When a movie is as big as Crocodile Dundee, you better believe there will be a sequel. Audiences renting a VHS tape of the movie back in 1987 had a little introduction before the film, teasing the fact that a sequel was in the works, something all of us kids who grew up on this movie were psyched by.
So when the first one came out, Paul Hogan became a massive international star. He was already big in Australia, but before Crocodile Dundee, Hogan was mostly known for his ‘Shrimp on the Barbie’ Australian Tourism adverts. By 1987, he was so popular that he was one of the three hosts of the 1987 Academy Awards, opposite Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. Crocodile Dundee II would be a much bigger film than its predecessor. After all, this wasn’t a tiny Australian indie anymore. It was a big studio film, with Paramount Pictures, who distributed the first film,...
So when the first one came out, Paul Hogan became a massive international star. He was already big in Australia, but before Crocodile Dundee, Hogan was mostly known for his ‘Shrimp on the Barbie’ Australian Tourism adverts. By 1987, he was so popular that he was one of the three hosts of the 1987 Academy Awards, opposite Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. Crocodile Dundee II would be a much bigger film than its predecessor. After all, this wasn’t a tiny Australian indie anymore. It was a big studio film, with Paramount Pictures, who distributed the first film,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Fantastic Four star Jessica Alba faced several challenges in her teenage years and she has been vocal about most of them. However, she kept one disturbing incident from her past close to her heart and never spoke about it publicly. When she was just 15 years old, Alba was kidnapped from the set of her show, Flipper, in 1996. She was later found bound and gagged inside the trunk of a car and her captor(s) were never brought to justice.
Dark Angel star Jessica Alba was once kidnapped from the set of her show in 1996
Even before she became a legal adult, Alba revealed she was the victim of ogling from older men. She was bullied and slut-shamed at her school for her physical appearance. Alba has also been open about her regrets in life, including her engagement with actor Michael Weatherly.
Jessica Alba Was Kidnapped In 1996 and Went Missing For...
Dark Angel star Jessica Alba was once kidnapped from the set of her show in 1996
Even before she became a legal adult, Alba revealed she was the victim of ogling from older men. She was bullied and slut-shamed at her school for her physical appearance. Alba has also been open about her regrets in life, including her engagement with actor Michael Weatherly.
Jessica Alba Was Kidnapped In 1996 and Went Missing For...
- 4/4/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
The "Star Trek" episode "The Apple" contained one of show creator Gene Roddenberry's favorite tropes: a remote, agrarian species living in harmony with nature, overseen by an ineffable technological marvel. In "The Apple," the Edenic planet of Gamma Trianguli VI is the home of a sexually innocent, childlike species that is granted their every wish by an all-powerful computer called Vaal. Vaal appears to be a giant snake-like head carved into the rock, but the Enterprise discovers that it is a machine intelligence that has kept the locals in a perpetual childlike state. They are immortal, but also have never had to work, nor are they allowed to "touch" (that is: have sex). Naturally, it will be up to Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Enterprise to destroy Vaal and teach the aliens that growing up is necessary, and that having sex is okay and super-fun.
The...
The...
- 1/26/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The four panelists on “The Masked Singer” are squawking aimlessly as they try to figure out the identity of the secret celebrity hiding inside the Macaw costume. The multi-colored parrot performed Tim McGraw‘s “Live Like You Were Dying” during the sixth episode of Season 9 and then returned in the quarter-finals where he belted out “Your Song.” In the semi-finals, he received enough votes to advance to the season finale, which means we’ll all have to wait a bit longer to find out who he really is. Do You have any ideas? Read on for the judges’ “The Masked Singer” Macaw guesses.
“Macaw, it is country night and you took us to your country concert with that performance,” Nicole Scherzinger raved after he belted out “Live Like You Were Dying” on the big stage. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg chimed in that he “might just be the front-runner” for the night,...
“Macaw, it is country night and you took us to your country concert with that performance,” Nicole Scherzinger raved after he belted out “Live Like You Were Dying” on the big stage. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg chimed in that he “might just be the front-runner” for the night,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Macaw has taken flight to the quarterfinals on The Masked Singer Season 9, so his identity remains a mystery. However, many fans have already predicted who is behind the mask after hearing Macaw’s voice and seeing his clues during Country Night a few weeks ago. The top guesses so far for Macaw on The Masked Singer include an American Idol runner-up, a Lord of the Rings star, and more. Here they are, ranked from most to least likely to be correct.
Nick Cannon and Macaw on ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 9 | Michael Becker/Fox 1. David Archuleta
The most popular Macaw prediction, and the one we agree with the most, is David Archuleta, the runner-up on American Idol Season 7. Even before the clues were revealed, longtime fans of Archuleta recognized his voice in Macaw’s performance of “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Then, the clues provided some undeniable evidence. For example, Macaw...
Nick Cannon and Macaw on ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 9 | Michael Becker/Fox 1. David Archuleta
The most popular Macaw prediction, and the one we agree with the most, is David Archuleta, the runner-up on American Idol Season 7. Even before the clues were revealed, longtime fans of Archuleta recognized his voice in Macaw’s performance of “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Then, the clues provided some undeniable evidence. For example, Macaw...
- 4/9/2023
- by Elise Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The legendary, Oscar-nominated cinematographer of Steven Spielberg’s horror classic Jaws, Bill Butler passed away Wednesday at the age of 101 years old, THR reports this morning.
The site notes, “He would have turned 102 on Friday.”
It was back in 1976 that Bill Butler was co-nominated for a “Best Cinematography” statue at that year’s Academy Awards for his work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a film released just one year after Butler served as Cinematographer on the horror classic Jaws.
“His iconic shots included the early dawn attack of the first victim that opens the film, the Vertigo-inspired dolly zoom that accompanies Chief Brody’s shock at witnessing a shark attack from the beach and the extreme close-ups of panicking swimmers,” THR explains, detailing Bill Butler’s integral role in the making of the game-changing summer blockbuster.
Bill Butler later served as Cinematographer/Director of Photography on the original...
The site notes, “He would have turned 102 on Friday.”
It was back in 1976 that Bill Butler was co-nominated for a “Best Cinematography” statue at that year’s Academy Awards for his work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a film released just one year after Butler served as Cinematographer on the horror classic Jaws.
“His iconic shots included the early dawn attack of the first victim that opens the film, the Vertigo-inspired dolly zoom that accompanies Chief Brody’s shock at witnessing a shark attack from the beach and the extreme close-ups of panicking swimmers,” THR explains, detailing Bill Butler’s integral role in the making of the game-changing summer blockbuster.
Bill Butler later served as Cinematographer/Director of Photography on the original...
- 4/7/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Oscar-nominated Cinematographer Wilmer C. Butler, whose work included a series of landmark films such as The Conversation (1974), Jaws (1975) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), has died. He was 101. The American Society of Cinematographers confirmed Butler’s passing.
Butler was the ASC’s most senior member, and he had a resume to match. He worked with directors such as Philip Kaufman, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Richard Donner, Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Ivan Reitman, Tobe Hooper, Joseph Sargent, Mike Nichols, John Cassavetes and Steven Spielberg.
