News

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Romantic movies are usually medicine for the weary soul. They make you laugh as you watch two typically very different people fall in love, whether immediately or eventually. The ending may even leave you with a warmhearted sigh as they kiss and live happily ever after. It's a formula that is loved by many and has led to the 14 greatest romance films of all time. However, not all love stories have happy endings. Sometimes you just need a good cry, and that's where the sad romance subgenre comes in. These are the movies that help you feel all the feels, and it's a journey that can be painful and therapeutic all at the same time.

Here, we've assembled a list of 15 movies that will have you tearing through the tissue box. Some titles are sappy tales that have become a permanent part of pop culture,...

For a show that featured a lot of death, "Bones" sure did have a lot of heart. A series doesn't run for 12 seasons without an effective emotional core, after all, and "Bones" certainly managed to maintain a soft spot, even as Emily Deschanel's Temperance Brennan and David Boreanaz's Agent Seeley Booth inspected some of the most horrific corpses you've ever seen on TV.

One nice behind-the-scenes aspect of the series to offset the ongoing corpse inspections was the fact that the "Bones" cast often included family members of the stars and the show's creator, Hart Hanson. David Boreanaz's father, Dave Roberts, appeared in an uncredited cameo as an FBI agent, while Hanson's own father, Paul, showed up as a vending machine repairman. But it was during one Christmas episode that we got perhaps the most notable family-member appearance in the series.

Yes, even "Bones," with fake cadavers...

I was pretty bummed to read earlier this week that Wings Hauser had passed away. While often written off as a C-level action star thanks to a long line of eighties and nineties direct-to-video flicks, the fact is Hauser was beyond talented, and when he put the effort in, he could be unforgettable. Such was the case when Michael Mann cast him against time as a slimy lawyer for big tobacco in The Insider where, in one ninety-second scene, he and Bruce McGill all but walk away with what, for the rest of the 158-minute running time, is ostensibly a star vehicle for Al Pacino and Russell Crowe.

Such was the power of Wings, who could be great in the right role. I also vividly remember him being terrific as a slimy bounty hunter hired by Luke Perry’s Dylan in an atypically action-packed episode of Beverly Hills 90210, while...

Get those engines running action fans, because we now have our first look at Duster, the new Max original series created by J.J. Abrams and Latoya Morgan that stars beloved Lost actor Josh Holloway. Set in 1972, the crime thriller centers around the first black female FBI agent as she teams up with a getaway driver to take down a major crime syndicate operating in the Southwest.

The new teaser trailer for Duster was released today (seen below), and showcases all the action and drama we can expect from Abrams' new creation, which definitely seems more R-rated than some of his previous offerings. We catch a glimpse of the first meeting between Holloway's character Jim and FBI agent Nina (Rachel Hilson) before things get wild. Sex, drugs, and action are all front and center in the new series, as is Holloway's trademark charm.

Holloway is no stranger to the action genre,...

What's better than a con artist caper film? Time and time again, with movies like The Sting and Catch Me If You Can, this subgenre has been consistently entertaining and endlessly rewatchable. The illicit nature makes them riveting, but their non-violent and Robin Hood-like approach to treating anti-heroes keeps them light and a joy to follow along with. Because they are stories about chicanery and deception, they loosely mirror the process of crafting a movie. Crime capers are especially satisfying when made by master filmmakers like Peter Bogdanovich, a film historian who imbued his love for classic Hollywood into Paper Moon. The film that won Tatum O'Neal an Oscar paired her with her father, Ryan O'Neal, in a road film less about tricks and more about building genuine relationships.

Originally released in 1977, A Bridge Too Far is nearly five decades old. For some fans of war movies, the film has been forgotten, but its availability on a new streaming home could bring some renewed attention to the acclaimed classic.

Currently,A Bridge Too Far is streaming on Prime Video. Directed by Richard Attenborough and written by William Goldman, the film was based on the original book of the same name written by Cornelius Ryan. It delves into the story of what's known as Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied operation against the Nazis in the Netherlands during World War II.

RelatedRichard Attenborough Starred in This WWII Masterpiece 59 Years Before Christopher Nolan's Version

Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk was a cinematic feat, but it was preceded by a 1958 movie with Richard Attenborough.

Fox was one of several members of the star-studded ensemble cast of A Bridge Too Far. Hollywood icon Gene Hackman,...

What Did Tatum O’Neal Say About Being Cut Off From Ryan O’Neal’s Will? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Tatum O’Neal, the youngest person to ever win an Academy Award, rose to fame for her role in Paper Moon (1973), where she starred alongside her father, Ryan O’Neal. Despite their on-screen chemistry, their real-life relationship was anything but harmonious. Tatum, now 61, has spoken openly about her struggles with addiction, family trauma, and periods of estrangement from her father.

