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In Memoriam: Harve Presnell (1933-2009)

3 July 2009 7:02 AM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Actor, singer and Broadway star Harve Presnell died July 1, 2009 at the age of 75. Born September 14, 1933, Presnell started his career on stage, playing prominent roles on Broadway in shows such as The Unsinkable Molly Brown, before moving into film work in the late 1960s. Perhaps best known as the domineering father-in-law to William H. Macy's sheepish wannabe kidnapper in Fargo, Presnell enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1990s and became one of the more recognizable character actors of the last two decades.

Presnell's performance in Fargo was one of those that made even cinephiles wonder, who is this guy? Playing Wade Gunderson, the gruff and obstinate father of the film's kidnap victim, he complemented the desperate ambition of Macy's Jerry Lundegaard and the smalltown sensibleness of Frances McDormand's Marge Gunderson. That same year, he appeared in several other movies, including The Whole Wide World, Larger Than Life and The Chamber,

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Todd Gilchrist

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Julianne Moore + Annette Bening. Rejoice!

2 July 2009 8:00 AM, PDT | From FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news

Lisa Cholodenko is flirting with me*. How else to explain the multi-orgasmic news that the writer/director of High Art, one of my all time favorite lesbian movies, is making another and she's making it with two actresses whom I practically can't worship more than I already do? Yesterday, production supposedly began on The Kids Are All Right which will star Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as lovers who've raised two kids together. Their two teenagers (played by Josh Hutcherson and Alice in Wonderland herself Mia Wasikowska) decide to meet the original sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo).

Psycho, The Hours, Running With Scissors

Both actresses have played lesbians before. Moore re-interpreted Psycho's Lila Crane as a record shop dyke and she definitely didn't want to sleep with her husband in The Hours Come to bed, Laura BrownFor Bening's part she ditched her screen husband for some self-actualizing labia time in Running With Scissors.

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NATHANIEL R

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Ruffalo Lends Bening and Moore Some Sperm

1 July 2009 12:03 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

What do you get when you mix Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo in a comedy? A same-sex couple and one eager sperm donor. (Bet you weren't expecting that!) Variety reports that the trio, plus Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Terabithia) and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), will star in a new film called The Kids Are All Right.

Bening and Moore are playing a couple who long ago used donated sperm to start a family. Years later, when their son and daughter (Hutcherson and Wasikowska) have grown up, they want to find the man behind the sperm. So, they hunt down Ruffalo's character, and he "totally upsets their family dynamic once he enters their lives."

This project is coming from Lisa Cholodenko, which bodes particularly well for the already-unique story. You might remember that she's the writer and director of Laurel Canyon, one of the few films to show

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Monika Bartyzel

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Chinese Remake of 'Blood Simple'?

24 June 2009 9:15 PM, PDT | From CinemaSpy | See recent CinemaSpy news

After a series of quiet dramas, elaborate martial arts epics, and quite possibly the most opulent Olympic ceremonies in recent history, what could mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou possibly do for an encore?

How about remaking the Coen Brothers neo-noir classic Blood Simple? Twitch reports Yimou is currently shooting San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi, which translates to "The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots", and that the film is a remake of the Coens' 1984 debut.

Blood Simple told the story of a hired hit spun out of control, and features one of the most suspenseful final half-hours in American cinematic history. The Coens themselves revisited the film — which helped launch the careers of the brothers and lead actress Frances McDormand — in 2001 for a director's cut. Now it appears time for Yimou, famous internationally for Chinese-language pics Raise the Red Lantern, Hero and House of Flying Daggers, to give it his own spin.

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Confirmed: Yimou is Remaking Coen's Blood Simple

23 June 2009 | From ioncinema | See recent ioncinema news

- While the economy cancelled larger, more ambitious projects, if you ask me the project Zhang Yimou's next might be ambitiously on par with the likes of Hero and House of Flying Daggers. It was reported back in March (see article) that a director who has taken on almost all genres except comedy was looking to add just that to his filmography, and then MonkeyPeaches.com reported that Yimou had secured the remake rights to the Coen's Bros. classic Blood Simple. Today, we get confirmation that the production that was in pre-production is indeed the 1984 American indie. I'm not sure about you kids, but I'm psyched for this remake and would be curious to know how the pick up of the rights occurred? Hopefully, someone during the A Serious Man junkets can ask just that question. For the time being: I wonder whether martial arts chops will replace cold steel?