Friedkin convinced Butler to be the cinematographer on The People vs. Paul Crump, a documentary about a prisoner slated for execution in Illinois. The project got Crump’s death sentence commuted.
He got his start in features with Philip Kaufman’s 1967 film Fearless Frank. Two years later, Friedkin introduced Butler to Francis Ford Coppola, with whom he shot The Rain People before going on to...
Butler was the ASC’s most senior member, and he had a resume to match. He worked with directors such as Philip Kaufman, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Richard Donner, Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Ivan Reitman, Tobe Hooper, Joseph Sargent, Mike Nichols, John Cassavetes and Steven Spielberg.
Friedkin convinced Butler to be the cinematographer on The People vs. Paul Crump, a documentary about a prisoner slated for execution in Illinois. The project got Crump’s death sentence commuted.
He got his start in features with Philip Kaufman’s 1967 film Fearless Frank. Two years later, Friedkin introduced Butler to Francis Ford Coppola, with whom he shot The Rain People before going on to...
- 4/6/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Emmy-winning cinematographer Bill Butler, who was Oscar nominated for shooting “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and was also the D.P. on Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws,” died Wednesday, according to the American Society of Cinematographers. He was 101.
Spielberg remembered Butler in a statement, saying, “On ‘Jaws,’ Bill Butler was the bedrock on that rickety, rocking boat called the Orca. He was the only calm in the middle of that storm, and as we went into a battle against nature and technology that wore both of us down, the audience eventually won the war. Bill’s outlook on life was pragmatic, philosophical and so very patient, and I owe him so much for his steadfast and creative contributions to the entire look of ‘Jaws.’”
In addition to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Butler served as d.p. on a number of other high-profile films of the 1970s, including Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation,...
Spielberg remembered Butler in a statement, saying, “On ‘Jaws,’ Bill Butler was the bedrock on that rickety, rocking boat called the Orca. He was the only calm in the middle of that storm, and as we went into a battle against nature and technology that wore both of us down, the audience eventually won the war. Bill’s outlook on life was pragmatic, philosophical and so very patient, and I owe him so much for his steadfast and creative contributions to the entire look of ‘Jaws.’”
In addition to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Butler served as d.p. on a number of other high-profile films of the 1970s, including Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation,...
- 4/6/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Ricou Browning, the underwater stuntman who portrayed the Gill-man in the 1954 horror classic Creature trom the Black Lagoon and its sequels and went on to co-produce the dolphin tale Flipper for both the big screen and television, died quietly Sunday of natural causes at his home in Southwest Ranches, Fl. He was 93.
His son Ricou Browning Jr, who works as a marine coordinator for film and TV productions, confirmed his father’s death to Deadline.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Brett Radin Dies: Talent Manager With Knitting Factory Management Was 53 Related Story Gordon Pinsent Dies: Iconic Canadian Actor In Film And Television Was 92
Considered to be the last surviving original actor to portray any of the Universal Classic Monsters, Florida native Browning studied physical education at Florida State University before landing a job in the 1940s at Wakulla Springs, a scenic park that...
His son Ricou Browning Jr, who works as a marine coordinator for film and TV productions, confirmed his father’s death to Deadline.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Brett Radin Dies: Talent Manager With Knitting Factory Management Was 53 Related Story Gordon Pinsent Dies: Iconic Canadian Actor In Film And Television Was 92
Considered to be the last surviving original actor to portray any of the Universal Classic Monsters, Florida native Browning studied physical education at Florida State University before landing a job in the 1940s at Wakulla Springs, a scenic park that...
- 3/1/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Today marks a tragic moment in Hollywood history, as Ricou Browning, the Gill-man himself and the last remaining actor to play a Universal Classic Monster. has passed away at 93. The actor's daughter Kim Browning told The Hollywood Reporter that his death at his Southwest Ranches, Florida residence was due to natural causes. She added, "He had a fabulous career in the film industry, providing wonderful entertainment for past and future generations." Browning was a cinematic, nautical legend, and his unique skill set kept him working in the field for most of his life. He famously claimed he could hold his breath for over four minutes, which isn't hard to believe considering his line of work.
Browning's appearance in the 1954 feature "Creature from the Black Lagoon" created another monstrous icon for Universal, which had already turned horror characters like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf-Man into mainstream celebrities. Although Ben Chapman...
Browning's appearance in the 1954 feature "Creature from the Black Lagoon" created another monstrous icon for Universal, which had already turned horror characters like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf-Man into mainstream celebrities. Although Ben Chapman...
- 2/28/2023
- by Andrew Housman
- Slash Film
Ricou Browning, the actor, stuntman and diver whose work in the 1954 sci-fi classic “Creature From the Black Lagoon” launched his career as an expert water-based filmmaker, died less than two weeks after his 93rd birthday, his son Ricou Browning Jr. confirmed to TheWrap on Tuesday.
The diver, who legend has it could hold his breath for up to four minutes at a time, landed the iconic role in 1953 after being asked by a film crew to help scout locations at Wakulla Springs Florida for the Universal monster film. He was already performing underwater newsreels shot at the tourist spot.
“Their cameraman asked if I could swim in front of the cameras so they could get the perspective of the size of a human being against the fish and the grass. So I did,” he told the Hartford Courant in 2016. Ben Chapman portrayed the Creature – also known as Gill Man – on land,...
The diver, who legend has it could hold his breath for up to four minutes at a time, landed the iconic role in 1953 after being asked by a film crew to help scout locations at Wakulla Springs Florida for the Universal monster film. He was already performing underwater newsreels shot at the tourist spot.
“Their cameraman asked if I could swim in front of the cameras so they could get the perspective of the size of a human being against the fish and the grass. So I did,” he told the Hartford Courant in 2016. Ben Chapman portrayed the Creature – also known as Gill Man – on land,...
- 2/28/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
There’s sad news to report this evening, as it has been announced that Ricou Browning – who was the last surviving actor to have played a classic Universal Monster, since he portrayed the Gill-Man in the underwater scenes in all three entries of the Creature from the Black Lagoon trilogy; Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge of the Creature (1955), and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) – has passed away at the age of 93. The Hollywood Reporter notes that his daughter Kim confirmed he passed away yesterday, just eleven days after his birthday.
Born in Fort Pierce, Florida on February 16, 1930, Browning started his career in the entertainment industry by working in water shows at tourist attractions and performing in underwater newsreels. When Gill-Man scenes were being filmed for Creature from the Black Lagoon in Florida, the crew chose Browning to play the swimming creature because he was a strong swimmer and could...
Born in Fort Pierce, Florida on February 16, 1930, Browning started his career in the entertainment industry by working in water shows at tourist attractions and performing in underwater newsreels. When Gill-Man scenes were being filmed for Creature from the Black Lagoon in Florida, the crew chose Browning to play the swimming creature because he was a strong swimmer and could...
- 2/28/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Ricou Browning, who took to the water as the menacing Gill-Man in the Creature From the Black Lagoon and as the creative force behind the original Flipper movie and TV show, has died. He was 93.
Browning died Monday of natural causes at his home in Southwest Ranches, Florida, his daughter Kim Browning told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a fabulous career in the film industry, providing wonderful entertainment for past and future generations,” she said.