Ryan O’Neal, a Hollywood heartthrob best known for Love Story (1970), Barry Lyndon (1975), and What’s Up, Doc? (1972), had a storied career but a controversial personal life. Diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and prostate cancer in 2012, Ryan passed away in December 2023 due to congestive heart failure. However, his £24.6 million (Usd $30 million approx) estate excluded Tatum entirely, a move that sparked a fiery reaction from his eldest daughter.

Tatum O’Neal Has An Explosive Response...

Tatum O’Neal is reflecting on the role that could have been.

The iconic actress, who made history at age 10 by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1974’s “Paper Moon,” told Variety that her father — fellow actor and “Paper Moon” co-star Ryan O’Neal — forbid her from auditioning for “Taxi Driver.” Tatum was asked to audition for the Martin Scorsese feature after her Academy Award win; the film was released in 1976 with a 13-year-old Jodie Foster instead in the Oscar-nominated role of a child prostitute.

“My father said, ‘No, you can’t,'” Tatum said of Ryan restricting her budding career as a child star. She added that Ryan thought the part was “a little too naked.” Tatum continued, “And I never really recovered from that.”

After Tatum became the youngest person to ever win an Academy Award (a record she still holds to this day), she explained that her father...

Tatum O’Neal walked into Smashbox Studios using a cane, a vestige of the stroke she had in 2020 after an overdose. As she was getting a manicure, she struggled to remember the names of important people in her life. But now that she’s actually before the cameras, posing with her Oscar in hand, she’s come alive. There’s electricity in the air, and we’re all leaning in, cheering her on, rooting for her. “You look like a movie star!” shouts her 38-year-old son Kevin McEnroe, who has traveled from his home in New York to support her throughout the process of this story — and indeed she does. O’Neal beams. “Kevin, I love you!” she shouts back.

In April 1974, at age 10, a tuxedoed O’Neal — “I’m the original tomboy,” she tells me later — won a supporting actress Oscar for her role opposite her father, Ryan O’Neal, in Peter Bogdanovich’s “Paper Moon.

Although the term “blockbuster” didn’t truly enter into public consciousness until the release of Star Warsand Jawsat the end of the 1970s, that didn’t mean that the decade did not already have massive money makers that took over popular culture. The 1970 adaptation of the beloved Erich Segal novel Love Story proved to be a multi-generational hit that became the highest-grossing film of the year and received a significant number of Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Love Story focuses on the complex relationship between the privileged college student Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) and Jenny Cavilleri (Ali McGraw), a working-class girl that he meets at university. Although it was the wonderful dynamic between O’Neal and McGraw that transformed the film into a romantic classic, Love Story also featured a breakout role for Tommy Lee Jonesin a role that had surprising connections to his real life.

The Academy Awards, or the Oscars, are one of the most prestigious honors in the film industry. While millions tune in each year to watch Hollywood’s biggest stars celebrate cinematic excellence, there are plenty of intriguing behind-the-scenes facts that even die-hard movie lovers might not know. Here are ten surprising pieces of Oscar facts that should blow your mind:

1. The Stolen Oscar Heist

In 2000, just days before the Academy Awards, a shipment of 55 Oscar statuettes was stolen from a loading dock in Los Angeles. The disappearance of the trophies sparked a major investigation involving local law enforcement and the FBI. After an extensive search, 52 of the stolen Oscars were found discarded in a dumpster behind a Koreatown grocery store by a man named Willie Fulgear, who later received a $50,000 reward for his discovery. However, three statuettes remain missing to this day, making them some of the most sought-after lost artifacts in Hollywood history.

Bollywood Mascot: Chris Pratt recently shared an emotional update regarding the Palisades Fire that affected the Los Angeles area. In a video posted on social media, he disclosed that his house miraculously survived the fire, which started on January 7 and has burned over 23,000 acres, with containment still at 70 percent. While his home was spared, he revealed the devastating news that his son Jack’s school and his ex-wife Anna Faris’ house were both destroyed.

Pratt expressed gratitude for the safety of his family and praised the strength and resilience of his community amidst the tragic loss of homes. He also thanked his followers for their prayers and support, highlighting the inspiring unity shown by the affected communities.

Several other celebrities have also shared their experiences related to the wildfire. The devastating wildfires in Southern California have forced 180,000 residents, including numerous celebrities, to evacuate, and in many cases, have resulted in...

The 1970s have certainly been a golden decade in terms of movies. From ingenious comedies to extravagant musicals, the 10-year period boasts a long list of cults. Among these, romances shine particularly brightly, offering narratives filled with passion and drama through unique stories that capture the nuances and complexities of human relationships.

