Henry Kissinger, who as national security advisor and secretary of state for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford became one of the most influential, famous and controversial diplomats of the 20th century, died Wednesday in his home in Connecticut. He was 100.
A consultant to almost every President of the United States since leaving the State Department in 1977, Kissinger was instrumental in the historic opening to China in 1972. He was also a hawk during the Vietnam War, a master strategist in geopolitics and Beltway power, and an architect of Middle East shuttle diplomacy. With a realpolitik legacy that is as complicated as any American statesman, the pragmatic and cynical German-born Kissinger also was a much lauded and criticized recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in ending the war in Southeast Asia.
Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923 in Fuerth in the state of Bavaria, his Jewish family fled...
A consultant to almost every President of the United States since leaving the State Department in 1977, Kissinger was instrumental in the historic opening to China in 1972. He was also a hawk during the Vietnam War, a master strategist in geopolitics and Beltway power, and an architect of Middle East shuttle diplomacy. With a realpolitik legacy that is as complicated as any American statesman, the pragmatic and cynical German-born Kissinger also was a much lauded and criticized recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in ending the war in Southeast Asia.
Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923 in Fuerth in the state of Bavaria, his Jewish family fled...
- 11/30/2023
- by Dominic Patten and Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated. “Attica” is now nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Oscars.]
On September 9, 1971, over 1,200 inmates at the Attica correctional facility in upstate New York seized control of the maximum-security prison, took over three dozen hostages, and demanded humane treatment and better conditions. Negotiations stalled, and law enforcement was ordered by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to retake Attica, resulting in a massacre that left 29 inmates and 10 hostages dead. On its 50th anniversary, the new documentary “Attica,” directed by Stanley Nelson with co-director Traci A. Curry, examines one of the most shocking incidents in the nation’s history, one that echoes in the present day in a country with a mass incarceration problem that continues to disproportionately affect Black and brown people.
“Attica is a story that’s evergreen,” Nelson said in an interview with IndieWire. “We could have made the film at any time and the conversations would be the same,...
On September 9, 1971, over 1,200 inmates at the Attica correctional facility in upstate New York seized control of the maximum-security prison, took over three dozen hostages, and demanded humane treatment and better conditions. Negotiations stalled, and law enforcement was ordered by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to retake Attica, resulting in a massacre that left 29 inmates and 10 hostages dead. On its 50th anniversary, the new documentary “Attica,” directed by Stanley Nelson with co-director Traci A. Curry, examines one of the most shocking incidents in the nation’s history, one that echoes in the present day in a country with a mass incarceration problem that continues to disproportionately affect Black and brown people.
“Attica is a story that’s evergreen,” Nelson said in an interview with IndieWire. “We could have made the film at any time and the conversations would be the same,...
- 3/10/2022
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
“It didn’t have to end this way.”
That’s one of the central messages of Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry’s Oscar-nominated documentary Attica, about the 1971 prison uprising in upstate New York that culminated in mass bloodshed. The Showtime film meticulously reconstructs what precipitated the revolt, led primarily by inmates of color, what transpired during the five days prisoners held control of Attica, and the hideous crackdown that saw authorities slaughter inmates and hostages alike.
Contenders Film: The Nominees — Full Coverage
“It was just a decision made by Nelson Rockefeller, the [then] governor of New York, to go in with guns blazing and shoot gas in first, which created smoke and fog and they couldn’t even see,” Nelson said during a panel discussion of Attica for Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event. “They were shooting indiscriminately into the crowd.”
The filmmakers spoke with numerous ex-prisoners who survived the carnage,...
That’s one of the central messages of Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry’s Oscar-nominated documentary Attica, about the 1971 prison uprising in upstate New York that culminated in mass bloodshed. The Showtime film meticulously reconstructs what precipitated the revolt, led primarily by inmates of color, what transpired during the five days prisoners held control of Attica, and the hideous crackdown that saw authorities slaughter inmates and hostages alike.
Contenders Film: The Nominees — Full Coverage
“It was just a decision made by Nelson Rockefeller, the [then] governor of New York, to go in with guns blazing and shoot gas in first, which created smoke and fog and they couldn’t even see,” Nelson said during a panel discussion of Attica for Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event. “They were shooting indiscriminately into the crowd.”
The filmmakers spoke with numerous ex-prisoners who survived the carnage,...
- 3/5/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
It was on Sept 9, 1971 prisoners seized control of the maximum security Attica prison in upstate New York. The five-day uprising became the worst prison riot in the history of the U.S. with 43 people killed including 39 that were killed in the bloody Sept. 13th raid that saw helicopters flying over dropping tear gas while state police and corrections officers storming the prison shooting some 3,000 rounds killing 29 inmates, ten hostages and wounding 89. Even after the raid, the prisoners were tortured by the police in the form of reprisals; the wounded inmates barely received any medical help.
Authorities stated the inmates slit the throats of the 10 hostages who died during the raid. In fact, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who never visited the prison during the uprising, stated: they “carried out the cold-blood killings they had threated from the outset.” Autopsies proved, though, that the dead hostages had been shot by the police. Outrage...
Authorities stated the inmates slit the throats of the 10 hostages who died during the raid. In fact, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who never visited the prison during the uprising, stated: they “carried out the cold-blood killings they had threated from the outset.” Autopsies proved, though, that the dead hostages had been shot by the police. Outrage...
- 12/19/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Bob Dole, a longtime elder statesman in the Republican party who was its vice presidential nominee in 1976 and presidential nominee 20 years later, has died. He was 98.
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, named for his wife, said in a statement that Dole died early Sunday morning in his sleep. Dole had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer earlier this year.
With a baritone voice and sharp wit, Dole was a leading figure on the political scene for more than a generation, with a career highlighted by his work on behalf of veterans and veterans issues. Dole himself faced life threatening injuries in World War II, when he was severely injured in a German attack in Italy in 1944. He spend three years in rehabilitation, and his right arm was permanently paralyzed. Dole was awarded two Purple Hearts and two awards of the Bronze Star.
Dole was from a bygone era of the Senate,...
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, named for his wife, said in a statement that Dole died early Sunday morning in his sleep. Dole had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer earlier this year.
With a baritone voice and sharp wit, Dole was a leading figure on the political scene for more than a generation, with a career highlighted by his work on behalf of veterans and veterans issues. Dole himself faced life threatening injuries in World War II, when he was severely injured in a German attack in Italy in 1944. He spend three years in rehabilitation, and his right arm was permanently paralyzed. Dole was awarded two Purple Hearts and two awards of the Bronze Star.
Dole was from a bygone era of the Senate,...
- 12/5/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
“It was a complete education for me,” admits Traci Curry, the director of the documentary “Attica.” The critically acclaimed film, co-directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, chronicles the infamous 1971 prison uprising in upstate New York and the botched response by the state and federal government that resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people. The Showtime film has earned three nominations at the upcoming Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director for Nelson and Curry. Watch our exclusive video chat with both directors above.
For Curry, who was not alive when the riots happened, the making of the film gave her an opportunity to connect the invocation of the prison’s name — famously referenced in Sidney Lumet‘s “Dog Day Afternoon” — with a true humanitarian crisis. “I never could have imagined the extent of the story,” she says. “I never could have imagined that this story...
For Curry, who was not alive when the riots happened, the making of the film gave her an opportunity to connect the invocation of the prison’s name — famously referenced in Sidney Lumet‘s “Dog Day Afternoon” — with a true humanitarian crisis. “I never could have imagined the extent of the story,” she says. “I never could have imagined that this story...
- 12/1/2021
- by Tony Ruiz
- Gold Derby
Fifty years ago in September, prisoners took over the state penitentiary in Attica, NY, an event that still reverberates today.
It has endured in the collective memory not so much because of the uprising itself, but for how it ended: in an explosion of violence in which state troopers and police fired indiscriminately into the prison yard, killing more than 30 inmates and guards being held hostage.
