The number of actors the Netflix TV series Cobra Kai has brought back to reprise their characters from the Karate Kid films has been very impressive. Not only do you have Ralph Macchio and William Zabka back as Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence, but there’s also Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith as villains John Kreese and Terry Silver, Yuji Okumoto and Sean Kanan as villains-turned-allies Chozen Toguchi and Mike Barnes; Ron Thomas, Rob Garrison, and Tony O’Dell as Johnny’s former Cobra Kai buddies; and appearances by Elisabeth Shue as Ali Mills, Tamlyn Tomita as Kumiko, and Robyn Lively as Jessica Andrews. They even brought Traci Toguchi back as Yuna, the “Girl Bell Ringer” she played in The Karate Kid Part II. But one actor who might not be returning from the films is Hilary Swank, who played Julie Pierce in the 1994 film The Next Karate Kid.
Daniel,...
Daniel,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Standing in the basement of the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, Billy F. Gibbons is recalling the moment he received his first guitar. He was only 13.
“It was Christmas Day,” the 73-year-old Zz Top frontman tells Rolling Stone. “[All these years later], there’s so many different ways to remain creative and the expressiveness seems to remain as a challenge — it’s exciting.”
Gibbons was part of the guitar summit (including a number of players on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time) that erupted onstage...
“It was Christmas Day,” the 73-year-old Zz Top frontman tells Rolling Stone. “[All these years later], there’s so many different ways to remain creative and the expressiveness seems to remain as a challenge — it’s exciting.”
Gibbons was part of the guitar summit (including a number of players on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time) that erupted onstage...
- 12/10/2023
- by Garret K. Woodward
- Rollingstone.com
Shawna Trpcic, the Emmy-nominated costume designer who worked on the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, has died. She was 56.
Trpcic died suddenly of an unknown cause in Palm Desert on Wednesday, her daughter, Sarah, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Shawna was one of Hollywood’s pre-eminent science fiction costume designers — a creative force, a trusted collaborator and all-around delightful person for her friends and colleagues,” her rep Tim Kressman, an agent at Gersh, said. “She was a beloved member of the Star Wars/Lucasfilm family as well as the community of costume designers and the Costume Designers Guild.”
He added, “Shawna was a dear friend and a dream client to work with.”
Born on Oct. 18, 1966, in Artesia, California, Trpcic initially wanted to be a truck driver in high school, but she had an art teacher who inspired her to pursue being an artist. She...
Trpcic died suddenly of an unknown cause in Palm Desert on Wednesday, her daughter, Sarah, told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Shawna was one of Hollywood’s pre-eminent science fiction costume designers — a creative force, a trusted collaborator and all-around delightful person for her friends and colleagues,” her rep Tim Kressman, an agent at Gersh, said. “She was a beloved member of the Star Wars/Lucasfilm family as well as the community of costume designers and the Costume Designers Guild.”
He added, “Shawna was a dear friend and a dream client to work with.”
Born on Oct. 18, 1966, in Artesia, California, Trpcic initially wanted to be a truck driver in high school, but she had an art teacher who inspired her to pursue being an artist. She...
- 10/7/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Up until now, the Karate Kid franchise has lived on solely through the "Cobra Kai" TV series, but in 2024, it's set to return to the big screen with a brand-new movie. The untitled project will mark the sixth installment in the franchise and will release exactly 40 years after the first Karate Kid film premiered in 1984. The original movie starred Ralph Macchio as a teenager named Daniel Larusso, who learns karate from martial arts master Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) in order to defend himself against a group of bullies, one of whom includes Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Since their rivalry is also at the center of "Cobra Kai," we're left to wonder whether the new film will bring the iconic pair back once more.
In September 2022, Macchio told Entertainment Weekly that he wasn't attached to the project, however, since the movie was still in its early stages, anything could happen. "I...
In September 2022, Macchio told Entertainment Weekly that he wasn't attached to the project, however, since the movie was still in its early stages, anything could happen. "I...
- 4/24/2023
- by Michele Mendez
- Popsugar.com
Peter Werner, the Oscar-winning director known for his television work that spanned five decades and included helming episodes of such popular series as Moonlighting, A Different World, Justified and Law & Order: Svu, has died. He was 76.
Werner died Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, his younger brother, Tom Werner (producer on The Cosby Show, Roseanne, That ’70s Show, The Conners), told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a torn aorta that the doctors weren’t able to repair. So sudden,” he wrote in an email.
As a student project while attending the American Film Institute, Peter Werner directed the 1976 short film In the Region of Ice, which was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story and starred Fionnula Flanagan. The project won the Oscar for live-action short film.