However, not all these movies have happy endings. Many of the most romantic tales of the era embraced a different path from the traditional rom-com's cheerful conclusion, and they opted for more dramatic, often realistic resolutions, that would emphasize not just the beauty of love but also its complications and, sometimes, its fleeting nature. By focusing on the fragile beauty of relationships and the pain of separation or loss, these films portray love's impact on the human soul, even in its impermanence, making these stories profoundly memorable.

Love Story (1970) Directed By Arthur Hiller

Love Story

Love Story, directed by Arthur Hiller,...

Shortly after a starring turn in Arthur Hiller’s 1970 classic Love Story opposite Ryan O’Neal made her a Hollywood phenomenon, Ali MacGraw found her place in Malibu. She mostly loved a small home, something close to the water with its fresh ocean air with easy access to Pacific Coast Highway. MacGraw shared a stunning home on the sand during much of the mid-to-late 1970s while married to screen icon Steve McQueen. But even after they split, MacGraw stayed on the coast and never planned on leaving. That changed when a catastrophic fire ripped through Malibu in 1993, destroying her modest rental in the Rambla Pacifico neighborhood, taking with it all of her belongings, save for two dogs and a cat rescued by a friend of her only son, Josh Evans, from a marriage to producing legend Robert Evans. It proved to be a life-altering disaster that ultimately led her to a forever home in Santa Fe,...

Across its 12-season run, "Bones" had an impressive array of guest stars stop by. Stephen Fry appeared multiple times as psychiatrist Dr. Gordon Wyatt, and Betty White starred in the least-watched "Bones" episode. The show even featured Zz Top's Billy Gibbons as the father of Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin). But one of the most illustrious guests to appear in "Bones" was Ryan O'Neal.

O'Neal, who passed away at the age of 82 in 2023, is best known for a string of successful movies in the 1970s, beginning with "Love Story," for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award. He also delivered standout performances in "Paper Moon," "What's Up, Doc?" and "Barry Lyndon," the latter of which took a huge toll on the cast and crew. But while the 70s arguably represented the peak of the actor's career, O'Neal continued working solidly in the ensuing decades and made his "Bones...

Renowned director Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 historical epic masterpiece is now available to stream for free on YouTube. The tenth movie from the seminal filmmaker, who is, of course, best known for such untouchable cinematic classics as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket, helmed Barry Lyndon in the mid ‘70s, with many considering it to be the perfect encapsulation of the director’s work. And, as of 2025, you can watch it for free courtesy of Warner Bros. Classics.

“Watch Stanley Kubrick's acclaimed adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon. This 1975 epic historical drama and black comedy film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick is the 10th directorial effort of the master filmmaker.”

Ryan O'Neal and Marisa Berenson star in director Stanley Kubrick's lavish adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic 18th-century novel about the rise and fall of a sensitive and dashing rogue,...

Charles Shyer, the writer/director behind films like Private Benjamin, Father of The Bride (1991), and Father of the Bride Part II (1995) has died at the age of 83. Per Deadline, no cause of death was revealed.

The Meyers-Shyer family did provide a statement to Deadline about Shyer’s death that read: “It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father, Charles Shyer’s passing. His loss leaves an unfillable hole in our lives, but his legacy lives on through his children and the five decades of wonderful work he’s left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led and know there will never be another quite like him.”

Shyer Was Nominated for an Oscar for Private Benjamin

Shyer earned an Oscar nomination in 1981 for writing on 1980’s Private Benjamin, which starred Goldie Hawn, an honor he shared with Nancy Meyers and Harvey Miller.

Charles Shyer, the director and Oscar-nominated writer who teamed with then-wife Nancy Meyers on such audience-pleasing, feel-good comedies as Private Benjamin, Irreconcilable Differences, Baby Boom and Father of the Bride, has died. He was 83.

Shyer died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a brief illness, his daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer, writer and director of the 2017 Reese Witherspoon comedy Home Again, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The son of veteran assistant director Melville Shyer, one of the founders of the DGA, Shyer started out writing for sitcoms like The Odd Couple and The Partridge Family with then-partner Alan Mandel before they broke into the movies with the box office smash Smokey and the Bandit (1977), starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.

Shyer’s career skyrocketed when he joined forces with Meyers and Harvey Miller to pen the screenplay for Private Benjamin (1980), directed by Howard Zieff and featuring Goldie Hawn in her first big-screen starring role.

Oscar nominated screenwriter, director, and producer Charles Shyer whose films include Private Benjamin, Baby Boom, and the 1991 remake of Father Of The Bride and its 1995 sequel Father Of The Bride II died Friday. No cause of death was given. He was 83.

The Meyers-Shyer family shared this statement with Deadline: “It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father, Charles Shyer’s passing. His loss leaves an unfillable hole in our lives, but his legacy lives on through his children and the five decades of wonderful work he’s left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led and know there will never be another quite like him.”

