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Why 'Star Wars' Is One of the Most Important Works of Art in Cinema History
2 hours ago
The argument over whether Star Wars saved or doomed Hollywood by the scale of its success, and by the industry it created in its wake, is one that's gone on since the movie's original release almost 40 years ago. The real answer is "both" — it would be short-sighted at best to deny more lessons have been learned from the merchandise opportunities Star Wars created than its world-building — but just because George Lucas's galaxy far, far away created an Empire of its own doesn't mean that it's worthless as a movie.
Despite that, The Hollywood Reporter executive editor, features, Stephen »
- Graeme McMillan
Former Sony Exec Andrew Gumpert Moves to Paramount (Exclusive)
4 hours ago
After exiting as the head of Sony Pictures' business affairs group just weeks ago, Andrew Gumpert has landed at Paramount as the studio's COO. Long-standing COO Frederick Huntsberry will depart Paramount after 10 years at the studio.
Gumpert, one of the most respected dealmakers in Hollywood, was an 11-year Sony veteran, most recently serving as the studio's president of worldwide business affairs and operations.
Gumpert, who was honored in 2015 with The Hollywood Reporter's Raising the Bar Award at its annual Power Lawyers event, began his dealmaking career at the entertainment law firm Hill Wynne Troop »
- Rebecca Ford
'Game of Thrones' Star Michiel Huisman Joins Lily James in 'Guernsey' (Exclusive)
4 hours ago
Game of Thrones star Michiel Huisman will star opposite Lily James in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
The story is set in the aftermath of World War II and follows journalist Juliet Ashton (James), who decides to write about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club formed on Guernsey Island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy during wartime. It begins when she receives a letter from a resident named Dawsey (Huisman), a farmer on the island. She starts writing letters to the book club, and eventually travels to the island »
- Rebecca Ford
Independent Spirit Awards: 'Moonlight,' 'American Honey' Score Leading 6 Nominations Each
4 hours ago
American Honey and Moonlight scored a leading six nominations each as Film Independent on Tuesday announced the nominations for its 2017 Spirit Awards. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea came in second with five noms. Other People, Jackie and Free in Deed each earned four mentions.
The nominees, celebrating the best of independent film, were revealed at a press conference hosted by Edgar Ramirez and Jenny Slate.
American Honey, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea and Jackie all will face off in the best feature category, along with Chronic.
Although Moonlight didn't score any acting nominations, it was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. Its »
- Hilary Lewis
Tom Holland in Talks to Join Daisy Ridley in 'Chaos Walking' (Exclusive)
5 hours ago
Tom Holland, who is playing Spider-Man in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, is in negotiations to join Daisy Ridley in Lionsgate’s post-apocalyptic thriller Chaos Walking.
Doug Liman is directing the project, an adaptation of the best-selling Ya novel by Patrick Ness.
The story takes place in a world where all women have been killed by a germ and all living creatures can hear one another's thoughts in a stream of images, words and sounds called Noise.
Holland would star as a boy forced to flee his town with his loyal dog and who comes upon a strange sight: a girl (Ridley).
»
- Borys Kit
How 'Firefly' Star Ron Glass Quietly Helped Hundreds of Kids Reach College
5 hours ago
Actor Ron Glass leaves behind a lot more than a body of work that earned him an Emmy nomination (Barney Miller) and sci-fi acclaim (Firefly).
The actor, who died Saturday at 71 of respiratory failure after facing health issues for several years, devoted much of his personal time to The Wooten Center, a Los Angeles non-profit that provides mentoring and college preparation to students in grades 3-12.
Glass first came to Wooten in 1992, when in the wake of the Rodney King riots, he was looking to do something positive in the community. A friend brought him to an »
- Aaron Couch
Fritz Weaver, Tony-Winning Veteran of Stage and Screen, Dies at 90
6 hours ago
Fritz Weaver, the courtly veteran of Broadway and the big screen who won a Tony Award and stood out in such films as Fail-Safe and The Day of the Dolphin, has died. He was 90.
Weaver died Saturday at home in Manhattan, The New York Times reported.
His sister was Mary Weaver Dodson, a four-time Emmy-nominated art director known for her work on Murder, She Wrote. She died in February.
Weaver received his Tony in 1970 for his performance as strict Catholic boarding school teacher Jerome Malley in Robert Marasco's long-running thriller Child's Play.
