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If you asked which brand reigns supreme in prestige television, most would say HBO. "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" are highs that television dramas have been chasing for the last two decades. HBO's judgment is not unassailable, though. The network has turned down several shows that went on to be huge successes elsewhere. One of the shows HBO rejected was "Breaking Bad," which is generally ranked alongside "Sopranos" and "The Wire" as the third node in the "television masterpiece" triptych.

Another was the series that became "Sons of Anarchy." Created by Kurt Sutter, the series is basically "Hamlet" retold with the Hells Angels. Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam) is a member of the Sons of Anarchy, a motorcycle club in northern California that makes its money running guns. The club was founded by Jax's late father, John, but these...

Los Angeles plays itself in the new Apple TV+ comedy series The Studio.

The scathing Hollywood satire from co-creator, -writer, -director, and star Seth Rogen is perhaps the most accurate portrayal of the entertainment industry in years, featuring not just several celebrity camoes but many famous locations around the city (including the Warner Bros. lot and Burbank’s Smokehouse restaurant).

“We wanted to paint a real, very accurate picture of a Hollywood movie studio,” Rogen said earlier this month after the show’s premiere at the South by Southwest Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas. “We wanted to use people that you believe a studio would get excited about, so you believe people who love film would be passionate about.”

“I remember watching the Entourage movie, and they’re having a big party, and Bob Saget is the most famous guy there,” Rogen added. “I love the guy but it’s always like,...

"The Studio," Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's newest series, is a hilarious satire of Hollywood and a love letter to its rich history. When Rogen's character -- a studio chief named Matt Remick -- visits work every day, he overhears a tour guide talk about how the lot is a temple of movie magic. It's a sentiment he wants to believe in, yet he's disillusioned with the system and feels like his workplace is more like a tomb. Indeed, Matt hates his studio's insistence on creating billion-dollar franchises about Kool Aid characters at the expense of genuine art, although he still has to answer to one man: Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston).

Griffin is a billionaire studio overlord who's solely motivated by profit, so much so that he's happy to bury a swansong Martin Scorsese project about the Jonestown cult. After all, an auteur-driven movie about people "drinking the Kool...

[Editor’s note: The following story contains some spoilers for “The Studio.”]

Before I made my way to writing about Hollywood full time, in my twenties I toiled in the publicity bullpen at United Artists in Manhattan’s tenderloin district, was a press agent at Pmk New York, was unit publicist on John Carpenter’s “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” and James L. Brooks’ “Terms of Endearment,” and served as publicity manager at Twentieth Century Fox in Century City. I sat around the table at countless marketing meetings, wrote press releases, screening invites, and press kits, wrangled celebrities and photographers at glitzy premieres, and participated on release and Oscar campaigns.

By the time I jumped to the other side as Risky Business columnist at LA Weekly; movie beat reporter at Entertainment Weekly; West Coast Editor of Film Comment, Empire, and Premiere; and senior writer at The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, I was steeped in insider knowledge and sources. And...

Well, Ryan Lattanzio beat Anne Thompson predicting last Sunday’s Oscars. That’s because he went with such international favorites as Animated Feature “Flow” and Documentary Feature “No Other Land.” Anne relied too much on the precursors instead of responding to popular surges.

Why did American Palme d’Or winner “Anora” win five Oscars? It had support from every part of the Academy, judging from the rousing cheers from the Dolby Theatre Sunday night.

Ahead on this week’s episode of “Screen Talk,” Ryan and Anne debate why Mikey Madison won Best Actress. She was young and ingenues are in favor, said Ryan. Older women Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres were close and “Anora” had coattails, said Anne.

We also debate the merits of the show, and both agree that newbie Conan O’Brien was an affably effective host, and that the writing was strong, even if some of the musical tributes were weak.

Television and streaming have all but taken over the screen sector, and the best miniseries to binge make TV more accessible. Without the need to invest in a long-term commitment, miniseries offer the same snappy storytelling, dramatic beats, and satisfying payoff that traditional TV does. The best miniseries have viewers hooked from start to finish, making sure that the story is short and sweet. Keeping the story refined and exciting ensures that viewers remain engaged the whole way through, which is why the best miniseries to watch over a weekend are often only a few episodes long.

In this way, some viewers feel that the best miniseries on Netflix and others are better than traditional television, where the story can stray too far from its original concept and beloved characters often leave too soon. The best miniseries to binge often deliver complex plots and compelling characters in a surprisingly short period,...

Escape at Dannemora feels like a cross between The Shawshank Redemption and Out of Sight. However, this Showtime original turned Netflix offering is about a lot more than two men breaking out of prison. The crime drama based on a true story is headlined by Benicio del Toro, Paul Dano, and Rosanna Arquette -- the latter of whom won Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film at the Golden Globes for her truly understated performance. But they're not the only big names working on the seven-episode series.