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DVD Playhouse--June 2009

3 June 2009 12:41 PM, PDT | From The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news

DVD Playhouse—June 2009

By

Allen Gardner

The International (Sony) An Interpol agent (Clive Owen) joins forces with a Manhattan D.A. (Naomi Watts) to bring down an arms dealing ring and a corrupt global banking cartel that’s funding them. Superlative thriller was oddly ignored by critics and audiences alike, but expertly blends intelligence (courtesy screenwriter Eric Warren Singer’s masterfully-crafted script) and full-throttle action (director Tom Tykwer stages one of the great film shoot-outs in New York’s iconic Guggenheim Museum), making this dynamite thriller reminiscent of the best work from masters such as John Frankenheimer and Robert Aldrich. Armin Mueller-Stahl is wonderful as a world-weary covert op. Bonuses: Extended scene; Featurettes; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.

The Jack Lemmon Film Collection(Sony) Five films from the two-time Oscar winning actor, focusing on his early career: Phfft! is a zippy comedy from 1954, one of Lemmon’s earliest films, in which

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The Hollywood Interview.com

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Movies We Love: Almost Famous

20 May 2009 7:00 AM, PDT | From FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news

Almost Famous (2000) "I am a Golden God!" Synopsis William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is on the verge of being a 15 year-old high school graduate when he gets the break of a lifetime. Rolling Stone Magazine sends him on tour with Stillwater, a rock band on the rise. While on tour he gets to know the band members, including lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) and incendiary guitar hero Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), as well as one of the famous band-aids, Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). All this, while getting advice from rock critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and avoiding the wrath of his mother, Elaine (Frances McDormand). William learns that as a burgeoning talent, he may be a little too influenced by the people around him to be an objective reporter. Note: This article is referencing the theatrical version, but I will comment on Untitled, the Bootleg Version as well. Why We Love It As a fan of

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Josh Radde

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DVD release inspirations including Saw 5

9 March 2009 4:44 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

Howdy Boxwishers and welcome to another week of film fun. We’re still busy scratching our Watchmen itch with our fortnight dedicated to the costumed heroes continuing into its second week today bringing you some of the best Watchmen-inspired merchandise. We’ve got everything from canvas art to deluxe collector’s figures and even the grappling gun and ink blot mask of everyone’s favourite vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). And while Watchmen is packing them in at the cinemas, check out the new goodies heading your way today on DVD including a gruesome horror sequel, period drama opulence, World War II through the eyes of a child and Frances McDormand getting a much-needed makeover!

If you see… The Jigsaw Killer’s legacy live on in the fifth installment of the popular torture-porn flick, Saw 5.

Why Not Check out our rundown of the most fantastically gruesome horror movie merchandise here.

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Blu-ray Review: Primal Fear

24 February 2009 1:58 AM, PST | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

Primal Fear is one of those films I felt I was the only one that liked it. So, when a brand new special edition release comes out on DVD and Blu-ray simultaneously with all brand-new featurettes it caught me a bit off guard. I felt there was no way these featurettes were going to be of any real substance. I mean, this is a film from 1996 and I never hear anyone talk about it. Yet, this is a release you must pick up if you are one of those closet fans and especially if you have never seen it because this film blows the doors off. For those that don't know this was Ed Norton's first feature film and really served as a breakout role for Laura Linney who had been in a few films prior but Primal Fear ensured her status as a great actress. On top of those two,

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Brad Brevet

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This Decade's Oscar Winner Batting Averages

23 February 2009 5:32 PM, PST | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

It was last night's Meryl Streep chit-chat that got me to thinking; Hell, 15 nominations is impressive enough, and she's even won the dang Oscar twice! For Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice. But while in the lovely land of Hollywood that's a track record to be amazingly proud of, the simple truth is that, in the land of baseball, Meryl Streep would be batting a lusty .133. I've seen American League pitchers who can bat .133!

And that silly thought led to the next logically silly one: If Meryl Streep is batting .133, who Else is batting poorly? And conversely ... who's leading the league? Now, I've got to limit eligibility to those who've been nominated at least three times, because otherwise we'd have Anna Paquin as Mickey Mantle. And I'm limiting this project to actors only, because that way one can squeeze another post or two out of this lame concept if people actually like it.