Shyer’s Oscar nomination, as well as a WGA awards win, came for the original screenplay for 1980’s comedy hit, Private Benjamin starring Goldie Hawn which he co-wrote with Nancy Meyers and Harvey Miller. His next...

George R.R. Martin is best known as the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the popular Emmy-Award-winning HBO television series Game of Thrones and its prequel series House of the Dragon. Martin is also a co-executive producer of the two shows, and for the former, he had an additional role as a member of the writing team, crafting the plots and dialogue for the episodes, "The Pointy End," "The Bear,” "Blackwater," “The Maiden Fair," and "The Lion and the Rose."

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Beauty and the Beast DramaCrimeFantasy

Release Date September 25, 1987Cast Dean Norris, Ignatius Wolfington, Linda Hamilton, Piper Laurie, Ron Perlman, Benjamin Agosto, Bernie Pock, Roy Dotrice, Jay Acovone, Ren Woods, Ellen Geer, Ritch Brinkley, Stephen McHattie, Edward Albert, Jo Anderson, Alex Datcher, Robert Pastorelli, Rutanya Alda,...

Peter Bogdanovich’s 1973 dramedy Paper Moon offers a kind of synthesis of his prior two critical and commercial hits. Set during the Great Depression, the film is attuned, like The Last Picture Show, to the economic precarity that impoverished rural communities face, but it filters its story through the screwball sensibilities of What’s Up, Doc?

A comedy with a perilously bleak side, Paper Moon opens on petty criminal Moses “Moze” Pray (Ryan O’Neal), who makes a living by traveling from town to town posing as a Bible salesman, visiting newly widowed women to hawk a marked-up “special edition” of the good book that their late husbands supposedly ordered for them. Moze’s amorality only deepens when he agrees to take an orphan, Addie (Tatum O’Neal), to an aunt across the Kansas-Missouri state line. Moze quickly uses the child as a sympathetic figure to raise cash, only to be blindsided...

During the 1970s, American cinema was in the midst of the New Hollywood movement. When the Production Code officially lost all its power in the late 1960s, American films no longer had to abide by the oppressive and restrictive rules that had been in place for the past three decades. The Production Code's dismantling led to an explosion of creativity, particularly in the comedy genre.

In today's cultural climate, comedies do not typically receive the same level of adulation as dramas. However, throughout the 1970s, comedies ranked among Hollywood's most acclaimed genres. Comedies such as M*A*S*H, The Sting, American Graffiti, and Annie Hall each garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, with The Sting and Annie Hall both winning the Oscar's top prize. Filmmakers like Woody Allen, Hal Ashby, and Mel Brooks reigned supreme as some of the best comedy directors working in the United States during the 1970s.

What's your favorite romantic movie, the one that moves you to tears, be they of happiness or sorrow? Perhaps it's Leo McCarey's four-hankie 1939 weeper "Love Affair" starring Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne, or maybe it's McCarey's own remake "An Affair to Remember" lead by the insanely photogenic likes of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. And then there's Nora Ephron's rom-com riff on those films, "Sleepless in Seattle" toplined by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Prefer a good ugly cry? Arthur Hiller's "Love Story" and that Francis Lai score will mug it out of you as Ryan O'Neal loses the love of his life in Ali MacGraw. In the mood for a good emotional scalding? Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris" will leave you stunned and in the mood for anything but love.

For fans of the "Love Story" flavor, John Crowley's "We Live in Time" did...

The best Ryan O'Neal movies and TV shows have spanned six decades and genres, from Westerns and war movies to dramas, comedies, and television soaps. O'Neal was born the son of an actress (Patricia O'Callaghan) and a novelist/screenwriter (Charles O'Neal). While in high school, he worked on becoming a Golden Gloves boxer, but then he ended up getting a job on television when his mother helped pull some strings as he struggled to get through high school. This led to him entering the industry.

After a period of time where he made guest appearances on TV shows, he got his big break as a regular on the 1960s Western series Empire and then an even bigger role on the nighttime soap opera Peyton's Place. He then enjoyed his mainstream breakout thanks to landing the co-lead in the romantic drama movie Love Story. After that, he worked for everyone from...

Rocky was shot on a shoestring budget. Here’s how it rocked (Photo Credit – Amazon Prime Video)

This is a saga of grit, heart, and a seriously tight budget! Rocky raked in over $1.4B, but its rise from rags to riches is one of Hollywood’s greatest underdog stories.

In the early 70s, Sylvester Stallone was an unknown actor with a pocket full of dreams—literally! Picture this: he was so broke he almost sold his dog just to keep the lights on. “I had to try to sell my dog because it was either that or he wasn’t going to be well-fed,” he quipped. Talk about a canine crisis!

Then came a fateful night when Stallone watched Muhammad Ali duke it out with Chuck Wepner, aka “The Bayonne Bleeder.” Inspired by an underdog holding his own, he thought, “If this isn’t a metaphor for life!” Suddenly, he dashed home,...