Ben Stiller is behind the camera, with veteran screenwriters Michael Tolkin and Brett Johnson filling in the blanks. The duo's credentials in both film and television, from 1992's The Player through to AMC's Mad Men, reveal an innate understanding of flawed humanity that Escape at Dannemora actively explores. With a dozen Emmy nominations in addition to the Golden Globe win, this...

The crime drama continues to be a popular sub-genre that captivates audiences, often featuring highly flawed characters and street-level stakes. This year, Apple TV+'s Presumed Innocent is one of the biggest breakout crime dramas, in addition to Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The latter speaks to a further sub-genre of this sub-genre, which is crime dramas based on true stories.

In recent years, the true-crime TV sub-genre has seen popular titles like Mindhunter, The Staircase, Unbelievable, The Dropout, Hulu's Under the Bridge, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. These shows often feature impressive casts, and they frequently become major streaming hits. Netflix, in particular, has become a go-to destination for these types of shows, which vary from truly chilling to more comedic.

Escape At Dannemora Finds New Success On Netflix The Crime Drama Show Has Become A Viewership Hit

Escape at Dannemora,...

Actor and director Ben Stiller's first foray into drama directing just dropped on Netflix earlier this month. The Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora is based on a true story that became national news back in 2015 when two convicted murderers, Robert Matt and David Sweat, escaped from an upstate New York prison. It turned out that they had help from an unassuming tailor shop supervisor at the prison, Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell, and a prison guard, Gene Palmer. Created by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin and initially premiering in 2017, Escape From Dannemora depicts the events surrounding the jailbreak, as well as the aftermath, with a star-studded cast that includes Patricia Arquette (Mitchell), Benicio del Toro (Matt), and Paul Dano (Sweat).

The nepo baby discourse as it pertains to the arts is typically a grievance-driven undertaking that allows low- to no-talent individuals the opportunity to blame someone other than themselves for their lack of success. Though there have been instances of celebrity-adjacent people receiving seemingly undeserved gigs, these are usually one-and-not-too-many-more-done deals undone by the recipient's profound absence of skill.

While Ben Stiller certainly had a leg up thanks to his showbiz parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, he very quickly proved to be a top-notch satirist via his short films for "Saturday Night Live" and as the producer of the brilliant yet short-lived "The Ben Stiller Show". For those who've followed his career from the start, he's more than earned his bites at the apple, which includes his transition to movie star thanks to hits like "There's Something About Mary," "Meet the Parents," and "Zoolander." (You can find /Film's ranking...

In 1996, two notable blockbusters, each based on TV shows, were released by Paramount. On May 22, Brian De Palma's "Mission: Impossible" hit screens, detailing the adventures of super-spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) as he went on the lam after being framed for killing his super-spy teammates. It was a massive hit and set the stage for a supra-action franchise that has lasted to this day. The film cost a sizeable $80 million to make but earned $457 million at the box office. 

Six months later, on November 22, the eighth film in the "Star Trek" franchise, "Star Trek: First Contact" was released to much acclaim. "First Contact," based on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," boasted a time travel plot wherein the U.S.S. Enterprise traveled back to the year 2063 to face off against the malevolent cyborgs known as the Borg. It wasn't as thoughtful or diplomatic as the show on which it was based,...

The 2018 miniseries Escape at Dannemora was based on the true story of how Richard Matt and David Sweat broke out of prison. Directed by Ben Stiller and created by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, Escape at Dannemora was released in 2018 exclusively on Showtime. The cast of Escape at Dannemora features Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette, 2-time Emmy nominee Paul Dano, and Emmy nominee Bonnie Hunt.

Escape at Dannemora was nominated for 12 Emmys in 2019, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, two separate Best Writing for a Limited Series nominations, and Outstanding Limited Series, losing to Chernobyl. With a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 88%, Escape at Dannemora is one of the highest-rated limited series in recent years. The series is now available to stream on Paramount+ and Netflix, where it currently ranks fourth in Netflix's Top 10 TV Shows in the United States List.

Showtime's Escape at Dannemora utilizes an exceptional cast to tell its true-crime story. The 2018 limited series is based on the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape, which saw two men, Richard Matt and David Sweat, successfully break out thanks to the help of their shared prison-employee girlfriend, Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell. Showtime needed actors like Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Bonnie Hunt, and more to bring these and other real-world characters to life.

