One Afternoon In Late April, Vice President Kamala Harris climbed into a large black car parked in the garage of the CBS Broadcast Center on New York’s West 57th Street and sat bolt-upright in the leather seat. She’d just finished taping an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show — remaining magnanimous as Barrymore had pawed at Harris’ burgundy blazer and pleaded with her to be the country’s “Momala” — and was shortly on her way to a dinner in the Gm Building that software and investment executive Charles Phillips...
- 6/11/2024
- by Alex Morris
- Rollingstone.com
*Warning — this review contains some spoilers for '73 Yards'*
With last week’s incendiary chamber-piece ‘Boom’, Steven Moffat took Doctor Who back to basics, delivering in the process the first true classic of the show’s latest reboot. Give it some time, and Russell T. Davies’ follow up, '73 Yards', may yet prove to be its second. Emphatically swinging the series’ genre pendulum back from sci-fi to the supernatural, Davies' latest self-penned offering is a deliciously dark, near-Doctorless diversion into folk horror territory. Eerie, elegiac, and ambiguous almost to a fault, it's a properly haunting tale that’s destined to be talked about, debated, and theorised upon for years to come.
Right from the get-go, it’s clear this isn’t going to be your average episode of Doctor Who. A pointed lack of opening titles adds an extra chill to ‘73 Yards’’s cold open, which sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa...
With last week’s incendiary chamber-piece ‘Boom’, Steven Moffat took Doctor Who back to basics, delivering in the process the first true classic of the show’s latest reboot. Give it some time, and Russell T. Davies’ follow up, '73 Yards', may yet prove to be its second. Emphatically swinging the series’ genre pendulum back from sci-fi to the supernatural, Davies' latest self-penned offering is a deliciously dark, near-Doctorless diversion into folk horror territory. Eerie, elegiac, and ambiguous almost to a fault, it's a properly haunting tale that’s destined to be talked about, debated, and theorised upon for years to come.
Right from the get-go, it’s clear this isn’t going to be your average episode of Doctor Who. A pointed lack of opening titles adds an extra chill to ‘73 Yards’’s cold open, which sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa...
- 6/4/2024
- by Jordan King
- Empire - TV
Michael Weatherly has signed with Verve for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. Weatherly continues to be repped by Anonymous Content and McKuin Frankel.
Weatherly is best known for his time on the long-running CBS procedural “NCIS.” Weatherly portrayed Special Agent Tony Dinozzo on the hit show for 13 seasons. He departed the show in 2016, but made a special guest appearance in the second episode of the recent 21st season.
Weatherly will reprise the role of Dinozzo in a new “NCIS” spinoff series currently in the works at Paramount+ in the first streaming exclusive series in franchise history. He will reunite with Cote de Pablo, who played Special Agent Ziva David on “NCIS.” Weatherly serves as an executive producer on the series in addition to starring, as does de Pablo.
The official description of the series states, “Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked,...
Weatherly is best known for his time on the long-running CBS procedural “NCIS.” Weatherly portrayed Special Agent Tony Dinozzo on the hit show for 13 seasons. He departed the show in 2016, but made a special guest appearance in the second episode of the recent 21st season.
Weatherly will reprise the role of Dinozzo in a new “NCIS” spinoff series currently in the works at Paramount+ in the first streaming exclusive series in franchise history. He will reunite with Cote de Pablo, who played Special Agent Ziva David on “NCIS.” Weatherly serves as an executive producer on the series in addition to starring, as does de Pablo.
The official description of the series states, “Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked,...
- 5/30/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Lydia Deetz, her stepmother Delia and her daughter Astrid stand over a casket, the burial services in progress. We can barely make out who the funeral is for but there he is on the headstone: Charles Deetz. While Charles was once part of the Beetlejuice sequel when the ghost with the most was to “go Hawaiian”, he was written entirely out of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice…for reasons that will soon be obvious.
Despite the original’s and sequel’s dalliances with the afterlife, Jeffrey Jones will not be in the Beetlejuice sequel– or pretty much any other legitimate movie – following his disgraceful tumble from his small but reliable spotlight. Perfectly fitting into prestigious period pieces and goofball funny flicks. Jones is a Golden Globe nominee with consistent work – a mix of villain, comedic and at times patriarchal roles, Jeffrey Jones went from Ferris Bueller baddie to Who’s Your Caddy?
So...
Despite the original’s and sequel’s dalliances with the afterlife, Jeffrey Jones will not be in the Beetlejuice sequel– or pretty much any other legitimate movie – following his disgraceful tumble from his small but reliable spotlight. Perfectly fitting into prestigious period pieces and goofball funny flicks. Jones is a Golden Globe nominee with consistent work – a mix of villain, comedic and at times patriarchal roles, Jeffrey Jones went from Ferris Bueller baddie to Who’s Your Caddy?
So...
- 5/14/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Richard Lewis, one of the most influential stand-up comedians of his era and Larry David's hilariously neurotic best friend on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," has died at the age of 76. The official cause of death was listed as a heart attack.
Lewis belonged to a class of comedians who turned joke-telling into a confessional art form. His contemporaries were Richard Belzer, Elayne Boosler, Robert Klein, and Jerry Seinfeld. Lewis got belly laughs out of failed relationships, depression, anxiety, and addiction. He was reliably, identifiably miserable, which was a balm for anyone in his audience who happened to be struggling because, no matter how awful his life seemed to be, he was always back on stage the next night or bantering with David Letterman a week month later after recounting his latest crisis.
He was a neurotic's neurotic, and, therefore, an essential part of our lives. If he could laugh off life's absurd tortures,...
Lewis belonged to a class of comedians who turned joke-telling into a confessional art form. His contemporaries were Richard Belzer, Elayne Boosler, Robert Klein, and Jerry Seinfeld. Lewis got belly laughs out of failed relationships, depression, anxiety, and addiction. He was reliably, identifiably miserable, which was a balm for anyone in his audience who happened to be struggling because, no matter how awful his life seemed to be, he was always back on stage the next night or bantering with David Letterman a week month later after recounting his latest crisis.
He was a neurotic's neurotic, and, therefore, an essential part of our lives. If he could laugh off life's absurd tortures,...
- 2/28/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Rita McKenzie, known for staging the longest-running one-woman show in theatrical history, died Feb. 17 in Los Angeles days before her 77th birthday. She succumbed to what her family described as a long-term illness.
A powerhouse stage voice and theatrical personality, McKenzie’s 1988 off-Broadway one-woman show, Ethel Merman’s Broadway, became the longest-running one- woman show in theatrical history.
McKenzie had a wide theatrical resume. She played Lita Encore in the Los Angeles premiere of Ruthless! The Musical and reprised the role in the recent New York revival of the show.
She also performed a wide range of stage roles throughout the U..S , including Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes!, appeared in the 50th Anniversary tour of Annie Get Your Gun, played Rose in Gypsy, and starred in a three-year U.S. tour of Neil Simon’s The Female Odd Couple, co-starring with Barbara Eden.
Additionally, she was the opening act...
A powerhouse stage voice and theatrical personality, McKenzie’s 1988 off-Broadway one-woman show, Ethel Merman’s Broadway, became the longest-running one- woman show in theatrical history.
McKenzie had a wide theatrical resume. She played Lita Encore in the Los Angeles premiere of Ruthless! The Musical and reprised the role in the recent New York revival of the show.