Did You Know Sylvester Stallone Was Turned Down Multiple Times for Rocky—Here’s How He Fought Back! ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky story? Straight-up legend status. Picture this: it’s the ‘70s, and Stallone’s broke with just $106 in his pocket, chasing the Hollywood dream like a million other wannabes. But instead of waiting for that big break, he decides to make his own—a script about an underdog boxer named Rocky Balboa.

Hollywood loved the script but had no interest in Stallone for the role. They tossed big names like Burt Reynolds and Ryan O’Neal for Rocky, but Stallone? He wasn’t having it. The guy turned down $300,000 (a million today) for the script because he was dead on playing Rocky himself. That’s some severe self-belief right there.

Stallone wasn’t some hotshot star when he came up with Rocky. The dude was broke—so...

New styles, new technology and new voices changed the film industry throughout the 1960s and left the 1970s a brave new frontier for movies. As on-location shooting and lower-budget film making grew in popularity, it allowed for new kinds of stories to be told. Thriller films as we know them were born in this era, with many of the best coming from it. Smaller cameras and experimentation with editing expanded the realm of what was possible when creating these types of stories.

Legendary directors of the 1970s like Steven Spielberg, Sidney Lumet, and Francis Ford Coppola cut their teeth in this genre and helped establish the language for thrillers yet to come. The decade was amazing for thrillers of all genres and is still hard to stack up against, especially when comparing the quality of stunts and editing.

The Driver (1978) Directed By Walter Hill

The Driver is action legend Walter...

Al Pacino reveals that he was nearly fired from The Godfather one week into filming. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with a script he co-wrote with Mario Puzo based on his novel of the same name, the 1972 film follows the Corleone crime family, led by patriarch Don Vito, focusing on his youngest son, Michael Corleone, from 1945 to 1955 as he evolves from a reluctant outsider to a ruthless mafia boss. The Godfather cast includes Al Pacino as Michael Corleone alongside Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton.

In his new memoir Sonny Boy (via Entertainment Weekly), Al Pacino revealed that he was nearly fired from The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola about one week into filming. The actor recalls that the director told him, about "a week and a half" into shooting, "You know how much you mean to me, how much faith I had in you," Coppola added,...

Hollywood legend Al Pacino has shared the difficulties he faced securing and keeping the role of Michael Corleone in the classic 1972 film “The Godfather.” In his recently released memoir “Sonny Boy,” Pacino describes the hurdles he overcame and unconventional methods used to portray the iconic character.

Despite how synonymous Pacino became with launching his career as Michael Corleone, his casting was uncertain. The studio originally preferred established stars like Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, or Ryan O’Neal. Pacino admits reluctance to screen test and a fear of flying almost cost him the chance. It took convincing from his manager and Dutch courage from whiskey to get Pacino to audition in California. “I did not want to go to California,” Pacino said.

Not long into filming, doubts emerged again from the studio about Pacino fitting the part. According to Pacino, it was director Francis Ford Coppola’s decision to film...

Although Al Pacino will always be synonymous with his breakthrough performance in The Godfather (1972), Francis Ford Coppola‘s acclaimed mafia drama nearly replaced him.

In his new memoir Sonny Boy, which is now available, the Academy Award winner recalled Paramount “questioning whether I was the right actor” to play Michael Corleone in the feature adaptation of Mario Puzo’s book and how he was ultimately able to prove himself.

“Paramount didn’t want me to play Michael Corleone,” he wrote in an excerpt shared by The Guardian. “They wanted Jack Nicholson. They wanted Robert Redford. They wanted Warren Beatty or Ryan O’Neal. In the book, Puzo had Michael calling himself ‘the sissy of the Corleone family.’ He was supposed to be small, dark-haired, handsome in a delicate way, no visible threat to anybody. That didn’t sound like the guys that the studio wanted. But that didn’t mean it had to be me.

“The Apprentice,” director Ali Abbasi‘s story of Donald Trump’s rise in the New York real estate world under the tutelage of Machiavellian attorney Roy Cohn, has a visual style that recalls New Hollywood classics like “Midnight Cowboy” and “Taxi Driver.” But as the film becomes more and more about moral disintegration, “The Apprentice” also brings to mind junky broadcast video of the 1980s. Yet for Abbasi, the key reference point was a film with surfaces quite different from those of the gritty, punk rock “Apprentice”: Stanley Kubrick’s stately, elegant 18th-century period piece “Barry Lyndon.”

While the thuggish, urban Trump and Cohn may seem far removed from the genteel European aristocrats of Kubrick’s film, Abbasi said he and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman found many similarities between Trump and the social climber played by Ryan O’Neal.

“There were some really interesting parallels,” Abbasi told IndieWire. “There’s something...

