Rod Holcomb, an Emmy-winning TV director of “ER,” “Lost” and other series, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 80.
Holcomb was best known for directing both the pilot and the series finale of “ER,” winning an Emmy for that farewell episode in 2009. He was nominated four four Primetime Emmys over his career, and also nominated for three DGA awards — winning one in 1995 for the “ER” pilot. Holcomb directed 21 pilots over his career, with the remarkable track record of 15 going to series.
“Every good director will elevate the material on the page. His job is to elevate it visually, to give it the weight of an art form,” Holcomb told Variety in 2011. “In a way, it’s easier to determine with a show that you know very well as a viewer, and if you know the contours and the voice of the show, then you can more easily answer some key questions.
Holcomb was best known for directing both the pilot and the series finale of “ER,” winning an Emmy for that farewell episode in 2009. He was nominated four four Primetime Emmys over his career, and also nominated for three DGA awards — winning one in 1995 for the “ER” pilot. Holcomb directed 21 pilots over his career, with the remarkable track record of 15 going to series.
“Every good director will elevate the material on the page. His job is to elevate it visually, to give it the weight of an art form,” Holcomb told Variety in 2011. “In a way, it’s easier to determine with a show that you know very well as a viewer, and if you know the contours and the voice of the show, then you can more easily answer some key questions.
- 1/26/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Westworld, Season 4, Episodes 1-7.] Westworld‘s fourth season is steadily approaching its finale, and with it has come plenty of revelations, particularly in the penultimate installment, “Metanoia.” Throughout the season, Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) has been able to predict what’s coming next after running through every possible calculation. Understanding the path he’s heading down, he recruits Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) to help him unlock the Sublime before targeting Hale’s (Tessa Thompson) operation in New York. He leads the front of what is seemingly a doomed mission, stating repeatedly that they need to preserve hope, even if their efforts are hopeless. Bernard, along with several others, ends up dead by the end of the episode as the Man in Black (Ed Harris) triggers one last game. But is it really the end for one of our favorite hosts? Below, Wright opens up about some of the questions posed in the...
- 8/9/2022
- TV Insider
We’re hosting another Sci-Fi Explosion in conjunction with the Warner Archive Collection, here’s the details!
Far beyond the usual sci-fi space stories there lies a strange galactic outpost where inexplicable Star Wars-themed music videos rub shoulders with cosmic cartoons, weird robot PSAs and other forgotten orphans of genre insanity.
This is the domain of Sci-Fi Explosion.
For the past six years I have been bringing this cosmic cabaret of craziness to conventions and other genre events throughout the East Coast, and I’m beyond pleased to be teaming up with Den of Geek this Friday night for a celebration of the Warner Archive Collection.
In case you are new to this galaxy, let me bring you up to speed. Since 2009 the Warner Archive Collection has been bringing a jaw-droppingly diverse assortment of titles from the studio’s impressive catalog to Blu-ray and DVD, manufactured on-demand. What this...
Far beyond the usual sci-fi space stories there lies a strange galactic outpost where inexplicable Star Wars-themed music videos rub shoulders with cosmic cartoons, weird robot PSAs and other forgotten orphans of genre insanity.
This is the domain of Sci-Fi Explosion.
For the past six years I have been bringing this cosmic cabaret of craziness to conventions and other genre events throughout the East Coast, and I’m beyond pleased to be teaming up with Den of Geek this Friday night for a celebration of the Warner Archive Collection.
In case you are new to this galaxy, let me bring you up to speed. Since 2009 the Warner Archive Collection has been bringing a jaw-droppingly diverse assortment of titles from the studio’s impressive catalog to Blu-ray and DVD, manufactured on-demand. What this...
- 9/15/2020
- by Chris Cummins
- Den of Geek
A plumber is haunted by a sound that only he can seemingly hear in Stefano Nurra's Hum, and ahead of its premiere on Gunpowder & Sky's Dust on Thursday, September 26th, we've been provided with the exclusive trailer for the sci-fi short film.
Written and directed by Stefano Nurra, Hum stars Adam Shaw (Doctors), Paul Reynolds (Terminal), James Bryce (Border Queen), and Shend (Schemers).
You can watch our exclusive trailer for Hum below, and we've also been provided with the key art for the short film. Keep an eye on Dust's Facebook and YouTube pages to learn more.
