The questions remains as to exactly what kind of film Quentin Tarantino is making with the upcoming "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood." The film will either be a) an absurdist revisionist genre film like 'Inglourious' and 'Django' or it'll be b) A film grounded in the dark, realist violence of "Reservoir Dogs," "Jackie Brown" and "Pulp Fiction." Something tells me it's the latter. QT has even mentioned that '‘Once Upon A Time’ is “probably the closest to ‘Pulp Fiction’ that I have done.”
Read more‘Red Sonja' Producer Defends Bryan Singer And Calls Allegations “Agenda Driven Fake News"
"I continue to be in development for Red Sonja and Bryan Singer continues to be attached," read a statement from the upcoming film’s producer Avi Lerner to THR.
Read morePatty Jenkins Criticizes the Academy as ‘Very Limited’ After Women Directors Snubbed
We all knew it was going to happen. The Best director race this year was not going to be female-centric. Yes, Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider,” Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace,” Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here,” Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and Tamara Jenkins’ “Private Life,” to name just a few.
Read moreSundance Tries to Break Tide With ‘Mostly White Male' Critics, Says 63% of the press this year is from underrepresented groups; But is Positive discrimination still discrimination?
I attended this afternoon's Sundance Film Festival press conference, with exec director Keri Putnam, before introducing the panel, saying that organizers had noticed “a disturbing blind spot” in the festival's history of giving out press credentials: “Diversity isn’t about who is making the films,” Putnam said. “It’s about how they enter the world.” She said, adding that they were admitting “mostly white male critics.” Which, consequentially influenced the kind of films that were being championed by these 'mostly white male critics.
Read more‘Breaking Bad' Movie Reported Cast List Includes Bryan Cranston, Jesse Plemons, Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks
A few months back we were one of the first sites to report that Vince Gilligan was going to shoot a “Breaking Bad” movie in New Mexico. However, there wasn't much to report beyond that, no plot details were mentioned. However, Bryan Cranston's Walter White died in the series finale and I had mentioned that, if a film were to be made, chances are it could revolve around Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman.
Read moreDirector Charles Burnett to Direct Amazon Slavery Drama
Charles Burnett is one of the great, unsung directors of the last 40 years. The fact that “Killer of Sheep” and “To Sleep With Anger” are two of the finest films ever directed by an African-American director is enough reason to celebrate this latest news.
Read moreSam Elliott on his Oscar nod: “It’s about fucking time”
Yesterday, mustachioed cowboy-man, and actor, Sam Elliott received his first ever Oscar nomination for his supporting turn in “A Star is Born.” However, it’s his reaction to the nomination that I need to point out, feelings which I share about his finally being recognized, “It’s about fucking time” Elliot told Deadline.
The deep-voiced Elliott, with his iconic handlebar mustache, has been largely associated with westerns over his 4 decade career, with maybe his most famous role as Virgil Earp in 1993’s “Tombstone.” However, his most underrated performance must be in 1976’s “The Lifeguard” in which he played a thirtyish lifeguard whose glory days as a collegiate star athlete are a thing of the past. Other noteworthy films he’s starred in include his iconic narrating cowboy in “The Big Lebowski,” Cher’s motorcycle-riding lover in “Mask” and bouncer father-figure to Patrick Swayze’s hero in “Road House.”
[Deadline]
Paul Schrader Says He's Not Fixated on Winning Oscar Like Pal Martin Scorsese, “I told Marty, if an Oscar is your priority, you need some new priorities."
Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed” alongside “Roma” was the best-reviewed movie of 2018. However, don’t look for it to contend for the Best Picture prize because, well, it didn’t garner a nomination in that category. Schrader nabbed an Original Screenplay nomination, but that’s about it. Not even the film’s lead, Ethan Hawke, who has won every best actor awards with critics groups, got a nomination. Who cares, right? Oscars were never about rewarding the right movie. That’s what Schrader thinks as well, even going as far as saying he was the opposite of Martin Scorsese, who was “very fixated on winning an Oscar.” adding that he once told Scorsese, “Marty, look, if an Oscar is your priority, you need some new priorities.”
Read moreThe Simpsons Nears Renewal for Seasons 31 & 32; Once Classic Show Continues to Gorge Itself.
“The Simpsons,” as it happens, is a textbook-perfect example of postmodern entertainment. A pastiche of pop culture sources and meta-commentary, it was originally conceived as a satire about the American family’s relationship to their televisions. Of course, The Simpsons has outlived the phenomenon of “television addiction” (thanks to the internet), but it was still one of the most – if not the most – relevant comedy of the 90s (only “Seinfeld” can claim to be in that same league). It has also been the subject of several academic articles and papers. The show’s artistic techniques have become canonical examples of postmodern television production. The show’s thematic resonance even inspired a book on the series’ relationship to philosophy. In The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’Oh! of Homer, several academics explored the show’s relation to classic and contemporary philosophy alike, proving the series’ lasting relevance Also, Mark Liberman, director of The Linguistic Data Consortium has stated that “The Simpsons has apparently taken over from Shakespeare and the Bible as our culture’s greatest source of idioms, catchphrases and sundry other textual allusions”. There are many other substantial reasons why The Simpsons will always be better, more important, and more iconic than Family Guy.
