Los Angeles-based Scatena & Rosner Films has acquired worldwide rights to horror film “The Hermit,” starring Lou Ferrigno as a cannibalistic pig farmer in his first role playing a creature since CBS TV series “The Incredible Hulk.”
They will be launching sales on the chiller, which is now in post, at the Cannes Marché du Film.
“The Hermit” is directed by U.S.-based Italian helmer Salvatore Sclafani and produced by Los Angeles- and New York-based Gerry Pass via his Chrome Entertainment shingle in tandem with Sclafani’s First Child Prods.
Dragged on a vacation to the woods, two self-absorbed teens named Lisa and Eric, played by Malina Weissman (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”) and Anthony Turpel (“Bloody Bridget”), venture off trail, stumble across a farm, go in, see animal heads hanging from the wall and “fight for their lives against an unstoppable cannibal pig farmer,” the synopsis says.
In...
They will be launching sales on the chiller, which is now in post, at the Cannes Marché du Film.
“The Hermit” is directed by U.S.-based Italian helmer Salvatore Sclafani and produced by Los Angeles- and New York-based Gerry Pass via his Chrome Entertainment shingle in tandem with Sclafani’s First Child Prods.
Dragged on a vacation to the woods, two self-absorbed teens named Lisa and Eric, played by Malina Weissman (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”) and Anthony Turpel (“Bloody Bridget”), venture off trail, stumble across a farm, go in, see animal heads hanging from the wall and “fight for their lives against an unstoppable cannibal pig farmer,” the synopsis says.
In...
- 5/15/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Katy O’Brian is a warrior, a fighter, and definitely a survivor. It was not an easy road for her to get her “dream” role in Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding. It was, in actuality, rife with suffering, doubt, and innumerable difficulties. Pushing through the darkness, she came out of it stronger than ever.
It is not easy to work with Crohn’s disease, and O’Brian almost gave up her dream of becoming a successful Hollywood actress. We all know she is already considered to be physically fit, but competing in the 1980s as a bodybuilder (in the 2024 flick) and needing a body like that was a whole different story.
Katy O’Brian as Jackie (Credit: Courtesy of A24)
In a recent interview, O’Brian talked about her battle with Crohn’s disease while preparing for her dream role.
The Unbreakable Spirit of Katy O’Brian: Battling Crohn’s Disease...
It is not easy to work with Crohn’s disease, and O’Brian almost gave up her dream of becoming a successful Hollywood actress. We all know she is already considered to be physically fit, but competing in the 1980s as a bodybuilder (in the 2024 flick) and needing a body like that was a whole different story.
Katy O’Brian as Jackie (Credit: Courtesy of A24)
In a recent interview, O’Brian talked about her battle with Crohn’s disease while preparing for her dream role.
The Unbreakable Spirit of Katy O’Brian: Battling Crohn’s Disease...
- 3/29/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
From Rocky Balboa fights to cornfield baseball games, virtually every mainstream sport has received a few moments in the Hollywood spotlight. But it’s hard to think of a sport more intrinsically intertwined with cinema than bodybuilding. Football fans might enjoy watching “Remember the Titans” on an offseason afternoon, but cinematic recreations are unlikely to scratch the same itch as live games on an NFL Sunday. Bodybuilding, on the other hand, has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood ever since a certain Austrian named Arnold Schwarzenegger set foot in California. For the past half century, documentaries about the sport have often drawn more mainstream attention than any live broadcast of an actual competition.
In many fans’ eyes, the sport of bodybuilding first gained mainstream legitimacy with the release of “Pumping Iron,” George Butler and Robert Fiore’s landmark 1977 documentary about Schwarzenegger’s preparations for the Mr. Olympia competition. In addition...
In many fans’ eyes, the sport of bodybuilding first gained mainstream legitimacy with the release of “Pumping Iron,” George Butler and Robert Fiore’s landmark 1977 documentary about Schwarzenegger’s preparations for the Mr. Olympia competition. In addition...
- 3/26/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Growing up, Rosy Carrick was fascinated by Schwarzenegger, Lundgren and other shredded 80s screen stars. Now she is exploring what they helped her realise about her sex life
Is there a gap between our private desires and the ones we are brave enough to share? Not for Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron, a young Arnie equated weightlifting with ejaculating. “It’s as satisfying to me as coming,” he declares with a grin.
Schwarzenegger and fellow shredded action star Dolph Lundgren are central to actor, playwright and poet Rosy Carrick’s latest show, Musclebound. She was captivated by them as an adolescent and, a while ago, revisited Masters of the Universe, starring Lundgren as He-Man. During a torture scene where Lundgren is stripped almost naked, and has his oiled-up, hairless body whipped by his enemies, something struck her.
Is there a gap between our private desires and the ones we are brave enough to share? Not for Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron, a young Arnie equated weightlifting with ejaculating. “It’s as satisfying to me as coming,” he declares with a grin.
Schwarzenegger and fellow shredded action star Dolph Lundgren are central to actor, playwright and poet Rosy Carrick’s latest show, Musclebound. She was captivated by them as an adolescent and, a while ago, revisited Masters of the Universe, starring Lundgren as He-Man. During a torture scene where Lundgren is stripped almost naked, and has his oiled-up, hairless body whipped by his enemies, something struck her.
- 3/4/2024
- by Rachael Healy
- The Guardian - Film News
You might say Chris Pratt has been preparing for his next role for months.
On Sunday, Pratt debuts as “Mr. P,” the ubiquitous and mustachioed mascot who has long appeared on behalf of Pringles, the potato-chips-in-a-can that are made by Kellanova. The key? A thick mustache the actor says he grew during the recent Hollywood work stoppage that got him noticed by the executives behind Pringles.
“I grew it out and shaved down the sides, and it curled up,” Pratt tells Variety in an interview. His spouse, Katharine Schwarzenegger, told him the mustache just might have legs. “That’s actually a good look for a character. Have you ever played a character with that type of mustache?” he says she asked him. “I kept it. I must have posted something on social media,” he says, which is how a broader set of observers noticed the look. Pringles soon came calling.
On Sunday, Pratt debuts as “Mr. P,” the ubiquitous and mustachioed mascot who has long appeared on behalf of Pringles, the potato-chips-in-a-can that are made by Kellanova. The key? A thick mustache the actor says he grew during the recent Hollywood work stoppage that got him noticed by the executives behind Pringles.
“I grew it out and shaved down the sides, and it curled up,” Pratt tells Variety in an interview. His spouse, Katharine Schwarzenegger, told him the mustache just might have legs. “That’s actually a good look for a character. Have you ever played a character with that type of mustache?” he says she asked him. “I kept it. I must have posted something on social media,” he says, which is how a broader set of observers noticed the look. Pringles soon came calling.
- 2/5/2024
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Lou Ferrigno, star of the 1970s TV show The Incredible Hulk, accused his daughter of elder abuse by his wife and her mother, Carla Ferrigno.
Ferrigno, 71, has been married to Carla, 74, for 43 years.
Last month, it was confirmed that Carla has advanced dementia. In the announcement, Ferrigno’s spokesperson said, “She has severe memory impairment and psychosis and is no longer the same person who Lou knew for decades.”
Ferrigno claims that last month his daughter, Shanna Ferrigno, 42, and Carla’s sister, Pam Vog, drove Carla to the bank and tried to withdraw $500,000 in cash. When the bank withdrew the money, Ferrigno was alerted.
Lou claimed that Shanna, a fitness trainer, and Vog wanted to access Carla’s assets illegally and accused the two of financially exploiting his wife.
Ferrigno said that his daughter turned off the cameras in the rooms where Carla was and continually overruled Ferrigno with the caretakers.
Ferrigno, 71, has been married to Carla, 74, for 43 years.
Last month, it was confirmed that Carla has advanced dementia. In the announcement, Ferrigno’s spokesperson said, “She has severe memory impairment and psychosis and is no longer the same person who Lou knew for decades.”
Ferrigno claims that last month his daughter, Shanna Ferrigno, 42, and Carla’s sister, Pam Vog, drove Carla to the bank and tried to withdraw $500,000 in cash. When the bank withdrew the money, Ferrigno was alerted.
Lou claimed that Shanna, a fitness trainer, and Vog wanted to access Carla’s assets illegally and accused the two of financially exploiting his wife.
Ferrigno said that his daughter turned off the cameras in the rooms where Carla was and continually overruled Ferrigno with the caretakers.
- 10/6/2023
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
During the long career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, he has had an unusually varied group of job choices in sports, the entertainment industry and most recently in politics.
He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.
His second foray into films was more successful. For his supporting role in the film “Stay Hungry,” he earned a Golden Globe Award as Best Film Debut for a male actor.
He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.
His second foray into films was more successful. For his supporting role in the film “Stay Hungry,” he earned a Golden Globe Award as Best Film Debut for a male actor.
- 7/21/2023
- by Robert Pius, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently seen lifting weights at the gym in Los Angeles just weeks before he celebrates his 76th birthday.
However, it’s clear to see he is still exercising like he’s training for Mr. Universe. He even got his exercise on his way to work riding his bike, reports mirror.co.uk.
The former governor of California was working out his arms as he sat on a workout bench using a workout machine. He paid no attention to other gym goers as he wore all black –a black t-shirt, black shorts, black slip-on trainers, and black calf-length socks.
In typical Terminator fashion, he also wore tinted sunglasses the entire time.
While biking, Arnold wore a blue zip-up jacket with an orange, red, and white emblem. He also seems to be keeping his hair a brunette colour while his beard and moustache seem to be naturally white.
However, it’s clear to see he is still exercising like he’s training for Mr. Universe. He even got his exercise on his way to work riding his bike, reports mirror.co.uk.
The former governor of California was working out his arms as he sat on a workout bench using a workout machine. He paid no attention to other gym goers as he wore all black –a black t-shirt, black shorts, black slip-on trainers, and black calf-length socks.
In typical Terminator fashion, he also wore tinted sunglasses the entire time.
While biking, Arnold wore a blue zip-up jacket with an orange, red, and white emblem. He also seems to be keeping his hair a brunette colour while his beard and moustache seem to be naturally white.
- 7/12/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month, including the exclusive streaming premiere of Lars von Trier’s The Idiots in a new 4K restoration, Céline Devaux’s anti-romcom Everybody Loves Jeanne, and Tyler Taormina’s Happer’s Comet.
Additional selections include three films by Wong Kar Wai, a Robert Altman double feature, four works by Jacques Rivette, plus shorts by Mia Hansen-Løve and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
July 1 – Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman
July 2 – 2046, directed by Wong Kar Wai | As Time Goes By: Three by Wong Kar Wai
July 3 – The Exiles, directed by Kent MacKenzie
July 4 – Ivansxtc, directed by Bernard Rose
July 5 – Un Pur Esprit, directed by Mia Hansen-Løve | Short Films Big Names
July 6 – Contemporary Color, directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | Turn It Up: Music on Film
July 7 – The Idiots, directed by Lars von Trier...