The Showtime documentary Attica, directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry, examines what precipitated the prison revolt, the negotiations that took place to try to end it peacefully, and the slaughter that brought it all to a close. It debuted earlier this month on the network.
“It definitely didn’t have to end that way,” Nelson said during a panel discussion for Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event. “It wasn’t that all of a sudden the prisoners got more violent towards...
It has endured in the collective memory not so much because of the uprising itself, but for how it ended: in an explosion of violence in which state troopers and police fired indiscriminately into the prison yard, killing more than 30 inmates and guards being held hostage.
The Showtime documentary Attica, directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry, examines what precipitated the prison revolt, the negotiations that took place to try to end it peacefully, and the slaughter that brought it all to a close. It debuted earlier this month on the network.
“It definitely didn’t have to end that way,” Nelson said during a panel discussion for Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event. “It wasn’t that all of a sudden the prisoners got more violent towards...
- 11/21/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
As the country with the highest number of prisoners under lock and key, perhaps it’s not surprising that many of our correctional institutions have taken on a mythic status, their names alone sending a chill: Sing Sing, San Quentin, Folsom, Leavenworth, Joliet, Marion, Angola.
One prison more than any other triggers a visceral reaction: the state penitentiary in upstate New York known as Attica.
It was 50 years ago in September when prisoners there seized control of the facility and took guards hostage, igniting a standoff that ended with state troopers and police slaughtering inmates and hostages alike. The Showtime documentary Attica, a contender for Oscar consideration, explores what happened there in thorough and sometimes graphic detail.
“There’s just a stickiness to this story that once it gets a hold of you and you really see it and feel it and understand it, it just doesn’t let go,...
One prison more than any other triggers a visceral reaction: the state penitentiary in upstate New York known as Attica.
It was 50 years ago in September when prisoners there seized control of the facility and took guards hostage, igniting a standoff that ended with state troopers and police slaughtering inmates and hostages alike. The Showtime documentary Attica, a contender for Oscar consideration, explores what happened there in thorough and sometimes graphic detail.
“There’s just a stickiness to this story that once it gets a hold of you and you really see it and feel it and understand it, it just doesn’t let go,...
- 11/19/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a moment towards the end of Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry’s documentary Attica where a white state trooper is seen putting his fist in the air while screaming, “That’s White Power!” The other men around him smile and cheer because they’ve scored a victory for white men in blue. They’ve just taken back the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility after a five-day stand-off where about 1,200 inmates rebelled and took 42 staff members hostage to negotiate prison reform. And they did it, in their own words, with “White Power.” How is “White Power” defined? Well, as the footage and first-hand accounts reveal, it means knowingly picking off unarmed Black and Brown men with high-powered artillery after saying they wouldn’t be hurt. “White Power” is white supremacy. And cowardice.
What have we learned in the aftermath? Not much if you look at the inhumane ways prisoners were...
What have we learned in the aftermath? Not much if you look at the inhumane ways prisoners were...
- 10/29/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
After 11 years pushing A Star Is Born as producer though three studio administrations — not counting the earlier iterations with Whitney Houston, Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill and Will Smith he worked on while a Warner Bros exec — Bill Gerber is moving on to other projects. Not surprising, a lot of what he’s working on remains in the realm of music.
One of them solves the lingering mystery of the absence of Neil Young in Woodstock, the 1970 Michael Wadleigh-directed documentary. Young will be seen in a new docu that Gerber is producing as a companion piece to the original, and the singer is reunited onscreen for the first time with ex-bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. Gerber is hard at work on a documentary that will be released within a re-release of the 1970 Michael Wadleigh-directed documentary chronicle of – sorry, Live Aid, Queen and Freddie Mercury — the most famous and...
One of them solves the lingering mystery of the absence of Neil Young in Woodstock, the 1970 Michael Wadleigh-directed documentary. Young will be seen in a new docu that Gerber is producing as a companion piece to the original, and the singer is reunited onscreen for the first time with ex-bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. Gerber is hard at work on a documentary that will be released within a re-release of the 1970 Michael Wadleigh-directed documentary chronicle of – sorry, Live Aid, Queen and Freddie Mercury — the most famous and...
- 2/23/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
With almost every film that he makes, Christian Bale is proving himself to be this generation's Robert De Niro, truly transforming himself in any way that the part demands, whether it's becoming anorexic for The Machinist, buffing up to play the Dark Knight in Batman Begins or, now, truly making himself over in the image of former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney in Vice. The film, which comes from writer-director Adam McKay (The Big Short), is described by Wikipedia as a comedy drama that is supposed to follow Cheney "in his political rise to become the most powerful Vice President in America's history." Besides Christian, it also stars Amy Adams (a five-time Academy Award nominee) as Dick's wife, Lynne; Steve Carrell as former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Bill Pullman as Nelson Rockefeller, and Sam Rockwell, who, like Christian, is uncanny in his portrayal of former president George W. Bush.
- 10/4/2018
- by Ed Gross
- Closer Weekly
For the past year Adam McKay’s Vice, which chronicles the political rising of Vice President Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) and his wife Lynne Cheney (Amy Adams), has been shrouded in much mystery. It’s skipped all the major festivals of the season and is set for a release in December, and now the first look has finally arrived with the official trailer.
In addition to Bale and Adams, the film co-stars recent Oscar winner Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Bill Pullman as Nelson Rockefeller, Tyler Perry as Colin Powell, and Alison Pill and Lily Rabe as the two Cheney daughters Mary and Liz, respectively.
Vice is McKay’s follow up to 2015’s The Big Short, a multi-perspective retelling of the 2008 financial crisis, which followed a similar path that Vice has been taking, with a late winter premiere. It’s a strategy that worked wonderfully for The Big Short,...
In addition to Bale and Adams, the film co-stars recent Oscar winner Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Bill Pullman as Nelson Rockefeller, Tyler Perry as Colin Powell, and Alison Pill and Lily Rabe as the two Cheney daughters Mary and Liz, respectively.
Vice is McKay’s follow up to 2015’s The Big Short, a multi-perspective retelling of the 2008 financial crisis, which followed a similar path that Vice has been taking, with a late winter premiere. It’s a strategy that worked wonderfully for The Big Short,...
- 10/3/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Writer-director Tim Robbins goes all out to recreate a politically potent chapter of Broadway legend, the true story of the rebel Wpa production The Cradle Will Rock — with a dynamic sidebar about Diego Rivera’s provocative mural for the Rockefeller Center. An enormous cast works up the excitement of Depression-era revolutionary theater.
Cradle Will Rock
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1999 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date August 7, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 19.95
Starring: Hank Azaria, Rubén Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Cherry Jones, Angus Macfadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, Jamey Sheridan, John Turturro, Emily Watson, Bob Balaban, Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Paul Giamatti, Barnard Hughes, Barbara Sukowa, Gretchen Mol, Harris Yulin, Daniel Jenkins, Steven Skybell, Susan Heimbeinder, Audra McDonald, Leonardo Cimino.
Cinematography: Jean-Yves Escoffier
Film Editor: Geraldine Peroni
Costumes: Ruth Myers
Original Music: David Robbins
Produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, Jon Kilik, Tim Robbins
Written...
Cradle Will Rock
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1999 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date August 7, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 19.95
Starring: Hank Azaria, Rubén Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Cherry Jones, Angus Macfadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, Jamey Sheridan, John Turturro, Emily Watson, Bob Balaban, Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Paul Giamatti, Barnard Hughes, Barbara Sukowa, Gretchen Mol, Harris Yulin, Daniel Jenkins, Steven Skybell, Susan Heimbeinder, Audra McDonald, Leonardo Cimino.
Cinematography: Jean-Yves Escoffier
Film Editor: Geraldine Peroni
Costumes: Ruth Myers
Original Music: David Robbins
Produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, Jon Kilik, Tim Robbins
Written...