Escape at Dannemora originally premiered on Showtime in 2018, but it has since come to Netflix, claiming a spot on the Top 10 In October 2024. The series, which was created by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, was directed by actor Ben Stiller and explores the true events leading up to, during, and after the infamous 2015 prison break. Of course, any "based on reality" TV series requires some creative liberties, but with such an exceptional cast in Escape at Dannemora, it's...

In 2015, when two convicted murderers broke out of a prison in upstate New York, it kicked off a weeks-long manhunt — and put the prison’s tailor shop supervisor under intense scrutiny. The Emmy-nominated 2018 series Escape at Dannemoradepicts the events surrounding the real-life jailbreak committed by inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat, including the involvement of the prison employees who aided and abetted them. Directed by actor-director Ben Stiller (Severance) and created by Brett Johnson (Ray Donovan) and Michael Tolkin (The Offer), the crime series stars Patricia Arquette, Benicio del Toro, and Paul Dano. Arquette won a SAG Award and a Golden Globe for her performance.

Stream it now.

Tilly (Arquette) is a prison seamstress at Clinton Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in rural New York State. She oversees two prisoners, Richard (del Toro) and David (Dano), who are both convicted murderers. As Mitchell’s relationship to the pair becomes...

If you think "there's nothing to watch on Netflix," then you're just plain incorrect. Over the past year, the streaming service has been delivering not only dozens upon dozens of excellent original series, but Netflix has also been hand-picking a vast variety of small-screen favorites from past and present for our viewing pleasure. And the binge-watching Gods continue to give the goods.

The latest acquired series to make its drop on Netflix is the Emmy Award-nominated crime drama limited series Escape at Dannemora, which made its premiere on Showtime back in November 2018. The series was co-created by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, and all eight episodes were directed by Ben Stiller.

Escape at Dannemora began streaming on Netflix on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and given how much acclaim the series earned the first time around (the series holds an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes), there's no doubt that the series will once again resurge...

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The Franchise is a satirical comedy series created by Jon Brown. The HBO series revolves around the crew of a little-known franchise movie set in an otherwise extremely popular superhero cinematic universe. The Franchise’s comedy comes from all the chaos generated by the always-on-fire set, idiotic stars, arrogant director, and panic-ridden crew. The Franchise stars Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant, and Daniel Brühl. So, if you loved the satirical comedy, behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood, and the general chaos in The Franchise here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Episodes (Paramount+ & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Showtime

Episodes is a satirical comedy series created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. The Showtime series follows a British married couple who created an award-winning British...

Deep Impact gets a glowing response from VFX artists 26 years after its release. Directed by Mimi Leder, with a script co-written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin, the 1998 disaster film follows humanity's efforts to prepare for and destroy a 7-mile (11 km) wide comet on a collision course with Earth that could cause a mass extinction. The movie stars Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, Ta Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, James Cromwell, Jon Favreau, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Kurtwood Smith, and many more.

During the latest episode of Corridor Crew's "VFX Artists React" series, hosts Sam Gorski, Wren Weichman, and Jordan Allen had a glowing response to the tsunami scene in Deep Impact. Watch the portion of the video below:

Weichman was particularly impressed by the VFX in Deep Impact, noting that despite the film being made in the early days of water simulations, they achieved remarkable results using geometry animation and particle effects.

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Netflix is ready with an entertainment-packed October this year. The upcoming month will see the return of some of Netflix’s best original shows including Heartstopper and Outer Banks and also new brilliant shows like Territory. Just like every month, Netflix is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the 10 TV shows coming to Netflix in October 2024.

Yellowjackets Season 1 (October 1)

Yellowjackets is a psychological mystery horror thriller drama series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. The Showtime series follows the story of a group of teenagers who were involved in a plane crash in 1996 in the Ontario wilderness and its consequences which affect them as adults in 2021. Yellowjackets stars Ella Purnell, Sophie Thatcher, Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Sophie Nélisse, and Samantha Hanratty.

Heartstopper Season 3 (October 3)

Get ready...

Harold and the Purple Crayon, the live-action adaptation of the popular children's book of the same name, has just debuted its first trailer starring Zachary Levi.

In the official two-minute trailer, Zachary Levi's Harold is an adventurous character from a book who can make anything come to life. The character soon learns how to draw himself off the book's pages, slipping into the real world. There he learns he can bring any drawings to life in the real world, too. However, the power of unlimited creation has its downsides, too, and Harold and his friends not only have to save his original world, but the real world, too.

Related Shazam! Star Zachary Levi to Become Action Movie Hero With Newest Role Shazam! film franchise star Zachary Levi will star in the upcoming action thriller, Hotel Tehran, following his run in the DC Extended Universe.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is...

The official trailer has been released for Sony’s “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” the children’s book adaptation from director Carlos Saldanha starring Zachary Levi and Zooey Deschanel.

