarian and never-before-seen photos and documents.
Anobile’s other classic comedy works included books about W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. His books covered every facet of entertainment, from “Mork and Mindy” and James Whale’s “Frankenstein” to “The Maltese Falcon” and “Psycho.”
The author pioneered the use of the movie frame blow-up technique to recreate entire films in book form, which he used on books about “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Alien” and “Star Trek.”
He also worked in production for many years,...
Born in New York, Anobile wrote more than 30 film books. He started out with books about the Marx brothers, including “Why a Duck” in 1971, followed by “The Marx Brothers Scrapbook,” Anobile co-authored the book with Groucho Marx, and it featured interviews with the then-octogenarian and never-before-seen photos and documents.
Anobile’s other classic comedy works included books about W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. His books covered every facet of entertainment, from “Mork and Mindy” and James Whale’s “Frankenstein” to “The Maltese Falcon” and “Psycho.”
The author pioneered the use of the movie frame blow-up technique to recreate entire films in book form, which he used on books about “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Alien” and “Star Trek.”
He also worked in production for many years,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Mel Brooks was born in 1926, prior to the advent of talkies and television. He grew up worshiping the vaudevillian likes of Groucho Marx, Al Jolson, and George Jessel. Given the anarchic, anything-for-a-laugh quality of his best movies, you'd think Brooks' allegiances would be tightly aligned with Groucho. But while he's on the record with his affection for the Marx Brothers' work, he was especially enamored of Eddie Cantor.
For most people in this day and age, Cantor is a name more than a personality. The worst that can be said about him is that he was a song-and-dance man who, like Jolson, mimicked African-American entertainers in blackface to bolster his appeal. But Cantor was a born, trailblazing Jewish entertainer, and his comedic rambunctiousness kicked down the door for people like Brooks, who lacked the patience to craft a meticulously structured screwball masterpiece like Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" or...
For most people in this day and age, Cantor is a name more than a personality. The worst that can be said about him is that he was a song-and-dance man who, like Jolson, mimicked African-American entertainers in blackface to bolster his appeal. But Cantor was a born, trailblazing Jewish entertainer, and his comedic rambunctiousness kicked down the door for people like Brooks, who lacked the patience to craft a meticulously structured screwball masterpiece like Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" or...
- 1/19/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Washington, Dec 28 (Ians) Biometric data of US troops, known terrorists, and people who worked with American forces in Afghanistan and in the Middle East was sold via old US military equipment on eBay, the media reported.
The devices were purchased by a group of hackers, who found fingerprints, iris scans, peoples’ pictures, and descriptions, all unencrypted and protected by a “well-documented” default password, reports The New York Times.
Some devices were left behind during the hasty withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.
Germany-based Ccc researchers found large amounts of biometric and other personal data when analysing such devices.
“In the wrong hands, this data is life-threatening for people in Afghanistan and Iraq,” they wrote in a blog post.
“On used US military equipment, we discovered, among other things, an unprotected biometrics database containing names, fingerprints, iris scans, and photographs of more than 2,600 Afghans and Iraqis,” they added.
The various devices...
The devices were purchased by a group of hackers, who found fingerprints, iris scans, peoples’ pictures, and descriptions, all unencrypted and protected by a “well-documented” default password, reports The New York Times.
Some devices were left behind during the hasty withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.
Germany-based Ccc researchers found large amounts of biometric and other personal data when analysing such devices.
“In the wrong hands, this data is life-threatening for people in Afghanistan and Iraq,” they wrote in a blog post.
“On used US military equipment, we discovered, among other things, an unprotected biometrics database containing names, fingerprints, iris scans, and photographs of more than 2,600 Afghans and Iraqis,” they added.
The various devices...
- 12/28/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Dick Cavett can still picture the exact moment and location in New York City when he first met the man who would become one of his most cherished pals. It was 1961 and Cavett, then a 25-year-old writer for Jack Parr on The Tonight Show, met the legendary Groucho Marx after they both attended the funeral for playwright George S. Kaufman.
