In his recent BAFTA TV Awards acceptance speech for best male performance in a comedy, British comic Mawaan Rizwan recalled a conversation with his therapist earlier that week about how he “needed to stop relying on external forms of validation… so, bad timing!”
But, just about a month after taking home the award (over the likes of David Tennant) for his BBC sitcom “Juice,” it seems like that validation is here to stay. Rizwan is currently in New York, where the first episode of the wild, cartoonish and trippy series screened to a sold-out — and, by all accounts, hugely enthusiastic — crowd at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday. There’s another sold-out screening on Wednesday, while a third has been hastily arranged for next Sunday to cope with demand.
Created and written by the 31-year-old — who himself admits it’s “bonkers” — “Juice” sees him star as Jamma, a bowl cut-sporting,...
But, just about a month after taking home the award (over the likes of David Tennant) for his BBC sitcom “Juice,” it seems like that validation is here to stay. Rizwan is currently in New York, where the first episode of the wild, cartoonish and trippy series screened to a sold-out — and, by all accounts, hugely enthusiastic — crowd at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday. There’s another sold-out screening on Wednesday, while a third has been hastily arranged for next Sunday to cope with demand.
Created and written by the 31-year-old — who himself admits it’s “bonkers” — “Juice” sees him star as Jamma, a bowl cut-sporting,...
- 6/11/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
With the underwhelming box office of the latest film in the decade spanning Mad Max franchise, Furiosa, there may be no more of these wonderful, experimental, and auteur-driven action films made. That is a shame. But we can dream. As did this anonymous artist-designer who reimagined what the O.G. vehicle stunt spectacular auteur, Buster Keaton, might have made in the 1920s. Either way, it is pretty clear Silent-Era cinema masterpiece, The General, was a major influence on the Max Max franchise; particularly so as George Miller leaned more and more into vehicular...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/7/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Filmmaker Pablo Berger had never made an animated film before. He’d never even considered it until he read Sara Varon’s graphic novel “Robot Dreams.” Having recently lost his best friend and mother, the story of friendship and loss spoke to him on such an emotional level that he decided to adapt it — and learn how to make an animated film.
He spent two-and-years on animation education, but wanted to bring something from his previous directing experience: working with some of the best Spanish actors. Said Berger while on the Toolkit podcast, “In most animated film, [the characters] tend to overact.”
Berger began by working with a small animation team led by art director José Luis Ágreda and character supervisor Daniel Fernández Casas before “an army” of animators brought his vision to life.
“I started saying [to the animators], ‘I’m going to treat you as actors, you are my actors,’” said Berger. “They...
He spent two-and-years on animation education, but wanted to bring something from his previous directing experience: working with some of the best Spanish actors. Said Berger while on the Toolkit podcast, “In most animated film, [the characters] tend to overact.”
Berger began by working with a small animation team led by art director José Luis Ágreda and character supervisor Daniel Fernández Casas before “an army” of animators brought his vision to life.
“I started saying [to the animators], ‘I’m going to treat you as actors, you are my actors,’” said Berger. “They...
- 6/4/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The conventional wisdom when it comes to the early days of cinema is that five major studios — Paramount, Fox, Universal, MGM, and Warner Bros. — were responsible for key innovations of Hollywood filmmaking, such as the star system, the birth of the feature film, and the creation of nationwide and international distribution networks. In fact, the now largely forgotten Vitagraph Studios did all of these things before the five majors even existed, but the company’s ultimate demise and sale to Warner Bros. in 1925 (where it was renamed Vitaphone and created as an independent unit to produce early sound shorts) led to its near erasure from mainstream film history.
While intrepid souls like film historians Andrew A. Erish and Anthony Slide have tried to raise and sustain awareness of Vitagraph’s contributions, their efforts have often been impeded by the scarcity of the films themselves — even for those of us interested in Vitagraph’s output,...
While intrepid souls like film historians Andrew A. Erish and Anthony Slide have tried to raise and sustain awareness of Vitagraph’s contributions, their efforts have often been impeded by the scarcity of the films themselves — even for those of us interested in Vitagraph’s output,...
- 6/1/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Writer-director Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams opens on a nighttime shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan skyline in the distance. The year is 1984, and the Twin Towers loom, figuratively and literally, as ghostly figures. Berger’s breathtaking adaptation of Sara Varon’s graphic novel of the same name isn’t about the towers in any specific fashion, but about a world in which change is the only constant, life of any kind is at the mercy of randomness, and joy and melancholy are in ongoing symbiosis. In other words, our world—albeit one populated here, not by humans, but by anthropomorphic, humanoid animals.
Our surrogate in this world is Dog. At home by himself on a summer night, he’s drawn to a television commercial’s beckoning text (“Are you alone?”) and orders the product advertised, initially unseen by the viewer. Robot is soon delivered (some assembly required), and...
Our surrogate in this world is Dog. At home by himself on a summer night, he’s drawn to a television commercial’s beckoning text (“Are you alone?”) and orders the product advertised, initially unseen by the viewer. Robot is soon delivered (some assembly required), and...
- 5/26/2024
- by Rob Humanick
- Slant Magazine
What is the best Australian movie ever made? Walkabout? Wake in Fright? The Piano? Picnic at Hanging Rock? The Babadook? All worthy contenders, no doubt, but they’re all wrong answers. The only acceptable response regarding the best movie from the Land Down Under is Mad Max, George Miller’s marauding motorist mania that celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2024. Never mind the billion-dollar franchise it spawned, the creative ingenuity and low-budget DIY filmmaking of the original remains one of the most impressive cinematic feats on record.
A true independent movie with a rebellious spirit, Mad Max was made in just 12 weeks for a paltry $350,000 yet went on to gross $185 million worldwide. The film introduced the world to Mel Gibson, who would go on to play the badass road-racing Main Force Patrol officer Max Rockatansky twice more en route to becoming a bona fide Hollywood action star. Now, with the law-enforcing...
A true independent movie with a rebellious spirit, Mad Max was made in just 12 weeks for a paltry $350,000 yet went on to gross $185 million worldwide. The film introduced the world to Mel Gibson, who would go on to play the badass road-racing Main Force Patrol officer Max Rockatansky twice more en route to becoming a bona fide Hollywood action star. Now, with the law-enforcing...
- 5/22/2024
- by Jake Dee
- JoBlo.com
You might not get the dog you want, but you always get the dog you need. That old dog-lover’s adage applies peculiarly well to Chinese director Guan Hu’s “Black Dog.” A far smaller-scale project than his recent blockbusters “The Eight Hundred” and “The Sacrifice,” Guan’s latest — an Un Certain Regard standout at Cannes this year — nonetheless has the grandly cinematic vision to lend an intimate tale a gloriously epic, allegorical edge.
Set in a dying town on the fringes of the Gobi desert, “Black Dog” has elements of the genre western, like taciturn loner antihero Lang (a fantastic Eddie Peng), who returns to his eroded hometown himself hollowed out by repressed guilt for the incident that caused his recent imprisonment. But, dipped in the caustic soda of social commentary and steeped in the fatalistic mood of a place barely chugging by on borrowed time, the film also...