Following the storyline of the 1955 children’s book from author Crockett Johnson, the film chronicles a man named Harold, played by Levi, who can create worlds with the help of his imagination and a purple crayon. In addition to Levi and Deschanel, Lil Rel Howery, Ravi Patel, Camille Guaty, Tanya Reynolds and Pete Gardner round out the film’s cast.

Saldanha’s directing background has largely taken place in the animated space, spearheading prominent children’s films such as “Ice Age,” “Rio” and its sequel “Ferdinand,” “Robots” and more. “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is set to be the director’s first live-action feature.

The property has had a long history of development, with Wild Things Productions attempting to get the...

Road House star Jake Gyllenhaal has another 80s classic he'd like to remake.

While speaking with Cbr to promote the new Road House, Gyllenhaal revealed the one other 80s movie he'd like to remake. The actor confirmed that he wants to remake Gleaming the Cube, a drama released in 1989. The film was not a box office success upon release, though it's a movie that has garnered a cult following over the past few decades, with Gyllenhaal clearly among its fans.

1:57

Related Jake Gyllenhaal Honors Patrick Swayze in Road House Remake Poster Jake Gyllenhaal is paying tribute to Patrick Swayze and the original Road House.

Gleaming the Cube was directed by Graeme Clifford and written by Michael Tolkin. A young Christian Slater stars as a teenage high school student and avid skateboarder named Brian Kelly. When Brian's adopted Vietnamese brother, Vinh (Art Chudabala), gets murdered, the skater takes it upon himself to investigate.

Fifteen authors of books that were recently chosen for The Hollywood Reporter’s list of “The 100 Greatest Film Books of All Time” will convene on a panel — which is being advertised as “the greatest gathering of its kind ever” — this Saturday afternoon in Hollywood as part of AFI Fest.

The event, which will take place inside the historic Tcl Chinese Theater and will run from 4 p.m. -5:30p.m., is open to members of the public free of charge provided they reserve their tickets in advance via Fest.AFI.com/GreatestFilmBooks.

Participating in a discussion about the origins and impact of their books will be A. Scott Berg (Goldwyn: A Biography), Cameron Crowe (Conversations with Wilder), Nancy Griffin (Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood), Aljean Harmetz (The Making of The Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power...

These last few years the Criterion Channel have made October viewing much easier to prioritize, and in the spirit of their ’70s and ’80s horror series we’ve graduated to––you guessed it––”’90s Horror.” A couple of obvious classics stand with cult favorites and more unknown entities (When a Stranger Calls Back and Def By Temptation are new to me). Three more series continue the trend: “Technothrillers” does what it says on the tin, courtesy the likes of eXistenZ and Demonlover; “Art-House Horror” is precisely the kind of place to host Cure, Suspiria, Onibaba; and “Pre-Code Horror” is a black-and-white dream. Phantom of the Paradise, Unfriended, and John Brahm’s The Lodger are added elsewhere.

James Gray is the latest with an “Adventures in Moviegoing” series populated by deep cuts and straight classics. Stonewalling and restorations of Trouble Every Day and The Devil, Probably make streaming debuts, while Flesh for Frankenstein,...

The ’70s shocked you, the ’80s gored you . . . now the ’90s come in for the kill!

The Criterion Channel has announced this year’s Halloween spectacular, which “celebrates an era that saw terror undergo unsettling new transformations.”

The team previews, “In the ’90s, horror movies got bigger budgets, became playfully self-aware, and even won some Oscars—but they’re just as nasty as what came before.

“Featuring cult heroes like John Carpenter (In the Mouth of Madness) and Abel Ferrara (The Addiction) plunging the dark depths of their uncompromising visions, established auteurs like Francis Ford Coppola (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) taking on the genre, and new voices like Ernest R. Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) and Antonia Bird (Ravenous) offering fresh perspectives on familiar tropes, this selection curated by Clyde Folley offers a hair-raising tour through an oft-overlooked decade in horror that’s ripe for rediscovery.”

The full...

Veteran location scout Beth Tate will be honored by the Location Managers Guild International with this year’s Trailblazer Award at the 10th Annual Lmgi Awards. The ceremony is set for Saturday, August 26 at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Tate is being recognized for her trailblazing work in the inception, formation, and continued support of the Location Managers Guild International, as well as her stellar location scouting career.

“The Lmgi is extremely honored to recognize Beth Tate as one of its founding forces. She has been supporting location professionals over the past two decades and is most deserving to be recognized with this year’s Lmgi Trailblazer Award,” said Lmgi Awards Committee Chairs John Rakich, Lmgi President, and Robin Citrin, Supervising Location Manager, who made the announcement.