The Florida native also served as a stuntman on Richard Fleischer’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), doubled for Jerry Lewis in Don’t Give Up the Ship (1959) and “played all the bad guys in [TV’s] Sea Hunt,” he said in a 2013 interview.
Plus, Browning directed the harpoon-filled fight in Thunderball (1965), another underwater scene in Never Say Never Again (1983) and the hilarious Jaws-inspired candy bar-in-the-pool sequence in Caddyshack (1980).
Browning, who said he could routinely hold his...
Browning died Monday of natural causes at his home in Southwest Ranches, Florida, his daughter Kim Browning told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a fabulous career in the film industry, providing wonderful entertainment for past and future generations,” she said.
The Florida native also served as a stuntman on Richard Fleischer’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), doubled for Jerry Lewis in Don’t Give Up the Ship (1959) and “played all the bad guys in [TV’s] Sea Hunt,” he said in a 2013 interview.
Plus, Browning directed the harpoon-filled fight in Thunderball (1965), another underwater scene in Never Say Never Again (1983) and the hilarious Jaws-inspired candy bar-in-the-pool sequence in Caddyshack (1980).
Browning, who said he could routinely hold his...
- 2/28/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
We’ve lost another true legend in the world of horror. Bloody Disgusting has learned today that Ricou Browning, known for playing the titular Creature from the Black Lagoon in Universal’s original 1954 horror classic, has passed away this week at the age of 93.
Ricou Browning played the Gill-Man for the film’s extensive underwater sequences, and he subsequently reprised the iconic role in the sequels Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).
An underwater cinematographer and stuntman, Ricou Browning was uniquely equipped to play the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and he went on to direct the underwater sequences in films including Thunderball (1965), Hello Down There (1969), Caddyshack (1980), and Never Say Never Again (1983). Browning made his directorial debut with 1973’s sea lion movie Salty, and he notably also co-created the classic “Flipper” franchise. Browning later directed the movie Mr. No Legs (1978), centered on a man with shotguns built into his wheelchair.
Ricou Browning played the Gill-Man for the film’s extensive underwater sequences, and he subsequently reprised the iconic role in the sequels Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).
An underwater cinematographer and stuntman, Ricou Browning was uniquely equipped to play the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and he went on to direct the underwater sequences in films including Thunderball (1965), Hello Down There (1969), Caddyshack (1980), and Never Say Never Again (1983). Browning made his directorial debut with 1973’s sea lion movie Salty, and he notably also co-created the classic “Flipper” franchise. Browning later directed the movie Mr. No Legs (1978), centered on a man with shotguns built into his wheelchair.
- 2/28/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Robert Wolders, who is known for his role in the Western television series Laredo and as the longtime companion of Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn, died on July 12. He was 81.
The official Twitter account of the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund announced the news saying, “With the heaviest heart we salute our Board Member, mentor and friend Robert Wolders. May your beautiful soul rest in peace. Your shining example lives on.”
Wolders was born in the Netherlands on Sept. 28, 1936. He studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. No details have been released about the cause of death.
He appeared on many TV shows during the ’60s and ’70s. His first role was in 1965 on NBC’s Flipper. He went on to appear in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Bewitched, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The John Forsythe Show and many others. He joined the second and final...
The official Twitter account of the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund announced the news saying, “With the heaviest heart we salute our Board Member, mentor and friend Robert Wolders. May your beautiful soul rest in peace. Your shining example lives on.”
Wolders was born in the Netherlands on Sept. 28, 1936. He studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. No details have been released about the cause of death.
He appeared on many TV shows during the ’60s and ’70s. His first role was in 1965 on NBC’s Flipper. He went on to appear in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Bewitched, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The John Forsythe Show and many others. He joined the second and final...
- 7/16/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
If you’ve never seen “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” maybe because you never cared for Jerry Seinfeld or because you had no idea what Crackle was, now is the time to start. The entire series has moved over to Netflix, with a new season arriving this Friday, July 6. The show is everything the title promises in easily digestible packages: stylish and exotic cars, lots of food porn and mindless chatter between comedians who genuinely enjoy each other’s company. But the new season brings the episode count to 72, and Netflix unhelpfully decided to jumble all of them from the order they were originally released. So where to start? These are the most surprising, enjoyable episodes of what might truly be Jerry Seinfeld’s show about nothing.
Ellen DeGeneres
As Seinfeld has grown more bitter with age, Ellen DeGeneres has only gotten more likable. So it’s a hilarious combination...
Ellen DeGeneres
As Seinfeld has grown more bitter with age, Ellen DeGeneres has only gotten more likable. So it’s a hilarious combination...
- 7/6/2018
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Parquet Courts’ lead singer Andrew Savage, one-half of the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Texas band’s two-headed leadership, is mad as hell. While on the opposite side of the stage, bandmate Austin Brown is getting wistful. That yin-and-yang of punk and funk – as Savage notes in the opening track to “Wide Awake!,” “Total Football:” “Collectivism and autonomy are not mutually exclusive” – lends itself to the very human dilemma at the heart of Parquet Courts’ fifth album, “Wide Awake!”
Often cited as part of the continuum of downtown New York art-guitar bands — from the Velvet Underground through Television to the Strokes — Parquet Courts are the perfect example of rock miniaturization, refining what they do to a hard diamond for those in-the-know. By enlisting pop wunderkind Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton as their first-ever outside producer, Parquet Courts has opened up its musical palette even more than most recent effort, 2016’s ballad-laden “Human Performance.”
In fact, “Wide Awake!
Often cited as part of the continuum of downtown New York art-guitar bands — from the Velvet Underground through Television to the Strokes — Parquet Courts are the perfect example of rock miniaturization, refining what they do to a hard diamond for those in-the-know. By enlisting pop wunderkind Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton as their first-ever outside producer, Parquet Courts has opened up its musical palette even more than most recent effort, 2016’s ballad-laden “Human Performance.”
In fact, “Wide Awake!
- 5/18/2018
- by Roy Trakin
- Variety Film + TV
Escapes at the IFC Center: "It's like that Thom Andersen movie Los Angeles Plays Itself. This is not a portrait of a place but a portrait of a person." Photo: Ed Bahlman
Escape artist Hampton Fancher reveals beating out Jean-Pierre Léaud and the pathway that led him to star in Michael Pfleghar's Romeo und Julia 70, opposite Tina Sinatra. Norman Taurog's Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley and Joan Blackman, Teri Garr, Brian Kelly and Flipper surface. Michael Almereyda makes a Skinningrove (his film on photographer Chris Killip) connection to a scene with Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and remarks "it's called Escapes for a reason as almost every episode involves a near-death experience."
Hampton Fancher starred with Tina Sinatra in Michael Pfleghar's Romeo Und Julia 70
When do you think you know a person? What does this knowing entail? A face, a name, a voice,...
Escape artist Hampton Fancher reveals beating out Jean-Pierre Léaud and the pathway that led him to star in Michael Pfleghar's Romeo und Julia 70, opposite Tina Sinatra. Norman Taurog's Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley and Joan Blackman, Teri Garr, Brian Kelly and Flipper surface. Michael Almereyda makes a Skinningrove (his film on photographer Chris Killip) connection to a scene with Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and remarks "it's called Escapes for a reason as almost every episode involves a near-death experience."