- 8/4/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Christian Bale is once again undergoing a dramatic weight transformation — this time for a role as none other than former Vice President Dick Cheney.
The Oscar-winner, 43, debuted the chubbier look this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, where he was in town to premier his upcoming movie Hostiles.
Bale, who also had his eyebrows dyed blonde to more closely resemble the polarizing politician, is starring as Cheney in the upcoming biopic Backseat. The film also stars Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as former President George W. Bush, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Bill Pullman as Nelson Rockefeller.
The Oscar-winner, 43, debuted the chubbier look this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, where he was in town to premier his upcoming movie Hostiles.
Bale, who also had his eyebrows dyed blonde to more closely resemble the polarizing politician, is starring as Cheney in the upcoming biopic Backseat. The film also stars Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as former President George W. Bush, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Bill Pullman as Nelson Rockefeller.
- 9/7/2017
- by Mike Miller
- PEOPLE.com
Exclusive: He's played the President who saved the world twice in the Independence Day movies and now Bill Pullman will play a Vice President in Adam McKay's film about Dick Cheney. With Christian Bale set as the controversial and Darth Vader-nicknamed 46th VP in what is now being called Backseat, Pullman will play Nelson Rockefeller in the pic. As well as a frequent would-be Presidential candidate, the scion of one of America's richest families served as Governor of New…...
- 8/22/2017
- Deadline
When Muhammad Ali passed away on June 4th, 2016, those who knew him, admired him, fought him and loved him attested to his singular skill as a boxer, his fleet footwork and his way with words (especially of the trash-talking variety). What was often emphasized the most in these tributes, however, was how Ali was as much a political firebrand as a gamechanging pugilist – both the 20th century's consummate athlete and a social activist willing to sacrifice his career by standing up for what he believed. This was the heavyweight champion...
- 1/26/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Star Trek: The Original Series aired 50 years ago, Thursday. (Actually, that's a bit of a cheat: The series originally aired Sept. 6, 1966 … in Canada, so you know, it doesn't count.)
The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before.
1. Some of the...
The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before.
1. Some of the...
- 9/8/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- People.com - TV Watch
Star Trek: The Original Series aired 50 years ago, Thursday. (Actually, that's a bit of a cheat: The series originally aired Sept. 6, 1966 … in Canada, so you know, it doesn't count.) The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before. 1. Some of the...
- 9/8/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Star Trek: The Original Series aired 50 years ago, Thursday. (Actually, that's a bit of a cheat: The series originally aired Sept. 6, 1966 … in Canada, so you know, it doesn't count.) The show never achieved high ratings during its original run of three seasons, but as it went into syndication throughout the 1970s, it became the cult classic it is today, with 13 feature films and five additional television series following. In honor of its 50th anniversary, we're rounding up some facts you might not have known about the series that boldly went where no other show had gone before. 1. Some of the...
- 9/8/2016
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Meryl Streep, who is officially a genius angel sent from a better dimension, is funding a screenwriting lab for women over 40. The initiative aims to create opportunities for that contingent, and it'll be run by New York Women in Film and Television and Iris, a collective of women filmmakers. Because this idea is so brilliant, we'll toast a bunch of 40+-year-old female screenwriters whose works are available on Netflix now. The Kids are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko) Aside from the fact that "The Kids are All Right" feels like a prime James L. Brooks feature, the 2010 family drama gives you a myriad of irresistible moments and performances. Annette Bening is biting and funny as an alcoholic lesbian mother; Julianne Moore is harried and loving as her conflicted wife. Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutcherson add perfectly pitched dramedy with their sincere roles. You want to hug this movie, but...
- 4/21/2015
- by Louis Virtel
- Hitfix
There is only one correct way to prepare for the Oscars: resentfully watching every bad, dubious, or weird movie starring this year's honorees and feeling smug about it. StreamFix is here to help. Here are five weird choices streaming on Netflix to get you caught up on some of the 2014 nominees. "Chalet Girl" with Felicity Jones Felicity Jones would have more of a chance at an Oscar if she just called herself "the other Carey Mulligan" and dealt with it. Anyway, remember "Chalet Girl"? It was about Felicity Jones and Ed Westwick enjoying wonderful times on the slopes. Let us consult The New York Times' review for some insight into this cinematic journey: "'Chalet Girl' may not be particularly creative or genre busting or even a great example of a romantic comedy. But its premise might make you smile." I know I always go to the movies for...
- 2/19/2015
- by Louis Virtel
- Hitfix
Edward Herrmann, who won an Emmy for “The Practice” and played the villain in “The Lost Boys,” has died at age 71.
The “Gilmore Girls” actor had been suffering from brain cancer and died in a New York hospital after his family decided to take him off a respirator, according to TMZ. He’s survived by three children.
Herrmann played Dianne Wiest’s boyfriend in “The Lost Boys” and Lauren Graham’s father on “Gilmore Girls.” He also played Nelson Rockefeller in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” and worked with Martin Scorsese on “The Aviator...
The “Gilmore Girls” actor had been suffering from brain cancer and died in a New York hospital after his family decided to take him off a respirator, according to TMZ. He’s survived by three children.
Herrmann played Dianne Wiest’s boyfriend in “The Lost Boys” and Lauren Graham’s father on “Gilmore Girls.” He also played Nelson Rockefeller in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” and worked with Martin Scorsese on “The Aviator...
- 12/31/2014
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
TV Picks: In February, Netflix will air “The Search for Michael Rockefeller” – Written, Directed and Produced by Fraser C. Heston.Was he eaten by cannibals? Did he ever actually make it to shore? Was he kept alive as a white scion? The disappearance of Michael Rockefeller is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 20th Century, until now. The privileged son of New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Michael Rockefeller was only 23 years old, and about seven months into a quest for primitive art that took this student to the most remote areas off New Guinea. An overturned hull […]...
- 12/31/2014
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
It's hard to categorize Le Dîner en Blanc. At its core it's an outdoor picnic, but while the food remains an important focus it's also equal parts fashion show, dance party, and viral social gathering. Now in its fourth year in New York, over 5,000 people flooded Nelson Rockefeller Park in downtown to attend 'The Dinner in White,' whose exact location is kept secret from everyone until an hour before it's set to begin. It was quite the sight to see, especially for the tourists and onlookers who weren't sure what was happening around them. Diners lined up around two of the park's entrances with their tables and chairs before being funneled by staff into their designated areas. While many brought their own food, this year marked a first: James Beard Award winning celebrity chef and...
- 8/26/2014
- by Pietro Filipponi
- The Daily BLAM!
As a sparkling restoration of Orson Welles's delirious 1947 film noir is unveiled at the London film festival, Tony Paley explores the dramatic story behind its production
• More on the London film festival
Citizen Kane may no longer automatically called the greatest film ever made, but a year after Orson Welles's movie was knocked off the top of Sight & Sound's poll on the 50 greatest films of all time, the late director is back in the spotlight with two world premieres.
This week, Too Much Johnson (1938), a forerunner to Citizen Kane, was screened where the director's "lost" silent film was found – in the Italian town of Pordenone. It coincided with the opening night of the London film festival, where the sparkling new restoration of The Lady from Shanghai (1947) will be unveiled.
Welles screened The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) for his cast and crew prior to shooting The Lady from Shanghai.
• More on the London film festival
Citizen Kane may no longer automatically called the greatest film ever made, but a year after Orson Welles's movie was knocked off the top of Sight & Sound's poll on the 50 greatest films of all time, the late director is back in the spotlight with two world premieres.
This week, Too Much Johnson (1938), a forerunner to Citizen Kane, was screened where the director's "lost" silent film was found – in the Italian town of Pordenone. It coincided with the opening night of the London film festival, where the sparkling new restoration of The Lady from Shanghai (1947) will be unveiled.