She also performed a wide range of stage roles throughout the U..S , including Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes!, appeared in the 50th Anniversary tour of Annie Get Your Gun, played Rose in Gypsy, and starred in a three-year U.S. tour of Neil Simon’s The Female Odd Couple, co-starring with Barbara Eden.
Additionally, she was the opening act...
- 2/18/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Taking the inspirational sports movie template, then infusing it with so much weed and foul language that it deserves its own MPAA rating, The Underdoggs is a good example of what happens when Snoop Dogg steps into an otherwise familiar tween-age comedy to wreak havoc. The results, perhaps suprisingly, are far from disastrous and ultimately quite endearing, though parents should be forewarned of a movie that drops more f- and b-bombs than all the ordnance released during World War II.
Inspired by the West coast rapper’s eponymous football league, which has provided a valuable community service to his native L.A. for nearly two decades, this fun and dirty Amazon release has the D-o-double-g playing himself alongside a bunch of adorable pre-teens who are just as snarky and crude. It’s something like the original Bad News Bears meets Rodney Dangerfield’s Ladybugs remixed by Dr. Dre, which could...
Inspired by the West coast rapper’s eponymous football league, which has provided a valuable community service to his native L.A. for nearly two decades, this fun and dirty Amazon release has the D-o-double-g playing himself alongside a bunch of adorable pre-teens who are just as snarky and crude. It’s something like the original Bad News Bears meets Rodney Dangerfield’s Ladybugs remixed by Dr. Dre, which could...
- 1/25/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Remember that scene in Natural Born Killers in which the Juliette Lewis character enters a Married… with Children-style sitcom, with Rodney Dangerfield playing her dad? Imagine a whole movie based on that concept, add tons of violence and gore — not to mention gags about Christ and Catholicism, a tray-full of crystal meth and, in one late sequence, a dog that gets decapitated by a shotgun blast — and you’ll get an idea of what’s in store while watching the Sundance Midnight selection, Krazy House.
As over-the-top as that already sounds, the film is even more exhausting to sit through — like a hard-r Saturday Night Live sketch that’s been taken way too far, to the point you’re just hoping that it stops. Relentless and off-putting, the English-language debut of Dutch hitmakers Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil is unlikely to land a wide audience in the U.
As over-the-top as that already sounds, the film is even more exhausting to sit through — like a hard-r Saturday Night Live sketch that’s been taken way too far, to the point you’re just hoping that it stops. Relentless and off-putting, the English-language debut of Dutch hitmakers Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil is unlikely to land a wide audience in the U.
- 1/25/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Brian McConnachie, the Emmy-winning writer with the offbeat sense of humor who worked on Sctv Network and Saturday Night Live and appeared in Caddyshack and several films for Woody Allen, has died. He was 81.
McConnachie died Friday of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Venice, Florida, Michael Gerber, editor and publisher of The American Bystander, told The Hollywood Reporter. The duo relaunched the humor magazine in 2015 after McConnachie — an original staff member at National Lampoon — originally got it going in 1981.
“Every day, on every page, he has been our North Star,” Gerber said in a statement. “From his days at National Lampoon, Brian was ‘every comedy writer’s favorite comedy writer,’ crafting an unmistakable one-of-a-kind laid-back eccentricity that inspired generations.
“He is the only person I know who wrote for the Holy Trinity of Seventies Comedy — National Lampoon, SNL and Sctv. This speaks to not only his writing talent, but...
McConnachie died Friday of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Venice, Florida, Michael Gerber, editor and publisher of The American Bystander, told The Hollywood Reporter. The duo relaunched the humor magazine in 2015 after McConnachie — an original staff member at National Lampoon — originally got it going in 1981.
“Every day, on every page, he has been our North Star,” Gerber said in a statement. “From his days at National Lampoon, Brian was ‘every comedy writer’s favorite comedy writer,’ crafting an unmistakable one-of-a-kind laid-back eccentricity that inspired generations.
“He is the only person I know who wrote for the Holy Trinity of Seventies Comedy — National Lampoon, SNL and Sctv. This speaks to not only his writing talent, but...
- 1/9/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cindy Morgan, best known for her roles in the 80s films Caddyshack and Tron, died on Dec. 30. She was 69.
The actress died of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told The Hollywood Reporter Saturday.
Born Cynthia Ann Cichorski on Sept. 29, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, Morgan was the first in her family to attend college, attending Northern Illinois University to study communications. After working in local news and radio for some time, she eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1978.
The following year, she appeared in commercials for Irish Spring, becoming known as the Irish Spring girl. During that time, she was also attending acting classes and workshops.
She scored her first film role in the 1979 movie Up Yours. The following year, she took on the role of Lacey Underall in the sports-comedy Caddyshack, starring alongside Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray,...
The actress died of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told The Hollywood Reporter Saturday.
Born Cynthia Ann Cichorski on Sept. 29, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, Morgan was the first in her family to attend college, attending Northern Illinois University to study communications. After working in local news and radio for some time, she eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1978.
The following year, she appeared in commercials for Irish Spring, becoming known as the Irish Spring girl. During that time, she was also attending acting classes and workshops.
She scored her first film role in the 1979 movie Up Yours. The following year, she took on the role of Lacey Underall in the sports-comedy Caddyshack, starring alongside Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cindy Morgan, the actor best known for playing Lacey Underall in “Caddyshack” and Lora/Yori in Disney’s original “Tron” film, has died. She was 69.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office in Florida confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times, saying Morgan died of natural causes. Officials were not able to specify when she died.
Morgan gained notoriety for her performance as blonde bombshell Lacey in the 1980 sports comedy “Caddyshack,” starring Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield.
“‘Caddyshack’ was my first film and I’ll say that the end product was so completely different, it was originally about the caddies,” Morgan said in a 2012 interview. “So at first, I had nothing to lose to audition. It was fun. All I did was focus on making the person sweat. Look ’em in the eye, do that thing many women know how to do.”
After guesting on such series as “The Love Boat,...
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office in Florida confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times, saying Morgan died of natural causes. Officials were not able to specify when she died.
Morgan gained notoriety for her performance as blonde bombshell Lacey in the 1980 sports comedy “Caddyshack,” starring Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield.
“‘Caddyshack’ was my first film and I’ll say that the end product was so completely different, it was originally about the caddies,” Morgan said in a 2012 interview. “So at first, I had nothing to lose to audition. It was fun. All I did was focus on making the person sweat. Look ’em in the eye, do that thing many women know how to do.”
After guesting on such series as “The Love Boat,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Actress Cindy Morgan, who memorably played a temptress in the 1980 film Caddyshack, has died in Florida, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. No cause or location was given.
Morgan playws Lacey Underall in Caddyshack opposite Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield. She was the county club owner’s niece whose electric allure captured every male’s attention.
Her film resume includes Tron and Galaxis, Silent Fury, and Up Yours, among other movies.
Her TV appearances included The Love Boat, Chips, The Fall Guy, Falcon Crest, Matlock and more.
In total, she had 37 acting credits.
No details on survivors or memorials was immediately available.
Morgan playws Lacey Underall in Caddyshack opposite Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield. She was the county club owner’s niece whose electric allure captured every male’s attention.
Her film resume includes Tron and Galaxis, Silent Fury, and Up Yours, among other movies.
Her TV appearances included The Love Boat, Chips, The Fall Guy, Falcon Crest, Matlock and more.
In total, she had 37 acting credits.
No details on survivors or memorials was immediately available.