Chad McQueen, perhaps best known for his role as Dutch in The Karate Kid and one of its sequels, has passed away. He was 63 years old.

Per TMZ, McQueen died on Wednesday at his ranch home in Palm Desert, California. His passing was confirmed by his attorney, Arthur Barens, who was present with McQueen's life partner and his children when the actor passed. According to Barens, McQueen's death was attributed to progressive organ failure that followed an unspecified injury a few years prior.

Chadwick Steven McQueen was the only son of late actor Steve McQueen, who died in 1980 at the age of 50. At the time, the younger McQueen was nine years old. Like his father, McQueen took an interest in racing at an early age and was netting big wins by the time he was 10. He won if class at the World Mini Grand Prix at 12 years old. He'd continue racing professionally as an adult,...

Youthful love (relatively speaking) beset by terminal illness and heartbreak is well-worn cinematic and literary territory. Examples include “The Fault In Our Stars” (Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort), “A Walk To Remember” (Mandy Moore and Shane West), “Sweet November” (Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves), “P.S., I Love You” (Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler), even the classic Oscar-winning “Love Story” (Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal).

Continue reading ‘We Live In Time’ Review: Florence Pugh & Andrew Garfield Elevate A Time-Hopping Romance [TIFF] at The Playlist.

In a world where revivals and reboots are all the rage, the possibility of Bones coming back less than a decade after its series finale is quite high, especially when those involved with the original show are on board. Fox's police procedural drama, created by Hart Hanson, debuted in September 2005 and ran for 12 seasons and 246 episodes before ending in March 2017. Throughout its time on network TV, the series featured the protagonists (Emily Deschanel's Temperance "Bones" Brennan and David Boreanaz's Seeley Booth) hunting down horrific Bones criminals, but the dynamic between the two leads is what made the show so memorable.

Bones is very loosely based on forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs' life and novels, with Temperance Brennan being named after the protagonist in Reichs' book series. Meanwhile, Emily Deschanel's Brennan is also a successful crime novel writer in Bones, with her books featuring a forensic anthropologist character named Kathy Reichs.

There really hasn’t been a filmmaker quite like Blake Edwards. He could go from the silly-billy comedy of his “Pink Panther” comedies starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau to “Days of Wine and Roses,” a devastating drama dealing with alcoholism to the gender-bender musical comedy “Victor/Victoria” starring his wife Julie Andrews to the underrated Western “The Wild Rovers” with William Holden and Ryan O’Neal. Edwards even turned the diminutive British comedian Dudley Moore into a leading man thanks to his 1979 romantic comedy “10.” And let’s not forget the extraordinary collaboration he had with composer Henry Mancini who earned four Oscars including best song “Moon River” from 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and the title tune from 1962’s “Days of Wine and Roses.”

Still, there was no love lost between Edwards and Hollywood.

In my 2003 Los Angeles Times interview with Edwards, who had personality to spare, said “I have been a...

Michael Corleone in The Godfather, played by Al Pacino, is hailed as one of the finest performances in world cinema. His memorable character transition in the Francis Ford Coppola film is still discussed among worldwide fans. But interestingly, Al Pacino was never the original choice for the role. They had their eyes on another legendary performer, Robert Redford for the role.

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather | Credits: Paramount Pictures

The Godfather presented a beautiful amalgamation of popular and lesser-known stars who looked straight out of Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel. However, the 1972 masterpiece had a very problematic production schedule due to an intense conflict between Paramount and Francis Ford Coppola. Paramount wanted it to be a more star-studded affair with better-known stars.

Al Pacino almost lost his historical role in The Godfather because of Paramount

A still featuring Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone in The Godfather | Credits:...

The Criterion Collection, known for releasing classic and influential films in high quality formats, has revealed several new movie titles coming in November 2024. The lineup showcases a diverse range of films from different eras and genres. Notable releases include upgraded versions of two iconic Japanese films from the 1950s as well as Oscar-winning American movies. Art house releases sitting lesser-known but important works are also part of the fall slate.

Leading the list are new 4K transfers of Akira Kurosawa’s epic “Seven Samurai” from 1954 and Ishirō Honda’s original “Godzilla” movie. These films helped establish their genres and are considered highly influential internationally. For the first time, “Godzilla” will be a stand-alone release rather than part of a box set.

Also debuting is Peter Bogdanovich’s 1973 film “Paper Moon” starring 10-year old Tatum O’Neal. Her performance opposite her father Ryan O’Neal won her an Academy Award for best supporting actress,...

Blu-ray collectors, rejoice. The Criterion Collection unveiled its November 2024 slate of releases this week, and the month looks like an embarrassment of riches for cinephiles looking to expand their physical media collections. The boutique distributor will be rolling out six new titles, several of which have long been coveted by Criterion fans: “Funny Girl,” “Paper Moon,” “Demon Pond,” and “Scarface,” along with new 4K editions of “Godzilla” and “Seven Samurai.”