Welles screened The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) for his cast and crew prior to shooting The Lady from Shanghai.
- 10/10/2013
- by Tony Paley
- The Guardian - Film News
If there's one thing we know for sure about the latest episode of Mad Men, it's this: All this soapiness can mean only one thing. People are about to die. You simply can't have so many soap suds flying around without folks slipping and hitting their heads on the sharp edges of all the symbols lying about.
Heh.
I wrote this sentence in the second paragraph of "Mad Men (Finally) Returns: Worth the Wait?," my piece here on the Huffington Post about the Mad Men season premiere: "I confess to a certain diffidence about it all, all two hours of it."
I have more than a certain diffidence about the latest episode, which takes us into the final third of a great show's uneven fifth season.
As always, there be some spoilers ahead. Incidentally, you can see all my Mad Men pieces, going back to 2009, here in The Mad Men File.
Heh.
I wrote this sentence in the second paragraph of "Mad Men (Finally) Returns: Worth the Wait?," my piece here on the Huffington Post about the Mad Men season premiere: "I confess to a certain diffidence about it all, all two hours of it."
I have more than a certain diffidence about the latest episode, which takes us into the final third of a great show's uneven fifth season.
As always, there be some spoilers ahead. Incidentally, you can see all my Mad Men pieces, going back to 2009, here in The Mad Men File.
- 5/15/2012
- by William Bradley
- Aol TV.
The roar of generational change got ever louder in this week's Mad Men, so much so that Roger Sterling plaintively wondered when things will go back to normal. That would be "Never," Roger. At least for you. As always, there be spoilers ahead.
Meanwhile ... She's baaack. It's around the 4th of July, 1966, and the character so many love to hate, and whom many thought had slipped away from the storyline, Betty Draper Francis, has returned to the show in a big way. Literally. Well, not that big. But the svelte Grace Kelly lookalike has put on a lot of weight. (This is how creator Matthew Weiner deals with star January Jones's real-life pregnancy, which arrived not long after she wrapped her co-starring role as wintry telepath Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class.)
Absent an untimely demise, Betty is forever a key character in the show. She and Don were...
Meanwhile ... She's baaack. It's around the 4th of July, 1966, and the character so many love to hate, and whom many thought had slipped away from the storyline, Betty Draper Francis, has returned to the show in a big way. Literally. Well, not that big. But the svelte Grace Kelly lookalike has put on a lot of weight. (This is how creator Matthew Weiner deals with star January Jones's real-life pregnancy, which arrived not long after she wrapped her co-starring role as wintry telepath Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class.)
Absent an untimely demise, Betty is forever a key character in the show. She and Don were...
- 4/3/2012
- by William Bradley
- Aol TV.
In last night's episode, Henry Francis calls Gop presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's father a "clown."
Caution: This article contains plot details of Season 5, Episode 3 of "Mad Men."
Francis is heard telling someone on the phone that he won't let his boss go to Michigan "because Romney is a clown and I don't want him standing next to him."
The Romney in question is the late George Romney, Mitt's father and the governor of Michigan in 1966 (the year in which this season takes place). Henry Francis, Betty's second husband, plays a political staffer. Though Mediaite describes his position as that of a "political advisor to New York City Mayor John Lindsay," he's actually the director of public relations for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, per the show's website.
The quip came at a tense moment in Episode 3, the second week of the season (the first week featured a double episode...
Caution: This article contains plot details of Season 5, Episode 3 of "Mad Men."
Francis is heard telling someone on the phone that he won't let his boss go to Michigan "because Romney is a clown and I don't want him standing next to him."
The Romney in question is the late George Romney, Mitt's father and the governor of Michigan in 1966 (the year in which this season takes place). Henry Francis, Betty's second husband, plays a political staffer. Though Mediaite describes his position as that of a "political advisor to New York City Mayor John Lindsay," he's actually the director of public relations for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, per the show's website.
The quip came at a tense moment in Episode 3, the second week of the season (the first week featured a double episode...
- 4/2/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
In last night's episode, Henry Francis calls Gop presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's father a "clown."
Caution: This article contains plot details of Season 5, Episode 3 of "Mad Men."
Francis is heard telling someone on the phone that he won't let his boss go to Michigan "because Romney is a clown and I don't want him standing next to him."
The Romney in question is the late George Romney, Mitt's father and the governor of Michigan in 1966 (the year in which this season takes place). Henry Francis, Betty's second husband, plays a political staffer. Though Mediaite describes his position as that of a "political advisor to New York City Mayor John Lindsay," he's actually the director of public relations for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, per the show's website.
The quip came at a tense moment in Episode 3, the second week of the season (the first week featured a double episode...
Caution: This article contains plot details of Season 5, Episode 3 of "Mad Men."
Francis is heard telling someone on the phone that he won't let his boss go to Michigan "because Romney is a clown and I don't want him standing next to him."
The Romney in question is the late George Romney, Mitt's father and the governor of Michigan in 1966 (the year in which this season takes place). Henry Francis, Betty's second husband, plays a political staffer. Though Mediaite describes his position as that of a "political advisor to New York City Mayor John Lindsay," he's actually the director of public relations for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, per the show's website.
The quip came at a tense moment in Episode 3, the second week of the season (the first week featured a double episode...
- 4/2/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Aol TV.
AMC's Mad Men got topical Sunday night with a dig at Republican hopeful Mitt Romney's father. Supporting character Henry Francis, the Director of Public Relations and Research for then-New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, took a swipe at George Romney, then-Governor of Michigan. "Well, tell Jim his honor's not going to Michigan," Francis snaps. "Because Romney's a clown and I don't want him standing next to him."...
- 4/2/2012
- by James Crugnale
- Mediaite - TV
For me the best news produced by the Florida primary was Newt Gingrich's vow to take his fight all the way to the floor of this year's Republican convention. It has been way too long since a national political convention was more than a coronation stage-managed by public relations experts. It seems likely that Mitt Romney will be this year's Gop nominee, although with the party's revolving-door Surges of the Week we can never be sure. It is unlikely to be any of the other remaining candidates, although Ron Paul may use his pledged delegates to win a speaking slot. I'll enjoy that. He has the rare quality of talking turkey, and is funnier than his rivals. He is, in fact, the only candidate in either party who is likely to say something unexpected (on purpose) every time he speaks.
Newt is a seasoned politician and surely doesn't believe...
Newt is a seasoned politician and surely doesn't believe...
- 2/3/2012
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
The term 'power broker' is a familiar one, but even now I think a lot of people might not have much of a response to the name Robert Moses. That's the man chronicled in Robert A. Caro's 1974 book The Power Broker, which positioned Moses as essentially the most powerful man in New York, and described how he used that power to shape the city. Soon many more people might be familiar with Moses' name, as Oliver Stone is developing a film based on the book. He'll direct the project, which would air on HBO. THR [1] says Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Human Stain) will script based on Caro's book. Stone will be an exec producer along with James Gandolfini and Peter Guber. Check out the synopsis below, which will demonstrate how this story is very firmly entrenched in familiar ground for Oliver Stone:...
- 10/27/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
It seemed yet another offbeat twist in the fascinating life of Elizabeth Taylor. After a series of tempestuous marriages - and divorces - came the mid-'70s she wed, for the seventh time, a staid and handsome former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and an aspiring U.S. Senatorial candidate from Virginia, John Warner. Yet, as was the case with most everything involving the star, even their meeting was larger-than-life, prompted by a visit to Washington, D.C., by the Queen of England, who hosted a dinner at the British Embassy. Taylor was on the guest list, and Warner...