Additional selections include three films by Wong Kar Wai, a Robert Altman double feature, four works by Jacques Rivette, plus shorts by Mia Hansen-Løve and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
July 1 – Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman
July 2 – 2046, directed by Wong Kar Wai | As Time Goes By: Three by Wong Kar Wai
July 3 – The Exiles, directed by Kent MacKenzie
July 4 – Ivansxtc, directed by Bernard Rose
July 5 – Un Pur Esprit, directed by Mia Hansen-Løve | Short Films Big Names
July 6 – Contemporary Color, directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | Turn It Up: Music on Film
July 7 – The Idiots, directed by Lars von Trier...
- 6/26/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Arnold Schwarzenegger's conquering of America truly is an unbelievable story. As comedian Bill Burr surmised in his 2012 standup special "You People Are All the Same," Arnie should be "unloading trucks in Transylvania [...] but because he's a great man, he had the balls to move to America and became famous for lifting weights." Schwarzenegger did indeed go from driving tanks in the Austrian army to becoming arguably the greatest bodybuilder of all time, winning the Mr. Olympia title seven times. But he also became one of the biggest actors in Hollywood, and arguably the most popular action star in history, all while simultaneously carrying family-friendly comedy fare such as "Kindergarten Cop" and "Jingle All The Way" — one of the best Christmas movies of all time. Oh, and he also found time to marry into the Kennedy family and become the governor of California.
The Governator didn't get where he is without being highly competitive.
The Governator didn't get where he is without being highly competitive.
- 2/25/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
"Batman & Robin" has been derided enough at this point. We all know it's not a fondly-remembered Batman movie, let alone a comic book adaptation. Which is why it's strange to think that before director Joel Schumacher unveiled his infamously disappointing follow-up to 1995's "Batman Forever," there couldn't have been more excitement surrounding the project.
Once "Batman Forever" proved a huge hit, everyone wanted in on Schumacher's sequel — from actors angling for parts to company CEOs demanding their products be featured. As the director explained in a making-of-featurette:
"It was the opposite from 'Batman Forever' when we had to go around and convince everybody to come along with us, we were going to make a Batman movie. This was, 'How can we stop everybody?' It was everybody and their mother wanted to have their franchise in the movie and be part of it."
Schumacher went on to say that whereas,...
Once "Batman Forever" proved a huge hit, everyone wanted in on Schumacher's sequel — from actors angling for parts to company CEOs demanding their products be featured. As the director explained in a making-of-featurette:
"It was the opposite from 'Batman Forever' when we had to go around and convince everybody to come along with us, we were going to make a Batman movie. This was, 'How can we stop everybody?' It was everybody and their mother wanted to have their franchise in the movie and be part of it."
Schumacher went on to say that whereas,...
- 2/25/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
The Incredible Hulk, created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1962, is a character born more from universal monster movies and 1950s sci-fi than more modern notions of complex, interlaced comic book lore. In the original comic books, a spindly physicist named Bruce Banner was exposed to a strange type of radiation while saving a soldier from a nuclear bomb test. Rather than killing him, the radiation mutated his body into that of a bulky, over-muscled brute. He eventually shrunk back to his normal size, but Bruce eventually found that whenever he got angry, he would transform back into an unstoppable radioactive ogre. Indeed, he was so angry, he couldn't speak or think clearly.
The Hulk became one of the more popular characters in a new wave of Marvel Comics that debuted in the 1960s. He was popular enough to be included in the Avengers, a mash-up superhero team comic...
The Hulk became one of the more popular characters in a new wave of Marvel Comics that debuted in the 1960s. He was popular enough to be included in the Avengers, a mash-up superhero team comic...
- 1/27/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
U.S. Dramatic Competition
This unexpected film, which if anything might be a contemporary version of ‘Pumping Iron’ in which bodybuilding and celebrity-to-be meets Travis Bickle of ‘Taxi Driver’, shows a restraint and rechanneling of psychopathological leanings which redeem the film and its hero, a sweet but uncontrollable and, in the end, an invincible dreamer.
Director Elijah Bynum. Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Surely the producer Jennifer Fox felt an affinity to this project. Much of Fox’s work deals with understanding trauma. The emotional depth of the filmic concerns her in both her docs and fiction features. Jennifer Fox and In 2018, Jennifer Fox directed the film The Tale (2018), inspired by her own experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Unlike her previous works, the film is not a documentary but a narrative film. That film featured Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern and premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2018 and was picked up there by HBO. The plot of the film directly references Fox’s own experience of recognizing and grappling with her own abuse history. While writing the script, Fox developed the idea of “issue-based fiction,” in which she is able to use storytelling to “dive into issues that people could learn from and experience.” Borrowing from her documentary filmmaking, Fox collaborated extensively on the production of the film, outreaching to mental health advocates, lawyers, sexual abuse survivors, and women’s lived experiences to transform narrative into a tool for change. Along with HBO, Fox was able to develop a resource website and viewing guides to accompany the film to be used in educating and opening up the conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the effects of trauma, and memory.[*] In films like The Tale and Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, trauma is examined in relation to memory and womanhood. In both films Fox is interested in how past trauma is able to shape one’s life and memory. In this film, this same element of a trauma-based life and memory is crucial to understandng the character of Killian Maddox, an obsessive bodybuilder who strives to win the Mr. Olympia contest and to be featured on the cover of body-building magazines.
Jonathan Majors in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Glen WilsonJennifer Fox. Photo by George Pimentel — © 2019 George Pimentel — Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Surely the producer Jennifer Fox felt an affinity to this project. Much of Fox’s work deals with understanding trauma. The emotional depth of the filmic concerns her in both her docs and fiction features. Jennifer Fox and In 2018, Jennifer Fox directed the film The Tale (2018), inspired by her own experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Unlike her previous works, the film is not a documentary but a narrative film. That film featured Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern and premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2018 and was picked up there by HBO. The plot of the film directly references Fox’s own experience of recognizing and grappling with her own abuse history. While writing the script, Fox developed the idea of “issue-based fiction,” in which she is able to use storytelling to “dive into issues that people could learn from and experience.” Borrowing from her documentary filmmaking, Fox collaborated extensively on the production of the film, outreaching to mental health advocates, lawyers, sexual abuse survivors, and women’s lived experiences to transform narrative into a tool for change. Along with HBO, Fox was able to develop a resource website and viewing guides to accompany the film to be used in educating and opening up the conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the effects of trauma, and memory.[*] In films like The Tale and Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, trauma is examined in relation to memory and womanhood. In both films Fox is interested in how past trauma is able to shape one’s life and memory. In this film, this same element of a trauma-based life and memory is crucial to understandng the character of Killian Maddox, an obsessive bodybuilder who strives to win the Mr. Olympia contest and to be featured on the cover of body-building magazines.
“On every street in every city in this country, there’s a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.” So says the tagline for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Killian Maddox is such a nobody. Occupying a small space in the film, it is revealed that his uncontrollable temper stems from past abuse and trauma which includes the murder of his mother by his father and his father’s suicide in front of his own childish eyes. That shapes his chaotic and antisocial vision of the world and at the film’s climax is re-experienced.
Killian Maddox lives with his ailing veteran grandfather, obsessively working out between court-mandated therapy sessions and part-time shifts at a grocery store where he has developed a crush on a friendly cashier. Killian struggles to read social cues and to maintain control of his volatile temper. He senses his disconnection in a hostile world, but pours his passion into a dream of bodybuilding superstardom.
The film has you squirming in your seat as he veers toward destruction but, just as you wonder, what good can come out of his journey. As Killian’s behavior becomes more obsessive and erratic, he still looks after his unconditionally loving grandfather. And as his delusions of destruction escalate, he faces his own trauma and breaks down into tears as he embraces his grandfather. This is the turning point for him. Killian sees success in bodybuilding as the link to acceptance and emotional connection. As our pathetic though physically stunning hero googles answers to “How do you make people like you?” and “How do you make a mark upon the world?” (or something like that) he finds the answer he needs in order to keep living.
Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Majors’ has created an alarmingly single-minded body building character with a soft-spoken shyness alternating with indomitable fury, a multisided black man living in perpetual mental chaos. Majors’ eclectic collection of roles show his huge dramatic range. For his role as Montgomery Allen in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Majors was nominated for a Gotham Award in the category of “Breakthrough Actor” and an Independent Spirit Award for “Best Supporting Male.” From The Last Black Man to a fighter pilot in the recent Devotion, to the western The Harder They Fall and soon a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his choices reveal a huge dramatic range which will reap fans for a long time to come. Born September 7, 1989 in Lompoc, California, Majors is a graduate from the Yale School of Drama and is a recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters (Nsal), National Drama Competition. He made his screen debut starring in the ABC miniseries When We Rise and has since landed strong roles, cementing him as a Hollywood actor to watch.
For more insight into Jonathan Majors and his work, read the interview with The Hollywood Reporter November 30, 2022 on the subject of Devotion.
Majors is executive producing under his Tall Street production banner along with Nightcrawler producers Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy and Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman. CAA Media Finance arranged financing through the Los Angeles Media Fund and is repping the film for both domestic and international distribution. Los Angeles Media Fund (Jeffrey Soros, Luke Rogers III, Simon Horsman and Andrew Blau) fully financed the film. They are currently working on The Color of Cola, a documentary based on a book by Stephanie Capparell, The Real Pepsi Challenge: How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers in 1940s American Business, which shares the experience of the all-Black sales team at Pepsi, directed by Stanley Nelson and Jacqueline Olive.
This unexpected film, which if anything might be a contemporary version of ‘Pumping Iron’ in which bodybuilding and celebrity-to-be meets Travis Bickle of ‘Taxi Driver’, shows a restraint and rechanneling of psychopathological leanings which redeem the film and its hero, a sweet but uncontrollable and, in the end, an invincible dreamer.
Director Elijah Bynum. Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Surely the producer Jennifer Fox felt an affinity to this project. Much of Fox’s work deals with understanding trauma. The emotional depth of the filmic concerns her in both her docs and fiction features. Jennifer Fox and In 2018, Jennifer Fox directed the film The Tale (2018), inspired by her own experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Unlike her previous works, the film is not a documentary but a narrative film. That film featured Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern and premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2018 and was picked up there by HBO. The plot of the film directly references Fox’s own experience of recognizing and grappling with her own abuse history. While writing the script, Fox developed the idea of “issue-based fiction,” in which she is able to use storytelling to “dive into issues that people could learn from and experience.” Borrowing from her documentary filmmaking, Fox collaborated extensively on the production of the film, outreaching to mental health advocates, lawyers, sexual abuse survivors, and women’s lived experiences to transform narrative into a tool for change. Along with HBO, Fox was able to develop a resource website and viewing guides to accompany the film to be used in educating and opening up the conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the effects of trauma, and memory.[*] In films like The Tale and Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, trauma is examined in relation to memory and womanhood. In both films Fox is interested in how past trauma is able to shape one’s life and memory. In this film, this same element of a trauma-based life and memory is crucial to understandng the character of Killian Maddox, an obsessive bodybuilder who strives to win the Mr. Olympia contest and to be featured on the cover of body-building magazines.