His career kicked off from there, with Werner helming a 1977 episode of Family. The ABC drama counted Mike Nichols and Aaron Spelling as executive producers.
Werner died Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, his younger brother, Tom Werner (producer on The Cosby Show, Roseanne, That ’70s Show, The Conners), told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a torn aorta that the doctors weren’t able to repair. So sudden,” he wrote in an email.
As a student project while attending the American Film Institute, Peter Werner directed the 1976 short film In the Region of Ice, which was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story and starred Fionnula Flanagan. The project won the Oscar for live-action short film.
His career kicked off from there, with Werner helming a 1977 episode of Family. The ABC drama counted Mike Nichols and Aaron Spelling as executive producers.
- 3/22/2023
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For almost a decade, General Hospital fans watched Sean Kanan as A. J. Quartermaine on the long-running and popular soap opera. The actor has been known to be a bit of a soap opera star. Over the past two decades, Kanan has landed recurring roles on both The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
Sean Kanan | Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
However, more recently, it has been what Kanan has been doing off-camera that has many of his fans and followers tuning in. Take a look back at the traumatic experience that involved Kanan having to strip down during one of the star’s early auditions.
Sean Kanan was told to take off all his clothes for an audition early in his career
Thanks to @MauriceBenard for sitting down with me on @mbstateofmind We went to some very real places. https://t.co/ZrFuPEZcAc via @YouTube
— Sean...
Sean Kanan | Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
However, more recently, it has been what Kanan has been doing off-camera that has many of his fans and followers tuning in. Take a look back at the traumatic experience that involved Kanan having to strip down during one of the star’s early auditions.
Sean Kanan was told to take off all his clothes for an audition early in his career
Thanks to @MauriceBenard for sitting down with me on @mbstateofmind We went to some very real places. https://t.co/ZrFuPEZcAc via @YouTube
— Sean...
- 2/20/2023
- by Ashley Swallow
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Sean Kanan is a producer, an author, and one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. As an actor, Kanan is best known for his portrayals of Deacon Sharpe in The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless, A.J. Quartermaine in General Hospital, and Mike Barnes in The Karate Kid Part III and Cobra Kai.
Sean Kanan | Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix
Unlike his onscreen characters, A.J. and Sharpe, who never had much luck with long-term relationships, Kanan has been happily married for over a decade. However, the actor had to go through a crushing and devastating divorce before finding his soulmate.
Sean Kanan was married to his ex-wife Athena Ubach for two years
Shucks https://t.co/W6bTZyuuPv pic.twitter.com/NtuF0fUOQx
— Sean Kanan (@seankanan) December 31, 2022
Kanan married his first wife, Athena Ubach, in 1999 after dating for one year. But, like most Hollywood marriages,...
Sean Kanan | Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix
Unlike his onscreen characters, A.J. and Sharpe, who never had much luck with long-term relationships, Kanan has been happily married for over a decade. However, the actor had to go through a crushing and devastating divorce before finding his soulmate.
Sean Kanan was married to his ex-wife Athena Ubach for two years
Shucks https://t.co/W6bTZyuuPv pic.twitter.com/NtuF0fUOQx
— Sean Kanan (@seankanan) December 31, 2022
Kanan married his first wife, Athena Ubach, in 1999 after dating for one year. But, like most Hollywood marriages,...
- 2/13/2023
- by Produced by Digital Editors
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Sean Kanan became one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors after playing Daniel Larusso’s rival and tormentor Mike Barnes in The Karate Kid Part III in 1989. As it turns out, the actor’s career almost came to an early end when he suffered a near-fatal injury while shooting the movie.
Sean Kanan played Mike Barnes in ‘The Karate Kid III’ Sean Kanan attends Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” Season 5 premiere I Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix
In The Karate Kid Part III, Kanan portrayed Mike Barnes, a skillful and brutal karate fighter who competed in competitions around the country and won more than he lost. Dubbed the “Karate’s Bad Boy,” Barnes was Terry Silver’s hired gun, and was picked out of a karate magazine for his reputation as a consistent winner and ruthless competitor.
Silver made Barnes his top Cobra Kai student while pretending to be Daniel...
Sean Kanan played Mike Barnes in ‘The Karate Kid III’ Sean Kanan attends Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” Season 5 premiere I Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix
In The Karate Kid Part III, Kanan portrayed Mike Barnes, a skillful and brutal karate fighter who competed in competitions around the country and won more than he lost. Dubbed the “Karate’s Bad Boy,” Barnes was Terry Silver’s hired gun, and was picked out of a karate magazine for his reputation as a consistent winner and ruthless competitor.
Silver made Barnes his top Cobra Kai student while pretending to be Daniel...