- 3/26/2011
- by Mary Green and Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Sometimes during certain "Mad Men" episodes, the rampant sexism depicted sends my blood racing to such a boiling point, I quickly move past thoughtful to homicidal -- past typing up observations of the episode to yelling at characters to stab another character's eyes out with a pencil. Sunday's "The Summer Man" was one of those episodes. Half a meditation on Don's life and half a look at sexual politics in the workplace, the eighth episode of Season Four combined to form a fairly bleak view of the "Mad Men" world in mid-1965. The characters are still stuck in their situations, whether they were self-created or not, and winning doesn't seem to be in the cards for most. Some, such as Don, have reevaluated their expectations, while others, such as Joan, have lowered theirs. But when your only goal is survival, fulfillment is usually nowhere in sight.
"They say once you...
"They say once you...
- 9/14/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Season four of Mad Men will premiere on July 25 and we have three promos for you below. AMC has also released a summary of season 3, which we have for you below, in case you need to catch up.
It’s early 1963. Lane Pryce, the financial officer installed by Sterling Cooper’s British parent Puttnam, Powell, and Lowe, demoralizes the staff with mass layoffs and pits Ken and Pete against each other as co-heads of account services. Calling Don Draper "the face of our business," Lane sends him and Sal to Baltimore to mollify client London Fog. There, Don witnesses Sal in a compromising situation with a male bellhop.
Back in New York, client Pepsi requests a sexy riff on the musical Bye Bye Birdie for a television commercial for their new diet cola, Patio. Peggy questions whether this approach will appeal to female consumers, though she later imitates the routine herself.
It’s early 1963. Lane Pryce, the financial officer installed by Sterling Cooper’s British parent Puttnam, Powell, and Lowe, demoralizes the staff with mass layoffs and pits Ken and Pete against each other as co-heads of account services. Calling Don Draper "the face of our business," Lane sends him and Sal to Baltimore to mollify client London Fog. There, Don witnesses Sal in a compromising situation with a male bellhop.
Back in New York, client Pepsi requests a sexy riff on the musical Bye Bye Birdie for a television commercial for their new diet cola, Patio. Peggy questions whether this approach will appeal to female consumers, though she later imitates the routine herself.
- 6/15/2010
- by Clarissa
- TVovermind.com
What do Charles Schwab, David Boies, Tom Cruise, Nelson Rockefeller -- and it's suspected even Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison -- have in common? They are all famous, yes. And also dyslexic. Of course, considering 15 to 20 percent of the population is affected with a language-based learning disability -- and dyslexia is the most common of these -- purely statistically a handful of dyslexics are going to make it big. But research suggests it goes deeper than that: Experts are discovering a link between dyslexia and success. In the spirit of raising awareness, the Child Mind Institute, an organization devoted to children's mental health, hosted a lecture series on dyslexia last week in New York City. President of the institute Harold Koplewicz, M.D. interviewed one such dyslexic-turned-success, actor and all-out movie star Orlando Bloom. "It was a struggle. It was a lot...
- 6/9/2010
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Director Doug Liman (”Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, “The Bourne Identity”) and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher (”Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”) are putting together a film adaptation of the story of the four-day 1971 Attica state prison uprising. Liman will also produce “Attica” alongside David Bartis under their Hypnotic company banner. Elliot Abbott (”Awakenings”, “A League of Their Own”) is also onboard producing, as well as financing the project. Avrum Ludwig also will produce. Liman’s father, the late Arthur Liman, actually served as chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison after the incident. He co-authored the commission’s report chastising then-ny Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and [...]...
- 2/17/2010
- by Costa Koutsoutis
- ShockYa
Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith") will direct the independent film "Attica." According to Variety, the screenplay is being written by Academy Award nominee Geoffrey Fletcher ("Precious").The film will chronicle the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion, the bloodiest prison riot in U.S. history. When the four-day standoff ended, 32 inmates and 10 hostages were killed, 39 of them in an assault by state police officers.Liman will bring a unique insight to the project. His father, Arthur Liman, was chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report criticizing then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison authorities for their roles in the riot.Liman and David Bartis are producing through their Hypnotic production company along with...
- 2/17/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Attica is finally getting its share of the cinematic spotlight -- more than just a memorable exclamation by Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon. Deadline Hollywood reports that Doug Liman is going to produce and direct a new drama called Attica, written by Oscar-nominee Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious).
If you're unaware of the prison riot, it all took place in September of 1971 when a slew of prisoners were fed up with their treatment -- half minorities to an all-white staff, numbering over a thousand more than Attica's capacity, given only one shower a week, and one roll of toilet paper a month. The last straw descended when fellow prisoners freed an inmate rumored to be tortured. The staff tried to take away their outside time for the incident, and the inmates revolted, grabbing hostages and leading a 4-day standoff until the prison was retaken by New York State Police in a huge,...
If you're unaware of the prison riot, it all took place in September of 1971 when a slew of prisoners were fed up with their treatment -- half minorities to an all-white staff, numbering over a thousand more than Attica's capacity, given only one shower a week, and one roll of toilet paper a month. The last straw descended when fellow prisoners freed an inmate rumored to be tortured. The staff tried to take away their outside time for the incident, and the inmates revolted, grabbing hostages and leading a 4-day standoff until the prison was retaken by New York State Police in a huge,...
- 2/17/2010
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
Director Doug Liman ( Mr. & Mrs. Smith , The Bourne Identity ) and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher ( Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire ) are teaming to re-create the 1971 Attica state prison uprising, says The Hollywood Reporter . The confrontation between prisoners and guards took four days. Liman also will produce Attica with David Bartis under their Hypnotic company along with Elliot Abbott ( Awakenings , A League of Their Own ), who is financing the development. Avrum Ludwig also will produce. Liman's father, the late Arthur Liman, served as chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report chastising then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison authorities for their role in the incident,...
- 2/17/2010
- Comingsoon.net
Precious Writer Pens Attica Feature for Liman: Oscar-nominated screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher will write a script based on the Attica prison uprising for Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity). The project is said to be a personal one for the director whose father, Arthur L. Liman, served as chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report chastising then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison authorities for their role in the riot, in which 32 inmates and 10 hostages were killed, 39 of them in an assault by state police officers. In a blog entry written by Liman at 30 Ninjas, he taps out, "My father died in 1997. I had never visited Attica, never visited any maximum-security prison for that matter. In December, I set up a movie based on my father's report... The prison itself looks [like] art directed straight out of a movie. Built in 1929, it has a huge...
- 2/17/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Call it CAA's dream team. The agency has partnered director Doug Liman (Bourne Identity) with Geoffrey Fletcher, the recent Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Precious to create Attica, the story of the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion. The movie, which has yet to secure distribution, will be produced by Liman and his Hypnotic production partner David Bartis, along with Elliot Abbott, who is financing the project's development. The movie is actually a personal one for Liman, whose father served as the chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison. He also co-authored the Commission's report chastising then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller...
- 2/17/2010
- by Nicole Sperling
- EW - Inside Movies
Based on This blogpost from Doug Liman himself, it looks like Geoffrey Fletcher (the Oscar nominated scribe for Precious) is indeed attached to write the screenplay for a script based on the Attica prison uprising for Liman. Those unfamiliar with Liman’s name should know that he directed the first Bourne flick, as well as Mr & Mrs Smith (with Brangelina). So, he’s got some high-profile appeal.
The “Attica” project was reportedly set up in December, and, as Liman stated in the post, his father, Arthur L. Liman, was the then young lawyer who ran the investigation during the uprising, so this is a personal project for the director.
Liman and Fletcher recently took a trip to Attica to research, and you can read all about that Here.
According to his IMDb page, this will only be Fletcher’s second screenwriting project. The photo above is over both Liman and Fletcher in Attica.
The “Attica” project was reportedly set up in December, and, as Liman stated in the post, his father, Arthur L. Liman, was the then young lawyer who ran the investigation during the uprising, so this is a personal project for the director.
Liman and Fletcher recently took a trip to Attica to research, and you can read all about that Here.
According to his IMDb page, this will only be Fletcher’s second screenwriting project. The photo above is over both Liman and Fletcher in Attica.