- 1/6/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
You might not be able to tell it from the trailers but Wonka, the latest movie inspired by Roald Dahl’s classic 1964 children’s story “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is, make no mistake about it, a full-on movie musical that I found to be more in the tradition of ’60s-era films like Oliver, Dr. Dolittle, Albert Finney’s Scrooge — basically a throwback to that kind of feel-good musical confection designed to be released during the year’s end.
Unlike 1971’s beloved (but not a hit initially) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder, or Tim Burton’s darker 2005 take Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp, this version directed Paul King and co-written by King and Simon Farnaby is an origin story of how Willy Wonka came to be Wonka, the magician, inventor and chocolate maker extraordinaire. Both previous films certainly have their legions of fans,...
Unlike 1971’s beloved (but not a hit initially) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder, or Tim Burton’s darker 2005 take Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp, this version directed Paul King and co-written by King and Simon Farnaby is an origin story of how Willy Wonka came to be Wonka, the magician, inventor and chocolate maker extraordinaire. Both previous films certainly have their legions of fans,...
- 12/4/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Few filmmakers have had their finger on the pulse of the American zeitgeist better than John Hughes in the 1980s. A former advertising copywriter and the son of a Chicagoan salesman, also named John Hughes, the now legendary screenwriter and film director rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 20th century by recognizing what audiences wanted to see and hear. And sometimes what they needed to feel.
It was that gift which allowed him to transition from moonlighting as a joke writer for standups like Rodney Dangerfield to writing proper comedy films outright—and sometimes lacing them with an emotional sentimentality that, if not universally true, almost always felt authentic. The ‘80s comedies he wrote and directed, including Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), are still watched and celebrated to this day as much for their moments of earnestness (such as when Alan Ruck demolishes his neglectful...
It was that gift which allowed him to transition from moonlighting as a joke writer for standups like Rodney Dangerfield to writing proper comedy films outright—and sometimes lacing them with an emotional sentimentality that, if not universally true, almost always felt authentic. The ‘80s comedies he wrote and directed, including Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), are still watched and celebrated to this day as much for their moments of earnestness (such as when Alan Ruck demolishes his neglectful...
- 11/22/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Burt Young, a former boxer who was in Sylvester Stallone’s corner as his brother-in-law Paulie in the six Rocky films and received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his turn in the original, has died. He was 83.
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told The New York Times Wednesday.
A tough guy in real life who usually played tough guys onscreen, Young portrayed a rotten client of gumshoe Jack Nicholson’s in Chinatown (1974), was mobster “Bed Bug” Eddie in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and played Rodney Dangerfield’s protector/chauffeur Lou in Back to School (1986).
Young also appeared in four movies in four straight years with fellow Queens guy James Caan — Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) — before they worked together again in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
He played a getaway driver in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite,...
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told The New York Times Wednesday.
A tough guy in real life who usually played tough guys onscreen, Young portrayed a rotten client of gumshoe Jack Nicholson’s in Chinatown (1974), was mobster “Bed Bug” Eddie in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and played Rodney Dangerfield’s protector/chauffeur Lou in Back to School (1986).
Young also appeared in four movies in four straight years with fellow Queens guy James Caan — Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) — before they worked together again in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
He played a getaway driver in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Some unfortunate news to report, folks. Burt Young, the legendary character actor who co-starred with JoBlo’s beloved Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, is dead at 83. Deadline was the first to report the news. Young famously played Rocky’s brother-in-law Paulie, Adrian’s (Talia Shire) brother, a wannabe tough guy who stays in Rocky’s corner despite everything. Young was nominated for an Oscar for the original film, and indeed, Paulie was a complex character. In the first film, he’s Adrian’s abusive older brother. By the third film, his mounting insecurity is confronted by the Italian Stallion, leading to him becoming a corner man for his climactic fight with Mr T’s Clubber Lang in Rocky III. He goes on to back him up for his bout with Ivan Drago in IV before giving power of attorney to a crooked lawyer in V, temporarily bankrupting the family, only for...
- 10/19/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Burt Young, who played Paulie in six of the “Rocky” films starring Sylvester Stallone, drawing an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his performance in the 1976 original, has died, his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser confirmed to the New York Times. He was 83.
Roger Ebert gave Young his props for his performance in the first “Rocky” film: “And Burt Young as (Adrian’s) brother — defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief.” The New York Times — in an absolutely scathing, completely dismissive review of the film — nevertheless said: “Burt Young is effective as Rocky’s best friend, a beer-guzzling mug.”
Young’s temperamental, jealous but nonetheless loyal and caring Paulie Pennino was Rocky’s best friend — he would defend the Italian Stallion if someone insulted him. But he was a problematic friend who shouts at Adrian during her pregnancy,...
Roger Ebert gave Young his props for his performance in the first “Rocky” film: “And Burt Young as (Adrian’s) brother — defeated and resentful, loyal and bitter, caring about people enough to hurt them just to draw attention to his grief.” The New York Times — in an absolutely scathing, completely dismissive review of the film — nevertheless said: “Burt Young is effective as Rocky’s best friend, a beer-guzzling mug.”
Young’s temperamental, jealous but nonetheless loyal and caring Paulie Pennino was Rocky’s best friend — he would defend the Italian Stallion if someone insulted him. But he was a problematic friend who shouts at Adrian during her pregnancy,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
As a Jew, you are taught early on that you are different and people will hate you for it and maybe kill you. They’ve done it since the beginning of Jews. We watched Holocaust documentaries at Hebrew school to make sure we understood. It didn’t seem like something I really had to worry about here as an American Jew.
I’ve been working professionally as a comic since 1988. When I was a kid, most of my favorite comics were Jews. Old Jews. Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett, Rodney Dangerfield, Woody Allen, Richard Lewis, Lenny Bruce. Comedy was basically Jewish in my mind for years. When I started doing comedy, I didn’t embrace my Jewishness. I didn’t want to honor the stereotype.
I just believed that being a Jewish comic had to be more than a schtick or neurosis or a way of talking and acting. I didn...
I’ve been working professionally as a comic since 1988. When I was a kid, most of my favorite comics were Jews. Old Jews. Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett, Rodney Dangerfield, Woody Allen, Richard Lewis, Lenny Bruce. Comedy was basically Jewish in my mind for years. When I started doing comedy, I didn’t embrace my Jewishness. I didn’t want to honor the stereotype.
I just believed that being a Jewish comic had to be more than a schtick or neurosis or a way of talking and acting. I didn...
- 10/18/2023
- by Marc Maron
- Variety Film + TV
When it comes to comedy, few names carry as much weight and laughter as Rodney Dangerfield. Known for his signature catchphrase “I don’t get no respect,” Dangerfield made quite the name for himself. From his stand-up routines to his memorable film roles, the funnyman had a unique ability to connect with audiences. His self-deprecating humor and razor-sharp wit made him a beloved figure. As such, it’s no surprise that he gained a loyal fan base that still cherishes his work today. So, let’s take a closer look at some of Dangerfield’s most memorable moments. Perhaps that’ll explain why his comedic genius...
- 9/3/2023
- by Ima Whyte
- TVovermind.com
Most viewers went starry-eyed for “John Wick: Chapter 4” when it was released earlier this year. But Oliver Stone isn’t most viewers.
Speaking to Variety before receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Transilvania Film Festival, the two-time Best Director Oscar winner unloaded on the Keanu Reeves blockbuster, calling the film “disgusting beyond belief.”