Set in a dying town on the fringes of the Gobi desert, “Black Dog” has elements of the genre western, like taciturn loner antihero Lang (a fantastic Eddie Peng), who returns to his eroded hometown himself hollowed out by repressed guilt for the incident that caused his recent imprisonment. But, dipped in the caustic soda of social commentary and steeped in the fatalistic mood of a place barely chugging by on borrowed time, the film also...
- 5/21/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Launched last year by Wes Anderson’s producing partners at Indian Paintbrush, Galerie has emerged as a well-curated film club publishing unique selections of films from artists with their personal annotations. With past lists from the likes of James Gray, Ed Lachman, Mike Mills, Karyn Kusama, Ethan Hawke, and more, today we’re pleased to exclusively share a sneak peek from the lists of two celebrated Chilean filmmakers, Pablo Larraín and Sebastián Lelio, which have recently landed on the site.
Both filmmakers are currently working on their latest projects: Larraín is helming the Angelina Jolie-led Maria Callas drama, while Lelio is handling the musical The Wave, inspired by Chile’s “feminist May” movement in 2018. While in post-production on the projects, they’ve shared their curated collections.
The Spencer and El Conde director features Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery of Splendor and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing on his list,...
Both filmmakers are currently working on their latest projects: Larraín is helming the Angelina Jolie-led Maria Callas drama, while Lelio is handling the musical The Wave, inspired by Chile’s “feminist May” movement in 2018. While in post-production on the projects, they’ve shared their curated collections.
The Spencer and El Conde director features Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery of Splendor and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing on his list,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
When it comes to the indie movie business, you don’t get more old-school than Kino Lorber. The New York outfit, founded as Kino International in 1977, has been the first source of independent cinema for U.S. audiences. It was the first to distribute films from Yorgos Lanthimos, Aki Kaurismäki, Wong Kar-wai, Andrei Tarkovsky and Michelangelo Antonioni in U.S. theaters and the first to restore and rerelease silent classics like Metropolis, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, and the films of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
In 2009, when Richard Lorber’s home entertainment company Lorber Ht Digital acquired and merged with Kino International, physical media got added to the mix, and the newly minted Kino Lorber became known for its home entertainment releases, ranging from classic (Nosferatu, The Sacrifice) to cult (Mad Max, Emmanuelle). The Kino Lorber library now counts more than 4,000 titles and the company is continually adding to the list,...
In 2009, when Richard Lorber’s home entertainment company Lorber Ht Digital acquired and merged with Kino International, physical media got added to the mix, and the newly minted Kino Lorber became known for its home entertainment releases, ranging from classic (Nosferatu, The Sacrifice) to cult (Mad Max, Emmanuelle). The Kino Lorber library now counts more than 4,000 titles and the company is continually adding to the list,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After taking us into A Quiet Place in two box office hits (with a prequel arriving very soon), actor/director/writer John Krasinski now guides us into a fairy noisy place, namely the inner life and fantasies of children. And going from sci-fi thrills to whimsey is quite the “lane change”, one that could end in disaster if not properly planned. Luckily he’s crafted a story and has enlisted a talented cast in front of the camera and the microphone. Yes, this is perhaps the most ambitious cartoon/live-action feature since the pairing of private eye Eddie Valiant and Roger Rabbit. And since it uses computer-generated “beasties” (rather than the 2-D classic style), Krasinski is touting it as a “live-action Pixar flick” (quite a goal). And he’s really putting those tech wizards to work in showing us the often unseen children’s side-kick, the invisible friend, here shortened to If.
- 5/17/2024
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Filmmaker George Miller has made no bones about classic cinema’s influence on the Mad Max saga over the years. Iconic physical comedians like Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd are cited often as inspirations for the queasy death-defying stunts that Max Rockatansky or Imperator Furiosa get up to, including when we spoke with the writer-director. He even muses to us, “Buster Keaton would survive very well, actually” in the fabled Wasteland.
Perhaps so too then would the stars he selected to bring his most epic adventure yet on the Fury Road to life. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth are actors that most moviegoers will be familiar with when Furiosa opens later this month—although never in roles like these. Cast as diametrically opposed nemeses forced to endure the harsh desert ruins of a post-apocalyptic Australia, Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa and Hemsworth’s Dr. Dementus are radical departures for the performers. Yet...
Perhaps so too then would the stars he selected to bring his most epic adventure yet on the Fury Road to life. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth are actors that most moviegoers will be familiar with when Furiosa opens later this month—although never in roles like these. Cast as diametrically opposed nemeses forced to endure the harsh desert ruins of a post-apocalyptic Australia, Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa and Hemsworth’s Dr. Dementus are radical departures for the performers. Yet...
- 5/15/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd were the clown jewels of silent comedy. Chaplin was off the screen in 1924; he was a year away from the release of one of his feature masterpieces “The Gold Rush.” Lloyd followed the blockbuster success of 1923’s “Safety Last!” in 1924 with the gems “Girl Shy” and “Hot Water.” And Keaton dazzled critics and audiences with the innovative “Sherlock Jr.” and the riotous “The Navigator.”
“Sherlock Jr.”, which opened in May 1924, was just Keaton’s third feature. Running a brisk 45 minutes, “Sherlock Jr” pushed the cinematic envelope. The stoic, deadpan comic plays a projectionist and janitor at a small-town movie theater who dreams, literally, of becoming a detective. He also discovers that he has a slick rival (Ward Crane) for his sweet girl (Kathryn McGuire). The slick even steals the pocket watch of the girl’s father and puts the blame on Buster. Banished from the house,...
“Sherlock Jr.”, which opened in May 1924, was just Keaton’s third feature. Running a brisk 45 minutes, “Sherlock Jr” pushed the cinematic envelope. The stoic, deadpan comic plays a projectionist and janitor at a small-town movie theater who dreams, literally, of becoming a detective. He also discovers that he has a slick rival (Ward Crane) for his sweet girl (Kathryn McGuire). The slick even steals the pocket watch of the girl’s father and puts the blame on Buster. Banished from the house,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Though the whole cinema’s concept originally boils down to the idea that the action itself is much more important than the words that accompany it, some modern directors seem to have perceived this idea quite literally.
It all started earlier this year when Denis Villeneuve expressed his hope for once seeing movies that would contain no words at all, stressing that he hates dialogue. The director later on made a U-turn admitting that the dialogue is still crucial, yet he seems to have accidentally started a whole new trend of removing all the lines from the films, and one more proclaimed director has joined the movement.
Ironically, both filmmakers have one more thing, or rather an actress, in common as they both invited Anya Taylor-Joy to make an appearance in their brand new films. The actress starred in Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2 earlier this year and now is...
It all started earlier this year when Denis Villeneuve expressed his hope for once seeing movies that would contain no words at all, stressing that he hates dialogue. The director later on made a U-turn admitting that the dialogue is still crucial, yet he seems to have accidentally started a whole new trend of removing all the lines from the films, and one more proclaimed director has joined the movement.
Ironically, both filmmakers have one more thing, or rather an actress, in common as they both invited Anya Taylor-Joy to make an appearance in their brand new films. The actress starred in Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2 earlier this year and now is...