“He was walking east up 81st Street toward Fifth Avenue flanked by Art Carney on one side and Abe Burrows on the other,” recalls Cavett to Deadline. “And then when they left him, I moved to the corner of Fifth and 81st. And in one of my great inspired uses of the English language, I said the terribly witty ‘I’m a big fan of yours, Groucho.’ And he said, ‘well, if it’s gets any hotter, I could use a big fan.'”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Marx,...
“He was walking east up 81st Street toward Fifth Avenue flanked by Art Carney on one side and Abe Burrows on the other,” recalls Cavett to Deadline. “And then when they left him, I moved to the corner of Fifth and 81st. And in one of my great inspired uses of the English language, I said the terribly witty ‘I’m a big fan of yours, Groucho.’ And he said, ‘well, if it’s gets any hotter, I could use a big fan.'”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Marx,...
- 12/27/2022
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
When Shark Tank guest shark Emma Grede — the co-founder of Kim Kardashian’s Skims and Khloé Kardashian’s Good American brands — celebrated her 40th birthday in October, she chose to do it at Promontory winery in Napa Valley. Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and designer Peter Dundas were among the guests at the lavish festivities, which were catered by Mother Wolf and Felix chef Evan Funke.
Founded in 2008, Promontory is one of the hottest California wine labels among stars and industry players. Part of the illustrious Harlan family portfolio (alongside Harlan Estate, Bond and The Mascot), it’s revered for its 100 percent cabernet sauvignon wines, priced between 700 and 900 (depending on the vintage). LeBron James is a fan, as is WME partner John Marx.
“I have been growing my wine cellar for the past several decades and discovered Promontory during a trip to Napa Valley with my wife,...
When Shark Tank guest shark Emma Grede — the co-founder of Kim Kardashian’s Skims and Khloé Kardashian’s Good American brands — celebrated her 40th birthday in October, she chose to do it at Promontory winery in Napa Valley. Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and designer Peter Dundas were among the guests at the lavish festivities, which were catered by Mother Wolf and Felix chef Evan Funke.
Founded in 2008, Promontory is one of the hottest California wine labels among stars and industry players. Part of the illustrious Harlan family portfolio (alongside Harlan Estate, Bond and The Mascot), it’s revered for its 100 percent cabernet sauvignon wines, priced between 700 and 900 (depending on the vintage). LeBron James is a fan, as is WME partner John Marx.
“I have been growing my wine cellar for the past several decades and discovered Promontory during a trip to Napa Valley with my wife,...
- 12/17/2022
- by Elycia Rubin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This article contains Ernest Saves Christmas spoilers
After hurrying his grandkids off to bed, an elderly man puts the finishing touches on his Christmas Eve presentation. He bounces around the tree, bubbling over with the Christmas spirit until a rustling outside his door causes him to pause. Could that noise be Santa Claus himself? Just as the grandfather allows himself to believe the impossible, a grotesque creature bursts through the door, leading with his extended claws. The grandfather wastes no time, training a pistol on the invader and sneering, “Die, you son of a…”
Unable to say the curse word, the actor playing the grandfather calls cut and the actors reset. It turns out, we’re not watching a horror movie at all, but Ernest Saves Christmas, a Christmas movie with its own set of oddities. The 1988 film stars milk pitchman turned unlikely children’s movie star Ernest P. Worrell,...
After hurrying his grandkids off to bed, an elderly man puts the finishing touches on his Christmas Eve presentation. He bounces around the tree, bubbling over with the Christmas spirit until a rustling outside his door causes him to pause. Could that noise be Santa Claus himself? Just as the grandfather allows himself to believe the impossible, a grotesque creature bursts through the door, leading with his extended claws. The grandfather wastes no time, training a pistol on the invader and sneering, “Die, you son of a…”
Unable to say the curse word, the actor playing the grandfather calls cut and the actors reset. It turns out, we’re not watching a horror movie at all, but Ernest Saves Christmas, a Christmas movie with its own set of oddities. The 1988 film stars milk pitchman turned unlikely children’s movie star Ernest P. Worrell,...