Hampton Fancher starred with Tina Sinatra in Michael Pfleghar's Romeo Und Julia 70
When do you think you know a person? What does this knowing entail? A face, a name, a voice,...
- 8/6/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Michael Almereyda with Hampton Fancher on the form of Escapes, executive produced by Wes Anderson: "This is my tribute to Bruce Conner." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In my Escapes conversation with Michael Almereyda (Experimenter, starring Peter Sarsgaard) and Hampton Fancher (co-screenwriter of Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049) we start out with Federico García Lorca, Bruce Conner, Philip K Dick and Chris Marker. Then we encounter a Jean-Pierre Léaud, Tina Sinatra, Michael Pfleghar (Romeo Und Julia 70) connection and next stop over at Thom Andersen's Los Angeles Plays Itself, Brian Kelly and Flipper, Skinningrove on photographer Chris Killip, Yasujiro Ozu's influence on Wim Wenders (Yuharu Atsuta in Tokyo-Ga) and Jim Jarmusch.
Hampton Fancher: "It's looking at my life through other people's eyes."
Michael Almereyda's approach in Escapes turns the idea of a biopic inside out. Clips from Hampton Fancher's television and movie performances mixed with those...
In my Escapes conversation with Michael Almereyda (Experimenter, starring Peter Sarsgaard) and Hampton Fancher (co-screenwriter of Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049) we start out with Federico García Lorca, Bruce Conner, Philip K Dick and Chris Marker. Then we encounter a Jean-Pierre Léaud, Tina Sinatra, Michael Pfleghar (Romeo Und Julia 70) connection and next stop over at Thom Andersen's Los Angeles Plays Itself, Brian Kelly and Flipper, Skinningrove on photographer Chris Killip, Yasujiro Ozu's influence on Wim Wenders (Yuharu Atsuta in Tokyo-Ga) and Jim Jarmusch.
Hampton Fancher: "It's looking at my life through other people's eyes."
Michael Almereyda's approach in Escapes turns the idea of a biopic inside out. Clips from Hampton Fancher's television and movie performances mixed with those...
- 7/26/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
It’s exceedingly likely that your primary association with Hampton Fancher is Blade Runner, on which he served as co-writer and executive producer; and if you have another, it’s probably Blade Runner 2049, on which he also served as co-writer and the story’s architect. Little is it known that the scribe, actor, and director has had one of Hollywood’s strangest ascendancies, a trip marked by happenstance, romance, crossing paths with legends, and perhaps divine fate — a series of stories so good that Michael Almereyda (Marjorie Prime, Experimenter) turned them into a feature-length documentary whose intoxicating style is somewhere between the career-spanning De Palma and juxtaposition-heavy films of Thom Anderson (Los Angeles Plays Itself).
Escapes, executive produced by Wes Anderson, begins its theatrical run in just under two weeks, and we’re happy to exclusively debut the trailer courtesy of Grasshopper Film. Word has been strong since it premiered at BAMcinemaFest last month,...
Escapes, executive produced by Wes Anderson, begins its theatrical run in just under two weeks, and we’re happy to exclusively debut the trailer courtesy of Grasshopper Film. Word has been strong since it premiered at BAMcinemaFest last month,...
- 7/13/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Escapes isn’t the only Michael Almereyda film showing at BAMcinemaFest this year. In fact, it’s not even Almereyda’s only festival entry dealing with memory (the other is melancholic sci-fi tale Marjorie Prime), but it’s certainly the one in which he best approaches how we remember. The documentary (executive produced by Wes Anderson) centers on the life of B-list actor Hampton Fancher, who achieved moderate success largely in part to a lanky handsomeness that made him the right type to play brooding cowboys, con men, and an assortment of supporting characters in TV shows and obscure European films. But what Fancher lacked in prestigious roles he more than made up for in outlandish life experiences, which ranged from becoming a flamenco dancer at age 15 to being picked up in the street and put in a film. Perhaps his most remarkable achievement, and the reason why Almereyda even made a whole film about him, is that he wrote the screenplay for Blade Runner after an unusual encounter with Philip K. Dick.
But reading about Fancher’s life doesn’t compare to hearing him narrate it, and Almereyda makes the most of this Dickensian hero’s qualities by having him share some of his most unique anecdotes. Narration is juxtaposed with cleverly selected and edited shots from TV and film appearances — as well as those of other celebrities mentioned, e.g. his friend Brian Kelly of Flipper fame, and his former romantic partners Teri Garr, Sue Lyon, and Barbara Hershey — that give Escapes the shape of a collage or a Russian doll, depending on how Fancher is telling the story.
In allowing him to speak his mind, Almereyda turns Fancher into an unreliable narrator who isn’t always totally likable. He speaks ill of women and calls Mexican immigrants “wetbacks,” like the racist relative who claims he just never learned the right terms for non-white people. Since his stories are so self-centered and full of terms that make one squirm, it’s easy to wonder if he’s telling the truth. Are his anecdotes based in reality or simply an actor’s attempt to make his life sound more grandiose than it was? When he tells of a time the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. was opened only for him, we can envy the privilege, but also wonder if it wasn’t just a case of him showing up earlier, at an hour when it would’ve seemed he was all by himself.
Fancher seduces the ear and imagination by relentlessly spitting names and dates, giving us no time to breathe and question his remarks. But if you look past his occasionally unpleasant way of telling stories, he proves to be an anachronistic figure, a man trapped in the amber of Hollywood dreams. Perhaps all of his tales are true — but were that the case, the film’s title would seem odd. Who would want to escape a life of such adventure? Almereyda uses a title card in which Tinseltown is referred to as the “land of make believe,” and if that’s true, Fancher could very well crown himself a prince of pretense — a man born to be in the movies.
Escapes screened at BAMcinemaFest and opens on July 26.
But reading about Fancher’s life doesn’t compare to hearing him narrate it, and Almereyda makes the most of this Dickensian hero’s qualities by having him share some of his most unique anecdotes. Narration is juxtaposed with cleverly selected and edited shots from TV and film appearances — as well as those of other celebrities mentioned, e.g. his friend Brian Kelly of Flipper fame, and his former romantic partners Teri Garr, Sue Lyon, and Barbara Hershey — that give Escapes the shape of a collage or a Russian doll, depending on how Fancher is telling the story.
In allowing him to speak his mind, Almereyda turns Fancher into an unreliable narrator who isn’t always totally likable. He speaks ill of women and calls Mexican immigrants “wetbacks,” like the racist relative who claims he just never learned the right terms for non-white people. Since his stories are so self-centered and full of terms that make one squirm, it’s easy to wonder if he’s telling the truth. Are his anecdotes based in reality or simply an actor’s attempt to make his life sound more grandiose than it was? When he tells of a time the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. was opened only for him, we can envy the privilege, but also wonder if it wasn’t just a case of him showing up earlier, at an hour when it would’ve seemed he was all by himself.