- 5/13/2024
- by benjamin-patel@startefacts.com (Benjamin Patel)
- STartefacts.com
Expect George Miller’s upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, to be heavy on action and short on dialogue as Anya Taylor-Joy’s eponymous character only speaks 30 lines of dialogue over the course of the film’s two-and-a-half hours.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the director cited inspiration from the “pure cinema” of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin’s silent comedy, which “Hitchcock defined as movies where they don’t have to read the subtitles when they’re screened in Japan.”
Miller then explained his belief that dialogue “tends to slow things down, and film is a medium that’s often best enjoyed at high speed.” As a result, Furiosa barrels ahead with car chases across the Australian Outback, with one 15-minute sequence taking 78 days and 200 stunt performers to shoot.
Taylor-Joy recently spoke to Total Film about that particular setpiece, telling the magazine it was pivotal in unlocking her character.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the director cited inspiration from the “pure cinema” of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin’s silent comedy, which “Hitchcock defined as movies where they don’t have to read the subtitles when they’re screened in Japan.”
Miller then explained his belief that dialogue “tends to slow things down, and film is a medium that’s often best enjoyed at high speed.” As a result, Furiosa barrels ahead with car chases across the Australian Outback, with one 15-minute sequence taking 78 days and 200 stunt performers to shoot.
Taylor-Joy recently spoke to Total Film about that particular setpiece, telling the magazine it was pivotal in unlocking her character.
- 5/13/2024
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Like Google, Netflix has evolved from a Silicon Valley venture to a legitimate verb in the cultural lexicon. Over a decade after expanding from DVD-by-mail to streaming service, and seven since debuting its first original series with House of Cards, Netflix still dominates the online TV landscape. While competitors like Warner Bros., Disney, and Apple certainly vie for our time with their own in-house programs, the sheer inundation of Netflix originals requires its very own examination.
The powerfully gripping Baby Reindeer, the stylishly alluring Ripley, and the gut-busting Beef are merely a few of the latest storytelling pleasures available to anyone with a WiFi connection and a (potentially borrowed) Netflix login. These 25 Netflix original shows, old and new, prove the marathon-watching juggernaut’s equal concern for both quantity and quality. Nathan Frontiero
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on February 20, 2019.
25. Squid Game
Netflix’s Squid Game has a...
The powerfully gripping Baby Reindeer, the stylishly alluring Ripley, and the gut-busting Beef are merely a few of the latest storytelling pleasures available to anyone with a WiFi connection and a (potentially borrowed) Netflix login. These 25 Netflix original shows, old and new, prove the marathon-watching juggernaut’s equal concern for both quantity and quality. Nathan Frontiero
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on February 20, 2019.
25. Squid Game
Netflix’s Squid Game has a...
- 5/9/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Australian director George Miller made his first feature film, "Mad Max," in 1979. It was a very low-budget affair costing about $200,000. The film takes place in the near future when the Earth is running low on oil and civilization is just beginning to crumble. "Mad" Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is a road cop tasked with reigning in the chaos. "Mad Max" was decidedly low-fi, but it struck a chord with audiences, ultimately earning almost $100 million worldwide. It remains one of the most profitable movies of all time, comparable only to "The Blair Witch Project," "Paranormal Activity," and "Deep Throat." Miller would go on to make several sequels to "Mad Max" in 1981, 1985, and 2015. The fifth film in the series, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," is hitting theaters this month, with a potential sixth entry, "Mad Max: The Wasteland," in the early planning stages.
Miller recently participated in a "Furiosa" screening and Q&a event,...
Miller recently participated in a "Furiosa" screening and Q&a event,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Ben Knight, Matuse, Adam Dunn | Written by Drew Pearce | Directed by David Leitch
Stunts have been at the forefront of cinema since the beginning. Some of the earliest directors, actors, and writers were the very best stunt performers. Think Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd. Their influence can be seen across the history of cinema, from bridge jumps in Smokey and the Bandit, to lorry flips in The Dark Knight, shopping centre jumps in Police Story, to jumping off cliffs in the latest Mission Impossible. Stunts are in every action movie and ingrained in the very fabric of the art form – why it’s not yet recognised by the academy is a mystery, but David Leitch and his talented cast and crew look set on solving the mystery by putting a spotlight on those stunt performers.
Stunts have been at the forefront of cinema since the beginning. Some of the earliest directors, actors, and writers were the very best stunt performers. Think Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd. Their influence can be seen across the history of cinema, from bridge jumps in Smokey and the Bandit, to lorry flips in The Dark Knight, shopping centre jumps in Police Story, to jumping off cliffs in the latest Mission Impossible. Stunts are in every action movie and ingrained in the very fabric of the art form – why it’s not yet recognised by the academy is a mystery, but David Leitch and his talented cast and crew look set on solving the mystery by putting a spotlight on those stunt performers.
- 5/7/2024
- by Alex Ginnelly
- Nerdly
In October 2018 while sharing beers in a frigid Milwaukee bar with his soon-to-be leading man Ryland Tews, director, visual effects artist and editor of “Hundreds of Beavers” Mike Cheslik conceived the film based on three simple elements: his After Effects skills, familiarity with snow and Tews’ uncanny ability to fall over.
“We knew that the image of a guy in a mascot costume falling down was fundamentally funny,” Cheslik explains. “And if that is in every shot, even if our gags aren’t working well, we have the fundamental comedy of mascot animal. Is that right, Ryland?”
“Absolutely,” Tews says in response. “We just wanted to make a movie that looked like nothing else.”
Ryland Tews and Mike Cheslik on the set of “Hundreds of Beavers.”
This would begin the five-and-a-half-year journey to the theatrical release of one of 2024’s most successful indie films. Entirely self-distributed, “Hundreds of Beavers” has...
“We knew that the image of a guy in a mascot costume falling down was fundamentally funny,” Cheslik explains. “And if that is in every shot, even if our gags aren’t working well, we have the fundamental comedy of mascot animal. Is that right, Ryland?”
“Absolutely,” Tews says in response. “We just wanted to make a movie that looked like nothing else.”
Ryland Tews and Mike Cheslik on the set of “Hundreds of Beavers.”
This would begin the five-and-a-half-year journey to the theatrical release of one of 2024’s most successful indie films. Entirely self-distributed, “Hundreds of Beavers” has...
- 5/6/2024
- by Jack Dunn
- Variety Film + TV
Ever since the dawn of cinema, stunts have been at the heart of the medium. The very first motion picture, Eadweard Muybridge’s 1878 reel The Horse In Motion, captured a jockey riding a horse at speed — cinema’s first stunt! And ever since then, fearless stunt people have been engaging themselves in the ultimate game of one-upmanship, putting their bodies on the line and minds at work to help make movies soar higher, go faster, hit harder, and be bigger than ever before. Even if the Oscars still aren’t ready to recognise that just yet with a Stunt category, we don’t need an awards ceremony to pay tribute to the crazy folk who do this stuff for real.
To celebrate the stunt community – and mark the release of stunt-tastic action extravaganza The Fall Guy – take a look back over the craziest movie stunts that were actually done for real.
