For some actors, their careers get better with age.
Indeed, when we look at some of the finest performances from the careers of well-established screen actors, it's clear that for some, their best films, and consequently performances, appeared after the age of 60.
Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for breach of contract after it streamed her superhero film Black Widow at the same time as its cinema release.
The film set a box office record for the Covid-19 pandemic, grossing $218m (£157m) in its first weekend.
But box office receipts then fell sharply and Ms Johansson argues she was deprived of potential earnings.
In response, Disney said it had "fully complied" with her contract and that her case had "no merit whatsoever".
Ms Johansson said she was promised by Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, that Black Widow would be a "theatrical release".
She said she had understood this to mean a "window" of time would pass before it would be streamed - a period that has traditionally lasted 90 days.
During the pandemic a number of Hollywood studios opted to bypass cinemas, many of which had been closed, and release their films online instead.
Now that most cinemas have reopened, Disney, along with fellow giant Warner Bros, has chosen to maintain a dual release strategy for their major films.
Source: BBC
Minamata is a 2020 drama film directed by Andrew Levitas, based on the book of the same name by Aileen Mioko Smith and Eugene Smith. The film stars Johnny Depp (who also produced) as Smith, an American photographer who documented the effects of mercury poisoning on the citizens of Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan.
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2020.
The question raised by the director recently was whether or not MGM was trying to bury Johnny Depp's new movie Minamata because of the actor's off-screen problems.
Eureka Entertainment have announced that the theatrical release of SWEET THING, an intimate and aching family drama from critically-acclaimed indie filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup, Little Feet), will be released in cinemas nationwide (UK & Ireland) from 10 September 2021.
Teenager Billie (Lana Rockwell), a 15-year-old girl who fantasises about Billie Holiday as a sort of fairy godmother, and younger brother Nico (Nico Rockwell) share time between their separated parents - father Adam (Will Patton, The Postman, Minari) is a chaotic drunkard with a loving heart for his kids who is working as a Christmas Santa, and mother Eve (Karyn Parsons, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), who has redefined her identity in a brazen style since leaving Adam and is now living with a new and obnoxious boyfriend Beaux (ML Josepher). The kids feel uncomfortable around Beaux, but visits to their mum have introduced them to new friend Malik, a boy as equally adrift as they are. Half in desperation and half in a spirit of adventure this trio sets off on a running wild trek across Massachusetts, crossing paths with a variety of American eccentrics, angels and desperados.
Described by Quentin Tarantino as one of the most powerful new films he’s seen in years, Alexandre Rockwell has woven something magical and heart-rending into what might seem like a not-particularly-original scenario. The story is an intense but ultimately uplifting, poetic rendering of childhood that captures the essence of that time in life when a day can last forever. The friendships, loyalties, and challenges of adolescent youth propel the story into a triumph of childhood hope and resilience.
Amongst three international wins, Sweet Thing picked up the Crystal Bear for Generation Kplus - Best Film at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival and the College Jury Prize for Best Film at Quebec City International Film Festival 2020.
Sweet Thing will be released in cinemas nationwide (UK & Ireland) from 10 September 2021.
On the 20th anniversary of the original release in Japan – 20th July 2001 – STUDIOCANAL are proud to announce the Anniversary Collector’s Edition Box Set of SPIRITED AWAY, the STUDIO GHIBLI masterpiece (creators of My Neighbour Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle), in stunning high-definition presented in a 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition Box Set.
Chihiro, a headstrong 10-year-old girl, is travelling with her parents to their new home. Chihiro’s father takes a detour to explore a mysterious tunnel in the woods. On the other side they find a deserted and dilapidated theme park with a beautiful bathhouse at the centre. Unwittingly, they have strayed into a spirit world, a land of dreamlike scenery inhabited by ancient gods and supernatural beings, ruled over by the witch, Yubaba. With her parents held captive and Yubaba set on enslaving them forever, Chihiro must use all her energy to survive in this strange new place. With the help of Haku, a mysterious and brave young spirit, she is forced to overcome her fears in order to rescue her parents and escape.