- 2/3/2023
- by Produced by Digital Editors
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
"Cobra Kai" shocked everyone with its unbelievable return to "The Karate Kid" universe. The show, which was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, is essentially one giant love letter to the original films. Not only is it smart, original, and funny, but it's also done an incredible job of tying in many of the characters from the first three films. (This particular writer is also desperate to see Hilary Swank reprise her role as Julie Pierce from "The Next Karate Kid.") Season 2 saw the epic and heartfelt return of Johnny Lawrence's (William Zabka) original Cobra Kai pals, Tommy (Rob Garrison), Bobby (Ron Thomas), and Jimmy (Tony O'Dell). Elisabeth Shue reprised her role as Ali Mills, and both Martin Cove and Thomas Ian Griffith have returned to the franchise as the show's formidable villains, John Kreese and Terry Silver, respectively.
The most recent season of "Cobra Kai" brought...
The most recent season of "Cobra Kai" brought...
- 10/19/2022
- by Miyako Pleines
- Slash Film
This article contains Cobra Kai spoilers
Cobra Kai has mastered the season finale cliffhanger just like Daniel-san mastered ‘wax on, wax off.’ It started with its first season finale. That ended with the startling appearance of Sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), which took the series to a whole new level. The season 2 finale literally tossed us off that cliff with Miguel’s (Xolo Maridueña) spine-breaking fall. And in the finale of season 3, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) are forced to unite for the ultimate showdown against Cobra Kai in the arena that started it all, the All Valley Karate Tournament.
Keeping up the pace, the ending of season 4 delivers several rapid-fire twists and spinning kicks, setting the stage for the inevitable season 5. As expected, season 4 culminated at the nefarious All Valley Karate Tournament. The competition was packed with so many changes of heart: Daniel and Johnny reconciling after their turbulent failure to cooperate,...
Cobra Kai has mastered the season finale cliffhanger just like Daniel-san mastered ‘wax on, wax off.’ It started with its first season finale. That ended with the startling appearance of Sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), which took the series to a whole new level. The season 2 finale literally tossed us off that cliff with Miguel’s (Xolo Maridueña) spine-breaking fall. And in the finale of season 3, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) are forced to unite for the ultimate showdown against Cobra Kai in the arena that started it all, the All Valley Karate Tournament.
Keeping up the pace, the ending of season 4 delivers several rapid-fire twists and spinning kicks, setting the stage for the inevitable season 5. As expected, season 4 culminated at the nefarious All Valley Karate Tournament. The competition was packed with so many changes of heart: Daniel and Johnny reconciling after their turbulent failure to cooperate,...
- 1/1/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
It remains to be seen whether Johnny Lawrence and Daniel Larusso’s newfound partnership will be able to defeat the nefarious John Kreese. But with Cobra Kai‘s staple villain getting backup of his own, the road to victory is going to be rockier than ever.
In last year’s Season 3 finale, Kreese made a phone call to an ominous colleague from his past who we now know was none other than Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), a former pal from his military days who became one of the original co-founders of Cobra Kai. In the upcoming fourth season (all 10 episodes premiere on Netflix Friday,...
In last year’s Season 3 finale, Kreese made a phone call to an ominous colleague from his past who we now know was none other than Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), a former pal from his military days who became one of the original co-founders of Cobra Kai. In the upcoming fourth season (all 10 episodes premiere on Netflix Friday,...
- 12/28/2021
- by Nick Caruso
- TVLine.com
By any objective measure, The Karate Kid Part III is a terrible movie. The 1989 box-office flop centers around a demented toxic-waste mogul, Terry Silver, who decides to rig a teenage karate tournament and torment Mr. Miyagi and a college-age Daniel La Russo for no coherent reason. “The Karate Kid Part III is one film too many,” read the L.A. Times review in a typical pan. “It is a disaster of the most uninspired contrivances.”
When the franchise was resurrected in 2018 with the streaming series Cobra Kai, the focus was...
When the franchise was resurrected in 2018 with the streaming series Cobra Kai, the focus was...
- 12/28/2021
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Aristotle said, “A common danger unites even the bitterest enemies.” In the upcoming season 4 of Cobra Kai, Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) may finally bury the hatchet, or the axe kick, in their battle to save the valley from Cobra Kai’s villainous Sensei Kreese (Martin Kove). During Netflix’s global fan event, Tudum, the latest sneak peek at Cobra Kai revealed a few clues about where season 4 might go. The next season of the breakout reboot hit premieres on December 31 so fans can nurse their New Year’s Eve hangovers with a Karate Kid binge.