Hum synopsis: "Grieving plumber Chris Page is tormented by a mysterious low frequency noise seemingly only he can hear. The unexplained phenomenon known as "The Hum". With the help of rogue scientist Prof. McAven, Chris traces the origin of the sound, discovering way more than expected.
About Dust
Dust, a division of global content studio Gunpowder & Sky,...
Written and directed by Stefano Nurra, Hum stars Adam Shaw (Doctors), Paul Reynolds (Terminal), James Bryce (Border Queen), and Shend (Schemers).
You can watch our exclusive trailer for Hum below, and we've also been provided with the key art for the short film. Keep an eye on Dust's Facebook and YouTube pages to learn more.
Hum synopsis: "Grieving plumber Chris Page is tormented by a mysterious low frequency noise seemingly only he can hear. The unexplained phenomenon known as "The Hum". With the help of rogue scientist Prof. McAven, Chris traces the origin of the sound, discovering way more than expected.
About Dust
Dust, a division of global content studio Gunpowder & Sky,...
- 9/20/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
What at first seems like a lighthearted middle school experiment of ping pong balls, red light, and white noise soon turns into an obsession that could unlock a door into the vast, deadly unknown in Lucid Nation. Ahead of its premiere on Gunpowder & Sky's Dust label on Thursday, August 8th, we've been provided with the exclusive trailer for Lucid Nation to share with Daily Dead readers.
You can get a look at the escalating dread of the experiment in our exclusive Lucid Nation trailer below, and we've also been provided with posters from the short film. Keep an eye on Dust's Facebook and YouTube pages to learn more.
"Lucid Nation Synopsis
Best friends Henry and Josh attempt an experiment at home that they learned about in school. After stealing a red light bulb from the school's dark room, they cover their eyes with ping pong balls and listen to white...
You can get a look at the escalating dread of the experiment in our exclusive Lucid Nation trailer below, and we've also been provided with posters from the short film. Keep an eye on Dust's Facebook and YouTube pages to learn more.
"Lucid Nation Synopsis
Best friends Henry and Josh attempt an experiment at home that they learned about in school. After stealing a red light bulb from the school's dark room, they cover their eyes with ping pong balls and listen to white...
- 8/2/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Jim McMullan, who portrayed one of Jimmy Stewart's six sons in Shenandoah and a top ski racer in the Robert Redford-starring Downhill Racer, has died. He was 82.
McMullan died May 31 of complications from Als at his home in Wofford Heights, California, his wife of 49 years, Helene McMullan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
McMullan and Dirk Benedict starred as police helicopter pilots on 1974's Chopper One, an ABC drama that was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, and he toplined the 1980 CBS series Beyond Westworld, based on the Michael Crichton movie. Both shows, however, were quickly canceled.
Dallas fans will ...
McMullan died May 31 of complications from Als at his home in Wofford Heights, California, his wife of 49 years, Helene McMullan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
McMullan and Dirk Benedict starred as police helicopter pilots on 1974's Chopper One, an ABC drama that was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, and he toplined the 1980 CBS series Beyond Westworld, based on the Michael Crichton movie. Both shows, however, were quickly canceled.
Dallas fans will ...
- 6/11/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Jim McMullan, who portrayed one of Jimmy Stewart's six sons in Shenandoah and a top ski racer in the Robert Redford-starring Downhill Racer, has died. He was 82.
McMullan died May 31 of complications from Als at his home in Wofford Heights, California, his wife of 49 years, Helene McMullan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
McMullan and Dirk Benedict starred as police helicopter pilots on 1974's Chopper One, an ABC drama that was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, and he toplined the 1980 CBS series Beyond Westworld, based on the Michael Crichton movie. Both shows, however, were quickly canceled.
Dallas fans will ...
McMullan died May 31 of complications from Als at his home in Wofford Heights, California, his wife of 49 years, Helene McMullan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
McMullan and Dirk Benedict starred as police helicopter pilots on 1974's Chopper One, an ABC drama that was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, and he toplined the 1980 CBS series Beyond Westworld, based on the Michael Crichton movie. Both shows, however, were quickly canceled.
Dallas fans will ...