Jonathan Majors in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Glen WilsonJennifer Fox. Photo by George Pimentel — © 2019 George Pimentel — Image courtesy gettyimages.com
Surely the producer Jennifer Fox felt an affinity to this project. Much of Fox’s work deals with understanding trauma. The emotional depth of the filmic concerns her in both her docs and fiction features. Jennifer Fox and In 2018, Jennifer Fox directed the film The Tale (2018), inspired by her own experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Unlike her previous works, the film is not a documentary but a narrative film. That film featured Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern and premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2018 and was picked up there by HBO. The plot of the film directly references Fox’s own experience of recognizing and grappling with her own abuse history. While writing the script, Fox developed the idea of “issue-based fiction,” in which she is able to use storytelling to “dive into issues that people could learn from and experience.” Borrowing from her documentary filmmaking, Fox collaborated extensively on the production of the film, outreaching to mental health advocates, lawyers, sexual abuse survivors, and women’s lived experiences to transform narrative into a tool for change. Along with HBO, Fox was able to develop a resource website and viewing guides to accompany the film to be used in educating and opening up the conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the effects of trauma, and memory.[*] In films like The Tale and Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, trauma is examined in relation to memory and womanhood. In both films Fox is interested in how past trauma is able to shape one’s life and memory. In this film, this same element of a trauma-based life and memory is crucial to understandng the character of Killian Maddox, an obsessive bodybuilder who strives to win the Mr. Olympia contest and to be featured on the cover of body-building magazines.
“On every street in every city in this country, there’s a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.” So says the tagline for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Killian Maddox is such a nobody. Occupying a small space in the film, it is revealed that his uncontrollable temper stems from past abuse and trauma which includes the murder of his mother by his father and his father’s suicide in front of his own childish eyes. That shapes his chaotic and antisocial vision of the world and at the film’s climax is re-experienced.
Killian Maddox lives with his ailing veteran grandfather, obsessively working out between court-mandated therapy sessions and part-time shifts at a grocery store where he has developed a crush on a friendly cashier. Killian struggles to read social cues and to maintain control of his volatile temper. He senses his disconnection in a hostile world, but pours his passion into a dream of bodybuilding superstardom.
The film has you squirming in your seat as he veers toward destruction but, just as you wonder, what good can come out of his journey. As Killian’s behavior becomes more obsessive and erratic, he still looks after his unconditionally loving grandfather. And as his delusions of destruction escalate, he faces his own trauma and breaks down into tears as he embraces his grandfather. This is the turning point for him. Killian sees success in bodybuilding as the link to acceptance and emotional connection. As our pathetic though physically stunning hero googles answers to “How do you make people like you?” and “How do you make a mark upon the world?” (or something like that) he finds the answer he needs in order to keep living.
Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Majors’ has created an alarmingly single-minded body building character with a soft-spoken shyness alternating with indomitable fury, a multisided black man living in perpetual mental chaos. Majors’ eclectic collection of roles show his huge dramatic range. For his role as Montgomery Allen in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Majors was nominated for a Gotham Award in the category of “Breakthrough Actor” and an Independent Spirit Award for “Best Supporting Male.” From The Last Black Man to a fighter pilot in the recent Devotion, to the western The Harder They Fall and soon a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his choices reveal a huge dramatic range which will reap fans for a long time to come. Born September 7, 1989 in Lompoc, California, Majors is a graduate from the Yale School of Drama and is a recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters (Nsal), National Drama Competition. He made his screen debut starring in the ABC miniseries When We Rise and has since landed strong roles, cementing him as a Hollywood actor to watch.
For more insight into Jonathan Majors and his work, read the interview with The Hollywood Reporter November 30, 2022 on the subject of Devotion.
Majors is executive producing under his Tall Street production banner along with Nightcrawler producers Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy and Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman. CAA Media Finance arranged financing through the Los Angeles Media Fund and is repping the film for both domestic and international distribution. Los Angeles Media Fund (Jeffrey Soros, Luke Rogers III, Simon Horsman and Andrew Blau) fully financed the film. They are currently working on The Color of Cola, a documentary based on a book by Stephanie Capparell, The Real Pepsi Challenge: How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers in 1940s American Business, which shares the experience of the all-Black sales team at Pepsi, directed by Stanley Nelson and Jacqueline Olive.
- 1/25/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Sundance 2023: ‘Magazine Dreams’ Directed by Elijah Bynum
U.S. Dramatic Competition
The producer-savvy and emotional depth of Jennifer Fox and her previous filmic concerns contribute to this unexpected film which if anything might be a contemporary version of ‘Pumping Iron’ in which bodybuilding and celebrity-to-be meets Travis Bickle of ‘Taxi Driver’. The restraint and rechanneling of psychopathological leanings redeem the film and its hero, a sweet but uncontrollable and, in the end, an invincible dreamer.
Director Elijah Bynum. Courtesy of Sundance Institute
In 2018, Jennifer Fox directed the film The Tale (2018), inspired by her own experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Unlike her previous works, the film is not a documentary but a narrative film. That, with the script film featured Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern, and premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2018 and on HBO in May 2018. The plot of the film directly references Fox’s own experience of recognizing and grappling with her own abuse history. While writing the script, Fox developed the idea of “issue-based fiction,” in which she is able to use storytelling to “dive into issues that people could learn from and experience.” Borrowing from her documentary filmmaking, Fox collaborated extensively on the production of the film, outreaching to mental health advocates, lawyers, sexual abuse survivors, and women’s lived experiences to transform narrative into a tool for change. Along with HBO, Fox was able to develop a resource website and viewing guides to accompany the film to be used in educating and opening up the conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the effects of trauma, and memory.[*] Surely she felt an affinity to this project. Much of Fox’s work deals with understanding trauma. In films like The Tale and Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, trauma is examined in relation to memory and womanhood. In both films Fox is interested in how past trauma is able to shape one’s life and memory. In this film, this same element of a trauma-based life and memory is crucial to understandng the character of Killian Maddox, an obsessive bodybuilder who strives to win the Mr. Olympia contest and to be featured on the cover of body-building magazines.
Jennifer Fox. Photo by George Pimentel — © 2019 George Pimentel — Image courtesy gettyimages.com
“On every street in every city in this country, there’s a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.” So says the tagline for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Killian Maddox is such a nobody. Occupying a small space in the film, it is revealed that his uncontrollable temper stems from past abuse and trauma which includes the murder of his mother by his father and his father’s suicide in front of his own childish eyes. That shapes his chaotic and antisocial vision of the world and at the film’s climax is re-experienced.
Killian Maddox lives with his ailing veteran grandfather, obsessively working out between court-mandated therapy sessions and part-time shifts at a grocery store where he has developed a crush on a friendly cashier. Killian struggles to read social cues and to maintain control of his volatile temper. He senses his disconnection in a hostile world, but pours his passion into a dream of bodybuilding superstardom.
The film has you squirming in your seat as he veers toward destruction but, just as you wonder, what good can come out of his journey. As Killian’s behavior becomes more obsessive and erratic, he still looks after his unconditionally loving grandfather. And as his delusions of destruction escalate, he faces his own trauma and breaks down into tears as he embraces his grandfather. This is the turning point for him. Killian sees success in bodybuilding as the link to acceptance and emotional connection. As our pathetic though physically stunning hero googles answers to “How do you make people like you?” and “How do you make a mark upon the world?” (or something like that) he finds the answer he needs in order to keep living.
Jonathan Majors’ has created an alarmingly single-minded body building character with a soft-spoken shyness alternating with indomitable fury, a multisided black man living in perpetual mental chaos. Majors’ eclectic collection of roles show his huge dramatic range. For his role as Montgomery Allen in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Majors was nominated for a Gotham Award in the category of “Breakthrough Actor” and an Independent Spirit Award for “Best Supporting Male.” From The Last Black Man to a fighter pilot in the recent Devotion, and soon a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his choices reveal a huge dramatic range which will reap fans for a long time to come. Born September 7, 1989 in Lompoc, California, Majors is a graduate from the Yale School of Drama and is a recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters (Nsal), National Drama Competition. He made his screen debut starring in the ABC miniseries When We Rise and has since landed strong roles, cementing him as a Hollywood actor to watch.
For more insight into Jonathan Majors and his work, read the interview with The Hollywood Reporter November 30, 2022 on the subject of Devotion.
Majors is executive producing under his Tall Street production banner along with Nightcrawler producers Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy and Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman. CAA Media Finance arranged financing through the Los Angeles Media Fund and is repping the film for both domestic and international distribution. Los Angeles Media Fund (Jeffrey Soros, Luke Rogers III, Simon Horsman and Andrew Blau) fully financed the film. They are currently working on The Color of Cola, a documentary based on a book by Stephanie Capparell, The Real Pepsi Challenge: How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers in 1940s American Business, which shares the experience of the all-Black sales team at Pepsi, directed by Stanley Nelson and Jacqueline Olive.
Jonathan Majors in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Glen WilsonBlackMoviesFilm FestivalsBodybuilding...
U.S. Dramatic Competition
The producer-savvy and emotional depth of Jennifer Fox and her previous filmic concerns contribute to this unexpected film which if anything might be a contemporary version of ‘Pumping Iron’ in which bodybuilding and celebrity-to-be meets Travis Bickle of ‘Taxi Driver’. The restraint and rechanneling of psychopathological leanings redeem the film and its hero, a sweet but uncontrollable and, in the end, an invincible dreamer.
Director Elijah Bynum. Courtesy of Sundance Institute
In 2018, Jennifer Fox directed the film The Tale (2018), inspired by her own experience as a survivor of child sexual abuse. Unlike her previous works, the film is not a documentary but a narrative film. That, with the script film featured Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern, and premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2018 and on HBO in May 2018. The plot of the film directly references Fox’s own experience of recognizing and grappling with her own abuse history. While writing the script, Fox developed the idea of “issue-based fiction,” in which she is able to use storytelling to “dive into issues that people could learn from and experience.” Borrowing from her documentary filmmaking, Fox collaborated extensively on the production of the film, outreaching to mental health advocates, lawyers, sexual abuse survivors, and women’s lived experiences to transform narrative into a tool for change. Along with HBO, Fox was able to develop a resource website and viewing guides to accompany the film to be used in educating and opening up the conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the effects of trauma, and memory.[*] Surely she felt an affinity to this project. Much of Fox’s work deals with understanding trauma. In films like The Tale and Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, trauma is examined in relation to memory and womanhood. In both films Fox is interested in how past trauma is able to shape one’s life and memory. In this film, this same element of a trauma-based life and memory is crucial to understandng the character of Killian Maddox, an obsessive bodybuilder who strives to win the Mr. Olympia contest and to be featured on the cover of body-building magazines.