Read moreBryan Singer Denies Allegations Against Him In Atlantic Report, Decries “Homophobia"
Director Bryan Singer has responded to an exposé report published by The Atlantic today, which deduced, from multiple sources, that the “Bohemian Rhapsody” director had sex with underage boys and that he fondle a 13-year-old child on the set of a movie.
Read moreJames Gandolfini's Son, Michael Gandolfini, Will Play Tony Soprano Role in Upcoming ‘Sopranos’ Prequel Film at HBO
The Sopranos creator David Chase has found his Tony Soprano and it is none other than Michael Gandolfini, son of the late great James Gandolfini who originally played the part for six seasons on HBO’s The Sopranos.
Read moreSNL Writer Offers Oral Sex For Anyone That is Willing to Punch A Covington MAGA Kid
One of the stranger reactions to the whole viral video controversy, which arouse this past weekend next to the Lincoln Memorial, was that of Saturday Night Live comedy writer Sarah Beattie offering oral sex to anyone who was willing to punch a Covington High child in the face.
Read morePeople Outraged There Are No Women in Best Director Category, #OscarsSoMale Starts Trending
Here's an undisputed fact: The studio and independent system is white-male dominated, all of this hoopla that a bunch of black and female filmmakers deserve their fair share of 2018 awards is quite simply overreaching and a form of virtue signaling on the part of film critics. The odds are heavily stacked for white male directors making the best films of the year.
Read moreSpike Lee Scores His First Oscar Nomination Ever for Best Director
Spike Lee's “Do The Right Thing” was the most powerful cinematic experience I ever had in my lifetime. In fact, it still is socially relevant and shocking to this day. His take on race relations in America is as scathing as its ever been.
Read moreBrad Bird Says Fired Pixar Boss John Lasseter Should Not Be Compared to Harvey Weinstein
Here's a refresher course in case you're not entirely familiar with the John Lasseter story.
Last year, THR detailed Pixar‘s Lasseter taking a leave of absence for behavior for which their source qualified as “missteps” but which also left the staff Lasseter was working with feeling “disrespected or uncomfortable.” When more details came to fruition, it turned out that Lasseter was accused of “grabbing, kissing, making comments about physical attributes” towards women, "to the extent that employees created a move known as “the Lasseter” to avoid having him touch their legs." Actress Rashida Jones, a credited writer on the upcoming “Toy Story 4,” left the project due to “creative differences” which also turned out to having to do with Lasseter's aforementioned "missteps." Lasseter eventually stepped down from the company.
Read moreOscar 2019: Snubs and Surprises include Bradley Cooper, Ethan Hawke and Emily Blunt.
Alfonso Cuaron‘s “Roma” and Yorgos Lanthimos‘ “The Favourite” landed 10 Oscar nominations each and “A Star Is Born” received eight nominations, as did “Vice.”
Read more2019 Oscar Nominees
I will be posting a lengthy analysis of this morning’s Oscar nominations in a few minutes. Suffice to say, wow, Bradley Cooper SNUBBED for his work as director in “A Star Is Born.” He’s been Affleck-ed. I predicted all 8 nominees yesterday, what a stud I am. Pawel Pawlikowski Took Cooper’s spot for his beautiful work in “Cold War,” well earned.
More to come ….
Read moreBuzzFeed as a Legitimate News Source?
It was supposed to be the deal-breaker that would finally indict and impeach Donald Trump. Little did people realize, the media reporting it had a shady past.
Read moreJudd Apatow says “sometimes your humanity is more important” than crossing the line and telling a politically incorrect joke
What is going on with Judd Apatow these days that he needs to so vehemently declare his support of #MeToo any chance he gets? Don’t mistake me for being anything but supportive of the movement, but Apatow seems to have been injected with some Me-Too steroids, he’s ready to go to war for it any chance he gets. With all the grandstanding that the Writer-Director has done, you start to realize that guys like Apatow, who over-virtue signal, are often hiding something. Hell, the guy even lashed out at poor Diane Keaton a few months back for, shock, supporting Woody Allen’s case against the Farrows. "I see a man who wanted what he wanted and didn’t care that he was having an affair with a 19-year-old when he was 54 who was also his daughter’s sister," tweeted Apatow back in January of 2018.
Read moreDirector Paul Feig Defends His Movie and Leslie Jones' Reaction to New Ghostbusters Reboot
Because we’re getting a new Jason Reitman-directed “Ghostbusters” that will completely ignore director Paul Feig’s all-female cast, there will no doubt be contentious, but unnecessary, debate as to whether or not it is a warranted path for Sony to jump into. I won’t delve into the nitty-gritty, but will mention that Leslie Jones, who starred in Feig’s 2016 film, was none too happy hearing the news this weekend, tweeting that it wa sunfair to ignore the 2016 edition and that it reminded her of something Donald Trump would do. Whatever that meant.
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Do you really think Ellison fired Gunn before he saw a rough cut of "Man of Tomorrow"? No chance. Clearly, whatever he saw didn't impress him.