- 12/2/2022
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
In his last great performance in Peter Bogdanovich’s debut film Targets (1968), Boris Karloff plays the aged and exasperated horror legend Byron Orlok. In a single line he sums up his entire career, at least as viewed by the public: “Marx Brothers make you laugh, Garbo makes you weep, Orlok makes you scream.” As with Gloria Swanson’s unforgettable portrayal of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950), it is tempting to project too much of the real Karloff onto his onscreen counterpart. The broad strokes are similar enough, but the true man is far more complex and enigmatic. Boris Karloff was an intensely private man who shunned the spotlight as much as he could, often refusing to discuss difficulties of his past even with close friends and family. The story of his early days has been pieced together (sometimes with contradictions) by researchers and biographers, but elements of the man remain a mystery,...
- 11/23/2022
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Holidays loom, but don’t fear TBS marathons of A Christmas Story. If, like me, you once enacted some good and let studio classics stream on Criterion during family Christmas, you know the trip home will be easier with December’s additions. (People at Criterion: please don’t report me for logging into multiple devices.) As family arrives, drinks are downed, and questions about what you’ve been up to are stumbled through it’ll be nice to stream their “Screwball Comedy Classics” series—25 titles meeting some deep cuts (10 via Venmo if you’ve recently watched It Happens Every Spring).
Personally I’m most excited about the 11 movies in “Snow Westerns,” going as far back as The Secret of Convict Lake, as recently as Ravenous, with the likes of Wellman, Peckinpah, and Corbucci in-between. I personally cannot stand soccer but I appreciate the World Cup giving occasion for a series...
Personally I’m most excited about the 11 movies in “Snow Westerns,” going as far back as The Secret of Convict Lake, as recently as Ravenous, with the likes of Wellman, Peckinpah, and Corbucci in-between. I personally cannot stand soccer but I appreciate the World Cup giving occasion for a series...
- 11/22/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
There's a reason "Heat" occupies such a unique space in the crime thriller genre — and it's not just Al Pacino's deafening delivery of the line "great ass". Influencing everything from Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" to the virtual remake that was 2018's "Den of Thieves," the movie is a crime movie touchstone. Pitting career thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) against detective Vincent Hanna (Pacino), the film also had the distinction of bringing together the two celebrated actors for the first time. But between the marquee names, epic action sequences, and inexplicably irate line readings, there's a nuanced and insightful touch to "Heat," which is exactly how director Michael Mann planned it.
Upon the film's release, critics such as Roger Ebert praised Mann's "uncommonly literate screenplay" and the "eloquent, insightful" characters that weren't "trapped with clichés." The director always had a knack for helping his audience empathize with disreputable types,...
Upon the film's release, critics such as Roger Ebert praised Mann's "uncommonly literate screenplay" and the "eloquent, insightful" characters that weren't "trapped with clichés." The director always had a knack for helping his audience empathize with disreputable types,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
ReviewRomance, comedy or reference to colonial history, Telugu director Anudeep Kv’s first foray into Kollywood has no grasp of all three.Bharathy SingaravelCourtesy/SureshProductionsTwitterPrince has lapses in logic that are larger than some of the potholes peppering Chennai streets right now, post the corporation’s work on the storm water drains. Actually, if you find anything that remotely makes sense in the film, it is most likely accidental. In a school somewhere in Puducherry, Anbu (Sivakarthikeyan) and Jessica (Maria Ryaboshapka) teach history and English, respectively. Jessica is British and lives in Puducherry’s French Colony. Anbu is the grandson of a Tamil freedom fighter or so his father Ulaganathan, played by a Sathyaraj leaning hard into his comedic chops, keeps telling anyone who will listen. When Jessica and Anbu fall in love, Ulaganathan, portrayed so far as a ‘progressive’ father, has a meltdown. Because Jessica is British and not French as he’d assumed.
- 10/21/2022
- by BharathyS
- The News Minute
This review originally ran May 21, 2022, in conjunction with the film’s Cannes Film Festival premiere.