Jennifer Fox. Photo by George Pimentel — © 2019 George Pimentel — Image courtesy gettyimages.com
“On every street in every city in this country, there’s a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.” So says the tagline for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Killian Maddox is such a nobody. Occupying a small space in the film, it is revealed that his uncontrollable temper stems from past abuse and trauma which includes the murder of his mother by his father and his father’s suicide in front of his own childish eyes. That shapes his chaotic and antisocial vision of the world and at the film’s climax is re-experienced.
Killian Maddox lives with his ailing veteran grandfather, obsessively working out between court-mandated therapy sessions and part-time shifts at a grocery store where he has developed a crush on a friendly cashier. Killian struggles to read social cues and to maintain control of his volatile temper. He senses his disconnection in a hostile world, but pours his passion into a dream of bodybuilding superstardom.
The film has you squirming in your seat as he veers toward destruction but, just as you wonder, what good can come out of his journey. As Killian’s behavior becomes more obsessive and erratic, he still looks after his unconditionally loving grandfather. And as his delusions of destruction escalate, he faces his own trauma and breaks down into tears as he embraces his grandfather. This is the turning point for him. Killian sees success in bodybuilding as the link to acceptance and emotional connection. As our pathetic though physically stunning hero googles answers to “How do you make people like you?” and “How do you make a mark upon the world?” (or something like that) he finds the answer he needs in order to keep living.
Jonathan Majors’ has created an alarmingly single-minded body building character with a soft-spoken shyness alternating with indomitable fury, a multisided black man living in perpetual mental chaos. Majors’ eclectic collection of roles show his huge dramatic range. For his role as Montgomery Allen in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Majors was nominated for a Gotham Award in the category of “Breakthrough Actor” and an Independent Spirit Award for “Best Supporting Male.” From The Last Black Man to a fighter pilot in the recent Devotion, and soon a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, his choices reveal a huge dramatic range which will reap fans for a long time to come. Born September 7, 1989 in Lompoc, California, Majors is a graduate from the Yale School of Drama and is a recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters (Nsal), National Drama Competition. He made his screen debut starring in the ABC miniseries When We Rise and has since landed strong roles, cementing him as a Hollywood actor to watch.
For more insight into Jonathan Majors and his work, read the interview with The Hollywood Reporter November 30, 2022 on the subject of Devotion.
Majors is executive producing under his Tall Street production banner along with Nightcrawler producers Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy and Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman. CAA Media Finance arranged financing through the Los Angeles Media Fund and is repping the film for both domestic and international distribution. Los Angeles Media Fund (Jeffrey Soros, Luke Rogers III, Simon Horsman and Andrew Blau) fully financed the film. They are currently working on The Color of Cola, a documentary based on a book by Stephanie Capparell, The Real Pepsi Challenge: How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers in 1940s American Business, which shares the experience of the all-Black sales team at Pepsi, directed by Stanley Nelson and Jacqueline Olive.
Jonathan Majors in ‘Magazine Dreams’. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Glen WilsonBlackMoviesFilm FestivalsBodybuilding...
- 1/24/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Lou Ferrigno is set to play a murderous, cannibalistic pig farmer known as “The Hermit” in U.S.-based Italian director Salvatore Sclafani’s chiller of the same title that will mark Ferrigno’s first role playing a creature since CBS TV series “The Incredible Hulk.”
Shooting is set to start in August in Syracuse, N.Y., on the horror film with an undercurrent of fun and quirky irony that will see Ferrigno making and selling jerky made of human flesh.
“Most people are surprised that I’ve never really entered the horror space before now,” Ferrigno said in a statement for Variety. “When I was a kid I was fascinated with the monsters of the time like Dracula and Frankenstein.
“So I am really excited and honored to be working with such a great team on something that will for sure excite fans. The character I am playing is...
Shooting is set to start in August in Syracuse, N.Y., on the horror film with an undercurrent of fun and quirky irony that will see Ferrigno making and selling jerky made of human flesh.
“Most people are surprised that I’ve never really entered the horror space before now,” Ferrigno said in a statement for Variety. “When I was a kid I was fascinated with the monsters of the time like Dracula and Frankenstein.
“So I am really excited and honored to be working with such a great team on something that will for sure excite fans. The character I am playing is...
- 5/19/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
What defines bodybuilding, rather than a general fitness regime or the physical conditioning required for contact sports, is how it sees strength as an end to itself. In terms of how competitions are usually conducted, the measure of time for participants to pose for judges is over imminently: as shown in films such as Pumping Iron, and now the somber Hungarian drama Gentle, it can resemble fashion catwalk more than gladiatorial arena. Also relevant is the post-human aspect: what is bodybuilding if not a way to augment what we know as human features, kneading muscle and physical posture into a heightened form of themselves. David Cronenberg would’ve surely concocted an interesting film set in this milieu, at least in his Dead Ringers or Crash mode.
Anna Nemes (one half of the director team responsible for Gentle) and László Csuja made a straight documentary in tandem with this feature, using...
Anna Nemes (one half of the director team responsible for Gentle) and László Csuja made a straight documentary in tandem with this feature, using...
- 1/28/2022
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
The journalist and podcaster talks about some of her favorite cinematic grifters and losers with Josh and Joe.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Third Man (1949) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
All About Eve (1950)
The Hot Rock (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Die Hard (1988)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Producers (1967) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Music Man (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review
The Band Wagon (1953) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
A Night At The Opera (1935) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930) – Robert Weide...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Third Man (1949) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
All About Eve (1950)
The Hot Rock (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Die Hard (1988)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Producers (1967) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Music Man (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review
The Band Wagon (1953) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
A Night At The Opera (1935) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930) – Robert Weide...
- 12/14/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
George Butler, the British documentarian best known for Pumping Iron, his 1977 body-building feature starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, has died. He was 78.
Butler died on Oct. 21 of pneumonia at his home in Holderness, N.H., his son Desmond Butler — an investigative reporter for The Washington Post — confirmed to the outlet.
The filmmaker was born in 1942 in Chester, England, and started his career as a stills photographer. He was educated at the University of North Carolina.
Together with Robert Fiore, Butler co-directed and produced Pumping Iron, which saw Schwarzenegger face off against Lou Ferrigno in a competition for the title of ...
Butler died on Oct. 21 of pneumonia at his home in Holderness, N.H., his son Desmond Butler — an investigative reporter for The Washington Post — confirmed to the outlet.
The filmmaker was born in 1942 in Chester, England, and started his career as a stills photographer. He was educated at the University of North Carolina.
Together with Robert Fiore, Butler co-directed and produced Pumping Iron, which saw Schwarzenegger face off against Lou Ferrigno in a competition for the title of ...
- 10/30/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
George Butler, the British documentarian best known for Pumping Iron, his 1977 body-building feature starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, has died. He was 78.
Butler died on Oct. 21 of pneumonia at his home in Holderness, N.H., his son Desmond Butler — an investigative reporter for The Washington Post — confirmed to the outlet.
The filmmaker was born in 1942 in Chester, England, and started his career as a stills photographer. He was educated at the University of North Carolina.
Together with Robert Fiore, Butler co-directed and produced Pumping Iron, which saw Schwarzenegger face off against Lou Ferrigno in a competition for the title of ...
Butler died on Oct. 21 of pneumonia at his home in Holderness, N.H., his son Desmond Butler — an investigative reporter for The Washington Post — confirmed to the outlet.
The filmmaker was born in 1942 in Chester, England, and started his career as a stills photographer. He was educated at the University of North Carolina.
Together with Robert Fiore, Butler co-directed and produced Pumping Iron, which saw Schwarzenegger face off against Lou Ferrigno in a competition for the title of ...
- 10/30/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
George Tyssen Butler, a documentary filmmaker best known for co-directing the 1977 feature “Pumping Iron,” died on Oct. 21 of pneumonia at his home in New Hampshire. He was 78 years old.
Butler’s death was confirmed to Variety by his longtime companion Caroline Alexander.
Butler was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Somalia and Jamaica. He graduated from the Groton School in Massachusetts before earning a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of North Carolina and a master’s in creative writing from Hollins College. Butler became involved in the world of bodybuilding in the early 1970s by photographing competitions for Life magazine and The Village Voice.
Collaborating with author Charles Gaines, the pair penned a book about the culture of bodybuilding. The success of “Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding” led to the making of the documentary “Pumping Iron,” for which Butler and Gaines wrote the script.
Butler’s death was confirmed to Variety by his longtime companion Caroline Alexander.
Butler was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Somalia and Jamaica. He graduated from the Groton School in Massachusetts before earning a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of North Carolina and a master’s in creative writing from Hollins College. Butler became involved in the world of bodybuilding in the early 1970s by photographing competitions for Life magazine and The Village Voice.
Collaborating with author Charles Gaines, the pair penned a book about the culture of bodybuilding. The success of “Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding” led to the making of the documentary “Pumping Iron,” for which Butler and Gaines wrote the script.
- 10/30/2021
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary filmmaker George Butler, best known for his 1977 film Pumping Iron that raised Austrian bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger to Hollywood prominence, died of pneumonia Oct. 21 at home in New Hampshire. He was 78 and his death was confirmed by his son, Desmond Butler, a Washington Post reporter.
Butler directed more than 10 films during his four-decade career. He co-directed Pumping Iron with Robert Fiore.
The son of a British Army officer, he spent his childhood in Somalia and Jamaica.
His final project, Tiger Tiger, is scheduled for next year. The film follows a big cat conservationist into the wilds of India and Bangladesh.
Butler had covered bodybuilding as a journalist in the 1970s, collaborating on a book on the subject before raising funds for the film. The film exponentially raised the profile of Schwarzenegger, who had scored just a few small TV and film roles at the time. The film depicted his training at Gold’s Gym in Venice,...
Butler directed more than 10 films during his four-decade career. He co-directed Pumping Iron with Robert Fiore.
The son of a British Army officer, he spent his childhood in Somalia and Jamaica.
His final project, Tiger Tiger, is scheduled for next year. The film follows a big cat conservationist into the wilds of India and Bangladesh.
Butler had covered bodybuilding as a journalist in the 1970s, collaborating on a book on the subject before raising funds for the film. The film exponentially raised the profile of Schwarzenegger, who had scored just a few small TV and film roles at the time. The film depicted his training at Gold’s Gym in Venice,...
- 10/30/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Publicist to the stars Bobby Zarem died at his home in Savannah, Georgia at the age of 84 from complications of lung cancer, according to the NY Times.
Throughout his career, Zarem represented Alan Alda, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Caine, Cher, Jack Nicholson, Diana Ross, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others. He’s also known for his role in the promotion of the “I Love New York” tourism campaign although how his participation in the creation of the slogan is unknown.