The winner of the Best Animated Feature award at the 75th ACADEMY AWARDS® in 2002, SPIRITED AWAY is a visionary work from Hayao Miyazaki which set the benchmark for all animation to come after, and is a remarkable fantasy adventure for both adults and children alike.
The Collector’s Boxset includes the DVD & Blu-ray Doubleplay edition of the film, the Art of Spirited Away hardback book, original Japanese poster, oversized art cards plus an exclusive bath token bookmark, bathhouse pouch bag and card holder wallet, all housed within a rigid case box.
Dark and wickedly entertaining, Beasts Clawing at Straws finds a variety of low-lives trying to outwit each other as they scheme, lie and murder to make money and save their own skin in a crime caper led by some of Korea’s finest stars including Jung Woo-sung (The Good the Bad and the Weird), Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine) and 2021 Academy Award® Winner Youn Yuh-jung (Minari).
Downtrodden Joong-man barely gets by working at a sauna and taking care of his sick mother until he finds a bag full of cash in the locker room which offers him a shot at a better life. Conniving Tae-young is in deep with a psychotic loan shark after his girlfriend runs off with the money he borrowed. Cunning Mi-ran is caught between her violent husband and a dead-end job in a seedy hosted club, until she finds a young lover who’s willing to kill for her...
The destinies of these hard-luck grifters and troubled souls slowly converge as they scheme their way towards striking it rich or saving their necks. Without any of them realising it, a dog-eat-dog game has begun.
Winner of the prestigious ‘Tiger Award’ at International Film Festival Rotterdam, the directorial debut of Yong Hoon-Kim is a deliciously twisted black comedy that’s packed with surprises and features a top cast of Korean talent including Jung Woo-sung (Steel Rain, Asura), Jeon Do-yeon (The Housemaid), Bae Sung-woo (Veteran), Jeong Man-sik (The Tiger), and 2021 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award® Winner Youn Yuh-jung (Minari).
Blue Finch Film Releasing presents Beasts Clawing At Straws on Curzon Home Cinema 13 August and on Digital Download 23 August
These candid photos taken on the sets of horror movies will change the way you think about them.
Marko Zaror, best known as one of the stars of Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, is in negotiations to join the ensemble of Lionsgate’s John Wick 4 starring Keanu Reeves. Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Lance Reddick and Shamier Anderson are also on board. Chad Stahelski returns as director.
The film is set for theatrical release on May 27, 2022. Shay Hatten and Michael Finch wrote the screenplay. Pic is produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Stahelski and executive produced by Reeves and Louise Rosner. Zaror will play one of Wick’s main pursuers in the film.
Besides Dusk Till Dawn: The TV Series, Zaror was also recently in Invincible. He is repped by Gersh.
Source: Deadline.com
Want to audition for some of the biggest, most successful films and TV shows in the world? It’s time to audition for Disney, the world’s largest film powerhouse with a box office take nearly four times its closest rivals.
Huge franchises and brands like Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Fox, and Searchlight Pictures are all part of the Disney mega production family. If you’re an actor or a filmmaker – especially in the UK, where Disney is investing heavily – it’s time to sit up and take notice of the goliath that Mickey Mouse has become.
Disney makes its own shows and films as well as working with external production companies, so if you’re after a role on a Disney shoot, you’ll need to scout out what they’re making at the moment and the casting directors (CDs) they’re working with. Another angle is to research what actors who’ve auditioned for Disney say about their experience – how did they get cast, how did they prepare, and what is their top advice for getting cast?
Being prepared is crucial because the UK is becoming one of Disney’s most important global production hubs, and that means plenty of opportunities coming your way. In 2019, Disney signed a far-reaching 10-year deal with London’s Pinewood Studios, leasing at least 20 stages and taking over most of their production capacity. Recently films such as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Mary Poppins Returns have all been shot at Pinewood, and Disney’s UK slate is only going to get bigger.
The answer to that question might best be answered by saying what Disney does not make. The company is enormous, taking in film, TV, and many production companies that don’t obviously seem to be part of Uncle Walt’s empire. With the launch of their streamer, Disney +, the company is also making new television shows and saying yes to new commissions that might not seem very Disney-ish, but very much are.