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Scott Weinberg

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Watch out, Mickey Rourke: Indie Spirit is Oscar's consolation prize

21 February 2009 1:43 PM, PST | From Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news

The Independent Spirit award is supposed to salute what past ceremony host Samuel L. Jackson once called "the strange, the weird, the eclectic, the visionary, the new blood." Ideally, its purpose is to help those low-profile quality films that could use a boost so that someday, maybe, the filmmakers and performers could compete in the big league of the Oscars.

And back when the Spirits took flight, they tried hard to keep to that mission. Indeed, its first best-picture winner in 1985, "After Hours," wasn't nominated for a single Oscar. But then "Platoon" won best pic at both the Spirits and the Oscars the next year. From then on, the Spirits focused more and more on seemingly academy-friendly films, with a corresponding increase in its own profile. While 1987 best-pic winner "River's Edge" was snubbed at the Oscars, other early champs made it into Oscar categories like screenplay ("sex, lies and videotape,

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tomoneil

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Tsr Hall of Fame - Actress Nominees for 2008 - Vote in Tsr Awards

18 February 2009 12:53 PM, PST | From The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news

No Hall of Fame with the Oscars? Well, that's not the case with The Scorecard Review. Actresses currently in the Hall of Fame ... Cate Blanchett, Audrey Hepburn, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand, Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts And here are the list of nominees (the top two get in) ... Kate Winslet Ingrid Bergman Julie Andrews Sally Field Angelina Jolie Michelle Pfieffer Vanessa Redgrave Qwyneth Paltrow Julie Christie Judi Dench Click Here to vote of the 7th Annual Tsr Movie Awards The Academy Awards just don’t cut it. Every year I watch, and every year I think they get something wrong. Not only that, why can’t there be more than five nominations, categories that fans care about (no offense “Best Achievement in Sound Editing), and who got second place? Instead of sitting still —

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Best Actress of 2008 - Vote in Tsr Awards

17 February 2009 10:42 PM, PST | From The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news

The Academy Awards have five actresses up for Best Actress. We have 14 actors. That means we are almost three times better. The complete list of nominees ... Frances McDormand - Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road Kate Winslet - The Reader Helen Hunt - Then She Found Me Sally Hawkins - Happy-go-lucky Melissa Leo - The River Meryl Streep - Doubt Tina Fey - Baby Mama Anna Faris - The House Bunny Angelina Jolie - The Changeling Michelle Williams - Wendy And Lucy Keira Knightley - The Duchess Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button Click Here to vote of the 7th Annual Tsr Movie Awards The Academy Awards just don’t cut it. Every year I watch, and every year I think they get something wrong. Not only that, why can’t there be more than

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Best Supporting Actress of 2008 - Vote in Tsr Awards

17 February 2009 10:35 PM, PST | From The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news

The Academy Awards have five actresses up for Best Supporting Actress. We have nine actresses. That means we are almost two times better. The complete list of nominees ... Amy Adams - Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day Alison Pill - Milk Rebecca Hall - Vicky Cristina Barcelona Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler Viola Davis - Doubt Tilda Swinton -The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading Click Here to vote of the 7th Annual Tsr Movie Awards The Academy Awards just don’t cut it. Every year I watch, and every year I think they get something wrong. Not only that, why can’t there be more than five nominations, categories that fans care about (no offense “Best Achievement in Sound

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The Oscar will now be taken back from ...: Seven winner who can give back their golden boys

21 January 2009 11:41 AM, PST | From Planetallstar.com | See recent Planet All-Star news

There’s no end of blogging about wrong-headed Oscar wins. The litany of complaints about “Shakespeare in Love” winning over “Saving Private Ryan,” or “Forrest Gump” over “Pulp Fiction,” or “The Greatest Show on Earth” over any of the other nominees that year, not to mention how Gwyneth Paltrow won over Cate Blanchett for “Shakespeare,” or Costner over Scorsese for “Dances with Wolves.”

Sometimes, though, the win is totally justified; it’s the body of work after the win that drags the winner down, and makes you wonder if maybe the Oscar win wasn’t just some sort of one-trick point, a gold-plated piece of lightning in a bottle. That’s why there’s no quibbling in this post about the quality of the performances, but rather about everything that came afterwards.

With the 2009 nominations coming out tomorrow, and with plenty of nitpicking sure to abound, I’m presenting seven

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Chad

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Golden Globe winners announced.