William Wyler’s 1968 film adaptation of the musical “Funny Girl” marked Barbara Streisand’s big screen debut, turning the actress into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars overnight and earning her an Oscar for Best Actress on her first nomination. The film quickly became a cultural phenomenon and has remained one of the most popular (and quoted) movie musicals of all time.

Peter Bogdanovich’s “Paper Moon” is widely regarded as one of the greatest showcases for a child actor in film history.

Every month, the boutique cinephile DVD/Blu-Ray Label the Criterion Collection adds many new cineaste gems to its ever-growing closet, and November 2024 is no different. Four new titles were announced this week, and two classic releases received 4 K upgrades.

New Criterion titles include director William Wyler’s acclaimed 1968 musical “Funny Girl” starring Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif, Peter Bogdanovich’s classic black and white road comedy-drama starring Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal (the latter won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and became the youngest competitive winner in the history of the Academy Awards at that time), Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar Best-Picture winning “The Shape of Water,” with Sally Hawkins and Michael Shannon, and Howard Hawks’ classic 1932 gangster picture “Scarface,” featuring Paul Muni.

Continue reading Criterion’s November Titles Include ‘The Shape Of Water,’ ‘Paper Moon’ & More at The Playlist.

A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 war movie directed by Richard Attenborough, featuring a star-studded cast. The film is based on the real-life WWII Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied operation in the Netherlands. Despite the impressive cast and true story, A Bridge Too Far received mixed reviews and had a modest box office success.

The epic 3-hour 1977 war movie A Bridge Too Far features a remarkably star-studded cast. Directed by Richard Attenborough, who is arguably best known for playing John Hammond in Jurassic Park (1993) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), A Bridge Too Far chronicles the real-life WWII Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied operation in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The film takes place late in 1944 when the Allied forces, particularly a group of American and British paratroopers, appear to have the upper hand but are met with unexpected resistance. The film was released in theaters on June 15, 1977.

The war...

After receiving a record nine nominations this year at the 2024 Southern California Journalism Awards, it was announced last night at an awards dinner gala at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles that IndieWire’s Senior Social Media Manager, Veronica Flores, and Senior Social and Cultural Editor, Vincent Perella, had won Best Use of Social Media to Enhance and/or Cover a Story by a Group for their work on “How Barbie Became Real.” Judges for the category commented, “Well put together, clean editing, snappy and just right for social media. Great job!”

In addition to this win, IndieWire’s Deputy TV Editor and TV Critic Ben Travers, who won an award last year for Criticism of TV, received third place in the same category for a number of his reviews, including his piece, “‘I Think You Should Leave’ Season 3 Is the Song of the Summer.”

IndieWire’s Features Writer,...

Diane von Furstenberg climbs atop the bathroom counter, plants her bare feet in the washbasin and assesses herself in the mirror. She runs her hands through her tangle of curls, then uncaps some foundation and applies it to her face. Her uniform: a simple white nightshirt. The 77-year-old von Furstenberg exudes a regal air, even as she completes the most mundane of morning rituals. This is a woman, after all, who sparked fashion crazes, conquered the business world, married a prince and then a mogul, and did it all on her terms. And that includes allowing the filmmakers behind “Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge,” a new documentary from Hulu about her life and career, to roll camera as she puts on her makeup, an intimate scene that kicks off the film.

“How many celebrities or icons would allow you to see them in that state?” marvels Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who...

Inventor of the wrap dress, sexual adventurer and a legendary celebrity – this amusing, affectionate doc is a tribute to someone with lots to say

So many fashion documentaries are frigid and vapid; this one, though, from film-makers Trish Dalton and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, has a story to tell about someone with something to say. Diane von Fürstenberg is the designer, entrepreneur, former Olympic-level hedonist and Studio 54 habitué, who once (separately) got it on with Warren Beatty and Ryan O’Neal over the same weekend but airily turned down a threesome with Mick Jagger and David Bowie. She was also the daughter of a Belgian Jewish Holocaust survivor, Lily Halfin, to whom she was very close throughout her life and was devastated when Lily suffered a delayed trauma decades after the war; her mother had a breakdown while on a business trip to Germany, triggered by loud German voices. Von Fürstenberg herself had to contend with antisemitism,...

An ever-upholding vanity project portrait of a dyed-in-the-annals sartorial icon, “Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge” is an engaging enough documentary for the small screen but not big enough to merit anything more. That’s appropriate, as the movie heads to Hulu two and a half weeks after its Tribeca Festival premiere in a New York theater. Directors Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton’s film is a hagiographic survey of the life and career of the Jewish girl born in Belgium who married into German royalty, became a princess, and started a fashion empire that included the invention of the now-ubiquitous wrap dress. With talking heads including Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, the documentary emerges more as agitprop for feminist galvanizing in the months up toward an election in which women’s rights are on the slab.

