John Tilley, a longtime distribution exec and advocate for independent film at companies including United Artists Classics, Cinevista and Strand, who was instrumental in introducing the films of Pedro Almodovar to U.S. audiences, died Sunday in New York City. He was 75.
“John was always a consummate encyclopedia of knowledge of the industry, and his pool of friends and colleagues from around the globe always created a sense of family in Cannes, Berlin and more. His work at Strand Releasing was invaluable,” said Marcus Hu, co-president of Strand Releasing.
Filmmaker Ira Sachs said, “John was one of the first people I met in the film business, and he remained one of the kindest. He was open, curious, passionate, opinionated, and wise, and he knew the history of American and queer independent cinema like few others. His loss represents the passing of a generation of pioneers that created the community and industry that we know today.
“John was always a consummate encyclopedia of knowledge of the industry, and his pool of friends and colleagues from around the globe always created a sense of family in Cannes, Berlin and more. His work at Strand Releasing was invaluable,” said Marcus Hu, co-president of Strand Releasing.
Filmmaker Ira Sachs said, “John was one of the first people I met in the film business, and he remained one of the kindest. He was open, curious, passionate, opinionated, and wise, and he knew the history of American and queer independent cinema like few others. His loss represents the passing of a generation of pioneers that created the community and industry that we know today.
- 10/11/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
"I'd like to take you back 17 years when a peanut farmer was in the White House, a group-a boys callin' themselves Queen topped the record charts and Gladys Leeman was Gladys Wood and she was Mount Rose American Teen Princess!"
I wasn't even old enough to tie my own shoes the first time I competed in a beauty pageant. Now, it's crucial in a post-"Toddlers and Tiaras" world to emphasize that the pageant circuit I grew up in was far less "spray tans and Go-Go juice," and a lot more like the film "Drop Dead Gorgeous." Directed by Michael Park Jann from a brilliant script by Lona Williams, the mockumentary "Drop Dead Gorgeous" was a financial and critical flop, but has developed a die-hard cult following over the years. The film follows underdog Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), small-town socialite Becky Leeman (Denise Richards), as well as the contestants and...
I wasn't even old enough to tie my own shoes the first time I competed in a beauty pageant. Now, it's crucial in a post-"Toddlers and Tiaras" world to emphasize that the pageant circuit I grew up in was far less "spray tans and Go-Go juice," and a lot more like the film "Drop Dead Gorgeous." Directed by Michael Park Jann from a brilliant script by Lona Williams, the mockumentary "Drop Dead Gorgeous" was a financial and critical flop, but has developed a die-hard cult following over the years. The film follows underdog Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), small-town socialite Becky Leeman (Denise Richards), as well as the contestants and...
- 12/6/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Austin, TX – Mondo is excited to announce the new book release of Warped & Faded: Weird Wednesday and the Birth of the American Genre Film Archive, available for saleon November 16, 2021 from author Lars Nilsen, editor Kier-La Janisse, along with several genre enthusiast contributors. Nilsen, a longtime Alamo Drafthouse film programmer and now at Austin Film Society, and Janisse, genre scholar and author (House of Psychotic Women), programmer and documentary filmmaker (Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror), have written a definitive guide to exploitation cinema.
At the dawn of this century, a scrappy one-screen theater in Austin, Texas became ground zero for a revolution in film exhibition. That cinema, the Alamo Drafthouse, took the seemingly foolhardy step of offering free screenings of exploitation and horror movies that had quite literally been consigned to the scrap heap. The idea began in the sleep-deprived mind of its co-founder, Tim League,...
At the dawn of this century, a scrappy one-screen theater in Austin, Texas became ground zero for a revolution in film exhibition. That cinema, the Alamo Drafthouse, took the seemingly foolhardy step of offering free screenings of exploitation and horror movies that had quite literally been consigned to the scrap heap. The idea began in the sleep-deprived mind of its co-founder, Tim League,...
- 8/4/2021
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Filmmakers/authors discuss the movies they wish more people were familiar with.