To celebrate the stunt community – and mark the release of stunt-tastic action extravaganza The Fall Guy – take a look back over the craziest movie stunts that were actually done for real.
- 5/3/2024
- by Jordan King
- Empire - Movies
This article contains massive spoilers for "The Fall Guy."
Stunt work is all about selling an illusion. When the medium of cinema was first invented, it was initially marketed and thought of as something akin to a sideshow attraction, a wondrous magic trick where a series of pictures put next to each other and illuminated in rapid succession gave the illusion of movement. After this initial novelty gave way to artists utilizing the medium to tell stories, the craftspeople making movies realized that the concept of illusion extended to every aspect of filmmaking.
Where theatre was traditionally bound to a stage or perhaps a circus tent, the movies could expand the canvas of what could be done physically — if cameras could capture it, it could be performed. It's no surprise, then, that films saw people like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and others push the boundaries of physicality and feats of derring-do in the cinema.
Stunt work is all about selling an illusion. When the medium of cinema was first invented, it was initially marketed and thought of as something akin to a sideshow attraction, a wondrous magic trick where a series of pictures put next to each other and illuminated in rapid succession gave the illusion of movement. After this initial novelty gave way to artists utilizing the medium to tell stories, the craftspeople making movies realized that the concept of illusion extended to every aspect of filmmaking.
Where theatre was traditionally bound to a stage or perhaps a circus tent, the movies could expand the canvas of what could be done physically — if cameras could capture it, it could be performed. It's no surprise, then, that films saw people like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and others push the boundaries of physicality and feats of derring-do in the cinema.
- 5/3/2024
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Hundreds of Beavers premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2022 and released digitally in April of 2024.
I didn’t know much about the Mike Cheslik directed film prior to seeing it. I had heard the name and initially believed it was a nature documentary. I was very wrong. After reading the description I thought it might be a horror-comedy in the vein of 2015’s Zombeavers. Wrong again. It’s a genre-defying mishmash comprised of absurdist slapstick humor, and I absolutely loved it.
Hundreds of Beavers Plot
Also Read: Straight Outta Compton and Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Lays It All on the Line for Naughty Dog’s Contentious Sequel
Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) has his life flipped upside down when beavers destroy his home. While attempting to survive in the brutal cold of winter, he finds himself at odds with various wildlife. Rabbits, racoons, wolves and beavers continuously outsmart the dimwitted man.
I didn’t know much about the Mike Cheslik directed film prior to seeing it. I had heard the name and initially believed it was a nature documentary. I was very wrong. After reading the description I thought it might be a horror-comedy in the vein of 2015’s Zombeavers. Wrong again. It’s a genre-defying mishmash comprised of absurdist slapstick humor, and I absolutely loved it.
Hundreds of Beavers Plot
Also Read: Straight Outta Compton and Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Lays It All on the Line for Naughty Dog’s Contentious Sequel
Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) has his life flipped upside down when beavers destroy his home. While attempting to survive in the brutal cold of winter, he finds himself at odds with various wildlife. Rabbits, racoons, wolves and beavers continuously outsmart the dimwitted man.
- 4/29/2024
- by Joshua Ryan
- FandomWire
Behind the scenes, director David Leitch and producer Kelly McCormick have been instrumental in the movement for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts to recognize stunts. The director-producer husband-wife team hasn’t been shy in using their new film, “The Fall Guy,” a love letter to stunt professionals, to advance the cause. And it’s a cause that is increasingly looking like it will become a reality; a significant victory came last spring with the creation of the new Production and Technology Academy branch, which includes stunt professionals and therefore supplies the necessary pathway to a Best Stunt Design category at the Oscars.
“We’ve always been in the shadows, [but] that’s not the problem,” Leitch said when he was a guest on an upcoming episode of the Toolkit podcast to discuss “The Fall Guy.” “That was maybe the misconception for the Academy, ‘Well, these guys want awards because they...
“We’ve always been in the shadows, [but] that’s not the problem,” Leitch said when he was a guest on an upcoming episode of the Toolkit podcast to discuss “The Fall Guy.” “That was maybe the misconception for the Academy, ‘Well, these guys want awards because they...
- 4/27/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
by Chad Kennerk
K.J. Relth-Miller, Director of Film Programs.
All images courtesy the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Academy’s annual ceremony is just one aspect of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ overall examination and recognition of film. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the art, science, and artists behind the magic of the movies. Through exhibitions, curated film series and extensive programming, the Academy Museum celebrates and captures the stories behind the art of moviemaking. The museum’s David Geffen and Ted Mann theatres present a year-round robust calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, and more. Through retrospectives and thematic film series, the artistic and cultural contributions of those in front of and behind the camera are illuminated and explored.
One of the great actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando studied...
K.J. Relth-Miller, Director of Film Programs.
All images courtesy the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Academy’s annual ceremony is just one aspect of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ overall examination and recognition of film. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the art, science, and artists behind the magic of the movies. Through exhibitions, curated film series and extensive programming, the Academy Museum celebrates and captures the stories behind the art of moviemaking. The museum’s David Geffen and Ted Mann theatres present a year-round robust calendar of screenings, film series, member programs, panel discussions, and more. Through retrospectives and thematic film series, the artistic and cultural contributions of those in front of and behind the camera are illuminated and explored.
One of the great actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando studied...
- 4/26/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
Bill Kong is cautious, vastly experienced and has an impeccable reputation as a key gateway between Hollywood and China to maintain. He is someone far more likely to deadpan than gush.
So, to hear him getting into high gear with a pitch for his bucket list martial arts movie project “The Furious” immediately invites comparison with previous Kong-produced action pictures including Oscar-winner “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Jet Li’s Fearless” or the Zhang Yimou-directed “Hero.”
“I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry. I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world,” Kong tells Variety.
Significantly, “The Furious” is a project made by Hong Kong, rather than made in Hong Kong. Kong’s Edko Films is financing and producing.
So, to hear him getting into high gear with a pitch for his bucket list martial arts movie project “The Furious” immediately invites comparison with previous Kong-produced action pictures including Oscar-winner “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Jet Li’s Fearless” or the Zhang Yimou-directed “Hero.”
“I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry. I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world,” Kong tells Variety.
Significantly, “The Furious” is a project made by Hong Kong, rather than made in Hong Kong. Kong’s Edko Films is financing and producing.
- 4/25/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
As a mute avenger against a dystopian tyranny – looking like a lethal Buster Keaton – the actor makes you wish the film itself was as purposeful
Bill Skarsgård – one of eight Skarsgård siblings, six of whom work as actors – has hitherto carved out a bit of a niche as the best one to hire when you need a Skarsgård with a bit of a creepy vibe. He’s played a possibly dangerous stranger (Barbarian), a vampire (Hemlock Grove), delivered an unforgettably nasty Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the recent It, and is about to star as the titular character in The Crow reboot. In Boy Kills World, however, he proves there’s another string to his bow: bona fide action star.
Rippling with muscles, Skarsgård plays Boy, one of those “I am an instrument shaped for a single purpose” types that thrive in the action genre. The single purpose is a time-honoured one: revenge.