“Many of us used to be enemies, but rivalries don’t last forever,” claims Daniel-san at the start of the new teaser. We knew at the end of season 3 that the Miyagi-Do Dojo was going to unite with the Eagle Fang Dojo in hopes that their combined forces will be enough to defeat Cobra Kai.
“Many of us used to be enemies, but rivalries don’t last forever,” claims Daniel-san at the start of the new teaser. We knew at the end of season 3 that the Miyagi-Do Dojo was going to unite with the Eagle Fang Dojo in hopes that their combined forces will be enough to defeat Cobra Kai.
- 9/26/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
A sneak preview of Cobra Kai’s upcoming fourth season has arrived in the form of a teaser trailer and the reveal of an imminently clarified December release date. The series has certainly come a long way from its initial launch on a streaming platform no one watched to its current chart-topping heights on Netflix, as exemplified by its recent Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. However, contrary to the Television Academy’s designation, there’s nothing funny about the new teaser, which may be brief, but is packed with intense revelations.
While the teaser trailer for the December-set Cobra Kai Season 4 kicks off with high-impact hero shots of our main characters—notably Johnny’s son and Daniel’s former protégé, Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), in his new Cobra Kai duds—the clip quickly flashes to a montage of blink-and-you-miss-it scenes. They, of course, shed light on the cliffhanger moments...
While the teaser trailer for the December-set Cobra Kai Season 4 kicks off with high-impact hero shots of our main characters—notably Johnny’s son and Daniel’s former protégé, Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), in his new Cobra Kai duds—the clip quickly flashes to a montage of blink-and-you-miss-it scenes. They, of course, shed light on the cliffhanger moments...
- 8/5/2021
- by Joseph Baxter
- Den of Geek
One of Ahmet Zappa’s favorite memories of Captain Beefheart is the time he called the Zappa household to relate a particularly memorable dream.
“The fucking greatest [call] that ever happened to me was when he called and said, ‘Hell-ooooo, is your mo-other there?'” Zappa tells Rolling Stone, imitating Don Van Vliet’s signature warble. “‘Because I had a dream I wanted to tell her about.'”
Gail Zappa wasn’t home, but Ahmet couldn’t fight his curiosity; he asked the Magic Band leader what he’d dreamed of.
“The fucking greatest [call] that ever happened to me was when he called and said, ‘Hell-ooooo, is your mo-other there?'” Zappa tells Rolling Stone, imitating Don Van Vliet’s signature warble. “‘Because I had a dream I wanted to tell her about.'”
Gail Zappa wasn’t home, but Ahmet couldn’t fight his curiosity; he asked the Magic Band leader what he’d dreamed of.
- 7/9/2021
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
This article contains Cobra Kai season 3 spoilers.
“Hey. Long time,” Kreese (Martin Kove) says at the end of Cobra Kai season 3 when he calls someone mysteriously, as if to ask a favor. Now just who could it be?
The most likely candidate is Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), Kreese’s war buddy and the main villain from The Karate Kid Part III. Season 3 of Cobra Kai explored Kreese’s backstory, adding credence to this postulation. We see Young Kreese’s (Barrett Carnahan) traumatic experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and how he saved his friend that he nicknamed Twig (Nick Marini). It’s implied that Twig is Silver. In The Karate Kid Part III, Silver was a rich CEO of DynaTox Industries, an unscrupulous nuclear waste disposal company. He helped to fund the Cobra Kai schools and was a major sponsor of the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Since the...
“Hey. Long time,” Kreese (Martin Kove) says at the end of Cobra Kai season 3 when he calls someone mysteriously, as if to ask a favor. Now just who could it be?
The most likely candidate is Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), Kreese’s war buddy and the main villain from The Karate Kid Part III. Season 3 of Cobra Kai explored Kreese’s backstory, adding credence to this postulation. We see Young Kreese’s (Barrett Carnahan) traumatic experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and how he saved his friend that he nicknamed Twig (Nick Marini). It’s implied that Twig is Silver. In The Karate Kid Part III, Silver was a rich CEO of DynaTox Industries, an unscrupulous nuclear waste disposal company. He helped to fund the Cobra Kai schools and was a major sponsor of the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Since the...
- 1/4/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
This article contains Cobra Kai season 3 spoilers.
Despite its iconic standing within the martial arts genre, the martial arts in The Karate Kid have never been outstanding. Sure, the crane kick is a classic, but from a technical standpoint, it’s not that impressive. Ralph Macchio had no martial arts training prior to undertaking the role of Daniel. In many ways, that’s part of the charm. Whether you know martial arts or not, Daniel’s wax on, wax off awkwardness makes Macchio’s portrayal more genuine.