“I saw ‘John Wick 4’ on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking,” Stone said of the feature, which grossed more than $432 million worldwide after its release in March. “Maybe I was watching ‘G.I. Joe’ when I was a kid. But [John Wick] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the fucking movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realize it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.
Speaking to Variety before receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Transilvania Film Festival, the two-time Best Director Oscar winner unloaded on the Keanu Reeves blockbuster, calling the film “disgusting beyond belief.”
“I saw ‘John Wick 4’ on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking,” Stone said of the feature, which grossed more than $432 million worldwide after its release in March. “Maybe I was watching ‘G.I. Joe’ when I was a kid. But [John Wick] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the fucking movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realize it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.
- 6/21/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Paxton Whitehead, the Tony-nominated British actor best known for his snooty roles on “Mad About You” and in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy “Back to School,” died Friday at age 85, according to his son, Charles Whitehead.
In the latter feature film, he memorably played Dr. Barbay, the disapproving dean of the business school who is horrified to learn that Rodney Dangerfield’s low-brow middle-aged character has bribed his way into college. Whitehead also had a recurring role on ’90s sitcom “Mad About You” as the “neighbor from hell” Hal Conway. The actor additionally guested on a number of series including “Frasier” and “Friends.”
Also Read:
Barry Reardon, Former Warner Bros. Theatrical Distribution Chief, Dies at 92
Actress Dana Ivey remembered him fondly on Twitter: “I’ve just heard that my beloved friend Paxton Whitehead has died, on Friday the 16th. We first worked together in ‘My Fair Lady’ in 1964, and the...
In the latter feature film, he memorably played Dr. Barbay, the disapproving dean of the business school who is horrified to learn that Rodney Dangerfield’s low-brow middle-aged character has bribed his way into college. Whitehead also had a recurring role on ’90s sitcom “Mad About You” as the “neighbor from hell” Hal Conway. The actor additionally guested on a number of series including “Frasier” and “Friends.”
Also Read:
Barry Reardon, Former Warner Bros. Theatrical Distribution Chief, Dies at 92
Actress Dana Ivey remembered him fondly on Twitter: “I’ve just heard that my beloved friend Paxton Whitehead has died, on Friday the 16th. We first worked together in ‘My Fair Lady’ in 1964, and the...
- 6/19/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Paxton Whitehead, the prolific and acclaimed actor whose career stretched from 17 Broadway productions, a recurring role on the hit 1990s sitcom Mad About You and a memorable turn as a snooty professor who takes an instant disliking to Rodney Dangerfield’s crude self-made man in 1986’s Back to School, died June 16 at a hospital in Arlington, Va. He was 85.
His death has been confirmed by his son Charles Whitehead, with many friends and colleagues sharing their memories on social media.
Actor Dana Ivey wrote: “We first worked together in My Fair Lady in 1964, and the last time was in Importance of Being Earnest in 2010 — friends for 59 years. I loved him so. Heartbroken.”
Tony-nominated for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of Camelot, Paxton, born in English village of East Malling, made his Broadway debut in a short-lived production of Ronald Millar’s The Affair. His next Broadway show — Beyond the Fringe...
His death has been confirmed by his son Charles Whitehead, with many friends and colleagues sharing their memories on social media.
Actor Dana Ivey wrote: “We first worked together in My Fair Lady in 1964, and the last time was in Importance of Being Earnest in 2010 — friends for 59 years. I loved him so. Heartbroken.”
Tony-nominated for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of Camelot, Paxton, born in English village of East Malling, made his Broadway debut in a short-lived production of Ronald Millar’s The Affair. His next Broadway show — Beyond the Fringe...
- 6/19/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
On July 25th, 1990, as Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold flew high above Jack Murphy Stadium, the San Diego Padres waited to face the Cincinnati Reds in the last of a four-game homestand. But before they would take the field, they would be graced with the presence of one of TV’s biggest stars performing the American National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” As the helicopter neared, Arnold looked over the crowd of more than 25,000 and tried to convince his wife that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Soon before the first pitch, Roseanne belted her take on Francis Scott Key’s anthem, spit on the field and grabbed her crotch. It would be her most controversial moment…until decades later…
Let’s find out: Wtf Happened to…Roseanne Barr?
But to truly understand what the fuck happened to Roseanne Barr, we go back to the beginning. And the beginning...
Let’s find out: Wtf Happened to…Roseanne Barr?
But to truly understand what the fuck happened to Roseanne Barr, we go back to the beginning. And the beginning...
- 6/16/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
2023 marks the forty-third anniversary of the release of the comedy classic Caddyshack, which starred Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, and Bill Murray as characters who spend a lot of time at a country club that has a bit of a gopher problem. The mischievous, dancing gopher (and Chase) returned for a less-well-regarded sequel eight years later… and now writer/director Anthony Catanese is putting a horror twist on the concept with Caddy Hack! A trailer for the film can be seen in the embed above.
Caddy Hack will be premiering at Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle theatre in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey on August 11th. A Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release will follow in October, courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing.
The film tells the story of a struggling golf course that suffers a string of caddy murders at the paws of pesticide-mutated gophers while the greedy owner of the facility tries to...
Caddy Hack will be premiering at Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle theatre in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey on August 11th. A Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release will follow in October, courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing.
The film tells the story of a struggling golf course that suffers a string of caddy murders at the paws of pesticide-mutated gophers while the greedy owner of the facility tries to...
- 6/12/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Pat Cooper, the brash Italian-American stand-up from Brooklyn whose anger real and imagined provided fuel for a long career in comedy, has died. He was 93.
Cooper died Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Conner, announced.
A mainstay in nightclubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, Cooper opened for Ginger Rogers at the Desert Inn and Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He said he once refused to take out a joke about an upside-down St. Anthony statue that Sinatra wanted excised and never worked with the singer again.
Also known for his nonstop, rapid-fire delivery, Cooper appeared as himself on the 1996 Seinfeld episode “The Friars Club” — he participated in many a roast at that famed comedic establishment in midtown Manhattan — and made regular appearances on late-night talk shows, for Ed Sullivan and, starting in the 1980s, on Howard Stern’s radio program.
The bespectacled comic played...
Cooper died Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Conner, announced.
A mainstay in nightclubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, Cooper opened for Ginger Rogers at the Desert Inn and Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He said he once refused to take out a joke about an upside-down St. Anthony statue that Sinatra wanted excised and never worked with the singer again.
Also known for his nonstop, rapid-fire delivery, Cooper appeared as himself on the 1996 Seinfeld episode “The Friars Club” — he participated in many a roast at that famed comedic establishment in midtown Manhattan — and made regular appearances on late-night talk shows, for Ed Sullivan and, starting in the 1980s, on Howard Stern’s radio program.
The bespectacled comic played...
- 6/7/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When "Star Wars: Episode VI -- The Return of the Jedi" began shooting in January 1982, it was the most complex undertaking of the franchise to date. It was also the most vital. Though George Lucas' plans to make two more trilogies were far from fruition, if this installment fell short of fans' stratospheric expectations, there would be no more trips to the galaxy far, far away.
Finishing the screenplay was a chore in and of itself, but once that hurdle was cleared, it appeared it would be smooth sailing through the rest of principal photography. They'd survived the tumultuous production of "The Empire Strikes Back." Surely, the "Star Wars" machine would hum through the final chapter of the Original Trilogy.
All told, "Return of the Jedi" was a comparably stress-free shoot. But it didn't start that way. Not by a damn sight.