11 January 2009 11:52 PM, PST | From Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news

Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Slumdog Millionaire" stole the limelight film-wise with four Golden Globe wins including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle. Doing the same for actresses was Kate Winslet who managed to snag an award for both of her nominations in "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader," ousting the likes of Meryl Streep for "Doubt." Mickey Rourke took home a well deserved award for his work in "The Wrestler" as did Bruce Springsteen for Best Original Song. The Disney/Pixar combo took home top honors for Best Animated Feature Film for "Wall-e," beating off "Kung Fu Panda" and fans were left pleased with Heath Ledger winning a Golden Globe for his performance as The Joker in "The Dark Knight." As announced, here are the winners of the 2009 Golden Globe Awards: Cecil B. DeMille Award Steven Spielberg Best Motion Picture - Drama The Curious Case Of Benjamin ButtonWarner Bros.

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Complete List of 2009 Golden Globe Winners

11 January 2009 9:26 PM, PST | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

Photo: Hollywood Foreign Press Association The 2009 Golden Globes were held tonight at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast airing on NBC at 8 Pm (Est) and there were a few surprises to say the least. Of course I would say the big winner was Kate Winslet who went home with two Golden Globe Awards, one for Best Supporting Actress in The Reader and another for Best Actress for her performance in Revolutionary Road. Slumdog Millionaire was the night's other "big" winner as it won for Director (Danny Boyle), Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Score (A.R. Rahman) and Picture (Drama). Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona was the winner for Best Picture (Comedy/Musical) and Mickey Rourke edged out Sean Penn for Best Actor (Drama) giving Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler second place for the night winning two awards, the other for best Original Song for Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler." Sally Hawkins

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Brad Brevet

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Globes Return to Salute Underdogs

11 January 2009 8:55 PM, PST | From TheInsider.com | See recent The Insider news

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association shared the wealth at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night, with underdog indie 'Slumdog Millionaire' and underdog 'Wrestler' Mickey Rourke as just two of the night's surprise winners. Click Here for the complete list! After last year's gala celebration was sidelined by the WGA strike, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association put together a fun, light and often surprising show at The Beverly Hilton, with memorable moments including a standing ovation for Steven Spielberg, a heroic comeback for Rourke, a friendly upset victory over Meryl Streep, a double victory for Kate Winslet and an emotional, posthumous acting award for Heath Ledger. Director Danny Boyle's story of an Indian teen in love and on the verge of winning India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," 'Slumdog Millionaire' upset 'Revolutionary Road, 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,

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TheInsider

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Slumdog and Adams Win Big at Golden Globes

11 January 2009 8:39 PM, PST | From TheMovingPicture.net | See recent TheMovingPicture news

Slumdog Millionaire and the HBO mini-series John Adams had big nights at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Each won in every category they were nominated in. Slumdog took home Best Picture (drama), Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy) and Best Original Score (A.R. Rahman). John Adams won Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and Paul Giamatti, Tom Wilkinson and Laura Linney all won for their performances. Other winners of note were Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler, Colin Farrell for In Bruges, Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight and Kate Winslet, who won for both The Reader and Revolutionary Road. The full list of winners can be found below. Best Motion Picture - Drama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Frost/Nixon The Reader Revolutionary Road Slumdog Millionaire Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture - Drama Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married Angelina Jolie

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James Cook

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2008-2009 Golden Globe Winners

11 January 2009 8:22 PM, PST | From newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news

The 66th Annual Golden Globes were tonight and as usual were a far less important version of the Oscars and the Emmys.  A ceremony amidst bribery scandals as deep as the Illinois Senate seat on a network starving for ratings, it’s the awful Golden Globes!

After a brief 30-minute broadcast last year during the writers strike, I found myself wishing for a shorter show this time too.  Here are some quick highlights:

The late, great Heath Ledger won for “Best Supporting Actor.”  We all knew he would and should.  Kate Winslet, who can’t seem to get an Oscar despite her immense talent, won “Best Actress” (drama) And “Best Supporting Actress.”  Mickey Rourke won for “Best Actor” (drama) and his comeback.  Then the director, Darren Aronofsky, gave him the middle finger (jokingly) on live television.  My favorite movie of the year, Slumdog Millionaire, won four out of four including “Best Picture - Drama.

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Jeff Leins

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2004 | 2003 | 2001 | 2000 | 1997

1-20 of 29 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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