Throughout the film franchise, it was Daniel’s adversaries who were the martial artists. William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) had a background in wrestling prior to the first film and continued to train in Tang Soo Do under Master Pat E. Johnson after it wrapped (Johnson played the referee and trained the actors for the film.) Martin Kove (John Kreese) studied Gosoku-ryu Karate under the founder of that style,...
Despite its iconic standing within the martial arts genre, the martial arts in The Karate Kid have never been outstanding. Sure, the crane kick is a classic, but from a technical standpoint, it’s not that impressive. Ralph Macchio had no martial arts training prior to undertaking the role of Daniel. In many ways, that’s part of the charm. Whether you know martial arts or not, Daniel’s wax on, wax off awkwardness makes Macchio’s portrayal more genuine.
Throughout the film franchise, it was Daniel’s adversaries who were the martial artists. William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) had a background in wrestling prior to the first film and continued to train in Tang Soo Do under Master Pat E. Johnson after it wrapped (Johnson played the referee and trained the actors for the film.) Martin Kove (John Kreese) studied Gosoku-ryu Karate under the founder of that style,...
- 1/3/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Dave Grohl, Jim James, Grace Potter, Phish’s Mike Gordon, Gov’t Mule and Eric Church will lead Warren Haynes’ 2018 Christmas Jam, set for December 7th and 8th at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The 30th annual event, now expanded into a two-night affair, will benefit the local area Habitat for Humanity.
Grohl and unspecified “friends” will perform his 23-minute prog-rock epic, “Play,” at the all-star show. Dark Side of the Mule (the Pink Floyd tribute act from Haynes’ band, Gov’t Mule), Jamey Johnson, Marco Benevento...
Grohl and unspecified “friends” will perform his 23-minute prog-rock epic, “Play,” at the all-star show. Dark Side of the Mule (the Pink Floyd tribute act from Haynes’ band, Gov’t Mule), Jamey Johnson, Marco Benevento...
- 10/16/2018
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Stagehands will soon join not-for-profit Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of "The Mountaintop." After a two-plus-weeks strike, Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) has finally struck an agreement with Iatse Local 8, representing the theater's stagehands. The deal, announced Feb. 1, still needs to be ratified by the union leaders and PTC's board of directors. In a statement, PTC's artistic director Sara Garonzik said, "During several lengthy meetings all afternoon and last evening, the union made significant movement to come closer to the terms which...had previously been rejected by the union... We have negotiated a settlement that is reasonable for PTC and appropriate to our size." Union representative Mike Barnes told Philly Mag that the deal for the stagehands includes "job protection, overtime after eight hours, double-time after midnight, and wage increases of 7.75 to 10 percent over three years for employees earning an hourly rate of $15 to $19, while fee-based workers received a 6 percent raise." PTC is currently producing "The Mountaintop,...
- 2/1/2013
- backstage.com
Gregory La Cava and Irene Dunne
"An extraordinary movie is being screened at Anthology Film Archives [today] through Sunday," writes the New Yorker's Richard Brody: "Unfinished Business, a bitterly passionate romantic drama with a relentless comic tone, from 1941, starring Irene Dunne and Robert Montgomery and directed by Gregory La Cava. It's part of the ongoing series Stuck on the Second Tier: Underknown Auteurs, programmed by Miriam Bale, and you can't get it on home video." And it's "a minor masterwork of performance, direction, and screenwriting."
Unknown Auteurs is actually a set of series running at various locations in New York, with Anthology focusing on La Cava; the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image, for example, will have other editions soon, but for now, Michael Rawls has an overview of the La Cava selections in Cinespect and David Cairns wrote about Unfinished Business here in the Notebook yesterday.
"An extraordinary movie is being screened at Anthology Film Archives [today] through Sunday," writes the New Yorker's Richard Brody: "Unfinished Business, a bitterly passionate romantic drama with a relentless comic tone, from 1941, starring Irene Dunne and Robert Montgomery and directed by Gregory La Cava. It's part of the ongoing series Stuck on the Second Tier: Underknown Auteurs, programmed by Miriam Bale, and you can't get it on home video." And it's "a minor masterwork of performance, direction, and screenwriting."
Unknown Auteurs is actually a set of series running at various locations in New York, with Anthology focusing on La Cava; the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of the Moving Image, for example, will have other editions soon, but for now, Michael Rawls has an overview of the La Cava selections in Cinespect and David Cairns wrote about Unfinished Business here in the Notebook yesterday.