Fancher seduces the ear and imagination by relentlessly spitting names and dates, giving us no time to breathe and question his remarks. But if you look past his occasionally unpleasant way of telling stories, he proves to be an anachronistic figure, a man trapped in the amber of Hollywood dreams. Perhaps all of his tales are true — but were that the case, the film’s title would seem odd. Who would want to escape a life of such adventure? Almereyda uses a title card in which Tinseltown is referred to as the “land of make believe,” and if that’s true, Fancher could very well crown himself a prince of pretense — a man born to be in the movies.
Escapes screened at BAMcinemaFest and opens on July 26.
- 6/22/2017
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
Ten years ago, filmmaker Louie Psihoyos was researching ocean degradation when he crossed paths with activist Ric O'Barry, the man responsible for training TV's most famous cetacean, Flipper. Together they went undercover to expose the captive dolphin industry; what they witnessed off the coast of Japan became The Cove, winner of the 2010 Oscar for best documentary. "I really started out doing the movie I'm doing now," says Psihoyos, "and on the way I got distracted by Ric O'Barry's mission. But I'm glad we stumbled on The Cove's story...
- 12/2/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Dolphins are often portrayed by Hollywood as the gentle geniuses of the sea. (See: Flipper. Um, don’t see: The Day of the Dolphin.) So we’ve been more than curious to check out Ricky Gervais’ take on the magical marine mammal, which will be unveiled on Sunday’s episode of Family Guy. The comedian—who also stars in the HBO comedy Life’s Too Short, debuting the same night — is voicing Billy Finn, a pun-loving dolphin who seems to enjoy tormenting Peter, who accidentally fished him out of the water. To get a preview of Billy and go behind...
- 2/16/2012
- by Dan Snierson
- EW - Inside TV
Exclusive: Mike Fleiss, who created The Bachelor and other reality hits before branching into films, has acquired feature film rights to the life story of Richard O'Barry. He is the dolphin preservationist and the central figure in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove. O'Barry started his career training the dolphins that starred in the TV show Flipper. When one of them died in captivity--and maybe had lost its will to live--o'Barry began a life long quest to free dolphins from captivity. He came to the forefront in the documentary, in which director Louie Psihoyos covertly filmed the carnage in a cove in the small former whaling village of Taijii. Fisherman annually herd thousands of dolphins into the cove, and slaughter them in a frenzy that actually makes the waters run blood red. The film created a global uproar. Fleiss and Lincoln O'Barry will produce under Next Films and BayRock Media, and...
- 10/28/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Ric O'Barry, who appeared in the Oscar-winning film, delivers petition signed by 1.7 million people to Us embassy in Tokyo
The star of an Oscar-winning film about dolphin hunting in Japan delivered a petition to the country's Us embassy calling for an end to the practice.
Ric O'Barry, 70 – who appeared in The Cove and trained dolphins for 1960s TV show Flipper – was flanked by police and dozens of supporters carrying banners. The petition was signed by 1.7 million people from 151 countries.
O'Barry had hoped to deliver it to the Japanese fisheries agency but cancelled the plan after threats from a nationalist group with a history of violence. The Cove, which won this year's Oscar for best documentary, shows fishermen from the town of Taiji who scare dolphins into a cove before killing them slowly by piercing them repeatedly.
O'Barry said: "I'm not losing hope. Our voice is being heard in Taiji."
The...
The star of an Oscar-winning film about dolphin hunting in Japan delivered a petition to the country's Us embassy calling for an end to the practice.
Ric O'Barry, 70 – who appeared in The Cove and trained dolphins for 1960s TV show Flipper – was flanked by police and dozens of supporters carrying banners. The petition was signed by 1.7 million people from 151 countries.
O'Barry had hoped to deliver it to the Japanese fisheries agency but cancelled the plan after threats from a nationalist group with a history of violence. The Cove, which won this year's Oscar for best documentary, shows fishermen from the town of Taiji who scare dolphins into a cove before killing them slowly by piercing them repeatedly.
O'Barry said: "I'm not losing hope. Our voice is being heard in Taiji."
The...
- 9/2/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
For many, the image of dolphins is linked to the TV series "Flipper," in which a dolphin was the friend of a young boy. The "smile," the antics, the good-natured sounds all made people want to see these beautiful creatures close up. And his involvement with the series is also former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry's greatest regret and led to his life's passion of dolphin rescue.
— Elaine Bergstrom, Channel Guide Magazine...
— Elaine Bergstrom, Channel Guide Magazine...
- 8/24/2010
- ChannelGuideMag
The documentary The Cove won an Academy Award and highlighted the plight of dolphins in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji, but the activist featured in the film says his work is far from done.
It continues in Animal Planet's new series Blood Dolphins (premiering Aug. 27, 11/10c), which follows Ric O'Barry, Flipper trainer and The Cove's lead activist, and his son, filmmaker Lincoln O'Barry, as they continue their mission to save dolphins from slaughter in Japan.
Read More >...
It continues in Animal Planet's new series Blood Dolphins (premiering Aug. 27, 11/10c), which follows Ric O'Barry, Flipper trainer and The Cove's lead activist, and his son, filmmaker Lincoln O'Barry, as they continue their mission to save dolphins from slaughter in Japan.
Read More >...
- 8/6/2010
- by Denise Martin
- TVGuide - Breaking News
Tokyo -- Dolphin activist Ric O'Barry urged Japanese theaters on Tuesday to screen Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," despite threats from groups who see its footage of dolphins being slaughtered as an affront to traditional culture.
O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer who is in Japan to promote the film, told Reuters Television that the cancellations were an "assault on democracy."
"This is not North Korea. It's not China and it's not Cuba. It's a democratic society. There's a very small minority of radicals who are going to theater owners and threatening them. They don't want people to see this film," O'Barry said.
The documentary, which shows dolphins being herded into a cove and slaughtered, has met with fierce resistance from some groups in Japan. Fears that protests might inconvenience movie-goers have prompted cancellations at two cinemas in Tokyo and one in Osaka, according to Unplugged, the Japan distributor.
Unplugged is still...
O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer who is in Japan to promote the film, told Reuters Television that the cancellations were an "assault on democracy."
"This is not North Korea. It's not China and it's not Cuba. It's a democratic society. There's a very small minority of radicals who are going to theater owners and threatening them. They don't want people to see this film," O'Barry said.
The documentary, which shows dolphins being herded into a cove and slaughtered, has met with fierce resistance from some groups in Japan. Fears that protests might inconvenience movie-goers have prompted cancellations at two cinemas in Tokyo and one in Osaka, according to Unplugged, the Japan distributor.
Unplugged is still...
- 6/15/2010
- by By Chris Meyers, Reuters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screenings of Oscar-winning documentary The Cove cancelled by cinemas in Tokyo and Osaka over threat of far-right protests
Cinemas in Japan have cancelled plans to show an Oscar-winning film about the country's annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins after far-right campaigners threatened to disrupt the screenings.
Unplugged, the Japanese distributor of The Cove, said three cinemas had cancelled screenings amid fears they would be disrupted by ultra-nationalists, who have denounced the film as "anti-Japanese".
Named best documentary feature at this year's Oscars, The Cove struggled to find a distributor in Japan following protests by Taiji fishermen, who complained that it contained inaccuracies and that they had been filmed without permission.