- 6/11/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
From Timeless Classics To Cutting-Edge Cult Favorites, DUSTx Is The Ultimate Destination For Sci-Fi Content Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Paycheck, “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, A Scanner Darkly And “Beyond Westworld” Among DUSTx Slate Gunpowder & Sky, the global content studio, announced today that it has launched DUSTx, a new destination for mind-expanding science fiction …
The post Gunpowder & Sky Announces New Sci-Fi Channel on Roku, DUSTx appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net. Copyrights 2008-2018 - Horrornews.net...
The post Gunpowder & Sky Announces New Sci-Fi Channel on Roku, DUSTx appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net. Copyrights 2008-2018 - Horrornews.net...
- 9/7/2018
- by Horrornews.net
- Horror News
Content studio Gunpowder & Sky is launching a free-to-stream channel on Roku devices for Dust — its content division dedicated to edgy sci-fi entertainment — stocked with films, TV shows and original short films.
The new channel, DUSTx, will be free to access on Roku and the programming will carry ads, which will be sold by Roku. G&S promises it will be a destination for “mind-expanding science fiction that explores the future of humanity through the lens of science and technology.” DUSTx will be available on all Roku devices starting Aug. 18.
Dust, which debuted in November 2016, now has more than 2 million online followers. G&S has launched channels for the sci-fi brand on YouTube, Facebook, Vrv, Pluto TV and Xumo.
DUSTx is available initially only on Roku, but G&S is in distribution talks with other partners. At launch, the channel will include about 20 films, 30 series and 200 of its best short films. The...
The new channel, DUSTx, will be free to access on Roku and the programming will carry ads, which will be sold by Roku. G&S promises it will be a destination for “mind-expanding science fiction that explores the future of humanity through the lens of science and technology.” DUSTx will be available on all Roku devices starting Aug. 18.
Dust, which debuted in November 2016, now has more than 2 million online followers. G&S has launched channels for the sci-fi brand on YouTube, Facebook, Vrv, Pluto TV and Xumo.
DUSTx is available initially only on Roku, but G&S is in distribution talks with other partners. At launch, the channel will include about 20 films, 30 series and 200 of its best short films. The...
- 8/8/2018
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
HBO's Westworld is based on a 1973 film by author Michael Crichton, but what if it didn't take until 2016 for a TV adaptation to hit the small screen?* YouTuber MessyPandas has created a video that imagines an alternate timeline in which Westworld got the TV treatment in the 1980s instead, and the stylish (but kind of cheesy) visuals and the remixed version of Ramin Djawadi's theme song go together almost as well as a six-shooter and a ten-gallon hat.
*Yes, I realize three episodes of a show called Beyond Westworld aired in 1980 before it was cancelled, but don't try to tell me you've actually watched that series.
Via: Indiewire...
*Yes, I realize three episodes of a show called Beyond Westworld aired in 1980 before it was cancelled, but don't try to tell me you've actually watched that series.
Via: Indiewire...
- 12/19/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
In one of the clearest signs yet that it’s entered the popular imagination, “Westworld” has gotten the retro-credits-sequence treatment. “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad” are among the many other shows to be so honored — “Stranger Things” probably is as well, though it would be redundant — and now the HBO drama has joined their ranks. Watch below.
Read More: ‘Westworld’: How Fan Theories Affected the Cast and How to Handle Them in Season 2
As you might have guessed, the faux credits imagine “Westworld” as an ’80s throwback complete with synth music and spaced-out animation. Tom Gosling designed the sequence. The show, which recently aired its season-one finale, is based on the 1973 film of the same name from Michael Crichton; it also takes partial inspiration from “Futureworld,” the movie’s 1976 sequel, and is preceded by another TV adaptation, 1980’s “Beyond Westworld.”
Read More: ‘Westworld’ Season Finale Review: We Learned Some Secrets,...
Read More: ‘Westworld’: How Fan Theories Affected the Cast and How to Handle Them in Season 2
As you might have guessed, the faux credits imagine “Westworld” as an ’80s throwback complete with synth music and spaced-out animation. Tom Gosling designed the sequence. The show, which recently aired its season-one finale, is based on the 1973 film of the same name from Michael Crichton; it also takes partial inspiration from “Futureworld,” the movie’s 1976 sequel, and is preceded by another TV adaptation, 1980’s “Beyond Westworld.”