- 1/27/2012
- MUBI
"Frederica Sagor Maas, a pioneering female screenwriter who scored her first big success with The Plastic Age, a smash hit for 'It Girl' Clara Bow in 1925, died Jan 5." She was 111. Mike Barnes in the Hollywood Reporter: "Because she was a woman, Maas was typically assigned work on flapper comedies and light dramas. Her efforts includes such other Bow films as Dance Madness (1926), Hula (1927) and Red Hair (1928); two films featuring Norma Shearer, His Secretary (1925) and The Waning Sex (1926); the Greta Garbo drama Flesh and the Devil (1926); and the Louise Brooks film Rolled Stockings (1927)…. In 1927, she married Ernest Maas, a producer at Fox, and they wrote as a team but struggled to sell scripts…. The pair, interrogated by the FBI for allegedly Communist activities, were out of the business by the early 1950s. Ernest Mass died in 1986 at age 94. In 1999, at the urging of film historian Kevin Brownlow, Maas published her autobiography,...
- 1/8/2012
- MUBI
Slant's is, of course, the big list to appear since the last Briefing. From Nick Schager's introduction to the countdown of their collective top 25: "The auteurs had it in 2011, which delivered such a feast of fantastic domestic and international cinema that it's difficult to remember a year in which it was harder to compile a consensus Top 25. Nonetheless, best-of-year rankings wait for no critic, and our list is practically overflowing with films by young and old masters at the apex of their games, be it Terrence Malick's sumptuous spiritual odyssey The Tree of Life, Edward Yang's long-unreleased 1991 classic A Brighter Summer Day, or Abbas Kiarostami's formalist masterwork Certified Copy." Which lands at #1. At the House Next Door, you can scan the titles that came in between #26 and #50 as well as the individual ballots by Schager, Ed Gonzalez, Andrew Schenker, Jaime N Christley, Bill Weber, Jesse Cataldo,...
- 12/16/2011
- MUBI
On the right: Bob Rafelson (left) and Bert Schneider (right)
"Bert Schneider, the iconoclastic producer behind a trio of influential movies — Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and The Last Picture Show — that captured the rootlessness and discontent of the late 1960s and 70s and became symbols of a new era in Hollywood, has died," reports Elaine Woo in the Los Angeles Times. "The son of a Hollywood power broker — his father, Abraham, ran Columbia Pictures in the late 1960s — Schneider helped revitalize moviemaking in the 'New Hollywood' movement in which directors, not studios, held the creative reins and made movies that embraced the sensibilities of the emerging counterculture. 'This was a beginning of the independent movies and, more than that, a kind of celebration of anti-establishment movie subjects,' producer-director Bob Rafelson, who was one of Schneider's partners in the company that produced Easy Rider and six other films, said in an interview Tuesday.
"Bert Schneider, the iconoclastic producer behind a trio of influential movies — Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and The Last Picture Show — that captured the rootlessness and discontent of the late 1960s and 70s and became symbols of a new era in Hollywood, has died," reports Elaine Woo in the Los Angeles Times. "The son of a Hollywood power broker — his father, Abraham, ran Columbia Pictures in the late 1960s — Schneider helped revitalize moviemaking in the 'New Hollywood' movement in which directors, not studios, held the creative reins and made movies that embraced the sensibilities of the emerging counterculture. 'This was a beginning of the independent movies and, more than that, a kind of celebration of anti-establishment movie subjects,' producer-director Bob Rafelson, who was one of Schneider's partners in the company that produced Easy Rider and six other films, said in an interview Tuesday.
- 12/14/2011
- MUBI
Mike Barnes
Brian L. Chambers, the director of postproduction at 20th Century Fox Television since 2003, died Nov. 11 at his home in Sherman Oaks after a 27-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. Chambers managed postproduction for all Fox-produced TV shows each season, including current hits Bones and Modern Family. Throughout his illness, he continued to work and was at the studio almost to the end. Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths Before joining Fox, Chambers had a long career as editor, producer and production manager on such films as Frankie and Johnny (1991) and Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) and
read more...
Brian L. Chambers, the director of postproduction at 20th Century Fox Television since 2003, died Nov. 11 at his home in Sherman Oaks after a 27-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. Chambers managed postproduction for all Fox-produced TV shows each season, including current hits Bones and Modern Family. Throughout his illness, he continued to work and was at the studio almost to the end. Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths Before joining Fox, Chambers had a long career as editor, producer and production manager on such films as Frankie and Johnny (1991) and Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) and
read more...
- 11/28/2011
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jonathan Hastings: "Metropolis or Moonfleet?" Guy Maddin: "Hate to say it, but Moonraker." Happening once more tonight at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York: "A unique live cinematic and musical event, Tales from the Gimli Hospital: Reframed pairs acclaimed filmmaker Guy Maddin's classic first feature film with a live performance — directed by Maddin himself — of a new score created by composer Matthew Patton, a superstar group of Icelandic musicians, acclaimed Seattle-based musical collective Aono Jikken Ensemble, and live electronics engineer Paul Corley."