The 6-foot-3 Pittsburgh native made his Broadway debut in 1955's The Chalk Garden, for which he »
- Mike Barnes
'The Black Pin' ('Igla ispod praga'): Film Review
6 hours ago
Only the fourth film ever submitted to the Academy Awards by the former Yugoslavian republic of Montenegro since it secured independence a decade ago, The Black Pin is a polished and engaging debut feature from the young writer-director Ivan Marinovic. It takes place in a remote village steeped in superstition and ritual, but where a typical conversation may involve Kanye West, smartphone contracts or shady property deals with foreign investors. Ancient meets modern.
Working on his home turf, Marinovic strikes a healthy balance between bittersweet comedy and naturalistic drama, largely avoiding the boorish caricatures and overheated emotions that often characterize »
- Stephen Dalton
'Carol' Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy to Write Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta Film (Exclusive)
7 hours ago
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Phyllis Nagy has signed on to adapt Patricia Cornwell's untitled Kay Scarpetta film for Fox 2000.
Nagy, who was nominated for an Academy Award earlier this year for penning Carol's adapted screenplay, gives new life to the property that once had Angelina Jolie circling as the forensics master.
Scarpetta first appeared in Cornwell's 1990 novel Postmortem. In total, the character has appeared in two dozen best-selling books, most recently this year's Chaos. Fox 2000 has the rights to the entire series.
The studio has been hoping to get the franchise with the strong female protagonist off the ground »
- Tatiana Siegel
Annie Awards: 'Zootopia,' 'Kubo and the Two Strings' Lead Noms as Indies Prove Strong Competitors
8 hours ago
Walt Disney Feature Animation’s Zootopia leads the feature nominees for the 44th annual Annie Awards with 11 nominations, followed by Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings with 10 noms. But the full list of nominations for the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood's annual awards competition also underscored the strength of several indie films in this year’s awards race.
In the category for best animated feature, Zootopia and Kubo are nominated alongside Pixar’s Finding Dory, DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3 and Disney’s Moana. Nominees in the separate best animated independent feature category My Life as a Zucchini (also the Swiss foreign-language Oscar »
- Carolyn Giardina
Stephen Dorff's Country Music Film 'Wheeler' Nabbed by Momentum
8 hours ago
Momentum Pictures has acquired Wheeler, which stars Stephen Dorff as an aspiring country music artist.
Ryan Ross directed the singer-songwriter journey, and also co-wrote the Nashville-set movie with Dorff.
Wheeler features live performances and appearances from country music stars like Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Tomberlin and Audrey Spillman.
Varèse Sarabande Records will release the official Wheeler soundtrack, including the single “Pour Me Out of This Town,” performed by Dorff.
Momentum will release Wheeler in theaters and on demand on Feb. 3.
The deal was negotiated by Paradigm on behalf of the filmmakers.
»
- Mia Galuppo
'Rogue One,' 'Patriots Day' and 'Lion' Launch Charity Campaigns
9 hours ago
Are ticketholders more likely to open their wallets as do-gooders, or vice versa?
Marketing moviegoing with a philanthropic touch is nothing new, especially for event films, as it's a great way to get a film free publicity during a crowded year-end season at the box office. For those generating Oscar buzz, the move can help releases push their awards campaign's narrative through a charitable one.
Ahead of the Dec. 21 release of Patriots Day — the Peter Berg drama starring Mark Wahlberg as a police sergeant on the hunt for the Boston Marathon bombers — CBS Films and Lionsgate announced the Patriots »
- Ashley Lee
MGM Sues 'Buckaroo Banzai' Writer and Director Over Right to Make New TV Series
9 hours ago
More than three decades after the cult science fiction classic, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, was released in theaters, MGM wishes to produce a new television series of the characters with Kevin Smith at the helm and in conjunction with Amazon Studios. But first, MGM is taking a trip to the courtroom to sort out rights.
MGM has filed a complaint in California federal court against Earl Mac Rauch, who wrote the 1984 film about a neurosurgeon/ rock star who saves Earth from malevolent aliens, and Walter Richter, who directed the picture that stars Peter Weller, John Lithgow, »
- Eriq Gardner
Palm Springs Film Fest to Honor Nicole Kidman
9 hours ago
Nicole Kidman is headed to Palm Springs.