Bill Skarsgård – one of eight Skarsgård siblings, six of whom work as actors – has hitherto carved out a bit of a niche as the best one to hire when you need a Skarsgård with a bit of a creepy vibe. He’s played a possibly dangerous stranger (Barbarian), a vampire (Hemlock Grove), delivered an unforgettably nasty Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the recent It, and is about to star as the titular character in The Crow reboot. In Boy Kills World, however, he proves there’s another string to his bow: bona fide action star.
Rippling with muscles, Skarsgård plays Boy, one of those “I am an instrument shaped for a single purpose” types that thrive in the action genre. The single purpose is a time-honoured one: revenge.
- 4/23/2024
- by Catherine Bray
- The Guardian - Film News
UK sales outfit Protagonist Pictures has boarded Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Sister Midnight, from director Karan Kandhari, and unveiled a first-look still.
The Mumbai-set feature, starring Radhika Apte, has been backed by Film4 and BFI, awarding National Lottery funding, and produced by the UK’s Alastair Clark for Wellington Films, Anna Griffin for Griffin Pictures, with India’s Alan McAlex.
Sweden’s Filmgate Films and Film i Väst are co-producers and India’s Suitable Pictures are associate producers.
The black comedy follows the journey of a small-town misfit in a newly-arranged marriage who attempts to navigate an awkward spouse, nosy...
The Mumbai-set feature, starring Radhika Apte, has been backed by Film4 and BFI, awarding National Lottery funding, and produced by the UK’s Alastair Clark for Wellington Films, Anna Griffin for Griffin Pictures, with India’s Alan McAlex.
Sweden’s Filmgate Films and Film i Väst are co-producers and India’s Suitable Pictures are associate producers.
The black comedy follows the journey of a small-town misfit in a newly-arranged marriage who attempts to navigate an awkward spouse, nosy...
- 4/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
For over 25 years, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival called the Castro Theatre home. With the iconic theater now closed for a year-plus-long renovation, Sfsff has relocated to the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, located in a beautiful park created for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition at the north edge of the Presidio. The auditorium, primarily a performance space, seats nearly a thousand and features a spacious foyer where passholders could visit and relax between shows (particularly useful on chilly weekends).
Sfsff prides itself on mixing landmark productions and audience favorites with rediscoveries, revelations, and rarities, often recently uncovered and restored. And for its 27th edition this year, the festival presented 20 features and six short films over five days, all with live musical scores by some of the finest silent film accompanists in the world.
The opening night film, Albert Parker’s 1926 swashbuckler The Black Pirate, certainly qualifies as both landmark and favorite.
Sfsff prides itself on mixing landmark productions and audience favorites with rediscoveries, revelations, and rarities, often recently uncovered and restored. And for its 27th edition this year, the festival presented 20 features and six short films over five days, all with live musical scores by some of the finest silent film accompanists in the world.
The opening night film, Albert Parker’s 1926 swashbuckler The Black Pirate, certainly qualifies as both landmark and favorite.
- 4/20/2024
- by Sean Axmaker
- Slant Magazine
So, you say you want to see something different, offbeat, out-of-the-ordinarry on your next visit to the cinema. Well, this weekend brings a true test for adventurous filmgoers. A few days ago I posted a review of the slapstick farce Hundreds Of Beavers, which is basically a silent movie “homage” since there’s almost no spoken dialogue. Much the same can be said for this new film, though it has a full soundtrack with lots of ambient background audio. Oh, and the characters do communicate, though it’s mainly via hand gestures, body language, and various grunts, growls, and groans. That’s because the four main characters are those “urban legend” icons, Bigfeet (Bigfoots just doesn’t sound right). No humans, just this quartet, romping around the forest all day until the big Sasquatch Sunset.
It all begins though, with the sunrise over a vast wooded area, perhaps in the great Northwestern US.
It all begins though, with the sunrise over a vast wooded area, perhaps in the great Northwestern US.
- 4/19/2024
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
by Cláudio Alves
This week, one of the best comedies ever made and a silent film masterpiece celebrates its centennial. It's none other than Sherlock Jr., Buster Keaton's 45-minute miracle of stunt work and cinematic considerations about cinema as materialized dream and broken escapism. A meta-movie for the ages, I consider it the old Stone Face's crowning achievement. Sure, The General is much more complex and Steamboat Bill, Jr. trumps it in sheer iconography. As for technical innovation, something like The Play House is probably Keaton's peak. However, there's something special about the 1924 lark, a simplicity that bolsters perfection, an ingenuity that rekindles my love for cinema whenever I set my eyes on it…...
This week, one of the best comedies ever made and a silent film masterpiece celebrates its centennial. It's none other than Sherlock Jr., Buster Keaton's 45-minute miracle of stunt work and cinematic considerations about cinema as materialized dream and broken escapism. A meta-movie for the ages, I consider it the old Stone Face's crowning achievement. Sure, The General is much more complex and Steamboat Bill, Jr. trumps it in sheer iconography. As for technical innovation, something like The Play House is probably Keaton's peak. However, there's something special about the 1924 lark, a simplicity that bolsters perfection, an ingenuity that rekindles my love for cinema whenever I set my eyes on it…...
- 4/18/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Returning for its 15th annual edition this weekend, the TCM Classic Film Festival will turn Hollywood Blvd. into the center of the movie universe again for four days, for that very obsessive and loving subset of film fans that has the network’s vintage fare as part of their weekly and daily lives. And just what time span “classics” falls into is exemplified by the big opening and closing night films.
The gala opening night picture is 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” which festival director Genevieve McGillicuddy says “is one of the most contemporary films that we are showing this year, along with ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Little Women,’ the 1994 version. ‘Seven,’ I think, is the most recent film we’re screening; that’s 1995. Just like with the network, we don’t have any official cutoff in terms of the years of films that we’re showing. But, interestingly — it’s the opposite of a cutoff,...
The gala opening night picture is 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” which festival director Genevieve McGillicuddy says “is one of the most contemporary films that we are showing this year, along with ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Little Women,’ the 1994 version. ‘Seven,’ I think, is the most recent film we’re screening; that’s 1995. Just like with the network, we don’t have any official cutoff in terms of the years of films that we’re showing. But, interestingly — it’s the opposite of a cutoff,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Doug Mancheski, Olivia Graves, Wes Tank, Luis Rico | Written by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Mike Cheslik | Directed by Mike Cheslik
When my partner asked me what movie I was watching perhaps “checking out Hundreds of Beavers” wasn’t the best of all possible answers. And I suppose trying to clarify it with “big hairy Canadian beavers” didn’t help. But despite the title and opening quote from St. Augustine, “Lord grant me chastity, but not yet!”, this isn’t that kind of a movie.
The new film from director Mike Cheslik and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the pair who gave us the Tews-directed Lake Michigan Monster, never really gets raunchier than an old episode of The Benny Hill Show as it relates the tale of Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who, as we see in the opening animation, has lost his apple orchard...
When my partner asked me what movie I was watching perhaps “checking out Hundreds of Beavers” wasn’t the best of all possible answers. And I suppose trying to clarify it with “big hairy Canadian beavers” didn’t help. But despite the title and opening quote from St. Augustine, “Lord grant me chastity, but not yet!”, this isn’t that kind of a movie.