Los Angeles. Jen Yamato, taking notes for Movieline: "Part of the wave of initiatives in Elvis Mitchell's rebooted Film Independent at Lacma programming is a series of live script reads directed by Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno), who kicked things off last month with a star-studded rendition of The Breakfast Club. [Thursday] night's second script read of the 1960 multiple Oscar-winner The Apartment,...
Los Angeles. Jen Yamato, taking notes for Movieline: "Part of the wave of initiatives in Elvis Mitchell's rebooted Film Independent at Lacma programming is a series of live script reads directed by Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno), who kicked things off last month with a star-studded rendition of The Breakfast Club. [Thursday] night's second script read of the 1960 multiple Oscar-winner The Apartment,...
- 11/19/2011
- MUBI
Following rounds 1 and 2, this one will take us right on through the countdown to Halloween and will surely be the most actively updated of the bunch. Best to begin, then, by grounding it in a classic, so we turn to David Kalat: "Frankenstein isn't a science fiction story about an arrogant scientist who intrudes on God's domain, it's a metaphor about our relationship to God." That's his argument, and I'll let him explain, but I want to pull back to a couple of earlier sentences in his piece. Mary Shelley's novel, "and the 1910 film version, treated the 'science' of Frankenstein as just so much folderol, a MacGuffin to introduce the artificial man into the story. Whale was so good at providing a reasonably convincing visualization of reviving the dead — no, more than that, a stunningly satisfying visualization of reviving the dead — it focused popular attention on that part of...
- 10/27/2011
- MUBI
Coronation Street bosses have decided to bring back former Hollyoaks star Tony Hirst as Weatherfield firefighter Paul, it has been confirmed today. Inside Soap reports that the actor, best known for playing Chester's Mike Barnes, will be the fireman who Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) falls for as part of the Street's "summer of love". Hirst previously appeared in Coronation Street's 50th anniversary episodes late last year as Paul was among the rescue team who dealt with the tram crash disaster on the cobbles. Ryan Thomas, who plays Eileen's son Jason, told the magazine: "I'm guessing Jason's not going to like this guy, as he never likes any of the men his mum (more)...
- 7/19/2011
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
"Elaine Stewart, 81, an actress who appeared in a string of films in the 1950s and after taking a break to start a family appeared on the 1970s TV game shows Gambit and High Rollers, died Monday," reports the Los Angeles Times.
Mike Barnes in the Hollywood Reporter: "In a pair of 1954 films, Stewart starred opposite Gene Kelly and Van Johnson as nonstop talkative socialite Jane Ashton in Brigadoon and played a sexy harem princess in The Adventures of Hajji Baba, with John Derek as the title character. The former model and Montclair, NJ, native also appeared with Kirk Douglas in the classic Hollywood insider soap The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and with Richard Widmark and Karl Malden in the basic-training set Take the High Ground! (1953)."
Images above: March 23, 1953 cover of Life; and James Stewart, Elaine Stewart and director James Neilson on the set of Night Passage (1957).
Update, 6/29: David Ehrenstein...
Mike Barnes in the Hollywood Reporter: "In a pair of 1954 films, Stewart starred opposite Gene Kelly and Van Johnson as nonstop talkative socialite Jane Ashton in Brigadoon and played a sexy harem princess in The Adventures of Hajji Baba, with John Derek as the title character. The former model and Montclair, NJ, native also appeared with Kirk Douglas in the classic Hollywood insider soap The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and with Richard Widmark and Karl Malden in the basic-training set Take the High Ground! (1953)."
Images above: March 23, 1953 cover of Life; and James Stewart, Elaine Stewart and director James Neilson on the set of Night Passage (1957).
Update, 6/29: David Ehrenstein...
- 6/29/2011
- MUBI
Who better to lead a veteran cast that includes The Highlander, 30 Days of Night hero Eben Oleson and a Canadian scream queen than John Carl Buechler, the man who helmed Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood, Troll and Cellar Dweller?
The director and special effects wizard returns to the captain's chair after a five-year hiatus from directing to oversee the upcoming Dark Star Hollow, a film about a man who makes a deal with the devil to save the life of his wife.
From the Press Release
While best known for directing part 7 in the Friday the 13th series, Buechler's special make-up effects and other works are well known in films like Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Halloween 4 and Trancers. He is also working on a remake of his classic film, Troll, from 1986.
The cast of Dark Star Hollow includes many familiar faces, forgotten favorites and new blood:
Josh Hartnett plays Dan Reece,...