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s (2012)
Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man (1976)
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)
Top Gun (1986)
Water Power (1977)
Taxi Driver (1976)
In Fabric (2018)
A Climax of Blue Power (1974)
Forced Entry (1975)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Nashville Girl (1976)
Ms .45 (1981)
Act of Vengeance a.k.a. Rape Squad (1974)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Design For Living (1933)
Trouble In Paradise (1932)
Melody (1971)
Oliver! (1968)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
That’ll Be The Day (1973)
Stardust (1974)
The Errand Boy (1961)
Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)
The Bellboy (1960)
Which Way To The Front? (1970)
Hardly Working (1980)
A Night In Casablanca (1946)
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Duck Soup (1933)
Boeing Boeing (1965)
Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974)
Cockfighter (1974)
The Second Civil War (1997)
I, A Woman (1965)
The Devil At Your Heels (1981)
The...
Movies Referenced In This Episode
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s (2012)
Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man (1976)
Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)
Top Gun (1986)
Water Power (1977)
Taxi Driver (1976)
In Fabric (2018)
A Climax of Blue Power (1974)
Forced Entry (1975)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Nashville Girl (1976)
Ms .45 (1981)
Act of Vengeance a.k.a. Rape Squad (1974)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Design For Living (1933)
Trouble In Paradise (1932)
Melody (1971)
Oliver! (1968)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
That’ll Be The Day (1973)
Stardust (1974)
The Errand Boy (1961)
Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)
The Bellboy (1960)
Which Way To The Front? (1970)
Hardly Working (1980)
A Night In Casablanca (1946)
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Duck Soup (1933)
Boeing Boeing (1965)
Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974)
Cockfighter (1974)
The Second Civil War (1997)
I, A Woman (1965)
The Devil At Your Heels (1981)
The...
- 3/3/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Lee Van Cleef in Giancarlo Santi’s The Grand Duel (1972) will be available on Blu-ray May 7th From Arrow Video
The Grand Duel is an archetypal spaghetti western which boasts many of the genre s classic hallmarks including action-packed gunfights, wild stunts and an impressive climactic showdown…
Genre stalwart Lee Van Cleef stars as a gnarled ex-sheriff called Clayton who comes to the aid of young Philipp Wermeer (Alberto Dentice), a fugitive framed for the murder of a powerful figure called The Patriarch. Clayton helps Philipp fend off attacks from bounty hunters in a series of thrilling shootouts before the two make their way to Jefferson to confront three villains known as the Saxon brothers, and reveal who really killed The Patriarch.
A complex tale of revenge penned by prolific giallo writer Ernesto Gastaldi, The Grand Duel benefits from a beguiling central performance from Lee Van Cleef and assured helmsmanship from Giancarlo Santi.
The Grand Duel is an archetypal spaghetti western which boasts many of the genre s classic hallmarks including action-packed gunfights, wild stunts and an impressive climactic showdown…
Genre stalwart Lee Van Cleef stars as a gnarled ex-sheriff called Clayton who comes to the aid of young Philipp Wermeer (Alberto Dentice), a fugitive framed for the murder of a powerful figure called The Patriarch. Clayton helps Philipp fend off attacks from bounty hunters in a series of thrilling shootouts before the two make their way to Jefferson to confront three villains known as the Saxon brothers, and reveal who really killed The Patriarch.
A complex tale of revenge penned by prolific giallo writer Ernesto Gastaldi, The Grand Duel benefits from a beguiling central performance from Lee Van Cleef and assured helmsmanship from Giancarlo Santi.
- 4/19/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Texas-based Point Blank Pictures has secured sequel rights to Django Lives, the sequel to the Spaghetti Western Django that made an international star of Franco Nero.
Joe D’Augustine will direct Nero and a nascent cast that includes Mark Boone Junior and Noah Segan. The producers are out to the female lead.
Eric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy co-wrote the screenplay and Carolyn Pfeiffer and David Hollander are producing.
Nero (pictured in Django Unchained) will reprise the role of Django, who by now has found work as a film consultant in 1915 Hollywood and fights back when he falls foul of racketeers.
Louis Black will serve as executive producer and the producers are weighing up international co-production and financing opportunities.
D’Augustine worked in the editorial department on four Quentin Tarantino features including Inglorious Bastards and Kill Bill and edited The Man With The Iron Fists.
Joe D’Augustine will direct Nero and a nascent cast that includes Mark Boone Junior and Noah Segan. The producers are out to the female lead.
Eric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy co-wrote the screenplay and Carolyn Pfeiffer and David Hollander are producing.
Nero (pictured in Django Unchained) will reprise the role of Django, who by now has found work as a film consultant in 1915 Hollywood and fights back when he falls foul of racketeers.