- 2/16/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
By Wrap Staff
Doug Liman will direct "Attica," an insider’s view of the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion, from a script by Geoffrey Fletcher, the Oscar-nominated writer of "Precious: From the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."
Liman and David Bartis will produce the movie under their Hypnotic production banner, along with Elliot Abbott and Avrum Ludwig.
Liman's father, Arthur Liman, was chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-author of the commission’s report chastising then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison author...
Doug Liman will direct "Attica," an insider’s view of the 1971 Attica state prison rebellion, from a script by Geoffrey Fletcher, the Oscar-nominated writer of "Precious: From the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."
Liman and David Bartis will produce the movie under their Hypnotic production banner, along with Elliot Abbott and Avrum Ludwig.
Liman's father, Arthur Liman, was chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-author of the commission’s report chastising then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison author...
- 2/16/2010
- by Lisa Horowitz
- The Wrap
Director Doug Liman (Swingers, Go) and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious) are teaming to re-create the 1971 Attica state prison uprising. The Attica Prison riot was a four day confrontation between prisoners and guards. Liman's father, Arthur Liman, served as chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report chastising Nelson Rockefeller and prison authorities for the the riot, in which 32 inmates and 10 hostages were...
- 2/16/2010
- by Niki Stephens
- JoBlo.com
Director Doug Liman and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher are joining forces to re-create the 1971 Attica state prison uprising.
The four-day confrontation between prisoners and guards -- described as a riot by some, a rebellion by others -- inspired Al Pacino's famous chant of "Attica! Attica!" in "Dog Day Afternoon."
Liman also will produce "Attica" with David Bartis under their Hypnotic production banner, along with Elliot Abbott ("Awakenings," "A League of Their Own"), who is financing the project's development. Longtime Liman collaborator Avrum Ludwig will also produce.
Liman brings a personal connection to the project, since his father, the late Arthur Liman, served as chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report chastising then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison authorities for their role in the riot, in which 32 inmates and 10 hostages were killed, 39 of them in an assault by state police officers.
In a recent blog posting,...
The four-day confrontation between prisoners and guards -- described as a riot by some, a rebellion by others -- inspired Al Pacino's famous chant of "Attica! Attica!" in "Dog Day Afternoon."
Liman also will produce "Attica" with David Bartis under their Hypnotic production banner, along with Elliot Abbott ("Awakenings," "A League of Their Own"), who is financing the project's development. Longtime Liman collaborator Avrum Ludwig will also produce.
Liman brings a personal connection to the project, since his father, the late Arthur Liman, served as chief counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison and co-authored the commission's report chastising then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and prison authorities for their role in the riot, in which 32 inmates and 10 hostages were killed, 39 of them in an assault by state police officers.
In a recent blog posting,...
- 2/16/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
No. 75: Shirley Temple 1928-
The daughter of a bank clerk, she was born in Santa Monica, a bus ride from Hollywood, and thrust into the movies at the age of three by a fanatically ambitious mother. In her sixth year, she went from supporting to starring roles, had two hit songs ("Baby Take a Bow", "The Good Ship Lollipop"), and was the eighth biggest box-office attraction in America. For the next five years, her confidence as a performer and brilliance as a mimic (in Stowaway she impersonated Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers and Alice Faye in one virtuoso sequence, as well as conversing in Chinese) made her the biggest child phenomenon ever known. She was 20th Century Fox's greatest asset, the centre of a little industry of commercial spin-offs, the sweet, curly-haired, dimpled kid that every mother wanted her daughter to look like and the top-ranking Hollywood star,...
The daughter of a bank clerk, she was born in Santa Monica, a bus ride from Hollywood, and thrust into the movies at the age of three by a fanatically ambitious mother. In her sixth year, she went from supporting to starring roles, had two hit songs ("Baby Take a Bow", "The Good Ship Lollipop"), and was the eighth biggest box-office attraction in America. For the next five years, her confidence as a performer and brilliance as a mimic (in Stowaway she impersonated Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers and Alice Faye in one virtuoso sequence, as well as conversing in Chinese) made her the biggest child phenomenon ever known. She was 20th Century Fox's greatest asset, the centre of a little industry of commercial spin-offs, the sweet, curly-haired, dimpled kid that every mother wanted her daughter to look like and the top-ranking Hollywood star,...
- 11/22/2009
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The lives of great artists are notorious for their resistance to the biopic treatment. The iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo proves no exception.
While this film dutifully chronicles her suffering, obsessions and battles with her own body, it stands in pale contrast to Kahlo's real biography, which is her amazing paintings.
In development for nearly a decade, battling rival projects and studio skittishness, "Frida" emerges as a fairly convention biopic rather than the artistic statement one might anticipate given director Julie Taymor's theatrical background and actress-producer Salma Hayek's passion for the role.
The film hues closely to the facts of Kahlo's life and her tempestuous relationship with world-famous muralist Diego Rivera, her mentor and husband. Taymor puts Frida's vivid and often disturbing art to sagacious use, slipping the famous images into scenes to reflect or comment on dramatic developments. But the film somehow misses the mark, having made rather tidy a messy and brutally painful life.
As more than 100 published books concern Kahlo and Rivera, one should never underestimate the public appetite for this story. With a stellar cast -- Alfred Molina as Rivera, Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky, Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller, Antonio Banderas as muralist David Siqueiros and Ashley Judd as photographer Tina Modotti -- along with a careful rollout and Miramax's marketing muscle, "Frida" does have potential as an art house hit. The outlook overseas and in ancillary markets is even more positive.
The movie begins on the day of Frida's one and only exhibit in Mexico, in the spring of 1953. Her health has deteriorated so greatly, the doctor forbids her to leave her bed. So she has her bed carted to the gallery. On the ride over, the movie goes into a flashback. Frida, a high-school tomboy, loves to get into mischief with a gang of boys. She sneaks into a school auditorium where the great Rivera is painting.
The movie quickly moves to the trauma that shapes her life: A trolley accident in 1925 leaves her impaled on a metal rod. So devastated is her body that it's a miracle she even lives, much less that she walks again. Lying in bed for months, bored and in pain, she takes up painting. Her parents (Roger Rees and Patricia Reyes Spindola) give her a special easel and canopied bed with a mirror above her so she can be her own model. A life of self-portraiture, of painting the inner and outer Frida Kahlo, thus begins.
The story of her event-filled life understandably moves swiftly. Yet the consequence is that the movie gives short shrift to Frida's recovery and the enormous will power she developed to tolerate pain and fatigue. Clearly, the drinking, smoking and drug use that come later help her to dull that pain.
The bond between Diego and Frida is handled with empathy. Molina captures Diego's bearish personality, his huge body, his embrace of sensual pleasures and his fierce commitment to leftist political principles. In one of the film's welcome flights of surreal fancy, Rivera is fittingly depicted, in cutout images, as King Kong atop the Empire State Building, batting at airplanes as he would his critics. Molina gets the essential goodness of the man, his firm belief in loyalty and a set of principles that sometimes gets overshadowed by his many adulterous affairs, the worst being with Frida's own sister (Mia Maestro).
Hayek learned how to paint and how to effect the outer Frida -- including her wearing of traditional Mexican clothing. Other than Frida's trademark thick, connecting eyebrows, though, she has not allowed the makeup artist to de-glamorize her. More problematic is the fact Hayek doesn't inhabit her character as Molina does his. She is playing a role while Molina is Diego.
The film neither makes too much nor too little of its protagonists' wild side -- their open marriage, where they even shared lovers, or Frida's bisexuality and her affair with Trotsky, which may have cost him his life. The only sugar-coating comes near the end: It's quite possible Frida took her own life but the film never hints of this.
Rodrigo Preito's colorful and appealing cinematography, designer Felipe Fernandez's period re-creations and Elliot Goldenthal's guitar-flavored music, picking up Mexican themes, make a tight budget go a long way.