After his 2017 art-world satire “The Square” scored the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Swedish provocateur Ruben Östlund swaggers back to competition with “Triangle of Sadness,” a mixed-bag of social commentary and gross-out comedy that could only come from a filmmaker with a secured reputation and zero f—s to give. Taking aim at the 1 and shouting “Eat the rich!” with the anger of a sea storm and the subtlety of an exploding toilet, the film is both over-long and under-stuffed, but it nevertheless left Cannes’ notoriously tough crowd doubled over in laughter.
Running just under two-and-a-half hours and split up into three chapters, the film lifts as much from Noam Chomsky as from John Waters as it hoses down beauty standards and luxury culture with gallons of projectile vomit. A repeat Palme d’Or performance...
After his 2017 art-world satire “The Square” scored the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Swedish provocateur Ruben Östlund swaggers back to competition with “Triangle of Sadness,” a mixed-bag of social commentary and gross-out comedy that could only come from a filmmaker with a secured reputation and zero f—s to give. Taking aim at the 1 and shouting “Eat the rich!” with the anger of a sea storm and the subtlety of an exploding toilet, the film is both over-long and under-stuffed, but it nevertheless left Cannes’ notoriously tough crowd doubled over in laughter.
Running just under two-and-a-half hours and split up into three chapters, the film lifts as much from Noam Chomsky as from John Waters as it hoses down beauty standards and luxury culture with gallons of projectile vomit. A repeat Palme d’Or performance...
- 10/6/2022
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
In Status and Culture — the hot, new nonfiction book that seems to be sitting atop many a creative executive’s nightstand — author W. David Marx surveys several thousand years of popular culture in pursuit of a cogent unifying theory of “why.” Why do certain things take off — a pop song, a jean cut, a movie genre — then fall out of fashion, only to mysteriously come back in vogue years later? Marx says the magic ingredient is status, that elusive social currency that Hollywood was built upon.
Much of the media coverage of the book has coalesced around the idea of “cultural stasis,” or that today’s culture — in all its forms and despite (or perhaps because of) the instantaneity of the internet — is in a slump. But that’s not quite what Marx is saying, as he explained in a lively Zoom discussion...
In Status and Culture — the hot, new nonfiction book that seems to be sitting atop many a creative executive’s nightstand — author W. David Marx surveys several thousand years of popular culture in pursuit of a cogent unifying theory of “why.” Why do certain things take off — a pop song, a jean cut, a movie genre — then fall out of fashion, only to mysteriously come back in vogue years later? Marx says the magic ingredient is status, that elusive social currency that Hollywood was built upon.
Much of the media coverage of the book has coalesced around the idea of “cultural stasis,” or that today’s culture — in all its forms and despite (or perhaps because of) the instantaneity of the internet — is in a slump. But that’s not quite what Marx is saying, as he explained in a lively Zoom discussion...
- 9/14/2022
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
For those who haven’t been schooled in the roster of Catholic saints, Assisi boasts just one household name, the oft-cited, world-famous Francis. In her latest portrait of a real-life woman, after Nico, 1988, and Miss Marx, filmmaker Susanna Nicchiarelli invites us to consider another saint from that Italian town, Clare (Chiara in Italian). She was Francis’ follower, friend, and, in this telling, his occasional foe, taking his questioning of convention a crucial step further, in the name of female autonomy. She’s played by Margherita Mazzucco (Elena Greco in the series My Brilliant Friend) with compassion, ferocious intelligence and a bit of song-and-dance pizazz, 13th century style. Because yes, Chiara is a musical of sorts.
Even as Nicchiarelli, her design team and Dp Crystel Fournier evoke an ancient world, this earnest yet playful take on Clare, the first woman to author a set of monastic guidelines,...