The Lmgi Trailblazer Award recognizes an individual whose efforts and innovations elevate the status of location professionals.

Warning: Minor Spoilers for The Offer

In The Offer, a star-studded cast plays the real-life filmmakers who produced The Godfather. One of the most legendary films of all time, The Godfather celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022 and The Offer was timed to release the same year to tell the behind-the-scenes tale of how Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece was made. A 10-episode series streaming on Paramount+, The Offer is "based on the experiences" of Albert S. Ruddy, The Godfather's producer (and also a producer on The Offer), and it's written by Michael Tolkin, who wrote another famous behind-the-scenes Hollywood film, The Player. The Offer is set between the years 1965 to 1972, with The Godfather's production taking place in 1971 before it was released in March 1972.

The making of The Godfather is almost as famous as the film itself. Based on the best-selling novel by Mario Puzo, Paramount Pictures' head of...

Screen Rant is thrilled to present an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from the Blu-ray extras of The Offer. The series shows the truly wild story behind the making of one of cinema's most acclaimed classics, The Godfather. The Offer shows how the Italian mafia was a looming presence alongside the studio throughout the development and production process. This led to a high-stress and at times dangerous filmmaking experience. The Offer is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

The Offer follows Al Ruddy who begins his Hollywood with the iconic sitcom Hogan’s Heroes before moving into film. The Godfather, Ruddy’s first film, was adapted from the best-selling but heavily criticized Mario Puzo novel, quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed movies ever. The Godfather is also notable because of the heavy involvement of the Italian mafia who only allowed the movie to be made after they approved the script. Ruddy was...

Acclaimed HBO series "The Sopranos" was no ordinary gangster show -- it introduced audiences to the inner neuroses of a complicated anti-hero and his criminal work-life balancing act. While mobster Tony Soprano would be played by the late James Gandolfini, giving one of the most acclaimed television performances of all time, the lead role had no end of early contenders.

At one point, series creator David Chase had musician Steven Van Zandt, who had no acting experience, in mind to play the role with more of a comedic bent. Michael Rispoli was also up for the part; he told Imperioli and Schirripa on their Talking Sopranos podcast that he auditioned for Chase in New York, then did a test again in Century City, where he crossed paths with Van Zandt and "Jimmy" Gandolfini. For a hot second, the role was up in the air. Rispoli recalls:

"Jimmy and I, we...

Click here to read the full article.

The news that Nikki Finke — the cantankerous trade blogger who traumatized and entertained Hollywood in equal measure with her vendetta-based brand of entertainment journalism — died Sunday at 68 dislodged a tidal wave of not-so-fond memories in this town.

Her reign of terror kicked into high gear when she moved her column Deadline Hollywood from L.A. Weekly over to Penske Media Corporation, owner of The Hollywood Reporter, in 2009; she walked away in 2013 after clashing with the ownership. During that time, Finke had grown so legendary that she even served as inspiration for an HBO dramedy.

Tilda was co-conceived by Dreamgirls director Bill Condon and Tell Me You Love Me creator Cynthia Mort. It featured a starry cast, headlined by Diane Keaton as Tilda Watski, a character based on Finke’s persona; and Elliot Page, who played a studio assistant who gets ensnared in her web.

Josh Olson shares his top 10 movies from his favorite movie year, 1992, with Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Star Wars (1977)

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

The Last Of The Mohicans (1992)

Thief (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Manhunter (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Last Of The Mohicans (1936)

The Player (1992) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Popeye (1980)

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Quintet (1979)

​HealtH (1980)

Come Back To the Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

Secret Honor (1984)

The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Touch Of Evil (1958) – Howard Rodman’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dead Alive a.k.a. Braindead (1992) – Mike Mendez’s trailer commentary

Meet The Feebles (1989) – Mike Mendez’s...

Click here to read the full article.

As the 10th and final episode of The Offer arrives to Paramount+ this week, several of its creators reunited for a THR Presents conversation powered by Vision Media to discuss the limited series, about the genesis of The Godfather. Bouncing from Hollywood backlots to the New York criminal underworld to Sicily, the show makes clear how unlikely it was that one of the greatest films ever made was made at all. Joining the panel were cast members Miles Teller (who plays producer Albert S. Ruddy), Juno Temple (as Ruddy’s secretary Bettye McCartt), Matthew Goode (as legendary Paramount studio chief Robert Evans), Dan Fogler (as The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola) and executive producer Nikki Toscano.

In the video above, the panelists recall the first time they saw the 1972 masterpiece, explain how they researched their characters and convey their hope that Coppola — who...