The new film from director Mike Cheslik and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the pair who gave us the Tews-directed Lake Michigan Monster, never really gets raunchier than an old episode of The Benny Hill Show as it relates the tale of Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) who, as we see in the opening animation, has lost his apple orchard...
- 4/16/2024
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
For many around the world, there’s one name at the top of the action totem pole: Jackie Chan, and today marks his 70th birthday.
If you only know him as a goofy martial arts comedian from the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon series, then consider this a wake up call. Because when Jackie did things His way on his home turf, he churned out some of the best action movies you’ll ever see.
Many would point to Drunken Master II as Jackie’s magnum opus. Fair enough, that is an all-timer, but for an example of his best modern day martial arts action, mixed in with some crime drama and his signature comedy, one of his absolute best outings is 1985’s Police Story.
In the 1970s, Jackie Chan soared to fame internationally once he was finally able to break out of the shadow of Bruce Lee. When Chan...
If you only know him as a goofy martial arts comedian from the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon series, then consider this a wake up call. Because when Jackie did things His way on his home turf, he churned out some of the best action movies you’ll ever see.
Many would point to Drunken Master II as Jackie’s magnum opus. Fair enough, that is an all-timer, but for an example of his best modern day martial arts action, mixed in with some crime drama and his signature comedy, one of his absolute best outings is 1985’s Police Story.
In the 1970s, Jackie Chan soared to fame internationally once he was finally able to break out of the shadow of Bruce Lee. When Chan...
- 4/7/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
The One Piece live-action series is what has finally helped fans regain confidence in the fact that anime and manga franchises can be successfully adapted into live televised series and movies.
Furthermore, a major part of the series’ success is played by none other than the cast itself, and in the case of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, he found the perfect actor to play the role of Luffy. We are talking about Iñaki Godoy, a Mexican actor who plays the lead role in the series and has revealed via Teenvogue how he prepared for the role.
Inaki Godoy plays the role of Monkey D. Luffy | A still from the series Iñaki Godoy Reveals How He Prepared For His Role As Luffy In The One Piece Live-Action Series
In the aforementioned interview, Inaki Godoy revealed how he was not even expecting to land the role at first, as he believed...
Furthermore, a major part of the series’ success is played by none other than the cast itself, and in the case of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, he found the perfect actor to play the role of Luffy. We are talking about Iñaki Godoy, a Mexican actor who plays the lead role in the series and has revealed via Teenvogue how he prepared for the role.
Inaki Godoy plays the role of Monkey D. Luffy | A still from the series Iñaki Godoy Reveals How He Prepared For His Role As Luffy In The One Piece Live-Action Series
In the aforementioned interview, Inaki Godoy revealed how he was not even expecting to land the role at first, as he believed...
- 3/23/2024
- by Aaditya Chugh
- FandomWire
Once more, and with feeling…
Roxy Cinema
Our 35mm print of Bertrand Bonello’s House of Tolerance has a final screening on Sunday; Spike Lee’s He Got Game and Hoosiers play on prints, while Blonde Ambition screens this Sunday.
Anthology Film Archives
The films of Med Hondo play in a massive retrospective.
Film Forum
Hondo’s West Indies begins screening in a 4K restoration; the Belmondo-led Classe tous risques begins playing in a new 4K restoration; Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman plays with live music on Sunday.
Film at Lincoln Center
The films of Wojciech Has are highlighted in a new series.
Paris Theater
A new retrospective shows just how incredible a year 1974 was: Chinatown, Badlands, Amarcord, California Split, The Conversation, Kiarostami’s The Traveler and more screen, many on 35mm.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Red Shoes screens on Saturday and Sunday.
Museum of Modern Art
The...
Roxy Cinema
Our 35mm print of Bertrand Bonello’s House of Tolerance has a final screening on Sunday; Spike Lee’s He Got Game and Hoosiers play on prints, while Blonde Ambition screens this Sunday.
Anthology Film Archives
The films of Med Hondo play in a massive retrospective.
Film Forum
Hondo’s West Indies begins screening in a 4K restoration; the Belmondo-led Classe tous risques begins playing in a new 4K restoration; Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman plays with live music on Sunday.
Film at Lincoln Center
The films of Wojciech Has are highlighted in a new series.
Paris Theater
A new retrospective shows just how incredible a year 1974 was: Chinatown, Badlands, Amarcord, California Split, The Conversation, Kiarostami’s The Traveler and more screen, many on 35mm.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Red Shoes screens on Saturday and Sunday.
Museum of Modern Art
The...
- 3/22/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook.Newsa Different Man.IATSE, Teamsters, and the Hollywood Basic Crafts unions began bargaining jointly with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers after a thousands-strong rally in Los Angeles. In Variety, IATSE president Matthew Loeb discusses the union’s priorities and the threat of another strike after the current contract expires on July 31.In an open letter, Carlo Chatrian, the outgoing artistic director of the Berlinale, and Mark Peranson, the festival’s head of programming, respond to the backlash that followed the closing ceremony, at which a number of award recipients called for a ceasefire in Gaza: “This year’s festival was a place for dialogue and exchange for ten days; yet once the films stopped rolling, another form of communication...
- 3/6/2024
- MUBI
Jackie Chan is recognized for his slapstick acrobatic fighting style, innovative stunts which he is known to perform on his own, and comic timing. The actor is one of the most influential action stars who’s had a global presence in both Eastern and Western industries. Without a doubt, the influence the actor has had over the years on pop culture is very hard to match and he is known to be the most recognized star in the world.
The actor who has appeared in near about 150 movies in his career has a reputation for performing his stunts with a lot of preparation but injuries are inevitable. Jackie Chan has managed to not only survive but also thrive after taking tons of knocks, which could probably knock down an average person easily. Jackie Chan’s injuries have outdone Sylvester Stallone’s injuries; who is also regarded as one of the...
The actor who has appeared in near about 150 movies in his career has a reputation for performing his stunts with a lot of preparation but injuries are inevitable. Jackie Chan has managed to not only survive but also thrive after taking tons of knocks, which could probably knock down an average person easily. Jackie Chan’s injuries have outdone Sylvester Stallone’s injuries; who is also regarded as one of the...
- 3/4/2024
- by Avneet Ahluwalia
- FandomWire
Richard Lewis, the beloved stand-up comedian and longtime star of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has died at age 76. IndieWire confirmed the news with his representatives. Lewis shared a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, that he’d received two years earlier, in April 2023 and announced at that time he was stepping away from stand-up comedy.
Comedian/Actor Richard Lewis passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles last night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham. Lewis’ wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship, and support and asks for privacy at this time, per a statement.
Lewis appears in the 12th season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” created by his co-star and friend Larry David, which is now in its last run of episodes on HBO. In the comedy series, Lewis played a version of himself as a misanthropic comic in Los Angeles, entangled...
Comedian/Actor Richard Lewis passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles last night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham. Lewis’ wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship, and support and asks for privacy at this time, per a statement.
Lewis appears in the 12th season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” created by his co-star and friend Larry David, which is now in its last run of episodes on HBO. In the comedy series, Lewis played a version of himself as a misanthropic comic in Los Angeles, entangled...