For those who haven’t been schooled in the roster of Catholic saints, Assisi boasts just one household name, the oft-cited, world-famous Francis. In her latest portrait of a real-life woman, after Nico, 1988, and Miss Marx, filmmaker Susanna Nicchiarelli invites us to consider another saint from that Italian town, Clare (Chiara in Italian). She was Francis’ follower, friend, and, in this telling, his occasional foe, taking his questioning of convention a crucial step further, in the name of female autonomy. She’s played by Margherita Mazzucco (Elena Greco in the series My Brilliant Friend) with compassion, ferocious intelligence and a bit of song-and-dance pizazz, 13th century style. Because yes, Chiara is a musical of sorts.
Even as Nicchiarelli, her design team and Dp Crystel Fournier evoke an ancient world, this earnest yet playful take on Clare, the first woman to author a set of monastic guidelines,...
- 9/9/2022
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When the seminal British TV program "Monty Python's Flying Circus" was still on the air (1969 - 1974), it wasn't yet reaching a massive international audience. To facilitate the show's spread, a feature film consisting of re-staged sketches from the show's first two seasons -- called "And Now for Something Completely Different" -- was released in England in 1971. That film is certainly funny, although it lacks the comedic magic of the TV show.
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was put into production after "Flying Circus" went off the air. The special features for the film's 2001 DVD release featured vintage footage of late cast member Graham Chapman explaining that the troupe had been working on a script -- pointedly absurd, natch -- that was set partially in the Middle Ages and partially in the present day. After some discussion, the Pythons came up with the King Arthur/Holy Grail angle, knowing that...
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was put into production after "Flying Circus" went off the air. The special features for the film's 2001 DVD release featured vintage footage of late cast member Graham Chapman explaining that the troupe had been working on a script -- pointedly absurd, natch -- that was set partially in the Middle Ages and partially in the present day. After some discussion, the Pythons came up with the King Arthur/Holy Grail angle, knowing that...
- 8/21/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When the process of gathering materials for “Lucy and Desi” started, producer Jeanne Elfant Festa remembers was not prepared for the discovery that Lucy Arnaz Luckinbill would find. “I was in her pantry. I was literally stretching and I looked up and I saw a lockbox. I said ‘Lucy, what is that?’” she tells Gold Derby during our Meet the Experts: TV Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). Arnaz discovered that the surprise of the lockbox contained several of Lucy’s tapes that included recordings from after Lucy and Desi were divorced as well as Desi, Vivian Vance and the kids reenacting their favorite scenes from “I Love Lucy” with Lucy directing them. “It was just so beautiful because it also instilled the relationship that we all wanted to cling to, which is the throughline of the film. They maintained that respect and love for each other until...
- 8/11/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Though regarded by cinephiles as one of the architects of the “New Hollywood” largely because of moody character studies like 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces,” filmmaker Bob Rafelson — who died Saturday at 89 — will also always be adored for his co-creation and production of the decidedly less moody, madcap television series “The Monkees,” and for further directing that makeshift band in the comically avant-garde 1968 film “Head.”
Rafelson is very fondly remembered by vocalist and drummer Micky Dolenz, the final surviving member of the Monkees, who shared his thoughts about Rafelson’s role in the creation and development of the group with Variety.
A wildly silly sitcom about a faux teeny-bop band meant that its producer-showrunners, Rafelson and Bert Schneider (who died in 2011), had to find a willing quartet of actor-musicians. Enter Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and Dolenz, who became the Monkees, recorded a dozen hits selling over 75 million records worldwide,...
Rafelson is very fondly remembered by vocalist and drummer Micky Dolenz, the final surviving member of the Monkees, who shared his thoughts about Rafelson’s role in the creation and development of the group with Variety.
A wildly silly sitcom about a faux teeny-bop band meant that its producer-showrunners, Rafelson and Bert Schneider (who died in 2011), had to find a willing quartet of actor-musicians. Enter Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and Dolenz, who became the Monkees, recorded a dozen hits selling over 75 million records worldwide,...
- 7/25/2022
- by A.D. Amorosi
- Variety Film + TV
Devotion to its subject kept director Robert B Weide from finishing his documentary about the great author, and his love shines through
Documentaries about acclaimed authors can often be formulaic; this honest and engaging study makes a refreshing difference. Robert B Weide, who has directed many episodes of TV’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as documentaries on the Marx brothers and Woody Allen and written the little-seen adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Mother Night, now gives us a heartfelt personal film about Vonnegut himself – his hero, friend and father figure, and the writer of Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle and Player Piano.