He promoted major titles both on Broadway and the big screen including Tommy, Saturday Night Fever, Dances With Wolves, Scarface, and Rambo for his client Sylvester Stallone.
It was his promotion of Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron that helped catapult the Austrian-born actor to the next level.
Al Pacino played a character inspired by Zarem in 2002’s People I Know.
“I loved meeting stars. I think that’s what initiated me...
Throughout his career, Zarem represented Alan Alda, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Caine, Cher, Jack Nicholson, Diana Ross, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others. He’s also known for his role in the promotion of the “I Love New York” tourism campaign although how his participation in the creation of the slogan is unknown.
He promoted major titles both on Broadway and the big screen including Tommy, Saturday Night Fever, Dances With Wolves, Scarface, and Rambo for his client Sylvester Stallone.
It was his promotion of Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron that helped catapult the Austrian-born actor to the next level.
Al Pacino played a character inspired by Zarem in 2002’s People I Know.
“I loved meeting stars. I think that’s what initiated me...
- 9/26/2021
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Bruce Springsteen has officially been added to the Light of Day Foundation’s Winter Love Fest 2021 lineup, a virtual concert taking place between February 12th and February 14th. He will play with Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers on February 13th.
Steve Van Zandt and the Disciples of Soul have also been added to the bill. They will play on February 14th, marking their first Light of Day appearance in the two-decade history of the event.
Springsteen and Van Zandt join a lineup that includes Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Willie Nile,...
Steve Van Zandt and the Disciples of Soul have also been added to the bill. They will play on February 14th, marking their first Light of Day appearance in the two-decade history of the event.
Springsteen and Van Zandt join a lineup that includes Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Willie Nile,...
- 2/10/2021
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions have set a feature documentary focusing on the attempt by seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath to return after a two year hiatus to reclaim his status as arguably the greatest Mr. Olympia champion to walk the earth. Johnson and Garcia are the executive producers and writing and directing the untitled film is Canadian filmmaker Brett Harvey.
The film will cover Heath’s rise to the top of the bodybuilding mountain — he won the title every year from 2011-2017 — and the adversity of trying to come all the way back from the two year layoff, overcome injuries that come with 18 years of physical and mental sacrifice, and the beefcake that filled the gap while he was away and will be onstage against him. Adding to the challenge of his comeback...
The film will cover Heath’s rise to the top of the bodybuilding mountain — he won the title every year from 2011-2017 — and the adversity of trying to come all the way back from the two year layoff, overcome injuries that come with 18 years of physical and mental sacrifice, and the beefcake that filled the gap while he was away and will be onstage against him. Adding to the challenge of his comeback...
- 10/6/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Up until late Saturday afternoon, the odds of Bruce Springsteen showing up at the annual Asbury Park charity concert Light of Day seemed pretty miniscule. He was a regular (unannounced) guest at the show – which raises money to fight Parkinson’s Disease – most every year from its inception in 2000 through 2015, but he missed the past four consecutive shows. This year, he was booked to host an equestrian event in Wellington, Florida 24 hours before the start of the Light of Day festivities. Making matters worse, a winter storm just happened to...
- 1/19/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
The history of movie culture is full of colorful characters committed to elevating the experience. Donald Rugoff’s exhibition and distribution company Cinema 5 paved the way for a second generation of companies enhancing cinematic culture like the studio (sm)art-house divisions and Landmark Theaters, and then a third wave of companies like the Alamo Drafthouse and A24, turning movie-going into an event. In Searching for Mr. Rugoff, film distribution veteran and producer Ira Deutchman goes back to an early mentor, inspired by a speech given by the great exhibitor Dan Talbot (proprietor of Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and New Yorker Films) at the Ifp Gotham Awards several years ago. In the speech as told by Talbot, Rugoff moved to Marthas Vineyard after having lost his company and started showing films in an old church.
Searching for Mr. Rugoff paints a vibrant picture of a specific era of moviegoing in New York City,...
Searching for Mr. Rugoff paints a vibrant picture of a specific era of moviegoing in New York City,...
- 11/20/2019
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
The first footage from psychological thriller “Muscle” has dropped ahead of its world premiere Friday at the London Film Festival.
Gerard Johnson’s feature, which is filmed entirely in black and white, is set in a testosterone-fueled world of hardcore gyms. It follows Simon (Cavan Clerkin), a directionless and unhappy office worker whose life is gradually taken over by domineering personal trainer Terry (Craig Fairbrass).
“Apart from the documentary ‘Pumping Iron,’ real gym culture has never been tackled in film before,” Johnson said. “I want to change that with this original character study. This is a dark psychological thriller, dripping with a true reflection of manhood – what makes you a man – in the eyes of other men, in the eyes of women, in the eyes of the world? How do you protect that? What happens when you find yourself emasculated?”
London-based sales outfit WestEnd Films boarded the project in 2018 and...
Gerard Johnson’s feature, which is filmed entirely in black and white, is set in a testosterone-fueled world of hardcore gyms. It follows Simon (Cavan Clerkin), a directionless and unhappy office worker whose life is gradually taken over by domineering personal trainer Terry (Craig Fairbrass).
“Apart from the documentary ‘Pumping Iron,’ real gym culture has never been tackled in film before,” Johnson said. “I want to change that with this original character study. This is a dark psychological thriller, dripping with a true reflection of manhood – what makes you a man – in the eyes of other men, in the eyes of women, in the eyes of the world? How do you protect that? What happens when you find yourself emasculated?”
London-based sales outfit WestEnd Films boarded the project in 2018 and...
- 10/10/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
The 50th anniversary of the American Film Institute Conservatory drew a storied array of graduates from its inaugural Class of 1969 back to the film school’s original campus, Beverly Hills’ Greystone Mansion.
Nearly all of the first class — nine of the original 18 AFI Fellows — reconvened for the celebration at the estate-turned-city park, including acclaimed cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Natural, The Lion King), screenwriter Matthew Robbins (MacArthur, Crimson Peak), writer-producer Paul Davids (Roswell), director academic Jeremy Kagan (The Journey of Natty Gan, Chicago Hope), producer David Wyles (Pumping Iron), screenwriter Jack Weinstein, director/playwright/lyricist Ken Luber and filmmakers ...
Nearly all of the first class — nine of the original 18 AFI Fellows — reconvened for the celebration at the estate-turned-city park, including acclaimed cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Natural, The Lion King), screenwriter Matthew Robbins (MacArthur, Crimson Peak), writer-producer Paul Davids (Roswell), director academic Jeremy Kagan (The Journey of Natty Gan, Chicago Hope), producer David Wyles (Pumping Iron), screenwriter Jack Weinstein, director/playwright/lyricist Ken Luber and filmmakers ...
- 9/20/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The 50th anniversary of the American Film Institute Conservatory drew a storied array of graduates from its inaugural Class of 1969 back to the film school’s original campus, Beverly Hills’ Greystone Mansion.
Nearly all of the first class — nine of the original 18 AFI Fellows — reconvened for the celebration at the estate turned city park, including acclaimed cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Natural, The Lion King), screenwriter Matthew Robbins (MacArthur, Crimson Peak), writer-producer Paul Davids (Roswell), director academic Jeremy Kagan (The Journey of Natty Gan, Chicago Hope), producer David Wyles (Pumping Iron), screenwriter Jack Weinstein, director/playwright/lyricist Ken Luber ...
Nearly all of the first class — nine of the original 18 AFI Fellows — reconvened for the celebration at the estate turned city park, including acclaimed cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Natural, The Lion King), screenwriter Matthew Robbins (MacArthur, Crimson Peak), writer-producer Paul Davids (Roswell), director academic Jeremy Kagan (The Journey of Natty Gan, Chicago Hope), producer David Wyles (Pumping Iron), screenwriter Jack Weinstein, director/playwright/lyricist Ken Luber ...
- 9/20/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On July 30, 2019 Arnold Schwarzenegger will celebrate his 72nd birthday. Over his long career, he has had an unusually varied career in sports, the entertainment industry and most recently in politics.
He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.
SEEWho’s your favorite Best Director Oscar winner of the 1990s: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme … ? [Poll]
His second foray into films was more successful.
He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.
SEEWho’s your favorite Best Director Oscar winner of the 1990s: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme … ? [Poll]
His second foray into films was more successful.
- 7/30/2019
- by Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Former wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista and comedian Kumail Nanjiani make for an unlikely pair in the new Uber-themed action movie, Stuber. In the latest episode of Rolling Stone‘s the first time, the co-stars say they met for the first time at a chemistry test for the film, but quickly hit it off and by the end of shooting they were the undisputed Stuber ping-pong champions. Bautista also jokes, “Now we finish each other’s…” prompting Nanjiani to deadpan, “Sandwiches.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Bautista talks about competing in dance...
Elsewhere in the episode, Bautista talks about competing in dance...
- 7/18/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Arnold Schwarzenegger is passing his healthy living tips on to son Patrick Schwarzenegger.
The Midnight Sun actor, 25, said Sunday that a 2015 Easter chat with his famous dad inspired him to quit smoking marijuana, and instead focus on getting “high on life.”
View this post on Instagram
Fun Story: Few years ago (4 exactly) showed up lil high to Easter brunch... classic. My old man asked why... said “I dunno makes thing more fun”. He replied how much more fun do you need to have, life is so good. I’m high on life. I never want anything that would take me out of my current life.
The Midnight Sun actor, 25, said Sunday that a 2015 Easter chat with his famous dad inspired him to quit smoking marijuana, and instead focus on getting “high on life.”
View this post on Instagram
Fun Story: Few years ago (4 exactly) showed up lil high to Easter brunch... classic. My old man asked why... said “I dunno makes thing more fun”. He replied how much more fun do you need to have, life is so good. I’m high on life. I never want anything that would take me out of my current life.
- 4/22/2019
- by Rachel DeSantis
- PEOPLE.com
Matt Edwards Dec 14, 2017
As action comedy thriller Jean-Claude Van Johnson arrives on Amazon Prime Video, Matt looks at the history of action movie star satire...
In the new Amazon series Jean-Claude Van Johnson, action star Jean-Claude Van Damme attempts to relaunch his career by playing a fictionalised version of himself. In the show, Jean-Claude goes to Bulgaria to star in a movie which has been set-up to allow him to undertake covert missions for the agency as his alter-ego name Jean-Claude Van Johnson.
See related The Oa: 10 questions (sort of) answered The Oa: Netflix renews for season 2 Netflix's The Oa: spoiler-free review
This might all seem a bit familiar, for a couple of reasons. Of course, it’s not the first time that hyper-flexible jaw-punter Van Damme has relaunched his career by playing a fictionalised version of himself. 2008's excellent Jcvd, where he plays a down-on-his-luck version of himself who...
As action comedy thriller Jean-Claude Van Johnson arrives on Amazon Prime Video, Matt looks at the history of action movie star satire...