In an attempt to placate opponents, Unplugged blurred the faces of dolphin hunters in the Japanese version, which is due for domestic release on 26 June.
But threats of noisy street protests and unspecified "acts of sabotage" prompted two cinemas in...
Cinemas in Japan have cancelled plans to show an Oscar-winning film about the country's annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins after far-right campaigners threatened to disrupt the screenings.
Unplugged, the Japanese distributor of The Cove, said three cinemas had cancelled screenings amid fears they would be disrupted by ultra-nationalists, who have denounced the film as "anti-Japanese".
Named best documentary feature at this year's Oscars, The Cove struggled to find a distributor in Japan following protests by Taiji fishermen, who complained that it contained inaccuracies and that they had been filmed without permission.
In an attempt to placate opponents, Unplugged blurred the faces of dolphin hunters in the Japanese version, which is due for domestic release on 26 June.
But threats of noisy street protests and unspecified "acts of sabotage" prompted two cinemas in...
- 6/9/2010
- by Justin McCurry
- The Guardian - Film News
Marine activist Ric O'Barry had to wear a mask to cover his face during a recent TV expose about Japan's dolphin killers - because he feared attack from fishermen who recognised him as one of the men behind Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
O'Barry agreed to take Oprah show TV cameras back to the hamlet where The Cove is set as long as he could keep his identity under wraps.
The special, which aired as part of Oprah Winfrey's Earth Day programme on Thursday, followed up on developments chronicled in The Cove, which documented Japan's annual bottle-nosed dolphin slaughter.
O'Barry said, "The fishermen told me... 'If the world finds out what goes on here, we'll be shut down.'"
The activist confessed he feels obliged to help the world's dolphins - because he helped capture and train them for beloved TV show Flipper in the 1960s.
He revealed, "Now, if there's a dolphin in trouble, anywhere in the world, my phone will ring.
"I feel somewhat responsible because it was the Flipper TV series that created this multi-billion dollar industry."...
O'Barry agreed to take Oprah show TV cameras back to the hamlet where The Cove is set as long as he could keep his identity under wraps.
The special, which aired as part of Oprah Winfrey's Earth Day programme on Thursday, followed up on developments chronicled in The Cove, which documented Japan's annual bottle-nosed dolphin slaughter.
O'Barry said, "The fishermen told me... 'If the world finds out what goes on here, we'll be shut down.'"
The activist confessed he feels obliged to help the world's dolphins - because he helped capture and train them for beloved TV show Flipper in the 1960s.
He revealed, "Now, if there's a dolphin in trouble, anywhere in the world, my phone will ring.
"I feel somewhat responsible because it was the Flipper TV series that created this multi-billion dollar industry."...
- 4/23/2010
- WENN
Dolphin trainer-turned-marine activist Ric O'Barry decided to dedicate his life to saving porpoises and whales after watching the star of 1960s TV show Flipper take her own life.
O'Barry helped to capture and train dolphins for the beloved TV show, but stopped hunting the creatures down when the star of the series stopped breathing rather than live in captivity.
The man behind hard-hitting Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, admits he's still haunted by the last moments of the dolphins life.
He explains, "She was really depressed... You have to understand dolphins and whales are not air breathers like we are. Every breath they take is a conscious effort. They can end their life whenever.
"She swam into my arms and looked me right in the eye, took a breath and didn't take another one. I let her go and she sank straight down on her belly to the bottom of the tank.
"The next day I was in jail for trying to free the dolphin - that's how I reacted to it. I was gonna free every captive dolphin I could."...
O'Barry helped to capture and train dolphins for the beloved TV show, but stopped hunting the creatures down when the star of the series stopped breathing rather than live in captivity.
The man behind hard-hitting Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, admits he's still haunted by the last moments of the dolphins life.
He explains, "She was really depressed... You have to understand dolphins and whales are not air breathers like we are. Every breath they take is a conscious effort. They can end their life whenever.
"She swam into my arms and looked me right in the eye, took a breath and didn't take another one. I let her go and she sank straight down on her belly to the bottom of the tank.
"The next day I was in jail for trying to free the dolphin - that's how I reacted to it. I was gonna free every captive dolphin I could."...
- 4/23/2010
- WENN
The gala crowd in Los Angeles cheered as "The Cove" won the best documentary Oscar with its grisly portrayal of dolphin hunting. Half a world away, residents of the small Japanese village shown in the film abhorred the attention and said it won't end their centuries-old tradition.In Taiji on the rocky coast of southwest Japan, residents gathered in whale eateries with names like "Tail" and rolled their eyes Monday when told of Oscar laurels for the film, which they see as yet another biased foreign take on their culture.The village of 3,500 people has been hunting dolphins and whales since the early 1600s. It calls itself "Whale Town" and has a massive pair of whale statues looming over the main road. "The Cove" refers to Taiji and its dolphin fishing as "a little town with a really big secret,"...
- 3/8/2010
- Filmicafe
Oscar-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos.
Louie Psihoyos Keeps Watch On The Cove
By
Alex Simon
When Louie Psihoyos’ documentary The Cove was released last July by Roadside Attractions, it had already gained major buzz after nabbing the Best Documentary award at Sundance, and went on to score the Best Doc prize in some of Hollywood’s most coveted arenas: The DGA Award, The PGA Producer of the Year Award, The National Board of Review, The L.A. Film Critics, and the Bfca’s Critics Choice Award. It also won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature—not too shabby for a first-time filmmaker. The Cove was released on DVD by Lionsgate in December.
Psihoyos (rhymes with Sequoias) has been one of the world’s top nature photographers for years, cutting his teeth immediately out of college by shooting for National Geographic, where he landed an 18 year tenure. His passion for diving...
Louie Psihoyos Keeps Watch On The Cove
By
Alex Simon
When Louie Psihoyos’ documentary The Cove was released last July by Roadside Attractions, it had already gained major buzz after nabbing the Best Documentary award at Sundance, and went on to score the Best Doc prize in some of Hollywood’s most coveted arenas: The DGA Award, The PGA Producer of the Year Award, The National Board of Review, The L.A. Film Critics, and the Bfca’s Critics Choice Award. It also won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature—not too shabby for a first-time filmmaker. The Cove was released on DVD by Lionsgate in December.
Psihoyos (rhymes with Sequoias) has been one of the world’s top nature photographers for years, cutting his teeth immediately out of college by shooting for National Geographic, where he landed an 18 year tenure. His passion for diving...
- 3/8/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
If any dolphins were monitoring the Oscars, they had every reason to applaud when "The Cove" copped the prize for best documentary.
Accepting the award, producer Fisher Stevens made a point of thanking Ric O'Barry, the animal-rights activist upon whose efforts the film was based -- "who was not only a hero to this species, but to all species" -- and the film's director, Louie Psihoyos.
"I just want to say that it was an honor to work on this film and to try to make an entertaining film that also tries to enlighten everybody," Stevens said.
Released by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate on July 31, the film grossed only $853,787 at the domestic boxoffice, but even before its Oscar victory, all the awards attention it has garnered combined to cast a spotlight on its campaign to prevent the abuse of dolphins.
More than just simple piece of agitprop, "Cove" tells the story of O'Barry,...