A Rough Start To A Blockbuster Final Chapter
London,...
Finishing the screenplay was a chore in and of itself, but once that hurdle was cleared, it appeared it would be smooth sailing through the rest of principal photography. They'd survived the tumultuous production of "The Empire Strikes Back." Surely, the "Star Wars" machine would hum through the final chapter of the Original Trilogy.
All told, "Return of the Jedi" was a comparably stress-free shoot. But it didn't start that way. Not by a damn sight.
A Rough Start To A Blockbuster Final Chapter
London,...
- 5/25/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The Marvel Cinematic Universe really gives us a novelty that took forever for comic book movies to fully embrace. The idea of superhero properties crossing over and building to a much wider world is something that’s in the DNA of the source material. Outside of the Lou Ferrigno Hulk rubbing elbows with half-realized versions of Thor and Daredevil, it’s something that we never truly got to see until Nick Fury stopped by Tony Stark’s house after the Iron Man credits. Before that, the closest thing we had was J. Jonah Jameson referencing the existence of Doctor Strange. Even their rivals at DC Comics couldn’t give us more than a Superman reference in Batman and Robin or a Batman and Robin reference in Steel.
But we did have some close calls over the decades. Some closer than others. Movies and sequels that would have brought together various...
But we did have some close calls over the decades. Some closer than others. Movies and sequels that would have brought together various...
- 5/11/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
No amount of turns the world takes around the sun will lessen the intrigue of seeing the title card read, “This is a true story.” Sure, we’ve been burned a few times. By the time the movie or show ended, we were looking at the reflection of ourselves on the screens, feeling like absolute doofuses for taking the bait. But I’m here to assure you that the same is not the case with Love And Death. Although by the time you get through the first three episodes and have already given little bits and pieces of your heart to the people and their lives, chances are, you would wish that they were fictional, and the horrid fate didn’t befall them. Bringing her Wanda mind-palace-esque housewife to the hellish tale of Love And Death, Elizabeth Olsen summons a ray-of-sunshine murderer who wasn’t charged with the murder of her lover’s pregnant wife.
- 4/28/2023
- by Lopamudra Mukherjee
- Film Fugitives
Girls just wanna have fun, no matter what decade it is.
Village Roadshow is producing a modern-day remake of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the cult 1985 romantic comedy dance movie that starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.
Marja-Lewis Ryan, who acted as showrunner of The L Word: Generation Q, is co-writing the script with Allie Romano, who was a staff writer and executive story editor on Generation Q.
Elizabeth Banks is producing with Max Handelman via the duo’s Brownstone Productions.
Girls, made by now-defunct New World Pictures, centered on an army brat (Parker) who settles in Chicago, attends a strict Catholic high school and contends with an even stricter father at home. The girl decides to follow her passion of dance and, with the encouragement of her new best friend (Hunt), auditions for the local TV dance show. Hiding from dad, dealing with competition from a spoiled country...
Village Roadshow is producing a modern-day remake of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the cult 1985 romantic comedy dance movie that starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.
Marja-Lewis Ryan, who acted as showrunner of The L Word: Generation Q, is co-writing the script with Allie Romano, who was a staff writer and executive story editor on Generation Q.
Elizabeth Banks is producing with Max Handelman via the duo’s Brownstone Productions.
Girls, made by now-defunct New World Pictures, centered on an army brat (Parker) who settles in Chicago, attends a strict Catholic high school and contends with an even stricter father at home. The girl decides to follow her passion of dance and, with the encouragement of her new best friend (Hunt), auditions for the local TV dance show. Hiding from dad, dealing with competition from a spoiled country...
- 4/20/2023
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Adam Sandler hasn’t always been the recipient of glowing reviews for his work, but thanks to his family and friends, those reviews have never made him feel bad. In fact, he’s simply never believed them, because those same family and friends have turned him into “a delusional psychotic man.”
At least, that’s how Sandler himself explained it on Sunday night, as he accepted his Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. After several of those loved ones took the stage at the Kennedy Center to celebrate and honor him — including Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller, and more — Sandler himself took the stage.
According to the actor and comedian, he’s always had infallible confidence, which began with the support of his family. Sandler recalled that his older brother was the one who said he should be an actor, and assured him that he was “as funny as Rodney Dangerfield and Eddie Murphy.
At least, that’s how Sandler himself explained it on Sunday night, as he accepted his Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. After several of those loved ones took the stage at the Kennedy Center to celebrate and honor him — including Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Stiller, and more — Sandler himself took the stage.
According to the actor and comedian, he’s always had infallible confidence, which began with the support of his family. Sandler recalled that his older brother was the one who said he should be an actor, and assured him that he was “as funny as Rodney Dangerfield and Eddie Murphy.
- 3/27/2023
- by Andi Ortiz
- The Wrap
Just over a year after Benjamin Hall was severely injured in a catastrophic attack in Ukraine, the Fox News State Department correspondent is reflecting on his ongoing recovery and sharing vulnerable moments from his video diary in a new documentary.
“Sacrifice and Survival: A Story From the Front Line,” which premieres Sunday, March 19 on Fox News, details the perilous incident that led to the death of photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynov. The documentary follows Hall’s dangerous extraction and subsequent recovery at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, before eventually reuniting with his family in London.
“I had this big operation last night, one of the many that I’m having to regain my legs and my limbs and my life, really,” Hall said in an exclusive clip shared with TheWrap. “I just feel really good today and I think today is day...
“Sacrifice and Survival: A Story From the Front Line,” which premieres Sunday, March 19 on Fox News, details the perilous incident that led to the death of photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynov. The documentary follows Hall’s dangerous extraction and subsequent recovery at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, before eventually reuniting with his family in London.
“I had this big operation last night, one of the many that I’m having to regain my legs and my limbs and my life, really,” Hall said in an exclusive clip shared with TheWrap. “I just feel really good today and I think today is day...
- 3/17/2023
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
Lindsey Graham may think that President Joe Biden is “the Rodney Dangerfield of world leaders,” but Tucker Carlson inadvertently defended the president Wednesday night after pinning the South Carolina senator as a peddler of “anti-American stupidity.” And it all goes back to Russia.
The takedown began Tuesday when Graham, speaking on “Hannity,” shared how he thinks the United States, specifically President Joe Biden, should respond after a Russian jet reportedly collided with a U.S. drone and sent it crashing down into the Black Sea.
“We should hold them accountable, and say that if you ever get near another U.S. jet flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down,” Graham said. “What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets. American foreign policy is in free fall.”
Also Read:
Lindsey Graham Goes Ballistic on Biden’s...
The takedown began Tuesday when Graham, speaking on “Hannity,” shared how he thinks the United States, specifically President Joe Biden, should respond after a Russian jet reportedly collided with a U.S. drone and sent it crashing down into the Black Sea.
“We should hold them accountable, and say that if you ever get near another U.S. jet flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down,” Graham said. “What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets. American foreign policy is in free fall.”
Also Read:
Lindsey Graham Goes Ballistic on Biden’s...
- 3/16/2023
- by Benjamin Lindsay
- The Wrap
Republican South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham had a lot to say on how the United States, specifically President Joe Biden, should respond after a Russian jet collided with a U.S. drone over the Black Sea.
“We should hold them accountable, and say that if you ever get near another U.S. jet flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down,” Graham said while visiting Fox News’ “Hannity” on Tuesday. “What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets. American foreign policy is in free fall.”