Few actors this year took as big of a swing and connected as hard as Matthew Goode. On the Paramount+ limited series “The Offer,” the British actor plays legendary Paramount production boss and all-around raconteur Robert Evans and nails Evans’s recognizable accent and devil-may-care vibe with aplomb. The performance is so strong that Goode, an Emmy Award nominee for “The Crown,” has earned some of the best reviews of his career for the project – even from his normally picky friends.

“I’m not on social media – which is probably a very good thing – so I got some nice feedback off of my friends because they haven’t seen me doing anything like that,” Goode tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. “They were all like, ‘Jesus, you’re actually alright.’ Thanks, guys.”

SEEour video chat with Miles Teller (‘The Offer’)

Based on the experiences Al Ruddy (played by...

“It’s one of the icons of contemporary American cinema and I felt a tremendous responsibility,” declares Oscar-nominated production designer Laurence Bennett (“The Artist) about the challenges of designing “The Offer.” “The first time they called about seeing if I was interested in designing the project, I told my agent no, I was not interested because it just felt like there was great risk involved with messing with the classics,” he admits, adding for our recent Q&a, “I just found so much humanity in all the individual stories and everyone had so much investment in the project; it was incredible.” We talked with Bennett as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

See over 350 interviews with 2022 Emmy contenders

“The Offer,” is a 10-episode limited series streaming on Paramount Plus, written by Oscar nominee Michael Tolkin...

Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr. worked together for two decades at Daily Variety. In this occasional column, two old friends get together and grind their axes, mostly on the movie business.

Mike Fleming Jr: We are seeing a lot of narrative limited series based on ventures where things went wrong — Theranos, WeWork, Uber – and two that went spectacularly right. There is more acrimony directed at Winning Time — a flagging LA Lakers franchise was infused by new owner Jerry Buss with Hollywood sex appeal and a Magic Johnson-led speed game that changed the NBA from a sleepy regional sport to a global juggernaut — and then there is The Offer, about the making of my all-time favorite American movie, The Godfather.

I loved watching Winning Time, and believe it could never have worked as well, had Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Jerry West lorded over an authorized version. They never...

Exclusive: The Corleone family finally has come together for a real Italian dinner. In this clip from the May 12 episode of The Offer on Paramount+, Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) greets the cast of The Godfather for their first gathering before shooting commences on the film.

Much to Coppola’s delight, the actors immediately settle into their roles. Marlon Brando (Justin Chambers) sits at the head of the table and insists that his wife be served first. He then gives a speech thanking the group for attending his birthday meal.

The Offer is based on producer Albert S. Ruddy’s experience making the 1972 film that Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo from Puzo’s bestselling novel. Besides Chambers and Fogler, The Offer stars Miles Teller as Al Ruddy, Matthew Goode as Robert Evans, Juno Temple as Bettye McCartt, Giovanni Ribisi as Joe Colombo, Burn Gorman as Charles Bluhdorn, Colin Hanks...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on Wbgr-fm on May 5th, reviewing the new miniseries “The Offer,” about the creation of the classic film “The Godfather,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

Television Rating: 4.5/5.0

Wannabe Film Producer Albert Ruddy (Miles Teller) approaches legendary movie man and head of Paramount Studios Robert Evans (Matthew Goode) and gets his first assignment … “The Godfather,” an adaptation of the bestselling book by Mario Puzo (Patrick Gallo) and to be directed by Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler). In the meantime, the real New York mafia, represented by Joe Columbo (Giovanni Ribisi) wants to shut the whole thing down. How will this classic movie get made?

The Offer

Photo credit: Paramount+

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com reviewed “The Offer” during the Morning Mess with Dan Baker on Wbgr-fm, Monroe, Wisconsin, May 5th, 2022 …

“The Offer” is currently streaming on Paramount+. Featuring Miles Teller,...

Michael Tolkin is the creator behind "The Offer." The show about the making of a Hollywood classic is from a screenwriter who's worked on classics himself, such as "The Player" and Bill Duke's "Deep Cover." Most recently, he co-created another show about process, the Ben Stiller-directed prison drama "Escape at Dannemora." With Paramount+'s new miniseries about "The Godfather" production, Tolkin had 10 hours to tell the story of the making of the movie from producer Al Ruddy's ("The Longest Yard") point of view. 

Tolkin faced a variety of challenges making "The Offer," starting with Covid. Recently, the show's creator told us about...

The post The Offer Creator Michael Tolkin on Telling The Godfather Producer Al Ruddy's Story [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

“The Godfather” may be one of the most legendary films of all time, but the story of how it got made is a legendary one of its own, now being told in the Paramount+ series “The Offer.” And you better believe it was an intimidating project for the show’s writers and executive producers to dive into.