As well as the big names such as Star Wars (yes – Lucas is a Disney company) and Marvel (yes, them too), Disney also invests in smaller, more independent fare through its Searchlight Pictures arm, among others. Armando Iannucci’s period drama The Personal History of David Copperfield was a Disney/Searchlight co-production with Film 4. So, it’s not all mice, stormtroopers, and superheroes.
Recently, Disney announced a new slate of UK originals for Disney +, and the line-up was impressive. BAFTA award-winning writer Sally Wainwright, along with BAFTA-winning producers Sally Woodward Gentle (Killing Eve, Sid Gentle Films), Faith Penhale (production company Lookout Point), and Stephen Garrett (production company Character 7) are among the talent whose series will be launched on Disney+.
The best way is to keep an eye on the industry in order to see which films or shows have been greenlit and are coming into production over the next six or so months. If you’ve got an agent, great – they should be across opportunities, but if not then you can do this yourself.
Do your research and keep an eye on Backstage – especially our weekly Greenlit UK series, which announces major upcoming productions, including Disney. We usually announce who is casting what, and we carry plenty of interviews with casting directors for Disney productions, sharing their advice on how to approach them and get on their radar.
Find out more at Backstage.
Music in film plays such a key role in bringing cinema alive.
Sometimes a great movie scene can simply be two people chatting alongside the Hudson River or perhaps a moment of complete silence where framing, performance and editing come to the fore.
At other times it's about the music; those catchy hooks and infectious melodies becoming synonymous with iconic screen images.
Take for example Ghost. For the film to come alive – for its drama to tick and for the emotions it wants to resonate in its audience – the scene in which the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” plays as Sam and Molly make love, is pivotal to bringing all that together.
The scene, which famously begins with the pair getting very wet at the pottery wheel, tells us everything we need to know about their love for one another in a matter of two minutes. The rest of the film riffs off this scene.
What are some of the best films about musicians?
A number of well-known horror films are based on actual events.
1999's Ravenous, for example, was inspired by the activities of Alfred Packer in the 1870s while A Nightmare On Elm Street had its roots in the "Asian Death Syndrome" affecting Khmer refugees in the 1970s.
Elsewhere, David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers was inspired by the careers and demise of identical twin gynaecologists Stewart and Cyril Marcus who practiced at New York Hospital and Cornell University Medical College. The pair died together in 1975, the result of drug withdrawal following prolonged and extensive use of barbiturates.
And most will know about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Tobe Hooper’s seminal 1974 horror film is entirely fictional. However, Leatherface and the psychotic family who attack and mutilate a group of innocent people have motivations and modus operandi mimicking that of notorious mad man Ed Gein.
The Mad Butcher was arrested following investigations into the disappearance of shop owner Bernice Worden in late 1957. The woman’s body was found at Gein’s home, her head missing. It was here that investigators also found human remains which had been fashioned into furniture such as a wastebasket made out of human skin and bowls made from skulls. The Texan native was found to have murdered at least two people while exhuming a number of recently buried bodies to make various domestic items.
See Top 10 Films' list of the best horror films based on a true story here.
Some of the best bits from Richard Donner's Superman.
Superman (stylized as Superman: The Movie) is a 1978 superhero film directed by Richard Donner, supervised by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, produced by their partner Pierre Spengler, written by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is the first installment in the Superman film series. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Panama and the United States,[3] the film stars an ensemble cast featuring Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Jack O'Halloran, Maria Schell, and Sarah Douglas. It depicts the origin of Superman (Reeve), including his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton, son of Jor-El (Brando) and his youthful years in the rural town of Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane (Kidder) whilst battling the villainous Lex Luthor (Hackman).