- 2/28/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio and Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Denis Villeneuve is a credited screenwriter on six of the acclaimed features he has directed — including Dune: Part One, for which he received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination from the Academy but not directing nomination. He is, however, not a fan of dialogue.
“Frankly, I hate dialogue,” the filmmaker told The Times of London in a recent interview. “Dialogue is for theatre and television. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. I’m not interested in dialogue at all. Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema, but it is something not obvious when you watch movies today.”
Villeneuve then went on to make an even more pointed assertion, especially given the quality of small-screen content over the past two decades.
“Movies have been corrupted by television,” he said.
Describing his ideal situation, the Dune: Part Two helmer said,...
“Frankly, I hate dialogue,” the filmmaker told The Times of London in a recent interview. “Dialogue is for theatre and television. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. I’m not interested in dialogue at all. Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema, but it is something not obvious when you watch movies today.”
Villeneuve then went on to make an even more pointed assertion, especially given the quality of small-screen content over the past two decades.
“Movies have been corrupted by television,” he said.
Describing his ideal situation, the Dune: Part Two helmer said,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Those dismayed by the cancellation of the big-budget “Coyote vs. Acme” — a high-profile casualty of the recent Hollywood trend towards pulling the plug on near-completed projects — may find consolation and then some in “Hundreds of Beavers.” That is, if they become aware of it, of course. Chances are good that they will, eventually, as this DIY delight has begun self-distributing to North American theaters following a long tour on the regional festival circuit. It’s sure to develop a significant cult following with its unique mix of silent-era slapstick, animation elements, theme-park-style critter costumes, and general air of inspired absurdity.
Well, not entirely unique: Director Mike Cheslik and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews previously collaborated on 2018’s “Lake Michigan Monster,” a similarly nonsensical B&w comedy, albeit in a more Guy Maddin-esque pseudo-early-talkie vein, with a fantasy adventure gist in the vein of Jules Verne. But for all its enterprise,...
Well, not entirely unique: Director Mike Cheslik and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews previously collaborated on 2018’s “Lake Michigan Monster,” a similarly nonsensical B&w comedy, albeit in a more Guy Maddin-esque pseudo-early-talkie vein, with a fantasy adventure gist in the vein of Jules Verne. But for all its enterprise,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Buster Keaton was one of the most prolific filmmakers of the silent era, comparable only to his contemporaries Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. Unlike Lloyd with his distinctive spectacles or Chaplin with his signature stache, Keaton was identified by the emotionless expression he wore while enduring some of the most painful, dangerous, and hilarious bits of physical comedy the world has ever seen.
The filmmaker grew up as a vaudeville actor and took the stage as early as age four, where he first honed his slapstick skills in an act with his father. He was always known for taking hard falls without so much as a wince, which is how he earned his nickname, Buster, as an infant. As Keaton told it, legendary illusionist Harry Houdini gave him the nickname after an infant Keaton fell down a full flight of stairs without crying (a "buster" was a slang term for...
The filmmaker grew up as a vaudeville actor and took the stage as early as age four, where he first honed his slapstick skills in an act with his father. He was always known for taking hard falls without so much as a wince, which is how he earned his nickname, Buster, as an infant. As Keaton told it, legendary illusionist Harry Houdini gave him the nickname after an infant Keaton fell down a full flight of stairs without crying (a "buster" was a slang term for...
- 2/11/2024
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
Sherlock Jr..I don’t know what I expected. For some reason, when booking my plane ticket from Chicago to Muskegon, Michigan, I just assumed it would be a “normal,” albeit probably smaller, plane that would chariot us intrepid travelers to the neighboring state. So when I turned up at O’Hare, I thought nothing of being asked to provide my weight and having my carry-on bags weighed as well, nothing of the smaller-than-usual waiting area, nothing of taking an elevator directly to the tarmac rather than descending via the usual jet bridge. The sight of the nine-seat Cessna shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. More disconcerting was the passenger who reveled in telling the lot of us why the plane flew around Lake Michigan, not across it: in case it crashed, it could more easily be found. This seemed an appropriate way to get to the International Buster Keaton Society's 2023 Convention,...
- 2/5/2024
- MUBI
The episode of "The Twilight Zone" called "Once Upon a Time" is one of the show's attempts at comedy and, by most viewers' gauges, didn't really work. "Once Upon a Time" starred the silent film superstar and immortal filmmaker Buster Keaton as a sad sack janitor named Woodrow Mulligan living in a small middle-American town called Harmony in 1890. Mulligan hates the fancy-pants modern inventions like bicycles and resents that livestock roam the street. The 1890 sequences were filmed in the style of a silent movie with no dialogue, plinking piano music, and intertitles. Mulligan works for a mad scientist who has invented a time-travel helmet that can bring its wearer into the year 1961, but only for 30 minutes. Mulligan, desperate to see his hometown grown up, gives it a shot.
In the year 1961, now filmed with sound, Mulligan meets Rollo (Stanley Adams) a scientist who feels nostalgia for a simpler time, a...
In the year 1961, now filmed with sound, Mulligan meets Rollo (Stanley Adams) a scientist who feels nostalgia for a simpler time, a...
- 1/14/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Today, Jan. 1, isn’t just New Year’s Day — it’s also Public Domain Day, where thousands of cinematic treasures, literary classics, Great American Songbook selections, and works of art see their copyrights expire and enter the public domain.
The headliner this year is the fair use of Mickey Mouse — at least, the Steamboat Willie version of the beloved character — as that copyright expiration has been anticipated for years. However, there’s much more than just Mickey entering the public domain in 2024.
Jennifer Jenkins, Director of Duke’s Center for...
The headliner this year is the fair use of Mickey Mouse — at least, the Steamboat Willie version of the beloved character — as that copyright expiration has been anticipated for years. However, there’s much more than just Mickey entering the public domain in 2024.
Jennifer Jenkins, Director of Duke’s Center for...
- 1/1/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
M-i-c-k-e-y will soon belong to you and me.
With several asterisks, qualifications and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024.
In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney’s copyright as his first screen release, the 1928 short Steamboat Willie, featuring both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, becomes available for public use.
“This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic,” said Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Public Domain, who writes an annual Jan. 1 column for “Public Domain Day.” ”I kind of feel like the pipe on the steamboat,...
With several asterisks, qualifications and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024.
In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney’s copyright as his first screen release, the 1928 short Steamboat Willie, featuring both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, becomes available for public use.
“This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic,” said Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Public Domain, who writes an annual Jan. 1 column for “Public Domain Day.” ”I kind of feel like the pipe on the steamboat,...
- 1/1/2024
- by The Associated Press
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dan O’Neill was 53 years ahead of his time.
In 1971, he launched a countercultural attack on Mickey Mouse. In his underground comic book, “Air Pirates Funnies,” the lovable mouse was seen smuggling drugs and performing oral sex on Minnie.
As O’Neill had hoped, Disney sued him for copyright infringement. He believed it was a legal parody. But after eight years in court, he was saddled with a judgment he could not pay. To stay out of prison, he agreed never to draw Mickey Mouse again.