“I think it was a combination of really exciting and scary as hell, because you feel a great responsibility,” EP Russell Rothberg told TheWrap when he sat down for a Zoom interview alongside EP, writer and showrunner Nikki Toscano. “It’s the greatest movie of all time. And we were all fans of it and everybody in the writers room was a fan of it. And we wanted to do the movie justice and pay homage and tell the best story we could, centered on Al Ruddy obviously, because he was our main source.

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A new star-studded TV series about the making of “The Godfather” arrives on Paramount Plus this week.

Set in the early 1970s, “The Offer” follows the notoriously rocky production process that Paramount Pictures went through while adapting Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel for the screen. At the center of the series is producer Albert Ruddy, played by Miles Teller, and his quixotic effort to create the Mafia family drama amidst tension between himself and director Francis Ford Coppola, and the infamous tale of how mob boss Joe Colombo signed on to help with the production.

All of the key players in the real-life “Godfather” saga appear in the film: Coppola (Dan Fogler), then-Paramount chief Robert Evans (Matthew Goode) and stars Marlon Brando (Justin Chambers) and Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito...

Early in Paramount Plus’ new limited series “The Offer,” movie mogul Robert Evans is delivering a soliloquy about the moment he discovered his destiny. “It was magic,” he declares. “Real magic. I knew right then and there this was my calling. That darkened movie theater became my church.”

As played by Matthew Goode, Evans is a real fake — a glottal-voiced fellow who convinces himself, first, of the pabulum he pitches others. And his declaration of movie madness, the first but hardly the last such speech he’ll give over the run of “The Offer,” sits oddly against the show’s ambitions. This program insists that movies are important, and does so by pulping perhaps the most celebrated film of the second half of the twentieth century and using it as fuel for a diverting but hardly cinematic streaming series.

Streaming-age Paramount Plus is looking back to New Hollywood Paramount Original Formula.

From the day Nicole Clemens took the reins of Paramount Television Studios in 2018, she fielded calls about whether “The Godfather” was available for development as a TV series.

The answer was always no. “The Godfather” — Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 masterpiece that begat 1974’s “The Godfather: Part II” and 1990’s “The Godfather: Part III” — is among the most valuable assets in the Paramount Pictures vault.

Clemens couldn’t help thinking about all of those inquiries a year later when she took a general meeting with nonagenarian producer Albert S. Ruddy, whose quirky résumé ranges from “The Godfather” to “Hogan’s Heroes” to “Walker, Texas Ranger.” As he regaled her with tales of his transformation in the late 1960s from a computer programmer for Rand Corp. to Hollywood producer, she began to think that Ruddy’s story of breaking in as an outsider could be the Pov for a series about the making of “The Godfather.

Paramount+ is about to make you an offer you can’t refuse. The streaming service announced back in 2020 that, along with their rebranding from CBS All Access to Paramount, that they would be bringing audiences a limited series about the making of “The Godfather” titled “The Offer.” The move was met with some raised eyebrows as it seemed like a push for the burgeoning streamer to mine from its extensive, existing intellectual property.

In an ironic twist, similar to production of the film it is discussing, “The Offer” has had a rough road to completion. In 2021, “Top Gun: Maverick” star Miles Teller was brought in to replace Armie Hammer as Albert Ruddy. After that, the series had to pause production after one of the cast tested positive for Covid-19. But, thankfully, the show did go on and now audiences are just a week away from seeing what is on tap with “The Offer.

It is a story steeped in action and intrigue, but is it true?

The Offer, a new 10-part series starting April 28 on Paramount+, delivers an “inside” account of the making of The Godfather. It is a story about stalwart filmmakers who defied bullets and death threats from Mafia soldiers to deliver their great saga.

But not really. The TV series, written by Michael Tolkin, is loosely based on incidents and anecdotes supplied by Albert S. Ruddy, who produced the movie. They are vivid anecdotes, but they are at odds with the accounts of principals who made the movie — of which I am one — and who encountered a different reality.

The Italian-American activists who took an interest in the project in fact revered Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel and were desperate to find a way of mobilizing the film to raise funds for their own causes and charities. “The principals of the movie were celebrated,...

"The Player" book author Michael Tolkin, screenwriter for director Robert Altman's satirical, 1992 murder mystery ‘Hollywood’ feature of the same name, has confirmed Warner Television is developing a TV series sequel from his novel "The Return of the Player" (2006):

"We're actually developing a series based on it for Warner Television," said Tolkin. "that's in the early stages.

"...in 'The Player', 'Griffin Mill' (Tim Robbins), is a ruthless Hollywood executive dating his story editor and is an enemy to writers. Consequently, when Mills starts to receive death threats, he immediately assumes that the culprit is writer 'David Kahane' (Vincent D’Onofrio). After Mill subsequently confronts the suspect, a physical altercation leaves Kahane dead and Mill takes up with the dead man's girlfriend.