Graham continued, claiming that BIden’s weakness simply prompts more international aggression, particularly from Russia.
Also Read:
Chris Hayes Slams Right-Wing Media for Saying Svb Failed Due to ‘Wokeness’: ‘Equal Parts Offensive and Preposterous’ (Video)
“All I can tell you is that on multiple fronts, we’re in a dangerous situation.
“We should hold them accountable, and say that if you ever get near another U.S. jet flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down,” Graham said while visiting Fox News’ “Hannity” on Tuesday. “What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets. American foreign policy is in free fall.”
Graham continued, claiming that BIden’s weakness simply prompts more international aggression, particularly from Russia.
Also Read:
Chris Hayes Slams Right-Wing Media for Saying Svb Failed Due to ‘Wokeness’: ‘Equal Parts Offensive and Preposterous’ (Video)
“All I can tell you is that on multiple fronts, we’re in a dangerous situation.
- 3/15/2023
- by Aarohi Sheth
- The Wrap
With Creed III hitting movie screens and the spring weather finally about to bring people outside again, everyone begins thinking about sports. What will we play? What will we watch? It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year. The world of sports brings with it some great stories that inspire everyone’s daily life. It’s no surprise that films try to capture that and push the narrative format to give everyone a story they can cheer for.
Rudy (1993)
Easily one of the most motivating sports stories ever told. Rudy has spent his entire life being told he was too small to play football. He dreams of attending Notre Dame college and playing for the team. When his friend dies in an accident, he decides he has to chase his dream, or he may never get a chance. Through pure grit and determination, he is able to get into the school,...
Rudy (1993)
Easily one of the most motivating sports stories ever told. Rudy has spent his entire life being told he was too small to play football. He dreams of attending Notre Dame college and playing for the team. When his friend dies in an accident, he decides he has to chase his dream, or he may never get a chance. Through pure grit and determination, he is able to get into the school,...
- 3/3/2023
- by Bryan Wolford
- JoBlo.com
Rick Newman, the founder of New York City’s hugely influential Catch a Rising Star comedy club that provided a training ground for the stand-up comics who would change the landscape of entertainment in the 1970s, died Feb. 20 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 81.
His wife Krysi Newman told The Washington Post that he died of pancreatic cancer.
Among the comics who began or developed their careers on the Rising Star’s Upper East Side stage are Jerry Seineld, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Andy Kaufman, Freddie Prinze, Robert Klein, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler. Larry David, Elayne Boosler, Rodney Dangerfield, Jay Leno, Joy Behar and Ray Romano.
One of the performers most associated with Catch a Rising Star was Richard Belzer, the longtime host of the club who died Feb. 19, just a day before Newman.
Newman, tweeted Billy Crystal, “gave me and so many our starts as stand ups.
His wife Krysi Newman told The Washington Post that he died of pancreatic cancer.
Among the comics who began or developed their careers on the Rising Star’s Upper East Side stage are Jerry Seineld, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Andy Kaufman, Freddie Prinze, Robert Klein, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler. Larry David, Elayne Boosler, Rodney Dangerfield, Jay Leno, Joy Behar and Ray Romano.
One of the performers most associated with Catch a Rising Star was Richard Belzer, the longtime host of the club who died Feb. 19, just a day before Newman.
Newman, tweeted Billy Crystal, “gave me and so many our starts as stand ups.
- 2/24/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Jim Gaffigan as Cameron in Linoleum. Courtesy of Shout! Studios
Bear with me on this one, since Linoleum is a unique and admirable film to savor if you approach it with a different mindset. Jim Gaffigan stars as Cameron, a 50ish sad sack with superb astrophysics credentials who dreamt of becoming an astronaut, but settled for hosting a Bill Nye type of kids’ science show in a lousy time slot on a marginal TV station. His wife and former co-host Erin is divorcing him. Their two kids barely notice his presence. He’s getting less respect than Rodney Dangerfield, but taking all the hits without a whimper. Or a one-liner.
Problems pile on quickly. Instead of getting the Saturday morning spot in the schedule he’d been promised, he’s replaced by a younger, more accomplished version of himself (also Gaffigan). His dad has severe dementia. A satellite crashes in their back yard,...
Bear with me on this one, since Linoleum is a unique and admirable film to savor if you approach it with a different mindset. Jim Gaffigan stars as Cameron, a 50ish sad sack with superb astrophysics credentials who dreamt of becoming an astronaut, but settled for hosting a Bill Nye type of kids’ science show in a lousy time slot on a marginal TV station. His wife and former co-host Erin is divorcing him. Their two kids barely notice his presence. He’s getting less respect than Rodney Dangerfield, but taking all the hits without a whimper. Or a one-liner.
Problems pile on quickly. Instead of getting the Saturday morning spot in the schedule he’d been promised, he’s replaced by a younger, more accomplished version of himself (also Gaffigan). His dad has severe dementia. A satellite crashes in their back yard,...
- 2/24/2023
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Animal House" was the first movie ever created under the name of National Lampoon. It made the humor magazine a household name, but not everybody on the staff was interested in venturing into the movie business. In fact, some of the writers and editors at the magazine felt that the film brought on an unwelcome shift that would eventually render them obsolete.
The film arrived in 1978, eight years after National Lampoon was founded, and achieved instant success. The magazine went on to attach its name to a number of other films, including 1983's "Vacation," which was so popular it exploded into its own movie franchise.
The success of "Animal House" brought a lot of new readers to the magazine, and it also brought a lot of the magazine's writers into the entertainment business. One of the magazine's founders, Henry Beard, had warned the staff against going into film and television before he moved on.
The film arrived in 1978, eight years after National Lampoon was founded, and achieved instant success. The magazine went on to attach its name to a number of other films, including 1983's "Vacation," which was so popular it exploded into its own movie franchise.
The success of "Animal House" brought a lot of new readers to the magazine, and it also brought a lot of the magazine's writers into the entertainment business. One of the magazine's founders, Henry Beard, had warned the staff against going into film and television before he moved on.
- 2/13/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.
When Golden Globe winner Brian Cox appears in Michelob Ultra’s Caddyshack-themed Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, fans might have a hard time believing the Succession star isn’t exactly a big golfer. “I’d have to take up golf in a very quiet and a very secluded place so I don’t make a total tit of myself,” Cox tells Rolling Stone with a laugh of...
When Golden Globe winner Brian Cox appears in Michelob Ultra’s Caddyshack-themed Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, fans might have a hard time believing the Succession star isn’t exactly a big golfer. “I’d have to take up golf in a very quiet and a very secluded place so I don’t make a total tit of myself,” Cox tells Rolling Stone with a laugh of...
- 2/12/2023
- by John Lonsdale
- Rollingstone.com
Mickey Rourke was on the verge of two breakthrough performances when he nearly landed the straight-man lead in one of the most influential comedies of the 1980s.
It would've been another curveball in a life filled with them. The Schenectady-born Rourke grew up in Miami, where the athletic young man discovered an affinity for the Sweet Science. He showed promise as a boxer throughout his youth, but his career was derailed by two concussions. Rourke picked himself up off the canvas, hung up his gloves, and moved to New York City, where he gained acceptance to the prestigious Actors Studio with his first audition.
The talent was there, and so, god help us, were the looks. Rourke wasn't handsome. He was hot. He had the hunky bearing of Marlon Brando and the piercing eyes of Paul Newman. He was primed to be the biggest star of the next decade and beyond,...