Vonnegut mashed up literary fiction, sci-fi and standup comedy, making him a satirist and countercultural mainstreamer who tapped into the defiant spirit of the 60s. This film is at least partly about Weide’s own story as a Vonnegut superfan since his high school days and his...
Documentaries about acclaimed authors can often be formulaic; this honest and engaging study makes a refreshing difference. Robert B Weide, who has directed many episodes of TV’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as documentaries on the Marx brothers and Woody Allen and written the little-seen adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Mother Night, now gives us a heartfelt personal film about Vonnegut himself – his hero, friend and father figure, and the writer of Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle and Player Piano.
Vonnegut mashed up literary fiction, sci-fi and standup comedy, making him a satirist and countercultural mainstreamer who tapped into the defiant spirit of the 60s. This film is at least partly about Weide’s own story as a Vonnegut superfan since his high school days and his...
- 7/20/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Ask me to describe my sense of humor and I can answer in six words: “What We Do in the Shadows.”
While I have a deep affection for the feel-good Emmy champ “Ted Lasso,” which makes me chuckle and cringe, the supernatural mockumentary about vampiric roommates living the undead lifestyle in Staten Island makes me laugh out loud and snort milk out my nose. It isn’t pretty.
Now premiering in its fourth season, the 10-time Emmy nominee and spawn of the 2014 feature from New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, is a show that can be watched in an endless loop. The FX show’s a combination of slapstick, zingers and situation comedy, Marx Brothers meet “The Munsters,” that, like its main characters, is undead on arrival. The season’s showrunners, Stefani Robinson and Paul Simms, who began as writers on the first series, never flag, keeping the fun...
While I have a deep affection for the feel-good Emmy champ “Ted Lasso,” which makes me chuckle and cringe, the supernatural mockumentary about vampiric roommates living the undead lifestyle in Staten Island makes me laugh out loud and snort milk out my nose. It isn’t pretty.
Now premiering in its fourth season, the 10-time Emmy nominee and spawn of the 2014 feature from New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, is a show that can be watched in an endless loop. The FX show’s a combination of slapstick, zingers and situation comedy, Marx Brothers meet “The Munsters,” that, like its main characters, is undead on arrival. The season’s showrunners, Stefani Robinson and Paul Simms, who began as writers on the first series, never flag, keeping the fun...
- 7/13/2022
- by Thelma Adams
- The Wrap
Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush felt no hurry to return to the big screen following a years-long defamation suit.
The star of upcoming “Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House” recently detailed his decision to reprise acting since a 2018 defamation lawsuit against Australian tabloid The Daily Telegraph over an article alleging Rush acted inappropriately toward an actress. Rush denied a separate allegation of misconduct that same year, with the accusation stemming from a 2010 theater production.
“It was bruising for everyone involved, I think, on both sides,” Rush told Deadline while at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to receive the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution award. “It was an overblown and kind of bloated tabloid event, and the court found the result in my favor, and I don’t like talking about it.”
Rush ultimately won a 2.9 million payout from The Daily Telegraph and its publisher Nationwide News in November...
The star of upcoming “Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House” recently detailed his decision to reprise acting since a 2018 defamation lawsuit against Australian tabloid The Daily Telegraph over an article alleging Rush acted inappropriately toward an actress. Rush denied a separate allegation of misconduct that same year, with the accusation stemming from a 2010 theater production.
“It was bruising for everyone involved, I think, on both sides,” Rush told Deadline while at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to receive the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution award. “It was an overblown and kind of bloated tabloid event, and the court found the result in my favor, and I don’t like talking about it.”
Rush ultimately won a 2.9 million payout from The Daily Telegraph and its publisher Nationwide News in November...