FRIDA
Miramax Films
Miramax presents in association with Margaret Rose Perenchio
A Ventanarosa Production in association with Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Julie Taymor
Writers: Clancy Sigel, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
Based on the book by: Hayden Herrera
Producers: Sarah Green, Salma Hayek, Jay Polstein, Nancy Hardin, Lindsay Flickinger, Roberto Sneiders
Executive producer: Mark Amin, Brian Gibson, Mark Gill, Jill Sobel Messick, Amy Slotnick
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Felipe Fernandez
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Francoise Bonnot
Cast:
Frida Kahlo: Salma Hayek
Diego Rivera: Alfred Molina
Leon Trotsky: Geoffrey Rush
Nelson Rockefeller: Edward Norton
David Siqueiros: Antonio Banderas
Cristina Kahlo: Mia Maestro
Tina Modotti: Ashley Judd
Guillermo Kahlo: Roger Rees
Lupe Marin: Valeria Golino
Matilde Kahlo: Patricia Reyes Spindola
Alejandro: Diego Luna
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
While this film dutifully chronicles her suffering, obsessions and battles with her own body, it stands in pale contrast to Kahlo's real biography, which is her amazing paintings.
In development for nearly a decade, battling rival projects and studio skittishness, "Frida" emerges as a fairly convention biopic rather than the artistic statement one might anticipate given director Julie Taymor's theatrical background and actress-producer Salma Hayek's passion for the role.
The film hues closely to the facts of Kahlo's life and her tempestuous relationship with world-famous muralist Diego Rivera, her mentor and husband. Taymor puts Frida's vivid and often disturbing art to sagacious use, slipping the famous images into scenes to reflect or comment on dramatic developments. But the film somehow misses the mark, having made rather tidy a messy and brutally painful life.
As more than 100 published books concern Kahlo and Rivera, one should never underestimate the public appetite for this story. With a stellar cast -- Alfred Molina as Rivera, Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky, Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller, Antonio Banderas as muralist David Siqueiros and Ashley Judd as photographer Tina Modotti -- along with a careful rollout and Miramax's marketing muscle, "Frida" does have potential as an art house hit. The outlook overseas and in ancillary markets is even more positive.
The movie begins on the day of Frida's one and only exhibit in Mexico, in the spring of 1953. Her health has deteriorated so greatly, the doctor forbids her to leave her bed. So she has her bed carted to the gallery. On the ride over, the movie goes into a flashback. Frida, a high-school tomboy, loves to get into mischief with a gang of boys. She sneaks into a school auditorium where the great Rivera is painting.
The movie quickly moves to the trauma that shapes her life: A trolley accident in 1925 leaves her impaled on a metal rod. So devastated is her body that it's a miracle she even lives, much less that she walks again. Lying in bed for months, bored and in pain, she takes up painting. Her parents (Roger Rees and Patricia Reyes Spindola) give her a special easel and canopied bed with a mirror above her so she can be her own model. A life of self-portraiture, of painting the inner and outer Frida Kahlo, thus begins.
The story of her event-filled life understandably moves swiftly. Yet the consequence is that the movie gives short shrift to Frida's recovery and the enormous will power she developed to tolerate pain and fatigue. Clearly, the drinking, smoking and drug use that come later help her to dull that pain.
The bond between Diego and Frida is handled with empathy. Molina captures Diego's bearish personality, his huge body, his embrace of sensual pleasures and his fierce commitment to leftist political principles. In one of the film's welcome flights of surreal fancy, Rivera is fittingly depicted, in cutout images, as King Kong atop the Empire State Building, batting at airplanes as he would his critics. Molina gets the essential goodness of the man, his firm belief in loyalty and a set of principles that sometimes gets overshadowed by his many adulterous affairs, the worst being with Frida's own sister (Mia Maestro).
Hayek learned how to paint and how to effect the outer Frida -- including her wearing of traditional Mexican clothing. Other than Frida's trademark thick, connecting eyebrows, though, she has not allowed the makeup artist to de-glamorize her. More problematic is the fact Hayek doesn't inhabit her character as Molina does his. She is playing a role while Molina is Diego.
The film neither makes too much nor too little of its protagonists' wild side -- their open marriage, where they even shared lovers, or Frida's bisexuality and her affair with Trotsky, which may have cost him his life. The only sugar-coating comes near the end: It's quite possible Frida took her own life but the film never hints of this.
Rodrigo Preito's colorful and appealing cinematography, designer Felipe Fernandez's period re-creations and Elliot Goldenthal's guitar-flavored music, picking up Mexican themes, make a tight budget go a long way.
FRIDA
Miramax Films
Miramax presents in association with Margaret Rose Perenchio
A Ventanarosa Production in association with Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Julie Taymor
Writers: Clancy Sigel, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
Based on the book by: Hayden Herrera
Producers: Sarah Green, Salma Hayek, Jay Polstein, Nancy Hardin, Lindsay Flickinger, Roberto Sneiders
Executive producer: Mark Amin, Brian Gibson, Mark Gill, Jill Sobel Messick, Amy Slotnick
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Felipe Fernandez
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Francoise Bonnot
Cast:
Frida Kahlo: Salma Hayek
Diego Rivera: Alfred Molina
Leon Trotsky: Geoffrey Rush
Nelson Rockefeller: Edward Norton
David Siqueiros: Antonio Banderas
Cristina Kahlo: Mia Maestro
Tina Modotti: Ashley Judd
Guillermo Kahlo: Roger Rees
Lupe Marin: Valeria Golino
Matilde Kahlo: Patricia Reyes Spindola
Alejandro: Diego Luna
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/30/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Salma Hayek and Edward Norton are set to cement their love on the big screen. Hayek is going head-to-head against fellow Latino beauty Jennifer Lopez in getting a biopic of Mexican painter FRIDA KAHLO to the big screen. Amongst the impressive list of cast members joining Hayek's project are Antonio Banderas, Ashley Judd, and her off-screen beau Norton. Banderas, who co-starred with Hayek in Desperado, has agreed to star in the supporting role of David Siqueiros, a painter, while Judd will play Tina Modotti an Italian photographer who was part of Kahlo's social circle, with Norton portraying the politician Nelson Rockefeller The rival Kahlo project, starring sexy Lopez, also has some big guns on board, with Francis Ford Coppola producing.
- 9/21/2000
- WENN
After the bold and successful death-row drama "Dead Man Walking", writer-director Tim Robbins goes back to his provocative theatrical roots and commands a star-studded "actors gang" in a provocative, searingly intelligent and uniquely entertaining film. A strong buzz for the main competition entry started with pre-festival screenings and "Cradle Will Rock" might just come up a winner when "the final wind blows" here on Sunday.
Loosely based on real events and containing only bits and pieces of Orson Welles' final screenplay published in 1994, "Cradle" is one of the most radical movies ever to be released under the Disney banner (with Spike Lee's latest still to come in the Director's Fortnight) and presents a marketing challenge if it's going to achieve more than just modest success at the box office when it's released later this year.
Extremely democratic in its allotment of screen time, "Cradle" has 13 major characters, about half of which are based on real people. The title refers to Marxist composer Marc Blitzstein's 1936 Workers Progress Administration-sponsored, Federal Theatre Project musical that became a victim of early anti-Communism crackdowns by reactionary politicians in Washington. Several of the songs and some of the scenes are performed in the course of the movie proving this now obscure work still has an infectiously subversive but not doggedly revolutionary spirit.
In Robbins' lively take on the times and characters, Blitzstein (Hank Azaria) is haunted by the specter of Bertolt Brecht as he creates his anthemic but gritty fable of workers and ordinary people joining together to get the attention of the ruling class. Eventually brought together with 22-year-old Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) and John Houseman (Cary Elwes), Blitzstein is the passionate author of what amounts to a job to the likes of anti-fascist Italian actor Aldo Silvano (John Turturro) and vagabond Olive Stanton (Emily Watson).