It would've been another curveball in a life filled with them. The Schenectady-born Rourke grew up in Miami, where the athletic young man discovered an affinity for the Sweet Science. He showed promise as a boxer throughout his youth, but his career was derailed by two concussions. Rourke picked himself up off the canvas, hung up his gloves, and moved to New York City, where he gained acceptance to the prestigious Actors Studio with his first audition.
The talent was there, and so, god help us, were the looks. Rourke wasn't handsome. He was hot. He had the hunky bearing of Marlon Brando and the piercing eyes of Paul Newman. He was primed to be the biggest star of the next decade and beyond,...
- 1/14/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Adam Sandler's filmography has got to be one of the weirdest in Hollywood history. The comedian joined "Saturday Night Live" in 1990, and quickly gained attention for his absurd characters who, while they often had a temper, retained a kind of childlike charm. There was a slapstick element to most of Sandler's comedy on the show, and when coupled with his novelty songs, it gave him the appearance of being a hilarious, somewhat one-dimensional performer.
But since he left "SNL" in 1995, he's been anything but one-dimensional. In fact, he stunned everyone with his dramatic abilities in movies such as "Uncut Gems" and "Punk Drunk Love." On the other hand, he's also churned out a string of genuinely god-awful comedy efforts, comprised mostly of him and his buddies seemingly just using studio money to go on vacation with a production crew and throwing a movie together from the resulting footage.
Somewhere...
But since he left "SNL" in 1995, he's been anything but one-dimensional. In fact, he stunned everyone with his dramatic abilities in movies such as "Uncut Gems" and "Punk Drunk Love." On the other hand, he's also churned out a string of genuinely god-awful comedy efforts, comprised mostly of him and his buddies seemingly just using studio money to go on vacation with a production crew and throwing a movie together from the resulting footage.
Somewhere...
- 1/13/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
"Caddyshack" started out as a straightforward coming-of-age comedy about a young guy working as a caddie on the links of a posh golf club; by the time it reached the screen, it had become a summit meeting between three comic heavyweights of the time. There was Chevy Chase, the former star of "Saturday Night Live;" Bill Murray, the then-current star of the show; and Rodney Dangerfield, the stand-up legend whose club in New York helped launch the career of many comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Carrey. There was also a gopher that looked remarkably like a hand puppet, but the coming-of-age stuff was largely relegated to filler by the antics of its three stars.
After the huge success of "National Lampoon's Animal House," Harold Ramis and Douglas Kennedy decided to take the riotous underdog formula to the links. They'd both had experience at golf clubs as teenagers and, together...
After the huge success of "National Lampoon's Animal House," Harold Ramis and Douglas Kennedy decided to take the riotous underdog formula to the links. They'd both had experience at golf clubs as teenagers and, together...
- 12/12/2022
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
Los Angeles, CA. September 24, 2018: Jerry Seinfeld at the Los Angeles premiere for “A Star Is Born” at the Shrine Auditorium. Picture: Paul Smith/Featureflash. Depostiphotos
Jerome “Jerry” Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld (1989–1998), which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show’s final two seasons, co-executive-produced. In his first major foray back into the media since the finale of Seinfeld, he co-wrote and co-produced the film Bee Movie, also taking on the lead role of Barry B. Benson. In February 2010, Seinfeld premiered a reality TV series called The Marriage Ref on NBC. Seinfeld was more recently directing Colin Quinn in the Broadway show Long Story Short at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York which ran until January 8, 2011.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerry Seinfeld,...
Jerome “Jerry” Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld (1989–1998), which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show’s final two seasons, co-executive-produced. In his first major foray back into the media since the finale of Seinfeld, he co-wrote and co-produced the film Bee Movie, also taking on the lead role of Barry B. Benson. In February 2010, Seinfeld premiered a reality TV series called The Marriage Ref on NBC. Seinfeld was more recently directing Colin Quinn in the Broadway show Long Story Short at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York which ran until January 8, 2011.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerry Seinfeld,...
- 12/5/2022
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
On Nov. 25, 1992, Disney released an animated film that would go on to become one of its all-time most beloved classics, “Aladdin”.
Retelling the “Arabian Nights” tale of the “street rat” who discovered a tarnished lamp that had imprisoned a genie — played to hilarious perfection by the late Robin Williams — “Aladdin” went on to become one of Disney’s biggest hits and continues to entertain new generations of children.
Read More: Robin Williams’ Grandson Is Learning About Him Through ‘Aladdin’
In honour of the film’s 30th anniversary, check out these 10 facts about the film that you may not have known.
1. In a possible nod to “Pinocchio”, Aladdin has a “tell” whenever he tells a lie: the feather in his turban falls in his face whenever he fibs.
2. Steven Spielberg, who was filming “Schindler’s List” at that time, regularly called Williams to speak with the cast and crew in order to...
Retelling the “Arabian Nights” tale of the “street rat” who discovered a tarnished lamp that had imprisoned a genie — played to hilarious perfection by the late Robin Williams — “Aladdin” went on to become one of Disney’s biggest hits and continues to entertain new generations of children.
Read More: Robin Williams’ Grandson Is Learning About Him Through ‘Aladdin’
In honour of the film’s 30th anniversary, check out these 10 facts about the film that you may not have known.
1. In a possible nod to “Pinocchio”, Aladdin has a “tell” whenever he tells a lie: the feather in his turban falls in his face whenever he fibs.
2. Steven Spielberg, who was filming “Schindler’s List” at that time, regularly called Williams to speak with the cast and crew in order to...
- 11/25/2022
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Click here to read the full article.
Gray Frederickson, the Oscar-winning producer who worked alongside Francis Ford Coppola on the Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now and One From the Heart in a collaboration that spanned more than four decades, has died. He was 85.
Frederickson died Sunday at his home in Oklahoma City after a battle with prostate cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Frederickson shared the best picture Oscar in 1975 with writer-director-producer Coppola and producer Fred Roos for The Godfather Part II — the first of just two sequels to take the big prize — and the trio (and Tom Sternberg) were nominated again for Apocalypse Now (1979).
“I got on a winning horse. I was with Francis Coppola, who’s no slouch. I was lucky enough to be carried along with him,” Frederickson told The Oklahoman in a 2021 interview. “I got lucky with him, but he says he got lucky with me.
Gray Frederickson, the Oscar-winning producer who worked alongside Francis Ford Coppola on the Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now and One From the Heart in a collaboration that spanned more than four decades, has died. He was 85.
Frederickson died Sunday at his home in Oklahoma City after a battle with prostate cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Frederickson shared the best picture Oscar in 1975 with writer-director-producer Coppola and producer Fred Roos for The Godfather Part II — the first of just two sequels to take the big prize — and the trio (and Tom Sternberg) were nominated again for Apocalypse Now (1979).
“I got on a winning horse. I was with Francis Coppola, who’s no slouch. I was lucky enough to be carried along with him,” Frederickson told The Oklahoman in a 2021 interview. “I got lucky with him, but he says he got lucky with me.
- 11/21/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
As hard as this might be to believe, Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee turns 10 this year. The road-trip talk show — in which Seinfeld and his comedian pals hop in vintage cars and talk shop on their way to grab a cup of java — premiered July 19, 2012, on Crackle, then moved on to greener streaming pastures at Netflix in 2018.