The actress will receive the Palm Springs International Film Festival's International Star Award for her performance in Lion, it was announced Monday. Mary Hart will host the annual awards gala, to be held Jan. 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and also honoring Sully's Tom Hanks, Loving's Ruth Negga, Manchester by the Sea's Casey Affleck and the cast of La La Land.
The Weinstein Company drama Lion follows Saroo, a five-year-old boy who gets lost on a train traveling away from his home. He is adopted by an Australian couple, »
- Ashley Lee
Box-Office Feasts and Turkeys: Thanksgiving Widens Hollywood's Divide
9 hours ago
Over Thanksgiving weekend, filmmaker Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk fell 77 percent in its sophomore outing to $210,000 for a disastrous North American total of $1.6 million. Warren Beatty's Rules Don't Apply was another Thanksgiving turkey when it opened to just $2.2 million.
The two movies are hardly alone in their misery as the divide worsens between films that work and those that don't — and that's also contributed to a dramatic disparity among the major studios.
Overall domestic box-office revenue for the year hit $10 billion on Nov. 25, earlier than it has in any previous year »
- Pamela McClintock
Galloway on Film: Why I Hate 'Star Wars'
10 hours ago
In the early 1970s, 20th Century Fox was a leaking ship.
Following the disastrous Cleopatra — the 1963 epic that had hemorrhaged money, forcing the studio to sell off half its land — the company had brought back its co-founder, Darryl F. Zanuck, who returned from self-imposed exile in Paris and was charged with righting the vessel. At first, he did so with some success, hiring his son, Richard, as head of production and greenlighting such giant hits as The Sound of Music (1965), Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Planet of the Apes (1968). The future looked bright, until it didn’t.
»
- Stephen Galloway
Wes Anderson Debuts Christmas Ad for H&M Starring Adrien Brody
12 hours ago
Director Wes Anderson has reteamed with his The Grand Budapest Hotel actor Adrien Brody for a Christmas ad for clothing retailer H&M.
The spot, which went up Monday, tells the story of a group of train passengers whose plans are spoiled by snowy weather and delays on Christmas Day. Brody, playing Ralph, a mustachioed train conductor, plans a festive surprise for the rag-tag group of strangers.
“This story may resonate more than ever at a time in the world where we could all do with giving a stranger a hug,” Brody commented of the short, titled Come Together.
The three-and-a-half »
- Scott Roxborough
Samuel L. Jackson to Receive Lifetime Honor From Dubai International Film Festival
13 hours ago
Samuel L. Jackson will add to his awards cabinet next month following a trip to the Middle East.
The actor has been tapped to receive the Dubai International Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award, it was announced Monday. He joins a growing list of recipients, which includes the likes of Omar Sharif, Oliver Stone, Terry Gilliam, Shah Rukh Khan and Martin Sheen.
Jackson will be honored during the opening ceremony of the 13th edition of the festival on Dec. 7, and he also is set to take part in a special In Conversation event on Dec. 9.
"It's a great honor »
- Alex Ritman
'Your Name' Passes 'Princess Mononoke' to Become Third-Highest Grossing Japanese Film of All Time
15 hours ago
Makoto Shinkai's anime smash Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) has become the third-biggest grossing Japanese film in history, blowing by Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke.
Your Name was knocked off the number one spot at the Japanese box office this weekend, after 14 weeks on release, 12 at the top, displaced by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
But Shinkai's story of body-swapping teenagers has pulled in $196 million (￥19.4 billion) from nearly 15 million admissions since its release on Aug. 26. It was knocked off the No. 1 spot by the latest Death Note film on »
- Gavin J. Blair
Alibaba Pictures Buys into 'Mermaid' Financier Hehe Pictures
15 hours ago
Alibaba Pictures has taken a strategic stake in Hehe Pictures, the Chinese film investment group whose credits include box-office smash The Mermaid.
Alibaba said it acquired a 30 percent stake in Hehe for an undisclosed sum. The deal makes Alibaba the second-largest shareholder in Hehe behind the company's founder and general manager Yang Wei.
Alibaba will appoint two executives to Hehe's board of directors and the two companies will collaborate on production, promotion and distribution of future film titles.
“We look forward to stepping up our fruitful partnership in terms of film production, promotion and distribution,” said Alibaba Pictures »
- Scott Roxborough
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