Paramount+ has debuted a new trailer for ‘The Offer’ – the series following the drama behind the scenes making of the iconic film ‘The Godfather.’

Based on Oscar®-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making ‘The Godfather.’

Miles Teller stars as Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy who is chosen to shepherd a film adaptation of the Mario Puzo novel. Dan Fogler co-stars as Coppola along with Matthew Goode as Bob Evans.

From budget constraints to an unwilling director, to other failed gangster movies, the production was an uphill battle but it yielded the 1972 film that remains one of the greatest of all time.

Giovanni Ribisi, Colin Hanks, Justin Chambers, Lou Ferrigno, Juno Temple and Michael Gandolfini co-star. The series was created and written by Michael Tolkin, with Nikki Toscano as co-writer and showrunner.

Also in trailers – Jessica Biel stars in trailer for limited series ‘Candy’

The first...

Classic movie lovers have been lucky of late, as some new, terrific interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, and James Caan have hit various outlets, as well as reflections on the 50th anniversary of “The Godfather.” The winner of three Academy Awards was also just re-released in 4K for home viewing.

If that weren’t enough, now soon Paramount + will offer a chance to go behind-the-scenes with a limited miniseries, chasing the dragon, it seems, of recent Ryan Murphy hits. “The Offer,” written by Michael Tolkin (who made his movies-about-The-Movies bones with “The Player”) with episodes directed by Dexter Fletcher, has as its lead not Coppola or the Paramount’s charismatic head of production Robert Evans, or Brando, or even Mario Puzo, but the man who picked up the Best Picture trophy on Oscar night, Albert S. Ruddy.

Ruddy, who turns 92 in just a few days, is played by Miles Teller in “The Offer,...

Paramount Plus has released the official trailer for “The Offer,” the upcoming drama miniseries that chronicles the making of “The Godfather.”

Set in the early 1970s, “The Offer” stars Miles Teller as Albert S. Ruddy, who is hired as the producer for the film adaptation of the best-selling novel “The Godfather,” written by Mario Puzo (played by Patrick Gallo). While the series faces typical behind the scenes tension between its director Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) and producing team, the filming grows more complicated when mob boss Joe Colombo (Giovanni Ribisi) signs on to help assist in the production. In addition to Teller, Gallo, Fogler and Ribisi, the series will also star Matthew Goode, Juno Temple, Burn Gorman and Colin Hanks.

The trailer shows Teller as Ruddy as he assembles the creative team for the film and battles with producers, only for the involvement of the mob to cause the...

Are you ready to witness the struggle to get The Godfather movies made?

Paramount+ today revealed the official trailer and key art for its original limited event series The Offer, based on Oscar®-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-before-seen experiences of making The Godfather.

The highly-anticipated series will premiere on Thursday, April 28, exclusively for Paramount+ subscribers in the U.S.

The first three episodes of the 10-episode-long series will be available to stream at launch.

Following the premiere, the remaining seven episodes will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays.

The series stars Miles Teller as Albert S. Ruddy, Matthew Goode as Robert Evans, Juno Temple as Bettye McCartt, Giovanni Ribisi as Joe Colombo, Dan Fogler as Francis Ford Coppola, Burn Gorman as Charles Bluhdorn, Colin Hanks as Barry Lapidus, and Patrick Gallo as Mario Puzo.

The trailer certainly showcases the hurdles faced to get one of the...

The Godfather faced many hurdles in its journey from page to screen. That’s the big takeaway from the full-length trailer for The Offer, Paramount+’s forthcoming limited series centered on Albert S. Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-before-seen experiences making the iconic crime saga.

The above trailer, released on Wednesday, offers a glimpse of that tumultuous journey, which included Ruddy (played by Miles Teller) fiercely advocating for the project against studio execs who were hesitant to greenlight “some gangster movie.”

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Paramount+ is trying to make an “Offer” no one can refuse.

The 10-episode limited series, “The Offer,” about the true story behind making the “The Godfather,” arrives just in time for the half-century anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award-winning epic. The show debuts April 28.

Dan Fogler plays then-studio-newcomer director Coppola (hot off indie “The Rain People”), who is tasked with bringing Mario Puzo’s novel to life for Paramount Pictures. The studio wanted “someone who understands Italians” to direct the feature, and while Coppola’s Italian roots made him a prime choice to helm the feature, it was clear that traditional gangster movies were “dead” by the early 1970s. A big-budget gamble was a high risk for Paramount at the time.

But it was up to Coppola and his Italian-American vision to save the picture. From including scenes that focus on family and heritage instead of mafia members,...