But the film is much more than a recounting of the famous first performance in June 1937 of Blitzstein's "Cradle" that involved changing theaters at the last minute, with actors and crew walking 20 blocks without the many props and some of the cast, who by the actors' union rules were forbidden to perform the play at the new location. Suffice to say, that in the climax the magic of this moment is relived but Robbins achieves an even more compelling result by including a wide range of subplots.
The disastrous collision of art and politics, of truth and ideology, infuses much of the film, but there's a zany spin on just about everything and everyone. Indeed, within this film is a personal competition by the superb cast that is arguably won by Bill Murray playing a fading vaudeville ventriloquist, who falls in love with an anti-Communist Federal Theater employee (Joan Cusack) with an amazing scene where, through his dummy, he sings a surprising tune.
Pressing the argument that the Federal Theater Project is a landmark era in making new and inventive stage works more accessible, overworked Hallie Flanagan (Cherry Jones) has to fight to keep it alive against a firing squad of smug senators. Another kind of advocate and purveyor of priceless masterpieces is a one-time Mussolini mistress (Susan Sarandon) who tries to raise funds for Italy's war preparations from a wealthy industrialist Philip Baker Hall). She also introduces Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) to another of her old comrades Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades).
Robbins goes all the way with the Rockefeller-Rivera conflict, which centers on a mural the Mexican artist creates for the tycoon's office building lobby. The pair embark on a spirited debate about the visionary work, which is reproduced from the photographs taken of the original, and then smashed to bits as it was in real life.
This direct example of conservative capitalists sharing the same intolerant attitudes as the book-burning dictators soon to threaten the world is repetitive given the saga of Blitzstein's creation. But for those who recall the mid-1980s productions of the Robbins-co-founded Actors Gang, this is a widescreen, $35 million-version of those freewheeling, usually wickedly funny stage works in which one was enchantingly unsure what would happen next.
And in his bid to make every scene a "wonderland tour," Robbins succeeds triumphantly with just a few minor quibbles. Macfadyen overdoes the wild mannerisms of a Welles already intoxicated frequently with more than his dawning sense of personal destiny. Plus, the actor's just too small to carry off the illusion. The pacing is also sometimes problematic, with scenes fragmented and sequences interwoven throughout the film. Occasionally one expects a point has been made or it's time to move on only to have the movie seemingly backtrack.
CRADLE WILL ROCK
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Touchstone Pictures
A Havoc production
Writer-director:Tim Robbins
Producers:Jon Kilik, Lydia Dean Pilcher
Director of photography:Jean Yves Escoffier
Production designer:Richard Hoover
Music:David Robbins
Costume designer:Ruth Myers
Color/stereo
Cast:
Marc Blitzstein:Hank Azaria
Olive Stanton:Emily Watson
Hazel Huffman:Joan Cusack
Margherita Sarfatti:Susan Sarandon
Aldo Silvano:John Turturro
Orson Welles:Angus Macfadyen
Tommy Crickshaw:Bill Murray
Diego Rivera:Ruben Blades
Hallie Flanagan:Cherry Jones
Nelson Rockefeller:John Cusack
John Houseman:Cary Elwes
Gray Mathers:Philip Baker Hall
Countess LaGrange:Vanessa Redgrave
Running time -- 133 minutes...
Loosely based on real events and containing only bits and pieces of Orson Welles' final screenplay published in 1994, "Cradle" is one of the most radical movies ever to be released under the Disney banner (with Spike Lee's latest still to come in the Director's Fortnight) and presents a marketing challenge if it's going to achieve more than just modest success at the box office when it's released later this year.
Extremely democratic in its allotment of screen time, "Cradle" has 13 major characters, about half of which are based on real people. The title refers to Marxist composer Marc Blitzstein's 1936 Workers Progress Administration-sponsored, Federal Theatre Project musical that became a victim of early anti-Communism crackdowns by reactionary politicians in Washington. Several of the songs and some of the scenes are performed in the course of the movie proving this now obscure work still has an infectiously subversive but not doggedly revolutionary spirit.
In Robbins' lively take on the times and characters, Blitzstein (Hank Azaria) is haunted by the specter of Bertolt Brecht as he creates his anthemic but gritty fable of workers and ordinary people joining together to get the attention of the ruling class. Eventually brought together with 22-year-old Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) and John Houseman (Cary Elwes), Blitzstein is the passionate author of what amounts to a job to the likes of anti-fascist Italian actor Aldo Silvano (John Turturro) and vagabond Olive Stanton (Emily Watson).
But the film is much more than a recounting of the famous first performance in June 1937 of Blitzstein's "Cradle" that involved changing theaters at the last minute, with actors and crew walking 20 blocks without the many props and some of the cast, who by the actors' union rules were forbidden to perform the play at the new location. Suffice to say, that in the climax the magic of this moment is relived but Robbins achieves an even more compelling result by including a wide range of subplots.
The disastrous collision of art and politics, of truth and ideology, infuses much of the film, but there's a zany spin on just about everything and everyone. Indeed, within this film is a personal competition by the superb cast that is arguably won by Bill Murray playing a fading vaudeville ventriloquist, who falls in love with an anti-Communist Federal Theater employee (Joan Cusack) with an amazing scene where, through his dummy, he sings a surprising tune.
Pressing the argument that the Federal Theater Project is a landmark era in making new and inventive stage works more accessible, overworked Hallie Flanagan (Cherry Jones) has to fight to keep it alive against a firing squad of smug senators. Another kind of advocate and purveyor of priceless masterpieces is a one-time Mussolini mistress (Susan Sarandon) who tries to raise funds for Italy's war preparations from a wealthy industrialist Philip Baker Hall). She also introduces Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) to another of her old comrades Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades).
Robbins goes all the way with the Rockefeller-Rivera conflict, which centers on a mural the Mexican artist creates for the tycoon's office building lobby. The pair embark on a spirited debate about the visionary work, which is reproduced from the photographs taken of the original, and then smashed to bits as it was in real life.
This direct example of conservative capitalists sharing the same intolerant attitudes as the book-burning dictators soon to threaten the world is repetitive given the saga of Blitzstein's creation. But for those who recall the mid-1980s productions of the Robbins-co-founded Actors Gang, this is a widescreen, $35 million-version of those freewheeling, usually wickedly funny stage works in which one was enchantingly unsure what would happen next.
And in his bid to make every scene a "wonderland tour," Robbins succeeds triumphantly with just a few minor quibbles. Macfadyen overdoes the wild mannerisms of a Welles already intoxicated frequently with more than his dawning sense of personal destiny. Plus, the actor's just too small to carry off the illusion. The pacing is also sometimes problematic, with scenes fragmented and sequences interwoven throughout the film. Occasionally one expects a point has been made or it's time to move on only to have the movie seemingly backtrack.
CRADLE WILL ROCK
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Touchstone Pictures
A Havoc production
Writer-director:Tim Robbins
Producers:Jon Kilik, Lydia Dean Pilcher
Director of photography:Jean Yves Escoffier
Production designer:Richard Hoover
Music:David Robbins
Costume designer:Ruth Myers
Color/stereo
Cast:
Marc Blitzstein:Hank Azaria
Olive Stanton:Emily Watson
Hazel Huffman:Joan Cusack
Margherita Sarfatti:Susan Sarandon
Aldo Silvano:John Turturro
Orson Welles:Angus Macfadyen
Tommy Crickshaw:Bill Murray
Diego Rivera:Ruben Blades
Hallie Flanagan:Cherry Jones
Nelson Rockefeller:John Cusack
John Houseman:Cary Elwes
Gray Mathers:Philip Baker Hall
Countess LaGrange:Vanessa Redgrave
Running time -- 133 minutes...
- 5/19/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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