The director and special effects wizard returns to the captain's chair after a five-year hiatus from directing to oversee the upcoming Dark Star Hollow, a film about a man who makes a deal with the devil to save the life of his wife.
From the Press Release
While best known for directing part 7 in the Friday the 13th series, Buechler's special make-up effects and other works are well known in films like Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Halloween 4 and Trancers. He is also working on a remake of his classic film, Troll, from 1986.
The cast of Dark Star Hollow includes many familiar faces, forgotten favorites and new blood:
Josh Hartnett plays Dan Reece,...
- 6/18/2011
- by Doctor Gash
- DreadCentral.com
"What makes Johann run — and rob?" asks Melissa Anderson in the Voice. "Benjamin Heisenberg's second feature is as taut, lean, and fleet as its title character, played by Andreas Lust and based on the real-life Johann Kastenberger, who was both Austria's most-wanted bank robber of the 1980s and a champion marathoner. Writing the script with Martin Prinz, who adapted his own 2005 novel about the notorious criminal, Heisenberg forgoes backstory and psychological explanation, structuring his film as a series of adrenaline spikes."
"Lust's character in The Robber is familiar from European crime movies," suggests Noel Murray at the Av Club. "He's the stoic loner who doesn't say much, lest he inadvertently reveal some kind of motivation. When he robs banks, he wears a thin mask that doesn't look all that different from his face, and when he goes on a date with his caseworker, Franziska Weisz, he's more amused by...
"Lust's character in The Robber is familiar from European crime movies," suggests Noel Murray at the Av Club. "He's the stoic loner who doesn't say much, lest he inadvertently reveal some kind of motivation. When he robs banks, he wears a thin mask that doesn't look all that different from his face, and when he goes on a date with his caseworker, Franziska Weisz, he's more amused by...
- 5/8/2011
- MUBI
They’re cash-strapped and creatively bankrupt, but some bad sequels can be surprisingly entertaining if viewed the right way. Here’s our list of enjoyably bad sequels...
When Michael Caine came back from the Bahamas after the shoot of the dreadful Jaws IV: The Revenge, even he didn't gloss over the fact that it was an utter turkey. "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible," he admitted, with characteristic candour. "However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific."
There seems to be an unwritten law, perhaps chiselled into a tablet somewhere, that dictates a franchise will inevitably sink into the mire as the numbers rack up. It's a law that applies to even the mightiest properties. The once revered Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies weren't immune to being dragged slowly into the abyss by ill-advised sequels. Only a few,...
When Michael Caine came back from the Bahamas after the shoot of the dreadful Jaws IV: The Revenge, even he didn't gloss over the fact that it was an utter turkey. "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible," he admitted, with characteristic candour. "However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific."
There seems to be an unwritten law, perhaps chiselled into a tablet somewhere, that dictates a franchise will inevitably sink into the mire as the numbers rack up. It's a law that applies to even the mightiest properties. The once revered Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies weren't immune to being dragged slowly into the abyss by ill-advised sequels. Only a few,...
- 9/29/2010
- Den of Geek
Sally Menke, an Oscar-nominated film editor who worked on every Quentin Tarantino movie, was found dead Tuesday along a Griffith Park trail where she went hiking during a record heat wave. She was 56.
Menke, the wife of Oscar-winning director Dean Parisot, edited every Tarantino pic from "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) to last year's "In¬glourious Basterds," which earned her an Oscar nomination. She also received a nom for "Pulp Fiction" (1994).
Investigators suspect she died of hyperthermia Monday, when downtown Los Angeles was on its way to a record high of 113, Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Fred Corral said. An autopsy is planned for Wednesday.
A Friars Club Roast of Tarantino, scheduled for Friday in New York with Samuel L. Jackson as roast master, was postponed. The director met with executives, "and it was immediately decided, out of respect for the sad loss, to postpone the roast," a Friars spokesman told The Hollywood Reporter.
Menke, the wife of Oscar-winning director Dean Parisot, edited every Tarantino pic from "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) to last year's "In¬glourious Basterds," which earned her an Oscar nomination. She also received a nom for "Pulp Fiction" (1994).
Investigators suspect she died of hyperthermia Monday, when downtown Los Angeles was on its way to a record high of 113, Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Fred Corral said. An autopsy is planned for Wednesday.
A Friars Club Roast of Tarantino, scheduled for Friday in New York with Samuel L. Jackson as roast master, was postponed. The director met with executives, "and it was immediately decided, out of respect for the sad loss, to postpone the roast," a Friars spokesman told The Hollywood Reporter.
- 9/28/2010
- by By Georg Szalai and Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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