In the new Amazon series Jean-Claude Van Johnson, action star Jean-Claude Van Damme attempts to relaunch his career by playing a fictionalised version of himself. In the show, Jean-Claude goes to Bulgaria to star in a movie which has been set-up to allow him to undertake covert missions for the agency as his alter-ego name Jean-Claude Van Johnson.
See related The Oa: 10 questions (sort of) answered The Oa: Netflix renews for season 2 Netflix's The Oa: spoiler-free review
This might all seem a bit familiar, for a couple of reasons. Of course, it’s not the first time that hyper-flexible jaw-punter Van Damme has relaunched his career by playing a fictionalised version of himself. 2008's excellent Jcvd, where he plays a down-on-his-luck version of himself who...
- 12/11/2017
- Den of Geek
In 1966, as the underground film wave was sweeping the country, a Boston off-shoot of New York City’s Film-Makers’ Cinematheque opened at a performance space at 53 Berkeley Street. Underground films were shown on weeknights, while on the weekends the space transformed into a music venue called The Boston Tea Party.
The Cinematheque and the Tea Party were founded and run by a controversial figure named Mel Lyman, a harmonica player and the leader of a hippie commune in Boston’s Fort Hill neighborhood. Lyman has also been considered a cult leader on par with Charles Manson, except Lyman’s followers never actually murdered anyone. According to the book Apocalypse Culture, Lyman claimed to be an extraterrestrial and was seemingly obsessed with “ruling” the country’s underground culture.
Whatever Lyman’s background, the Cinematheque showed some cool films, according to the actual flyers from that time period below. Click each poster...
The Cinematheque and the Tea Party were founded and run by a controversial figure named Mel Lyman, a harmonica player and the leader of a hippie commune in Boston’s Fort Hill neighborhood. Lyman has also been considered a cult leader on par with Charles Manson, except Lyman’s followers never actually murdered anyone. According to the book Apocalypse Culture, Lyman claimed to be an extraterrestrial and was seemingly obsessed with “ruling” the country’s underground culture.
Whatever Lyman’s background, the Cinematheque showed some cool films, according to the actual flyers from that time period below. Click each poster...
- 8/6/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more seminal year in movie-going history than 1977, which unspooled such game-changers and genre-benders as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Airport ’77,” “Sorcerer,” and many, many more.
In honor of the fortieth anniversary of one of the wildest years in recent cinema history, The Film Society of Lincoln Center has programmed their ambitious ’77, a 33-film series surveying the sweeping cinematic landscape of a prolific year in cinema, in the United States and around the world.
Read MoreHow ‘Jaws’ Forever Changed the Modern Day Blockbuster — And What Today’s Examples Could Learn From It
While the debut of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” is likely the most notable name in a long list of ’77 titles, the year also played home to “Jubilee,” “Eraserhead,” “Hausu,” “Wizard,” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” That startling breadth of film options speaks to the changing times — both...
In honor of the fortieth anniversary of one of the wildest years in recent cinema history, The Film Society of Lincoln Center has programmed their ambitious ’77, a 33-film series surveying the sweeping cinematic landscape of a prolific year in cinema, in the United States and around the world.
Read MoreHow ‘Jaws’ Forever Changed the Modern Day Blockbuster — And What Today’s Examples Could Learn From It
While the debut of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” is likely the most notable name in a long list of ’77 titles, the year also played home to “Jubilee,” “Eraserhead,” “Hausu,” “Wizard,” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” That startling breadth of film options speaks to the changing times — both...
- 7/31/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Lawrence Silk, the preeminent documentary editor who worked on Pumping Iron, Woody Allen's Wild Man Blues and three films that won Academy Awards, has died. He was 86.
Silk, who received the American Cinema Editors' Career Achievement Award in 2013, died Sunday at a hospital in Springfield, Mass., his son, Dan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Wild Man Blues (1997) profiled clarinetist Allen and his seven-piece New Orleans jazz band as they toured Europe in 1996. Directed by two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, the documentary also is notable for providing an intimate look into Allen's life with his soon-to-be wife, Soon-Yi Previn, and his...
Silk, who received the American Cinema Editors' Career Achievement Award in 2013, died Sunday at a hospital in Springfield, Mass., his son, Dan, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Wild Man Blues (1997) profiled clarinetist Allen and his seven-piece New Orleans jazz band as they toured Europe in 1996. Directed by two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, the documentary also is notable for providing an intimate look into Allen's life with his soon-to-be wife, Soon-Yi Previn, and his...
- 5/24/2017
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Three years after he stormed the Croisette as part of the Expendables 3 crew — and 40 years after his 1977 debut here with Pumping Iron — Arnold Schwarzenegger will return to Cannes to present documentary Wonders of the Sea 3D. Directed by explorer and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau, the film is narrated by Schwarzenegger and will have a special screening on Saturday. From Fiji to the Bahamas, Cousteau and his children take viewers on a voyage to discover the ocean…...
- 5/17/2017
- Deadline
Joseph Baena, the son that Arnold Schwarzenegger had with Mildred Patricia Baena in the late 1990s, will be 19 next month. And, not surprisingly, he looks a hell of a lot like his old man. And Baena has clearly been hitting the gym, too. It’s like the Pumping Iron-era Schwarzenegger has been magically reincarnated for a new generation, just with cooler hair. In a new video directed by Ben Hess, Baena faithfully recreates a memorable moment from one of his dad’s most iconic films, 1991’s mega-blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgment Day:
In the original James Cameron film, Schwarzenegger’s no-bullshit cyborg arrives from the future completely nude (as per usual) and stops by a tough-looking country-western bar in order to take some clothes and a motorcycle from a hapless patron. His mission wildly successful, the automaton emerges triumphant from the tavern to the strains of “Bad To ...
In the original James Cameron film, Schwarzenegger’s no-bullshit cyborg arrives from the future completely nude (as per usual) and stops by a tough-looking country-western bar in order to take some clothes and a motorcycle from a hapless patron. His mission wildly successful, the automaton emerges triumphant from the tavern to the strains of “Bad To ...
- 9/9/2016
- by Joe Blevins
- avclub.com
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An appreciation of the rippled muscles of Arnold Schwarzenegger, from his Hercules days through to Predator...
Did you know Donald Trump's successor on The Celebrity Apprentice was once one of the biggest box-office draws in the world? Trippy, right? Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger became famous for his unique style and his fluctuating dialect, but he was picked for stardom for another reason entirely: he was a rippling, bulging slab of primeval, otherworldly manhood. The man was a titan, casting a shadow as wide as it was high. His fresh, smiling face and booming Austrian lungs were the perfect extras, but Arnold was thrust into the limelight because of his physique.
It was his earliest, formative years in which we saw Arnold's greatest flexes, when he relied on his jaw-dropping size for impact. In 1990 he would dominate both science-fiction and family genres, but it was in the years preceding this that his chest was most greased, skin most tanned and muscles most inflated. So let's think back, relive the carnage, and appreciate the 'King of Kings' in all his glittering majesty.
Hercules In New York (1970)
Seven long years before he starred in a breakout bodybuilding documentary, Arnie's 22-inch arms were breaking onto small screens in Hercules In New York. In Schwarzenegger's first real acting role, his unease is palpable. His thick Austrian accent (dubbed over in the film's original release) hasn't a spot of charisma and his performance is comparable to that of a re-animated corpse.
Schwarzenegger is Hercules, a demi-god sent to Earth. On his trip, he does all the things an everyday tourist does in the Big Apple: finds love, begins a career, flees pursuers in a chariot and chokes out a (man in a) bear (suit). He also finds time to fight off group of six men, using only a ridiculously long plank of wood, and best an Olympic-quality team of athletes at various track and field events. The film may have had a budget tighter than Arnold's shirt, but there is scant excuse for the lack of dimension or invention.
We are treated to Arnold's first show of size when his date shows him a poster for an upcoming Hercules picture. Our travelling deity is offended, claiming the actor looks nothing like him. Doing what any rational demigod would do, he strips off his cream turtleneck, revealing his chiselled torso. His audience-of-one loses her mind as he begins posing, before she realises what an insanely ludicrous thing has occurred. It's only the hindsight novelty factor that keeps Hercules In New York relevant.
Pumping Iron (1977)
Arnold was a star long before Pumping Iron. He was at the peak of his craft. At 28 years old, he stood at 6'2, weighed 240lbs and was a six-time Mr Olympia winner. He retired on top.
The most alpha of males, Arnold sashays through the documentary. Whilst some of his fellow competitors look like circus strongmen, Arnold is a walking sculpture, the perfect blend of symmetry and balance. Even starring alongside a real-life superhero, the Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno, he looks ginormous. The gap between his front teeth is the only chink in his man-made armour, but somehow he even turns that to his advantage.
The moment in which Schwarzenegger pops the loudest is in a moment of silence. As the documentary takes focus on the reigning champion, we are given a look behind the camera. A photo-shoot sets Arnold alight, as he poses and flexes in complete tranquillity. The only noise we are offered is that of the shutter, focusing our attention to the spectacle before us. In a film where some scenes feel uncomfortable to observe, at one point Arnold refers to Jesus as an inspiration for his legacy, this quiet moment of appreciation is a refreshing pause.
Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Refreshing pauses were seldom offered to us in the following years. Conan's story begins as 'a tale of sorrow', before the barely-dressed warrior embarks on a tale of revenge and retribution. Schwarzenegger's seductive ex-slave possesses superior sword skills, spinning, slashing and slaying a plethora of barbaric nasties.
At the film's most glorious, Conan and his collaborator take a stand against the villainous cavalry. With axe in hand and horns on head, Conan cleaves and slices. Though his weapon looks to be made out of foam and the enemies put up less effort than a pre-relegation Aston Villa, we are treated to a whirlwind of visual and verbal masculine aggression. What's more, we are given one of Arnold's earliest one-liners. In his first prayer, Conan asks his god to "grant me revenge, and if you do not listen, then to hell with you!" It's much better heard than read. This classic scene contained all the components that made his next breakout, muscle-bound feature such an enduring success.
The Terminator (1984)
It only took until 2029 for Arnold to hit the big time. James Cameron's "blazing, cinematic comic-book" (Variety's words) was the perfect vehicle for an emerging Schwarzenegger, as his role would rely on his frame rather than his command of the English language. The Terminator's unmoving grimace removes the need to portray emotion or reaction, but it is a skill few could pull off with such menace. Schwarzenegger is perfect casting: when he loses his eyebrows, he cuts the figure of a stone-cold killing machine.
The opening moments in the present day focus on a trash collector. Electric bolts awaken the workman from his boredom-induced coma, fizzing and zapping around him. They rally to a crescendo of light, producing a figure curled up in a foetal position. This figure is the T-800, a stark-naked Arnold; we see his arse before his face. He rises like the phoenix, striding into the light without a flicker of disorientation or embarrassment. We are slapped with a shady silhouette of his flapping member as he approaches a gang of ruffians, led by a young Bill Paxton, before he utters the now immortal phrase: "Your clothes: give them to me."