Accepting the award, producer Fisher Stevens made a point of thanking Ric O'Barry, the animal-rights activist upon whose efforts the film was based -- "who was not only a hero to this species, but to all species" -- and the film's director, Louie Psihoyos.
"I just want to say that it was an honor to work on this film and to try to make an entertaining film that also tries to enlighten everybody," Stevens said.
Released by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate on July 31, the film grossed only $853,787 at the domestic boxoffice, but even before its Oscar victory, all the awards attention it has garnered combined to cast a spotlight on its campaign to prevent the abuse of dolphins.
More than just simple piece of agitprop, "Cove" tells the story of O'Barry,...
- 3/8/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Animal Planet will broadcast the acclaimed documentary The Cove this summer. Louis Psihoyos' film debuted last year and followed former Flipper trainer Ric O'Barry's efforts to uncover dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The film is one of the 15 in contention for the best documentary Oscar, and may have impacted dolphin slaughter in Japan. It was also parodied in a South Park episode.
- 1/14/2010
- by Andy Dehnart
- Reality Blurred
E1 Entertainment, cert 15, retail
It's about dolphins, but beware, there's nothing cuddly to see here, and anyone with an interest in animals will be angry and sad at the end of this documentary about Taiji, Japan, described as "kind of like the Twilight Zone" in that it has a hidden bay with a shocking secret. Central figure Ric O'Barry is a longtime dolphin trainer who worked on the TV series Flipper, and who managed to penetrate tight security to film - with the help of cameras in rocks - what goes on in a coastal village where sonar is used to disorientate dolphins and herd them up, mostly for slaughter. The final scene is gruesome and nauseating, but this is a story that needs to be told and that has already started to force change. More details at TakePart.com/The Cove.
Rating: 3/5
DVD and video reviewsDocumentaryWildlifeConservationRob Mackie
guardian.co.
It's about dolphins, but beware, there's nothing cuddly to see here, and anyone with an interest in animals will be angry and sad at the end of this documentary about Taiji, Japan, described as "kind of like the Twilight Zone" in that it has a hidden bay with a shocking secret. Central figure Ric O'Barry is a longtime dolphin trainer who worked on the TV series Flipper, and who managed to penetrate tight security to film - with the help of cameras in rocks - what goes on in a coastal village where sonar is used to disorientate dolphins and herd them up, mostly for slaughter. The final scene is gruesome and nauseating, but this is a story that needs to be told and that has already started to force change. More details at TakePart.com/The Cove.
Rating: 3/5
DVD and video reviewsDocumentaryWildlifeConservationRob Mackie
guardian.co.
- 1/8/2010
- by Rob Mackie
- The Guardian - Film News
An environmentalist wake-up call that plays more like a paranoid thriller, this uncompromising, exhilarating expose of the whaling industry's dirty little secret, which many are tipping as the front runner for next year's Oscar, is a head-striking apple fallen from the "We're all doomed" branch of documentary filmmaking. Heading up this team of activists and filmmakers is Rick O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer who has dedicated the latter half of his life to blowing the whistle on the barbaric, hushed-up activities of the tiny coastal town of Taiji, where some 23,000 dolphins are rounded up annually so a handful can be chosen by trainers for theme parks and the rest butchered for their meat.
It's something of a cruel irony for O'Barry that he is perhaps the man most directly responsible for the very practice he is now so desperate to stop, and one that he is all too painfully aware of.
It's something of a cruel irony for O'Barry that he is perhaps the man most directly responsible for the very practice he is now so desperate to stop, and one that he is all too painfully aware of.
- 12/9/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- JustPressPlay.net
The eco-documentary has become such a popular genre that it has spawned an industry of critics. They accuse it of being facile, propaganda or simply of making things up. Some of these criticisms are being levelled at The Cove. Each year fisherman drive dolphins into a Japanese cove where dolphin trainers the world over gather to select the best specimens. The rest are pushed around the peninsula where they are secretly slaughtered. Maybe the critics are right to jibe at anthropomorphism: dolphins may be more intelligent than humans, but most humans don't get the attention they do. And what about the fate of less telegenic species who end up on the dinner plate without sparking mass indignation? Or maybe it is the redemptive tale of Ric O'Barry that seems too neat. He was the chief dolphin trainer on the Us television series Flipper, who turned dolphin evangelist when one died in his arms.
- 11/12/2009
- The Guardian - Film News
Ric O'Barry, former Flipper-trainer-turned-activist and subject of the documentary The Cove, departed this morning for his second visit to Japan in as many weeks. It's a frequent trip for him during the dolphin-killing season that runs from September to March in Taiji, Wakayama prefecture. The focus of this trip, he said yesterday on the phone from Miami, is to keep Taiji in the news and to spread the message that the pilot whales, which are being killed despite a temporary ban on dolphin killing, are more toxic than bottlenose dolphins. "That's what this trip is all about because the dolphin hunters are playing games with us saying they're not killing dolphins anymore -- they're killing the pilot whale," he said. "Well, the pilot whale is in fact a large dolphin. Ironically, it has the highest levels of mercury. [...] They're targeting...
- 9/24/2009
- by Adriana Dunn
- Huffington Post
Once in a while a documentary comes out that shines a spotlight on an issue that has the entire world take notice. McDonalds changed a large part of their menu after "Super Size Me," and the Green movement became a top priority after "An Inconvenient Truth." You can add another movie to that list, "The Cove," which exposed the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins in the small fishing town of Taiji, Japan. Upon returning to Taiji, Ric O'Barry, who became an activist after his work with Flipper, noticed that "there were no dolphin killers in sight." While it's still too early to know whether the illegal activity will ever pick up again, at least "The Cove" documentary can be credited with saving several dozen dolphins. "The Cove" Trailer: If you cannot see the player, click here.
- 9/3/2009
- WorstPreviews.com
It is all too rare when filmmakers can know they've directly caused a major change in the world, but that is exactly what the team behind the most excellent documentary The Cove can claim today. The film, which has been making some small waves on the art-house circuit this summer, focuses a bright spotlight on the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins in the small fishing town of Taiji, Japan. The practice had gone on for years unseen inside an isolated cove until director Louie Psihoyos -- inspired by the work of Flipper trainer-turned-activist Ric O'Barry -- put together a crack team to capture the killing via hidden cameras and underwater microphones. Yesterday, O'Barry returned to Taiji for the start of the dolphin killing season, but this time, he says, "there were no dolphin killers in sight." Granted, this time he came with a small entourage of international journalists, including members of the Japanese press,...
- 9/2/2009
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW.com - PopWatch
Ric O'Barry almost looks crazy. He is driving a car, with a mask over his mouth, crouching low in his seat, hoping not to be recognized. If the authorities catch him, there's no telling what will happen to him. He's cruising through the misty streets of Taiji, Japan, a small town with a really big secret, he says. And it's a secret that the town's fishermen want to hide from the rest of the world at all costs. This is how the documentary, The Cove, opens. And it turns out O'Barry is not crazy, he's on a mission -- probably one of the most important in the history of conservation. And it's personal. He used to be a world-famous dolphin trainer. He captured and trained the five dolphins who played Flipper in the hit TV show of the same name. The show's popularity...