Over its 11 seasons, Seinfeld has hosted just about every influential comic in the business — his Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, David Letterman, the late Don Rickles, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, Steve Martin and Tracy Morgan, among them. Along the way, he’s hosted a few comedy-adjacent folks, too: Then-President Barack Obama joined him in a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray in season seven, then had coffee with Seinfeld in the White House staff dining room.
To commemorate its tin anniversary, Seinfeld has compiled some...
As hard as this might be to believe, Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee turns 10 this year. The road-trip talk show — in which Seinfeld and his comedian pals hop in vintage cars and talk shop on their way to grab a cup of java — premiered July 19, 2012, on Crackle, then moved on to greener streaming pastures at Netflix in 2018.
Over its 11 seasons, Seinfeld has hosted just about every influential comic in the business — his Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, David Letterman, the late Don Rickles, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, Steve Martin and Tracy Morgan, among them. Along the way, he’s hosted a few comedy-adjacent folks, too: Then-President Barack Obama joined him in a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray in season seven, then had coffee with Seinfeld in the White House staff dining room.
To commemorate its tin anniversary, Seinfeld has compiled some...
- 11/16/2022
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Budd Friedman, the comedy club pioneer who founded the original Improv in New York in 1963 and gave early career breaks to the likes of Jay Leno, Robert Klein, Bette Midler, Richard Pryor and Andy Kaufman, has died. He was 90.
Friedman died Saturday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his wife, Alix, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Three years after Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show departed Manhattan for Burbank, Friedman opened a Hollywood outpost of the Improv on Melrose Avenue in 1975 in his first expansion of the brand.
There were 22 Improvs across 12 states in February 2018 when Friedman and partner Mark Lonow sold the company to Levity Entertainment Group, whose investors included Irving Azoff.
At his flagship New York hotspot, located at West 44th Street and Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, Friedman also employed Rodney Dangerfield as an Mc, Elayne Boosler...
Friedman died Saturday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his wife, Alix, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Three years after Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show departed Manhattan for Burbank, Friedman opened a Hollywood outpost of the Improv on Melrose Avenue in 1975 in his first expansion of the brand.
There were 22 Improvs across 12 states in February 2018 when Friedman and partner Mark Lonow sold the company to Levity Entertainment Group, whose investors included Irving Azoff.
At his flagship New York hotspot, located at West 44th Street and Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, Friedman also employed Rodney Dangerfield as an Mc, Elayne Boosler...
- 11/13/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Star Trek" famously takes place in a post-capitalist society. Starfleet officers receive no paychecks, and their shifts are dictated by their stamina rather than their monetary benefits. Several times throughout "Star Trek: The Next Generation," characters from the 20th or 21st centuries appear on the Enterprise to be told in no uncertain terms that money is a thing of the past. In "Star Trek: First Contact," Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) states it plainly: "We work to better ourselves." In terms of trade, "Star Trek" seems to operate entirely on barter (if resources are limited) or on generosity (if they are not). Ships trade medical supplies, equipment, or fuel, for instance.
(Of course, the franchise's post-capitalism runs into a notable snag when the Federation encounters worlds that still operate using monetary trade. Although never explicitly stated, a Trekkie may glean that the Federation has the resources to acquire or even produce money/credits/gold-pressed latinum,...
(Of course, the franchise's post-capitalism runs into a notable snag when the Federation encounters worlds that still operate using monetary trade. Although never explicitly stated, a Trekkie may glean that the Federation has the resources to acquire or even produce money/credits/gold-pressed latinum,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Whitney Cummings will soon have ties to legendary comedian Rodney Dangerfield.
The stand-up, writer, producer, director and podcast host has been selected to receive the Rodney Respect Award at the the Los Angeles City College Foundation Gala on Oct. 27. Per Lacc, the honor “is bestowed upon individuals whose creativity has left a unique mark on the history of comedy.” Prior recipients include Jim Carrey, Chelsea Handler, Tim Allen, Brad Garrett, Kelsey Grammer, Jay Leno, Jon Lovitz, Louie Anderson, Bob Saget, Chuck Lorre and others.
Held at L.A.’s Skirball Cultural Center, the event will also host Melissa Rivers (who will present the trophy to Cummings) and a roster of fellow honorees that includes David Ambroz (Impact Award), Milt and Debbie Valera (Humanitarian Award) and Maggie Lin (Visionary Award).
Lacc Foundation provides students with the financial support and over the past five years,...
Whitney Cummings will soon have ties to legendary comedian Rodney Dangerfield.
The stand-up, writer, producer, director and podcast host has been selected to receive the Rodney Respect Award at the the Los Angeles City College Foundation Gala on Oct. 27. Per Lacc, the honor “is bestowed upon individuals whose creativity has left a unique mark on the history of comedy.” Prior recipients include Jim Carrey, Chelsea Handler, Tim Allen, Brad Garrett, Kelsey Grammer, Jay Leno, Jon Lovitz, Louie Anderson, Bob Saget, Chuck Lorre and others.
Held at L.A.’s Skirball Cultural Center, the event will also host Melissa Rivers (who will present the trophy to Cummings) and a roster of fellow honorees that includes David Ambroz (Impact Award), Milt and Debbie Valera (Humanitarian Award) and Maggie Lin (Visionary Award).
Lacc Foundation provides students with the financial support and over the past five years,...
- 10/14/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Kassir returns as the infamous Cryptkeeper, who dispenses puns and helps save Halloween, as Solar Opposites pays tribute to this horror icon.
A lot of horror anthology series have made their mark on the medium, but one of the reasons that HBO’s Tales From the Crypt remains such a perennial favorite is because of its haunting, hilarious master of scare-emonies, the Cryptkeeper. The stories told within Tales From the Crypt typically don’t disappoint, but the hacky host that introduces and bids farewell to each installment quickly became the most celebrated aspect of the series. The Cryptkeeper character didn’t make his debut in HBO’s anthology series, but the reason that this take on the fearsome figure broke through to the mainstream is because of John Kassir’s titillating performance in the role. Now, after nearly a decade of staying in his grave, John Kassir makes his proper return as the Cryptkeeper,...
A lot of horror anthology series have made their mark on the medium, but one of the reasons that HBO’s Tales From the Crypt remains such a perennial favorite is because of its haunting, hilarious master of scare-emonies, the Cryptkeeper. The stories told within Tales From the Crypt typically don’t disappoint, but the hacky host that introduces and bids farewell to each installment quickly became the most celebrated aspect of the series. The Cryptkeeper character didn’t make his debut in HBO’s anthology series, but the reason that this take on the fearsome figure broke through to the mainstream is because of John Kassir’s titillating performance in the role. Now, after nearly a decade of staying in his grave, John Kassir makes his proper return as the Cryptkeeper,...
- 10/3/2022
- by Daniel Kurland
- bloody-disgusting.com
The late Rodney Dangerfield was an anachronism. Back in the ’60s, he was a Borscht Belt comedian who parlayed his success on that circuit into Tonight Show and Ed Sullivan Show appearances, which gave him a national following for his stand-up comedy. But, as new, edgier comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Steve Martin started to dominate the stand-up scene in the ’70s, it appeared Dangerfield’s brand of humor had passed its expiration date. Nobody ever would have expected that, in the 1980s, Dangerfield would come roaring back and experience the greatest popularity surge of his career. A lot of that came from his casting in several hit movies, starting with Caddyshack in 1980. That led to starring roles in several more successful movies, including Easy Money, Back to School, and, perhaps most surprising, Ladybugs, in which he played the coach of a young girls’ soccer team. By that time,...
- 9/23/2022
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.