The T-800 swats one lackie away, before his jacked right arm lifts another overhead. This loiterer comes down without his heart, Cameron's camera hovering on Arnold's deep red, clutching hand. The T-800 is an instant threat, legitimately scary throughout, but it is in this brutal opening that he feels most deadly. It's not just Orwell who made 1984 special...
Commando (1985)
After playing a travelling god, a rugged caveman and a killer robot, Arnold was refreshed as a loving and devoted father. As John Martix, Schwarzenegger is a family man and a killing machine. These would come to represent the two sides of Schwarzenegger's coin: his films often worked best when the two went hand-in-hand. On screen he would mow down enemies with bullets and grenades, and later help his fictional daughter with her algebra homework. What a sweetheart.
And yet, in a film where hundreds of henchmen bite the dust, it is in his role as 'dedicated father' where he is the most impressive. Matrix had left his commando days behind, now taking care of his daughter, living a reclusive existence. Almost immediately, Schwarzenegger ripples; close-ups of his veined arms and chest are all too close, but remind the audience that Stallone is a boy scout in comparison. Arnold saunters toward the camera, carrying a huge tree on his shoulder like it’s a week's laundry. Schwarzenegger doesn't finish there. Not only does he handle the log like it's a twirling baton, he finishes the testosterone fest by turning it into kindling. A guy's got to keep that fire burning.
Predator (1987)
While Commando would eventually snowball into a cult classic, Schwarzenegger's following feature would prove the key to stardom. Even before Schwarzenegger stepped foot in the jungle, he met a fellow goliath. As Arnold's pumped-up mercenary Dutch is being briefed on his mission, a lone figure, sitting at a distant table, interjects. That figure is Apollo Cre… Carl Weathers; a man whose size and wit will match Schwarzenegger's all the way.
"Dillon!" Dutch gasps with childlike glee, before grounding his joy with the deprecating: "You son of a bitch." As Dutch and Dillon stride toward one another, their formidable forearms recoil before colliding into the most powerful handshake in cinematic history. The camera shifts focus from their gleaming smirks to the strained embrace. One second turns into five, the embrace morphing into competition, each man fighting in this mid-air arm wrestle. Five seconds turns to ten - the tension grows thick as Arnold toys with his rival. This contest lasts a full twenty seconds - twenty long, facial-hair-inducing seconds.
We may never recover from a scene that powerful.
The film soon hurtles into contact with the titular chameleon with barely chance to catch its breath. This lazer-toting, extra-terrestrial assassin is Arnold's ultimate nemesis, even down to the maniacal cackle. But, not even a foe this deadly could create a scene with the power of that handshake. Even in the film that popularised the full body mud-pack, the ass-kicking action and tension-mounting drama relies on the introduction Weathers and Schwarzenegger offer.
This theme would follow our Austrian actor. His greatest muscle-bound moments would come early, as an introduction, setting the tone and character in motion. As his career developed, Arnold proved he was much more than just unisex eye-candy, developing his aesthetic allure into real Hollywood charisma. Arnold would come to blossom in attracting a younger market, mixing action roles in Terminator 2 and Total Recall with Kindergarten Cop and Junior. Not only did Kindergarten Cop have no right to be as good as it is, but Arnold had no right to be so enjoyable to watch. His size became a point of contrast rather than one of awe, towering over others without menace but humour. He became his own character, a phenomenon for a reason beyond his look. He became the epitome of the American Dream, persevering and succeeding more than anyone thought he could. The ex-army tank driver would go on to ask in Junior, "Does my body disgust you?" and later become the Governor of California.
We've had some shallow fun, picking through Arnold's early years for his most outrageous muscle flexes. But it's worth remembering that Schwarzenegger's story is one of success through a lot of hard work and perseverence.
I'm just going to leave this here in case you feel motivated; I know I do...
Movies Feature Jake Wilson Arnold Schwarzenegger 16 Jun 2016 - 05:14 Pumping Iron Conan The Barbarian Commando Predator Hercules In New York The Terminator...
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An appreciation of the rippled muscles of Arnold Schwarzenegger, from his Hercules days through to Predator...
Did you know Donald Trump's successor on The Celebrity Apprentice was once one of the biggest box-office draws in the world? Trippy, right? Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger became famous for his unique style and his fluctuating dialect, but he was picked for stardom for another reason entirely: he was a rippling, bulging slab of primeval, otherworldly manhood. The man was a titan, casting a shadow as wide as it was high. His fresh, smiling face and booming Austrian lungs were the perfect extras, but Arnold was thrust into the limelight because of his physique.
It was his earliest, formative years in which we saw Arnold's greatest flexes, when he relied on his jaw-dropping size for impact. In 1990 he would dominate both science-fiction and family genres, but it was in the years preceding this that his chest was most greased, skin most tanned and muscles most inflated. So let's think back, relive the carnage, and appreciate the 'King of Kings' in all his glittering majesty.
Hercules In New York (1970)
Seven long years before he starred in a breakout bodybuilding documentary, Arnie's 22-inch arms were breaking onto small screens in Hercules In New York. In Schwarzenegger's first real acting role, his unease is palpable. His thick Austrian accent (dubbed over in the film's original release) hasn't a spot of charisma and his performance is comparable to that of a re-animated corpse.
Schwarzenegger is Hercules, a demi-god sent to Earth. On his trip, he does all the things an everyday tourist does in the Big Apple: finds love, begins a career, flees pursuers in a chariot and chokes out a (man in a) bear (suit). He also finds time to fight off group of six men, using only a ridiculously long plank of wood, and best an Olympic-quality team of athletes at various track and field events. The film may have had a budget tighter than Arnold's shirt, but there is scant excuse for the lack of dimension or invention.
We are treated to Arnold's first show of size when his date shows him a poster for an upcoming Hercules picture. Our travelling deity is offended, claiming the actor looks nothing like him. Doing what any rational demigod would do, he strips off his cream turtleneck, revealing his chiselled torso. His audience-of-one loses her mind as he begins posing, before she realises what an insanely ludicrous thing has occurred. It's only the hindsight novelty factor that keeps Hercules In New York relevant.
Pumping Iron (1977)
Arnold was a star long before Pumping Iron. He was at the peak of his craft. At 28 years old, he stood at 6'2, weighed 240lbs and was a six-time Mr Olympia winner. He retired on top.
The most alpha of males, Arnold sashays through the documentary. Whilst some of his fellow competitors look like circus strongmen, Arnold is a walking sculpture, the perfect blend of symmetry and balance. Even starring alongside a real-life superhero, the Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno, he looks ginormous. The gap between his front teeth is the only chink in his man-made armour, but somehow he even turns that to his advantage.
The moment in which Schwarzenegger pops the loudest is in a moment of silence. As the documentary takes focus on the reigning champion, we are given a look behind the camera. A photo-shoot sets Arnold alight, as he poses and flexes in complete tranquillity. The only noise we are offered is that of the shutter, focusing our attention to the spectacle before us. In a film where some scenes feel uncomfortable to observe, at one point Arnold refers to Jesus as an inspiration for his legacy, this quiet moment of appreciation is a refreshing pause.
Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Refreshing pauses were seldom offered to us in the following years. Conan's story begins as 'a tale of sorrow', before the barely-dressed warrior embarks on a tale of revenge and retribution. Schwarzenegger's seductive ex-slave possesses superior sword skills, spinning, slashing and slaying a plethora of barbaric nasties.
At the film's most glorious, Conan and his collaborator take a stand against the villainous cavalry. With axe in hand and horns on head, Conan cleaves and slices. Though his weapon looks to be made out of foam and the enemies put up less effort than a pre-relegation Aston Villa, we are treated to a whirlwind of visual and verbal masculine aggression. What's more, we are given one of Arnold's earliest one-liners. In his first prayer, Conan asks his god to "grant me revenge, and if you do not listen, then to hell with you!" It's much better heard than read. This classic scene contained all the components that made his next breakout, muscle-bound feature such an enduring success.
The Terminator (1984)
It only took until 2029 for Arnold to hit the big time. James Cameron's "blazing, cinematic comic-book" (Variety's words) was the perfect vehicle for an emerging Schwarzenegger, as his role would rely on his frame rather than his command of the English language. The Terminator's unmoving grimace removes the need to portray emotion or reaction, but it is a skill few could pull off with such menace. Schwarzenegger is perfect casting: when he loses his eyebrows, he cuts the figure of a stone-cold killing machine.
The opening moments in the present day focus on a trash collector. Electric bolts awaken the workman from his boredom-induced coma, fizzing and zapping around him. They rally to a crescendo of light, producing a figure curled up in a foetal position. This figure is the T-800, a stark-naked Arnold; we see his arse before his face. He rises like the phoenix, striding into the light without a flicker of disorientation or embarrassment. We are slapped with a shady silhouette of his flapping member as he approaches a gang of ruffians, led by a young Bill Paxton, before he utters the now immortal phrase: "Your clothes: give them to me."
The T-800 swats one lackie away, before his jacked right arm lifts another overhead. This loiterer comes down without his heart, Cameron's camera hovering on Arnold's deep red, clutching hand. The T-800 is an instant threat, legitimately scary throughout, but it is in this brutal opening that he feels most deadly. It's not just Orwell who made 1984 special...
Commando (1985)
After playing a travelling god, a rugged caveman and a killer robot, Arnold was refreshed as a loving and devoted father. As John Martix, Schwarzenegger is a family man and a killing machine. These would come to represent the two sides of Schwarzenegger's coin: his films often worked best when the two went hand-in-hand. On screen he would mow down enemies with bullets and grenades, and later help his fictional daughter with her algebra homework. What a sweetheart.
And yet, in a film where hundreds of henchmen bite the dust, it is in his role as 'dedicated father' where he is the most impressive. Matrix had left his commando days behind, now taking care of his daughter, living a reclusive existence. Almost immediately, Schwarzenegger ripples; close-ups of his veined arms and chest are all too close, but remind the audience that Stallone is a boy scout in comparison. Arnold saunters toward the camera, carrying a huge tree on his shoulder like it’s a week's laundry. Schwarzenegger doesn't finish there. Not only does he handle the log like it's a twirling baton, he finishes the testosterone fest by turning it into kindling. A guy's got to keep that fire burning.
Predator (1987)
While Commando would eventually snowball into a cult classic, Schwarzenegger's following feature would prove the key to stardom. Even before Schwarzenegger stepped foot in the jungle, he met a fellow goliath. As Arnold's pumped-up mercenary Dutch is being briefed on his mission, a lone figure, sitting at a distant table, interjects. That figure is Apollo Cre… Carl Weathers; a man whose size and wit will match Schwarzenegger's all the way.