- 8/6/2009
- by Tara Lohan
- Huffington Post
New York -- A tense new film shows Japanese fishermen luring thousands of wild dolphins into a hidden secret cove in Japan where activists say they are captured for marine amusement parks or slaughtered for food.
"The Cove" follows a team of activists including former dolphin trainer from the "Flipper" television series Ric O'Barry.
They battle Japanese police and fisherman to gain access to a cove in Taiji, Japan, where barbed wire blocks people from filming dolphin killings that begin in September each year.
The documentary opens in the U.S. on Friday but has yet to receive distribution in Japan, where O'Barry says 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are legally killed each year.
The Japanese government said it has done nothing wrong and cites cultural differences in response to the film.
Dolphin...
"The Cove" follows a team of activists including former dolphin trainer from the "Flipper" television series Ric O'Barry.
They battle Japanese police and fisherman to gain access to a cove in Taiji, Japan, where barbed wire blocks people from filming dolphin killings that begin in September each year.
The documentary opens in the U.S. on Friday but has yet to receive distribution in Japan, where O'Barry says 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are legally killed each year.
The Japanese government said it has done nothing wrong and cites cultural differences in response to the film.
Dolphin...
- 7/31/2009
- by By Christine Kearney, Reuters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Who the hell didn't love Flipper? Cute 'n' cuddly (and how many sea creatures do you know get to claim those adjectives?), the titular bottle-nose dolphin of the classic sixties TV show was a real Up with People kinda mammal. You may not remember any of the specific episodes (didn't most of them have to do with Bud and Sandy being held hostage by bank robbers?), but the image of fun-loving Flipper gliding through the water, dancing on the surface, and just plain grooving on life was indelibly printed on many a child's memory (mine included). Flash forward forty-plus years. In Taiji, Japan, dolphins are herded into an isolated cove. The best get sold to sea parks and aquariums, the rest are killed for their meat, while Ric O'Barry, the man who captured and trained the original Flippers (there were...
- 7/31/2009
- by Dan Persons
- Huffington Post
Two fins up for "The Cove," a documentary that whales on evil Japanese fishermen who kill dolphins for lunch meat.
A coastal village in Japan turns out to be the center of the dolphin-catching industry, selling many of them to theme parks. That's bad enough, according to Ric O'Barry, who caught the porpoises used in the 1960s TV show "Flipper" and is now a dolphin Don Quixote, but those that aren't marketable are driven around the bend into a secluded, closely guarded cove -- where they...
A coastal village in Japan turns out to be the center of the dolphin-catching industry, selling many of them to theme parks. That's bad enough, according to Ric O'Barry, who caught the porpoises used in the 1960s TV show "Flipper" and is now a dolphin Don Quixote, but those that aren't marketable are driven around the bend into a secluded, closely guarded cove -- where they...
- 7/31/2009
- by By KYLE SMITH
- NYPost.com
London -- U.K. indie distributor Vertigo Films has harpooned U.K. rights to dolphin-in-peril documentary "The Cove," in a deal with British-based international sales and finance company the Works International.
Vertigo plans to release the doc in U.K. theaters in the fall.
The documentary follows an elite team of adrenaline junkies, filmmakers and free divers as they embark on a covert mission to expose a shocking secret in a small fishing village in Japan.
Directed by Louie Psihoyos, co-founder of the Ocean Preservation Society, the film follows Richard O'Barry, an internationally recognized dolphin trainer, best known for his work on the 1960s TV series "Flipper," as the film exposes the truth about the international dolphin capture trade practiced in Taiji, Japan.
Vertigo Films chief Rupert Preston described the documentary as "one of the most powerful and moving stories" he had seen.
Vertigo plans to release the doc in U.K. theaters in the fall.
The documentary follows an elite team of adrenaline junkies, filmmakers and free divers as they embark on a covert mission to expose a shocking secret in a small fishing village in Japan.
Directed by Louie Psihoyos, co-founder of the Ocean Preservation Society, the film follows Richard O'Barry, an internationally recognized dolphin trainer, best known for his work on the 1960s TV series "Flipper," as the film exposes the truth about the international dolphin capture trade practiced in Taiji, Japan.
Vertigo Films chief Rupert Preston described the documentary as "one of the most powerful and moving stories" he had seen.
- 7/20/2009
- by By Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I recently caught The Cove as part of the Seattle International Film Festival and boy is it a dark little documentary as it centers on a small cove in Japan where the daily slaughter of thousands of dolphins takes place. As you will see in the recently released trailer, the filmmakers had to use some insane tactics just to capture the footage used in the film. Don't be fooled, this is one trailer that doesn't oversell the actual amount of thrills in this film. In an attempt to reveal the dark secrets in this hidden cove these people actually put their lives on the line and it gets rather intense. Give the trailer a peek below and look out for it on July 31 when Roadside Attractions will be relelasing it in limited theaters. For a list of theaters click here. In the 1960's, Richard O'Barry was the world's leading authority on dolphin training,...
- 6/16/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
James Toback's "Tyson" as well as Louie Psihoyo's "The Cove" will be closing the AFI Dalls International Film Festival on April 2nd. Peter Bogdanovich will also be honoted with the AFI Dallas Star Award at a special Texas Day celebration which will take place at Victory Park on April 3rd. Sony Pictures Classics' "Tyson" documentary helmed by Toback, was a winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival; taking home the Regard Knockout Award. The film opens in April 24th in limited locations. Pshihoyo's "Cove" documentary written by Mark Monroe is distributed by Roadside Attractions. The film took home the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival and was a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize. About Tyson: Tyson is acclaimed indie director James Toback's stylistically inventive portrait of a mesmerizing Mike Tyson. Toback allows Tyson to reveal himself without inhibition and with eloquence and a pervasive vulnerability.
- 3/20/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Photo: Roadside Attractions Roadside Attractions recently picked up the Sundance documentary The Cove and just set a July 31 limited release for it. I remember watching the trailer for this feature prior to the start of Sundance and was just about as shocked as the people featured in it. So, obviously the trailer below isn't new and neither are the 20 pics I just added to the gallery but since I hadn't written about it specifically yet I figured what better time than now to give you a little look-see? I have added the synopsis below the trailer, but for full effect I suggest you don't read it until after watching the video. In the 1960's, Richard O'Barry was the world's leading authority on dolphin training, working on the set of the popular television program Flipper. Day in and day out, O'Barry kept the dolphins working and television audiences smiling. But one day,...
- 3/11/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
- When my friends skip down south I plead with them not top do any of those dumb swimming with the dolphins day trips, I think that a dent might be made in an industry practice that is largely unknown and ignored. Not one, but two players in the indie film distribution industry will magnify Louie Psihoyos' message docu film The Cove. Variety reports that Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate Films will co-distribute the doc this Summer. Ric O'Barry is a man with a burden, not the inventor of the atomic bomb type, but not that different. Today the military use them to find mines, tourism depends on them to provide a show, and unfortunate school children in Japan have them for lunch. Dolphins like all animals on this planet, have received the short end of the stick thanks to us. Despite including a “Mission Impossible” type of formula that I didn't care for,
- 3/6/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
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