Though certainly spikier and with a zero-fucks-given, indecorous lack of platitudes is talking head Fran Lebowitz,...

Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon" is a rip-roaring road movie with a lot of hijinks and heart, anchored by the incredible performances from real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. They play Moses Pray, a two-bit con artist who hoodwinks widows into purchasing Bibles, and Addie Loggins, a precocious nine-year-old with a permanent scowl who claims to be his daughter. With their streetwise charm, they unite to drive across the dusty Midwest, gradually increasing the stakes of their swindles. The sharp, black-and-white cinematography by László Kovács perfectly captures the sparse, unsentimental Depression-era America. But there's also a sweetness to "Paper Moon," especially in the development of Moses and Addie's complex and tenuous father-daughter bond. The film has a certain magic that can only come from the O'Neals' actual relationship, and it's something that makes "Paper Moon" such a joy to watch. Here are the main cast members still with us.

The engaging Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge begins with a clip from David Letterman’s late-night show, where he introduces the designer with, “Welcome the woman who reinvented the dress.” He laughs and says, “Really? Reinvented the dress?” But that big claim isn’t entirely wrong. In the 1970s, von Furstenberg’s wrap dress was more than a trendsetter. Like the person who emerges in this largely first-person documentary, the dress became emblematic of a professional but sexy independent woman.

That much is history, retold by von Furstenberg in the film with wit and flair. The documentary’s strength, though, is its intimate look at her entire whirlwind life. The child of a Holocaust survivor, she became a jet-setter, a business tycoon and a philanthropist. She married a prince and then a mogul without ever losing her own identity.

Much of what von Furstenberg says here she has said before,...

It was the year 1989 when veteran actor Robert Downey Jr. portrayed the role of Alex Finch in a forgotten movie titled Chances Are. Chances are, you probably haven’t heard of this film but for Rdj, the role of Finch was the most accessible role that he had ever portrayed, until Iron Man came along.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the MCU | Marvel Studios

From being a person in jail to an Oscar-winning actor in 2024, Downey Jr.’s life has been incredible over all these years. Taking a look back at what he has achieved over the years, Downey Jr. revealed that his forgotten film Chances Are stands right near the top!

Robert Downey Jr. And A Forgotten Film From 1989

Well, no offense to Mr. Downey Jr., but back in 1989, he wasn’t as famous compared to the present. Hence, starring alongside Cybill Shephard and Ryan O’Neal, the...

The Captain (Hoa Xuande) is our guide through both Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel and the HBO limited series version of “The Sympathizer,” but he is also a mystery — most especially to himself. A communist spy who is pulled irresistibly towards the height of Western decadence (Los Angeles in the late ’70s) and depravity (a film set in the late ’70s), the goal of the show is to mirror Nguyen’s prose and give the viewer a visceral sense of The Captain’s alienation.

While the flashiest choice “The Sympathizer” makes is Robert Downey Jr. playing all the significant Western figures who attempt to influence The Captain, there are also smaller, subtler tortures within the show’s imagery itself. The cinematography (by “Decision To Leave” maestro Kim Ji-yong and “The Hurt Locker” veteran Barry Ackroyd) continually puts pressure on The Captain through a sense of heat, sickly light, and eyes just beyond the frame.

Francis Ford Coppola had quite the tussle with Paramount to cast Al Pacino in the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Pacino was Coppola’s favorite, while the studio was against his casting due to his height. When Coppola finally convinced the studio to cast him, the Scarface actor was skeptical of the film after his first day of filming. He revealed in a 2023 interview that he and co-star Diane Keaton feared for their careers on that day.

Al Pacino was skeptical of The Godfather after the first day of shooting

However, Al Pacino’s assumptions about the film were proven wrong when it went on to become an industry hit. It also launched the career of the actor who became one of the greatest living actors of our time.

Al Pacino and Diane Keaton Thought Their Careers Were Over After 1 Day Of Filming The Godfather

Diane Keaton and...

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Al Pacino in the role of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic crime drama The Godfather. However, Coppola went out of his way to cast the actor after Paramount wanted a Marvel star in the role of Michael. Interestingly, Al Pacino, a newcomer at the time, had a different role in mind. He eyed the role of the hot-headed Sonny Corleone, which later went to James Caan.

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in a still from The Godfather

The studio was also against Coppola’s choice of Marlon Brando for the role of Vito Corleone. They initially considered Laurence Olivier for the role but once he became unavailable, Coppola and Paramount entered a months-long debate on casting Brando.

Al Pacino Wanted To Play A Different Character In The Godfather

Al Pacino initially wanted to play the role of Sonny Corleone...