"Dillon!" Dutch gasps with childlike glee, before grounding his joy with the deprecating: "You son of a bitch." As Dutch and Dillon stride toward one another, their formidable forearms recoil before colliding into the most powerful handshake in cinematic history. The camera shifts focus from their gleaming smirks to the strained embrace. One second turns into five, the embrace morphing into competition, each man fighting in this mid-air arm wrestle. Five seconds turns to ten - the tension grows thick as Arnold toys with his rival. This contest lasts a full twenty seconds - twenty long, facial-hair-inducing seconds.
We may never recover from a scene that powerful.
The film soon hurtles into contact with the titular chameleon with barely chance to catch its breath. This lazer-toting, extra-terrestrial assassin is Arnold's ultimate nemesis, even down to the maniacal cackle. But, not even a foe this deadly could create a scene with the power of that handshake. Even in the film that popularised the full body mud-pack, the ass-kicking action and tension-mounting drama relies on the introduction Weathers and Schwarzenegger offer.
This theme would follow our Austrian actor. His greatest muscle-bound moments would come early, as an introduction, setting the tone and character in motion. As his career developed, Arnold proved he was much more than just unisex eye-candy, developing his aesthetic allure into real Hollywood charisma. Arnold would come to blossom in attracting a younger market, mixing action roles in Terminator 2 and Total Recall with Kindergarten Cop and Junior. Not only did Kindergarten Cop have no right to be as good as it is, but Arnold had no right to be so enjoyable to watch. His size became a point of contrast rather than one of awe, towering over others without menace but humour. He became his own character, a phenomenon for a reason beyond his look. He became the epitome of the American Dream, persevering and succeeding more than anyone thought he could. The ex-army tank driver would go on to ask in Junior, "Does my body disgust you?" and later become the Governor of California.
We've had some shallow fun, picking through Arnold's early years for his most outrageous muscle flexes. But it's worth remembering that Schwarzenegger's story is one of success through a lot of hard work and perseverence.
I'm just going to leave this here in case you feel motivated; I know I do...
Movies Feature Jake Wilson Arnold Schwarzenegger 16 Jun 2016 - 05:14 Pumping Iron Conan The Barbarian Commando Predator Hercules In New York The Terminator...
- 6/14/2016
- Den of Geek
Pop culture comes to life in St. Louis this weeekend! It’s the Wizard World Comic Con April 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at America’s Center downtown (701 Convention Plaza – St. Louis, Mo 63101), and boy oh boy, do they have an amazing line-up of guests!
Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, cosplay, comics, television, sci-fi, toys, video gaming, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. St. Louis show hours are Friday, April 1st, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, April 2nd, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, April 3rd, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wizard World Comic Con St. Louis is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor...
Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, cosplay, comics, television, sci-fi, toys, video gaming, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. St. Louis show hours are Friday, April 1st, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, April 2nd, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, April 3rd, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wizard World Comic Con St. Louis is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor...
- 4/1/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Marcel will find himself in "a little bit of pickle" on Thursday's episode of The Originals.
The show's latest installment, "A Walk on the Wide Side," reveals more about the Strix's plans for the handsome vamp. "There's a lot of mystery and intrigue behind it," star Charles Michael Davis tells People. "Marcel has to try to outsmart and figure out who took his daylight ring" during a New Orleans gala hosted by the secret vampire organization.
Davis reveals he was literally dancing through the pain during the stunt-heavy episode thanks to a partially torn pectoral muscle he incurred during the...
The show's latest installment, "A Walk on the Wide Side," reveals more about the Strix's plans for the handsome vamp. "There's a lot of mystery and intrigue behind it," star Charles Michael Davis tells People. "Marcel has to try to outsmart and figure out who took his daylight ring" during a New Orleans gala hosted by the secret vampire organization.
Davis reveals he was literally dancing through the pain during the stunt-heavy episode thanks to a partially torn pectoral muscle he incurred during the...
- 10/29/2015
- by Chancellor Agard, @chancelloragard
- People.com - TV Watch
In the '80s and '90s Arnold Schwarzenegger ruled the box office with a cigar-chomping grin. In 2015, he isn't even a match for Sam Worthington when it comes to selling tickets to a Terminator franchise entry. Something's gone wrong for Arnie - he's adopting the right technical stance, but struggling to lift the weight of expectation for modern movie audiences.
On paper, he's been doing everything right since exiting politics in 2011. He's picked the right roles, worked with the right people (even Sabotage, the worst reviewed movie among his initial comeback run, saw David Ayer push him to a great individual performance) while allowing clever marketing teams to capitalise on every one of his iconic elements.
The pattern started with his first full comeback movie. The Last Stand had a decent script and an interesting director. The poster featured our hero wielding a T-800 style chaingun, wearing the sort...
On paper, he's been doing everything right since exiting politics in 2011. He's picked the right roles, worked with the right people (even Sabotage, the worst reviewed movie among his initial comeback run, saw David Ayer push him to a great individual performance) while allowing clever marketing teams to capitalise on every one of his iconic elements.
The pattern started with his first full comeback movie. The Last Stand had a decent script and an interesting director. The poster featured our hero wielding a T-800 style chaingun, wearing the sort...
- 8/8/2015
- Digital Spy
It’s almost August and that means Netflix is about to give their content a refresh. Some of the notable titles leaving include: Family Ties: Season 1-7, Unbreakable, and Titanic. So if you haven’t seen some of these titles, plan your nights accordingly. We of course can look forward more than a few new titles including The Hurt Locker, White God (pictured above), and Girl Meets World season 1.
Available August 1
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999)
In this animated adventure, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore revel in their new gig at a movie theme park by wandering the grounds after hours. Among the attractions is the spooky Frankenstein’s Castle, where a real mad scientist is bringing the monster to life. But when the boys cross paths with the creature (Frank Welker), they soon learn that appearances can be deceiving, and Frankenstein is more misunderstood than malevolent.
Asylum (2005)
A...
Available August 1
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999)
In this animated adventure, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore revel in their new gig at a movie theme park by wandering the grounds after hours. Among the attractions is the spooky Frankenstein’s Castle, where a real mad scientist is bringing the monster to life. But when the boys cross paths with the creature (Frank Welker), they soon learn that appearances can be deceiving, and Frankenstein is more misunderstood than malevolent.
Asylum (2005)
A...
- 7/29/2015
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
So much for "Never let go": Mighty epic "Titanic" leaves Netflix streaming on August 1st.
Say goodbye to "Driving Miss Daisy," "Kiss the Girls," "The Fifth Element," "Unbreakable," "and "Face/Off" as well. These and dozens more titles will be leaving Netflix in August.
Also marked for deletion: '60s classics "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "The Longest Day," and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea."
And if you want to revisit the '80s sitcom "Family Ties," better get on that before August 15, when the Michael J. Fox series disappears from your queue.
Here's a complete list of the movies and TV shows that Netflix is pulling from your streaming list in August 2015. And, just so you're not left empty-handed, we've also got the list of what's new on Netflix in August 2015. (All titles and dates provided by Netflix and subject to change.)
Leaving August 1
"Bad Girl Island...
Say goodbye to "Driving Miss Daisy," "Kiss the Girls," "The Fifth Element," "Unbreakable," "and "Face/Off" as well. These and dozens more titles will be leaving Netflix in August.
Also marked for deletion: '60s classics "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "The Longest Day," and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea."
And if you want to revisit the '80s sitcom "Family Ties," better get on that before August 15, when the Michael J. Fox series disappears from your queue.
Here's a complete list of the movies and TV shows that Netflix is pulling from your streaming list in August 2015. And, just so you're not left empty-handed, we've also got the list of what's new on Netflix in August 2015. (All titles and dates provided by Netflix and subject to change.)
Leaving August 1
"Bad Girl Island...
- 7/27/2015
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
For the last half a century or so, Americans have been on a seemingly never-ending quest for physical perfection. This has manifested itself in the proliferation of cosmetic surgeons, health food stores, diet books and programs, and the wide spread, often popping up overnight, health clubs (Aka spa, the gym, the fitness center, etc…). So, naturally these places would become a movie location, in comedies (in the 63′ classic original The Nutty Professor, Jerry Lewis causes havoc at a “Vic Tanny Gym”) to documentaries (the Pumping Iron flicks). Then there’s those hybrid comedy/drama/romances like the John Travolta 1984 vehicle Perfect and the Robert Altman ensemble called, simply, Health. Now, in this new low-budget “indie” flick, three unlikely (and often unloveable) characters come together when one of them heads into a health club (sounds like an old joke set-up, “A guy walks into a spa…”), hoping, needing ,to achieve eventually,...
- 6/18/2015
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Up until this year, it was tough to remember the last time Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a truly great movie. But earlier this month he released the surprisingly enjoyable low-budget zombie flick Maggie. We've been burned by Terminator sequels in the past, but we're cautiously optimistic about the prospects for Terminator Genisys. If that becomes a hit, Arnold will truly have pulled off a comeback.
Now we have a question for you: What is the single best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Feel free to vote for an action flick like True Lies or The Terminator,...
Now we have a question for you: What is the single best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Feel free to vote for an action flick like True Lies or The Terminator,...
- 5/15/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Pumping iron with pop! Jennifer Hudson's 5-year-old son David Jr. is ready to follow in his WWE wrestler dad's footsteps — and he's already been bitten by the work out bug! The super-cute tot was photographed lifting weights with his namesake dad David Otunga during an evening work out session at the home the wrestler shares with his long time love, Hudson. "Late night training session with my workout partner, Mini Me," 35-year-old Otunga captioned the adorable picture. "I want to work out with you every day Dada." [...]...
- 5/8/2015
- Us Weekly
Arnold Schwarzenegger's filmography is a strange beast – full of iconic science-fiction flicks (The Terminator), lightweight comedies (Kindergarten Cop) and superhero disasters (Batman & Robin). Watching a career montage is a surreal experience, and the actor made that happen during Tuesday's episode of The Late Late Show, joining host James Corden to re-enact some of his most famous – and infamous – scenes and lines.
Schwarzenegger opens the above clip by channeling his breakout role, the title adventurer in 1982's Conan the Barbarian, but the timeline turns nonlinear – moving from the always quotable...
Schwarzenegger opens the above clip by channeling his breakout role, the title adventurer in 1982's Conan the Barbarian, but the timeline turns nonlinear – moving from the always quotable...
- 5/6/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on Monday to promote his new zombie drama “Maggie,” and the action star helped Corden act out iconic scenes from some of his biggest movies, much like Tom Hanks did during Corden’s debut. The two started off with classics like “Conan the Barbarian” and “Pumping Iron” before shifting to Schwarzenegger’s more recent fare, like “The Expendables.” “Are we doing ‘Expendables’ number one, two or three?” Schwarzenegger asked. “Well, what’s the difference?” Corden replied. “I don’t know, I never saw any of them,” Schwarzenegger said. See Photos: Mel Gibson,...
- 5/5/2015
- by Joe Otterson
- The Wrap
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