Louis Black will serve as executive producer and the producers are weighing up international co-production and financing opportunities.
D’Augustine worked in the editorial department on four Quentin Tarantino features including Inglorious Bastards and Kill Bill and edited The Man With The Iron Fists.
- 1/9/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the producers of the outstanding indie Western The Scarlet Worm (click here for review):
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
December 17, 2012
For Immediate Release:
Original 'Django' Actor Franco Nero Attached To New Western
Contact: Mike Malloy, cultmovies@hotmail.com
Eric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy, two producers of the offbeat 2012 Western The Scarlet Worm, have received a Letter of Interest from original Django star Franco Nero to topline a gritty new Western project, tentatively titled Django Lives! Should the sequel rights be secured, the feature would be the third “official” entry in the saga that made Mr. Nero an international star.
Since the release of the original Django in 1966, over thirty films have included the character’s iconic name in their titles, most recently Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, in which Mr. Nero makes a cameo appearance. Until now,...
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
December 17, 2012
For Immediate Release:
Original 'Django' Actor Franco Nero Attached To New Western
Contact: Mike Malloy, cultmovies@hotmail.com
Eric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy, two producers of the offbeat 2012 Western The Scarlet Worm, have received a Letter of Interest from original Django star Franco Nero to topline a gritty new Western project, tentatively titled Django Lives! Should the sequel rights be secured, the feature would be the third “official” entry in the saga that made Mr. Nero an international star.
Since the release of the original Django in 1966, over thirty films have included the character’s iconic name in their titles, most recently Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, in which Mr. Nero makes a cameo appearance. Until now,...
- 12/20/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Sergio Corbucci's 1966 gunslinger Django was one of several spaghetti Westerns the Italians created during a slump in the American genre. Its success spawned a series of imitators that starred violent, amoral heroes like Django's Franco Nero. The late 1960s saw a slew of "Django" films, although most of them had nothing to do with the original. Now, Quentin Tarantino will add his own work to the oeuvre with Django Unchained, opening Christmas day. Nero makes a cameo appearance (pictured above), but it looks like he'll also be reprising the role that made him famous in yet another Django film. The Italian actor has agreed to star in Django Lives! for producers Eric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy (Eurocrime!, The Scarlet Worm). Slashfilm shared the synopsis, that...
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- 12/18/2012
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
Twitch has learned that the original Django, Franco Nero, has sent a letter of interest to star in a new Django film by two producers behind the western The Scarlett Worm, the world's first 'abortion western'. Mike Malloy and Eric Zaldivar are currently working on the script and securing the rights to the second sequel to the 1966 spaghetti western Django. If all goes well then the original Django will ride again! No doubt this has been spurred on by the impending success of Quentin Tarentino's upcoming film this is still very good news. Original 'Django' Actor Franco Nero Attached To New WESTERNEric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy, two producers of the offbeat 2012 Western The Scarlet Worm, have received a Letter of Interest from original Django star Franco...
- 12/18/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Westerns have their constants -- drunken brawls, gunfights, cowboys, barren landscapes -- but the genre is rather malleable and can support all kinds of interesting narrative and thematic angles. For example, consider the indie western called The Scarlet Worm. It's about, of all things, abortion.
The Scarlet Worm seems to be going for a Spaghetti Western vibe as evidenced by the trailer, its gritty subject matter -- John Ford didn't make movies about cathouse abortions -- and a cast that includes actors such as Dan van Husen (Sartana, A Bullet for Sandoval) and Montgomery Ford aka Brett Halsey (Cut Throats Nine).
The description provided by the filmmakers is as follows:
Based on an original screenplay by Western historian David Lambert, the story concerns a cruel brothel owner (van Husen) who mandates abortions on all his prostitutes, seeming to derive some sick pleasure out of the act. A rancher (Ford) with...
The Scarlet Worm seems to be going for a Spaghetti Western vibe as evidenced by the trailer, its gritty subject matter -- John Ford didn't make movies about cathouse abortions -- and a cast that includes actors such as Dan van Husen (Sartana, A Bullet for Sandoval) and Montgomery Ford aka Brett Halsey (Cut Throats Nine).
The description provided by the filmmakers is as follows:
Based on an original screenplay by Western historian David Lambert, the story concerns a cruel brothel owner (van Husen) who mandates abortions on all his prostitutes, seeming to derive some sick pleasure out of the act. A rancher (Ford) with...
- 9/18/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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