In morose moments, and I’ll admit to having a few, I sometimes stare at a framed illustration on my work desk. Entitled “Hollywood 1988,” it is a whimsical map of the motion picture business as it existed back then. The concept and a lot of the sight gags were mine; but Nancy Ohanion was the artist who made it work for the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times. (You can find her signature hidden just above The Cave of Studio Accounting.)
Pretty much everything was in there. Vacations at Las Hadas. The Sea of Red Ink. Puttnam Falls. The Desert of Development. The Sunshine of Eternal Optimism. X-rated pirates. You name it.
But what held the gimmick together was the notion of a geographic divide—marked by the River of Bankability—that separated the major studios and their allies, on the one side, from the Independent Movie Companies, dozens of them,...
Pretty much everything was in there. Vacations at Las Hadas. The Sea of Red Ink. Puttnam Falls. The Desert of Development. The Sunshine of Eternal Optimism. X-rated pirates. You name it.
But what held the gimmick together was the notion of a geographic divide—marked by the River of Bankability—that separated the major studios and their allies, on the one side, from the Independent Movie Companies, dozens of them,...
- 6/2/2024
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
The Los Angeles Times came weather-wrapped Thursday morning. There was more plastic than paper, or so it seemed. There wasn’t even enough paper, apparently, to run a proper obituary for Chuck Philips, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter who died last month.
Details about Chuck’s passing have been sparse — he is said to have requested no postmortem attention. But the Times did manage to print a brief, paid death notice for three days running. Go figure.
Chuck, as is well known in these parts, lost his job after succumbing to a hoax in his long quest to untangle the deadly rap music wars. He later said that a humiliating Page 1 apology and retraction in the Times was overblown and inaccurate. Be that as it may, he never lost the love and respect of colleagues, including myself, who found him a joy to know.
Dave Robb. Cari Beauchamp. Chuck Philips.
Details about Chuck’s passing have been sparse — he is said to have requested no postmortem attention. But the Times did manage to print a brief, paid death notice for three days running. Go figure.
Chuck, as is well known in these parts, lost his job after succumbing to a hoax in his long quest to untangle the deadly rap music wars. He later said that a humiliating Page 1 apology and retraction in the Times was overblown and inaccurate. Be that as it may, he never lost the love and respect of colleagues, including myself, who found him a joy to know.
Dave Robb. Cari Beauchamp. Chuck Philips.
- 2/2/2024
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Six months in, the strikes are over. Ten days out, the holidays begin. As for the movies — unfortunately, the most exciting part of the year is already behind us.
It’s disconcerting to realize that there is no unavoidably dazzling, must-see, pop cultural event film on the schedule for the rest of 2023.
Certainly, some fine pictures, maybe even an Oscar winner, are yet to be released. December 8 brings Poor Things from Searchlight, with a story as challenging as any since The Shape of Water and the promise of an awards-worthy performance by Emma Stone. By then, The Holdovers, from Focus, and Napoleon, from Apple/Sony, will have gone wide, and Netflix’s Maestro will have shown in at least some theaters, adding a nostalgic character study, a period epic and a musical biopic to the seasonal mix.
Related: ‘Napoleon’ Trailer: First Look At Joaquin Phoenix In Ridley Scott’s Historical Epic
The Color Purple,...
It’s disconcerting to realize that there is no unavoidably dazzling, must-see, pop cultural event film on the schedule for the rest of 2023.
Certainly, some fine pictures, maybe even an Oscar winner, are yet to be released. December 8 brings Poor Things from Searchlight, with a story as challenging as any since The Shape of Water and the promise of an awards-worthy performance by Emma Stone. By then, The Holdovers, from Focus, and Napoleon, from Apple/Sony, will have gone wide, and Netflix’s Maestro will have shown in at least some theaters, adding a nostalgic character study, a period epic and a musical biopic to the seasonal mix.
Related: ‘Napoleon’ Trailer: First Look At Joaquin Phoenix In Ridley Scott’s Historical Epic
The Color Purple,...
- 11/12/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Two years ago, during the lockdown, I wrote that I had become addicted to those little bird-box libraries that make walking here something of a literary pilgrimage.
I’m still addicted. And almost two months ago, just before the writers strike began, I made a charming discovery–that one of my neighbors is a Very Famous Writer– all thanks to his sidewalk library.
The writer will remain unnamed, because privacy is something to be respected, even by reporters. But here’s the short form:
About four o’clock one afternoon, before the dog-crowd comes out, I felt a need for one of those short, head-clearing walks. A good target, I figured, would be a spot some blocks away, where somebody or other was maintaining what I’d long thought was the best little library in town. I won’t give titles, because some of those might tip the owner’s identity.
I’m still addicted. And almost two months ago, just before the writers strike began, I made a charming discovery–that one of my neighbors is a Very Famous Writer– all thanks to his sidewalk library.
The writer will remain unnamed, because privacy is something to be respected, even by reporters. But here’s the short form:
About four o’clock one afternoon, before the dog-crowd comes out, I felt a need for one of those short, head-clearing walks. A good target, I figured, would be a spot some blocks away, where somebody or other was maintaining what I’d long thought was the best little library in town. I won’t give titles, because some of those might tip the owner’s identity.
- 6/11/2023
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
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