- 7/7/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Rachel Brosnahan and singer Richard Marx reacted with shock and anger over the mass shooting in their hometown of Highland Park, Illinois on Monday that has left six people dead and wounded at least 30.
In a tweet, Brosnahan wrote, “I grew up in Highland Park and this parade is a highlight of the year for so many families.”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star added, “I’m sick to my stomach every time news like this comes out, but I don’t wish the pit in your stomach as you call your family and friends to make sure everyone is okay on anyone. No words.”
A “heartbroken” and angry Marx tweeted his concern for people who were at the parade. “I’m actively reaching out to check on the welfare of people I still know there.”
“My heart is always broken by these constant...
Rachel Brosnahan and singer Richard Marx reacted with shock and anger over the mass shooting in their hometown of Highland Park, Illinois on Monday that has left six people dead and wounded at least 30.
In a tweet, Brosnahan wrote, “I grew up in Highland Park and this parade is a highlight of the year for so many families.”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star added, “I’m sick to my stomach every time news like this comes out, but I don’t wish the pit in your stomach as you call your family and friends to make sure everyone is okay on anyone. No words.”
A “heartbroken” and angry Marx tweeted his concern for people who were at the parade. “I’m actively reaching out to check on the welfare of people I still know there.”
“My heart is always broken by these constant...
- 7/5/2022
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Deadline has an exclusive track from Ariel Marx’s score for Candy, which is set for digital release via Lakeshore Records tomorrow.
The acclaimed limited series tells the true story of Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel), a 1980 housewife and mother who did everything right—good husband, two kids, nice house, even the careful planning and execution of transgressions. But when the pressure of conformity builds within her, her actions scream for just a bit of freedom. With deadly results.
Known for crafting provocative soundscapes with both traditional and non-traditional instrumentation and performing techniques, Marx here created a distinctive series of backdrops ranging from brightly engaging to unnervingly dark, often within the same track. “Composing the score for ‘Candy’ was truly an incomparable dream. The show is deeply complex, and I was able to explore so many different aspects of these women’s lives with the score and palette,” says Marx,...
The acclaimed limited series tells the true story of Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel), a 1980 housewife and mother who did everything right—good husband, two kids, nice house, even the careful planning and execution of transgressions. But when the pressure of conformity builds within her, her actions scream for just a bit of freedom. With deadly results.
Known for crafting provocative soundscapes with both traditional and non-traditional instrumentation and performing techniques, Marx here created a distinctive series of backdrops ranging from brightly engaging to unnervingly dark, often within the same track. “Composing the score for ‘Candy’ was truly an incomparable dream. The show is deeply complex, and I was able to explore so many different aspects of these women’s lives with the score and palette,” says Marx,...
- 6/16/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Nostalgia-inducing Hollywood couple Daisy Fuentes and Richard Marx — she a regular on 1990s MTV as the network’s first Latina VJ, he the singer-songwriter of enjoyably cheesy ’80s and ’90s love anthems (“Right Here Waiting,” Nsync’s “This I Promise You”) — have added to their already impressive property portfolio with the purchase of a $9 million estate in guard-gated Hidden Hills. Simultaneously, they’ve sold an ocean-view Malibu mansion for $6.1 million, comfortably above the $5 million Marx paid for the place in 2015.
Though Fuentes and Marx are perhaps not as widely known today as they were during their early professional years, they’re clearly no less successful. Cuban-born Fuentes, 54, was a pioneer of the celebrity licensing/branding deals that are today an integral part of many artists’ income streams; by 2013, her namesake apparel brand had racked up a whopping $1.5 billion in lifetime sales. And Marx, 57, still reaps huge royalty paychecks from songs...
Though Fuentes and Marx are perhaps not as widely known today as they were during their early professional years, they’re clearly no less successful. Cuban-born Fuentes, 54, was a pioneer of the celebrity licensing/branding deals that are today an integral part of many artists’ income streams; by 2013, her namesake apparel brand had racked up a whopping $1.5 billion in lifetime sales. And Marx, 57, still reaps huge royalty paychecks from songs...
- 5/10/2021
- by James McClain, Dirt.com
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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