Ilya had the idea of a Superman film in 1973 and after a difficult process with DC Comics, the Salkinds and Spengler bought the rights to the character the following year. Several directors, most notably Guy Hamilton, and screenwriters (Mario Puzo, David and Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton), were associated with the project before Richard Donner was hired to direct. Tom Mankiewicz was drafted in to rewrite the script and was given a "creative consultant" credit. It was decided to film both Superman and its sequel Superman II (1980) simultaneously, with principal photography beginning in March 1977 and ending in October 1978. Tensions arose between Donner and the producers, and a decision was made to stop filming the sequel, of which 75 percent had already been completed, and finish the first film.[7]
The most expensive film made up to that point, with a budget of $55 million,[8][9] Superman was released in December 1978 to critical and financial success; its worldwide box office earnings of $300 million made it the second-highest-grossing release of the year. It received praise for Reeve's performance and John Williams' musical score,[10] and was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Film Editing, Best Music (Original Score), and Best Sound, and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects.[11] Groundbreaking in its use of special effects and science fiction/fantasy storytelling, the film's legacy presaged the mainstream popularity of Hollywood's superhero film franchises. In 2017, Superman was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress's National Film Registry.
Current Sky Cinema/Now TV feelgood movies currently available to customers.
For years, cinema treated the road as a place of fun and adventure. There was cheerful competition in The Great Race (1965), family frolics in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and magic in The Love Bug (1969). Meanwhile, Cliff Richard was off on his “Summer Holiday” in a converted London bus in Peter Yates’ musical from 1963.
Alfred Hitchcock had hinted at its dangers when Janet Leigh chose the wrong motel to stop at in Psycho but the road really began to grow fangs after audiences saw the bullet-riddled car of Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. It was the turn of the American New Wave and the road was looking decidedly different.
Examples:
Jeeper Creepers
Dir. Salva (2001)
Victor Salva’s malevolent road user The Creeper and “its” unrelenting pursuit of siblings Trish (Gina Philips) and Darry (Justin Long) across the Floridian countryside is pulsating entertainment of the horrific kind. Part Duel, part The Hitcher, part Christine, Jeepers Creepers unapologetically wallows in the tropes that its writer-director has clearly loved as a fan-turned-filmmaker.
There’s nothing wrong with this. Audiences well-versed in the conventions of the “monster movie” will enjoy Salva’s obvious earnestness to roll out the red carpet for them; the joy of watching in the expectation of jolts to the senses. Jeepers Creepers certainly fulfils that demand, helped by Salva’s clever horror beats that often elongate the tension before the payoff.
Dead End
Dir. Andrea/Canepa (2003)
The road gets a distinctly paranormal feel in this horror about a family seemingly trapped on the same stretch of highway. After Dad, Frank Harrington (Ray Wise) narrowly misses a head on collision things begin to go bump in the night as a series of strange occurrences befall him and his passengers.
Why did Roald Dahl hate Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in 1964 and in the United Kingdom by George Allen & Unwin 11 months later. The book has been adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005. The book's sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, was written by Roald Dahl in 1971 and published in 1972. Dahl had also planned to write a third book in the series but never finished it.[1]
The story was originally inspired by Roald Dahl's experience of chocolate companies during his schooldays. Cadbury would often send test packages to the schoolchildren in exchange for their opinions on the new products.[2] At that time (around the 1920s), Cadbury and Rowntree's were England's two largest chocolate makers and they each often tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies, posing as employees, into the other's factory. Because of this, both companies became highly protective of their chocolate-making processes. It was a combination of this secrecy and the elaborate, often gigantic, machines in the factory that inspired Dahl to write the story.[3]
Source: Wikipedia
What about the film?
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The film tells the story of a poor child named Charlie Bucket who, after finding a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, visits Willy Wonka's chocolate factory along with four other children from around the world.
Filming took place in Munich from August to November 1970. Dahl was credited with writing the film's screenplay; however, David Seltzer, who went uncredited in the film, was brought in to re-work the screenplay against Dahl's wishes, making major changes to the ending and adding musical numbers. These changes and other decisions made by the director led Dahl to disown the film.[5][6] The musical numbers were written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley while Walter Scharf arranged and conducted the orchestral score.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures on June 30, 1971. With a budget of just $3 million, the film received generally positive reviews and earned $4 million by the end of its original run. The film gained a cult following and became highly popular in part through repeated television airings and home entertainment sales.[7] In 1972, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, and Wilder was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, but both nominations lost to Fiddler on the Roof. The film also introduced the song "The Candy Man", which went on to become a popular hit when recorded by Sammy Davis Jr. and has since been covered by numerous artists.
In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[8][9]
Source: Wikipedia