“It’s still a crime for me,” said O’Neill, 81, in a phone interview from his home in Nevada City, Calif. “If I draw a picture of Mickey Mouse, I owe Walt Disney a $190,000 fine, $10,000 more for legal fees, and a year in prison.”
Mickey and Minnie will enter the public domain on Jan. 1. From then on, Disney will no longer enjoy an exclusive copyright over...
In 1971, he launched a countercultural attack on Mickey Mouse. In his underground comic book, “Air Pirates Funnies,” the lovable mouse was seen smuggling drugs and performing oral sex on Minnie.
As O’Neill had hoped, Disney sued him for copyright infringement. He believed it was a legal parody. But after eight years in court, he was saddled with a judgment he could not pay. To stay out of prison, he agreed never to draw Mickey Mouse again.
“It’s still a crime for me,” said O’Neill, 81, in a phone interview from his home in Nevada City, Calif. “If I draw a picture of Mickey Mouse, I owe Walt Disney a $190,000 fine, $10,000 more for legal fees, and a year in prison.”
Mickey and Minnie will enter the public domain on Jan. 1. From then on, Disney will no longer enjoy an exclusive copyright over...
- 12/22/2023
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Being a stunt performer is hazardous, very often life-threatening, work. But that's the job, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else on a movie set as excited to get a cool shot in the can as they are.
Safety is always the priority, and with every stunt all contingencies are thought of in advance, all necessary training is executed, and first aid crews are standing by. Still, a dangerous stunt is a dangerous stunt and sometimes things can go wrong. That could mean a broken bone or two, like when Tom Cruise famously broke his foot during the filming of "Mission: Impossible -- Fallout" or when Guy Norris broke his leg during an iconic crash/ragdoll moment during the making of "The Road Warrior."
On occasion, a stunt performer will actually die while shooting a stunt scene, like when Joi Harris crashed her motorcycle during the filming of "Deadpool 2.
Safety is always the priority, and with every stunt all contingencies are thought of in advance, all necessary training is executed, and first aid crews are standing by. Still, a dangerous stunt is a dangerous stunt and sometimes things can go wrong. That could mean a broken bone or two, like when Tom Cruise famously broke his foot during the filming of "Mission: Impossible -- Fallout" or when Guy Norris broke his leg during an iconic crash/ragdoll moment during the making of "The Road Warrior."
On occasion, a stunt performer will actually die while shooting a stunt scene, like when Joi Harris crashed her motorcycle during the filming of "Deadpool 2.
- 12/19/2023
- by Eric Vespe
- Slash Film
The final cover of The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band doesn’t reflect the Fab Four’s original idea. The Beatles removed one star from the image for financial reasons. The star might have made a huge mistake when he corresponded with The Beatles.
An artist said the creation of The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cover was ‘pretty funny’
Jann Haworth was one of the artists behind the Sgt. Pepper artwork. Famously, the record includes the visages of many celebrities, writers, and historical figures. During a 2017 interview with Good Times, Haworth said The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, decided the band needed permission to use the famous figures’ images late in the creative process.
“And the story as it’s written up is that Emi thought of this, but as it was presented to me it was Brian saying ‘Oh my god, we’ve got to get this straightened out,...
An artist said the creation of The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ cover was ‘pretty funny’
Jann Haworth was one of the artists behind the Sgt. Pepper artwork. Famously, the record includes the visages of many celebrities, writers, and historical figures. During a 2017 interview with Good Times, Haworth said The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, decided the band needed permission to use the famous figures’ images late in the creative process.
“And the story as it’s written up is that Emi thought of this, but as it was presented to me it was Brian saying ‘Oh my god, we’ve got to get this straightened out,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Exclusive: John Patton Ford is writing to direct an untitled film for Netflix with 21 Laps producing. Ford wrote and directed the Aubrey Plaza starrer Emily the Criminal.
The drama follows a mysterious Union spy named James Andrews who, along with infantry volunteers, stole a Confederate steam engine and planned to destroy the entire Confederacy’s supply line to end the war.
Racing along at speeds up to 60 mph, they destroyed track to the main Southern supply route behind them and shut down communications by cutting telegraph lines, all to disrupt the Confederacy’s supply line. The six surviving raiders became the first to receive the Medal of Honor, awarded by Abraham Lincoln. The caper also would be the historical basis for Buster Keaton’s 1926 silent film The General.
Ford will write to direct the drama, which is based on his idea and is part of a package that includes Russell...
The drama follows a mysterious Union spy named James Andrews who, along with infantry volunteers, stole a Confederate steam engine and planned to destroy the entire Confederacy’s supply line to end the war.
Racing along at speeds up to 60 mph, they destroyed track to the main Southern supply route behind them and shut down communications by cutting telegraph lines, all to disrupt the Confederacy’s supply line. The six surviving raiders became the first to receive the Medal of Honor, awarded by Abraham Lincoln. The caper also would be the historical basis for Buster Keaton’s 1926 silent film The General.
Ford will write to direct the drama, which is based on his idea and is part of a package that includes Russell...
- 12/1/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
John Woo’s Silent Night is, in its content and form, about fulfilling a set goal through limited means. In the case of the former, this ethos is personified by Brian Godluck (Joel Kinnaman), who tries to make due with whatever he can get his hands on in order to seek bloody retribution for the death of his son amid gang crossfire. The latter, meanwhile, is rendered through the film’s near-total absence of dialogue, with Woo relying on the power of his images to convey what the spoken word is usually tasked with in commercial cinema.
As Brian lost his voice due to a throat injury sustained during the shooting that claimed his son’s life, the film’s story beats are largely articulated through visual means. One of Silent Night’s most impressive feats is the sound design that gives the film’s world a lived-in quality though an emphasis on small details,...
As Brian lost his voice due to a throat injury sustained during the shooting that claimed his son’s life, the film’s story beats are largely articulated through visual means. One of Silent Night’s most impressive feats is the sound design that gives the film’s world a lived-in quality though an emphasis on small details,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Paul Attard
- Slant Magazine
Gust Van den Berghe proves adept at detailed world creation with his irresistibly visually attractive The Magnet Man, which takes us into the world of the circus.
Lucien is leading a rural life in literal shades of grey with his mother and father. A protagonist in the Buster Keaton mode, there's not much to smile about in his loneliness. His one skill, although using that word for it is certainly debatable, is that he is able to attract metal objects in the manner of a magnet - an ability that is brought home in gloriously comic fashion after an altar boy's swinging censer becomes stuck to his leg at his mother's funeral.
Things change when opportunity - in an unusual form - comes knocking at his door. Heading to the station to meet his father with a violin stuffed with money, the...
Lucien is leading a rural life in literal shades of grey with his mother and father. A protagonist in the Buster Keaton mode, there's not much to smile about in his loneliness. His one skill, although using that word for it is certainly debatable, is that he is able to attract metal objects in the manner of a magnet - an ability that is brought home in gloriously comic fashion after an altar boy's swinging censer becomes stuck to his leg at his mother's funeral.
Things change when opportunity - in an unusual form - comes knocking at his door. Heading to the station to meet his father with a violin stuffed with money, the...
- 11/18/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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