Read More: ‘Westworld’ Season Finale Review: We Learned Some Secrets,...
- 12/18/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Few ideas survive the times that spawned them, but Westworld, the 1973 Michael Crichton movie about an Old West amusement park populated by lifelike robots, is good enough that Hollywood's been coming back to it for more than 40 years. The original film, which was MGM's biggest box-office success of the year, spawned a sequel and a short-lived TV series; talk of a remake had been floated around for years, with everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Quentin Tarantino being namedropped around the project at various points. (There was even a porn version,...
- 9/29/2016
- Rollingstone.com
The very real fear of insane robots at a virtual-reality amusement park was vividly brought to life in the 1973 sci-fi horror thriller Westworld. And now, HBO would like to bring an updated version of that fear right into your living rooms with a modernized re-telling of Westworld, this time in serialized episode form.
HBO has committed to producing a Westworld television pilot, to be produced by J.J. Abrams, and written and directed by Jonathan Nolan, who wrote The Dark Knight.
Related: Fall TV Preview: 'Almost Human'
The original was written and directed by Michael Crichton, who later took the theme-park-visit-goes-horribly-wrong theme and ran with it when he wrote the novel Jurassic Park. The movie is about one of the androids in the futuristic theme park, played by Yul Brynner, going haywire, and wreaking havoc and deadly terror among the park's visitors.
An attempt to turn Westworld into a show was already made in 1980, when CBS aired...
HBO has committed to producing a Westworld television pilot, to be produced by J.J. Abrams, and written and directed by Jonathan Nolan, who wrote The Dark Knight.
Related: Fall TV Preview: 'Almost Human'
The original was written and directed by Michael Crichton, who later took the theme-park-visit-goes-horribly-wrong theme and ran with it when he wrote the novel Jurassic Park. The movie is about one of the androids in the futuristic theme park, played by Yul Brynner, going haywire, and wreaking havoc and deadly terror among the park's visitors.
An attempt to turn Westworld into a show was already made in 1980, when CBS aired...
- 9/4/2013
- Entertainment Tonight
HBO has come away with a huge commitment with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot that will bring a new drama, inspired by Michael Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi movie Westworld, to the cable network. This will be Bad Robot’s first project taken to a big wig like HBO, having only dealt with broadcast networks in the past. Westworld comes from Person of Interest creator Jonathon Nolan, producer Jerry Weintraub, and Warner Bros. TV. HBO has given the project a pilot commitment, but I don’t see how they wouldn’t order it to series with names like Nolan and Abrams attached to it.
According to Deadline, Nolan and Burn Notice’s Lisa Joy wrote Westworld, a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin. Nolan will direct the pilot. This will be the second series inspired by the original Westworld, which starred Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin.
According to Deadline, Nolan and Burn Notice’s Lisa Joy wrote Westworld, a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin. Nolan will direct the pilot. This will be the second series inspired by the original Westworld, which starred Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin.
- 9/3/2013
- by Brody Gibson
- Boomtron
Jj Abrams is to remake the classic sci-fi movie Westworld for television.
The adaptation of the 1973 thriller is being developed by Abrams and Person of Interest creator Jonathan Nolan for cable network HBO, reports TVLine.
Westworld starred Yul Brynner as a rogue android in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park who goes on a killing spree.
Nolan is reworking the film for TV alongside his wife, Burn Notice writer/producer Lisa Joy, and will also direct the pilot episode.
Abrams is attached as an executive producer alongside Bryan Burk (Revolution) and Jerry Weintraub (Behind the Candelabra).
Another television series based on Westworld - titled Beyond Westworld - aired just three episodes on CBS in 1980, but was nominated for two Emmy awards.
A film sequel to the original movie, Futureworld, was also released to cinemas in 1976.
> 12 Monkeys TV adaptation gets pilot order from Syfy
> Reality Bites: 1994 film being made into TV...
The adaptation of the 1973 thriller is being developed by Abrams and Person of Interest creator Jonathan Nolan for cable network HBO, reports TVLine.
Westworld starred Yul Brynner as a rogue android in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park who goes on a killing spree.
Nolan is reworking the film for TV alongside his wife, Burn Notice writer/producer Lisa Joy, and will also direct the pilot episode.
Abrams is attached as an executive producer alongside Bryan Burk (Revolution) and Jerry Weintraub (Behind the Candelabra).
Another television series based on Westworld - titled Beyond Westworld - aired just three episodes on CBS in 1980, but was nominated for two Emmy awards.
A film sequel to the original movie, Futureworld, was also released to cinemas in 1976.
> 12 Monkeys TV adaptation gets pilot order from Syfy
> Reality Bites: 1994 film being made into TV...
- 9/2/2013
- Digital Spy
Michael Crichton’s cult classic Westworld, which imagines a Wild West-themed vacation destination inhabited by robots, is coming to HBO.
The pay network gave a pilot production commitment to the project from J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan (Person of Interest), and producer Jerry Weintraub (Behind the Candelabra).
The logline for the adaptation of the 1973 film reads: “Set in the amazing world dreamt up by Michael Crichton, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.”
Nolan and Lisa Joy will write and executive produce the series; Nolan is set to direct the pilot.
This...
The pay network gave a pilot production commitment to the project from J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan (Person of Interest), and producer Jerry Weintraub (Behind the Candelabra).
The logline for the adaptation of the 1973 film reads: “Set in the amazing world dreamt up by Michael Crichton, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.”
Nolan and Lisa Joy will write and executive produce the series; Nolan is set to direct the pilot.
This...
- 8/30/2013
- by Laura Hertzfeld
- EW - Inside TV
Bad Robot is living up to its name today as Deadline reports that J.J. Abrams and Jonah Nolan are teaming with Warner Bros. Television's Jerry Weintraub to adapt Michael Crichton 1973's sci-fi thriller for the small screen. HBO has given the planned series a pilot commitment with Nolan directing the pilot and writing alongside "Burn Notice" scribe Lisa Joy. The original film, both written and directed by Crichton, takes place in a future amusement park wherein visitors interact with androids in recreations of famous historical environments. When something goes wrong, however, the androids turn deadly. Westworld received a sequel, Futureworld , in 1976 and was spun off into a short-lived series, "Beyond Westworld," in 1980. The new series will be...
- 8/30/2013
- Comingsoon.net
There’s something for everyone in next week’s Blu-Ray releases: Wreck-It Ralph will tickle your gaming bone, The Intouchables brings a bit of comedy to its drama, and one my favorite films of the nineties finally gets a Blu-Ray release.
Ready for the latest Blu-Ray releases? Then read on.
Wreck-It Ralph
Starring: John C. Reilly, Alan Tudyk, Jane Lynch, Ed O’Neill, Jack McBrayer, and Sarah Silverman.
Director: Rich Moore
A 3D computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film was well-received by critics and viewers alike, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Plot: Wreck-It Ralph longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun,...
Ready for the latest Blu-Ray releases? Then read on.
Wreck-It Ralph
Starring: John C. Reilly, Alan Tudyk, Jane Lynch, Ed O’Neill, Jack McBrayer, and Sarah Silverman.
Director: Rich Moore
A 3D computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film was well-received by critics and viewers alike, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Plot: Wreck-It Ralph longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun,...
- 3/1/2013
- by C.P. Howells
- We Got This Covered
Michael Pataki was a leading character actor from the 1960s, who was best known for his roles in cult horror films. Pataki starred as Caleb Croft, a vicious vampire rapist whose offspring (William Smith) seeks his destruction in 1974’s Grave of the Vampire, and was Count Dracula and his modern-day descendant Michael Drake in Albert Band’s cult classic Dracula’s Dog (aka Zoltan, Hound of Dracula).
Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on January 16, 1938. He studied drama and political science at the University of Southern California. He made his film debut in the late 1950s, and appeared frequently on television, often in villainous roles. He was featured in episodes of The Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian, Batman as bat-villain King Tut’s henchman Amenophis Tewfik, Mission: Impossible, and Mr. Terrific. He starred as Korax, the Klingon, in the classic Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,...
Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on January 16, 1938. He studied drama and political science at the University of Southern California. He made his film debut in the late 1950s, and appeared frequently on television, often in villainous roles. He was featured in episodes of The Twilight Zone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, My Favorite Martian, Batman as bat-villain King Tut’s henchman Amenophis Tewfik, Mission: Impossible, and Mr. Terrific. He starred as Korax, the Klingon, in the classic Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,...
- 4/27/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
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