Stephen King’s impact on the cinema industry is hard to overestimate, as the movies adapted from his brilliant novels have brought billions to the filmmakers. However, what if we try to imagine a biographical film about this writer and his creative process?
Here are 4 actors who could potentially play King in a biopic, according to Reddit.
1. Bill Hader
This actor is presumably the one who comes first in mind in this respect, as he doesn’t only look very much like the writer, but is also familiar with his horror universe as he played the adult Richie Tozier in It Chapter Two (2019).
“Hader would be perfect not just because of his looks, but because Sk is a genuinely funny guy Irl,” admits Redditor @thewoodlayer. Indeed, the actor’s comedy skills would be of much value here too.
2. Rainn Wilson
“Identity theft is not a joke, Steve,” jokes @msstark, recalling...
Here are 4 actors who could potentially play King in a biopic, according to Reddit.
1. Bill Hader
This actor is presumably the one who comes first in mind in this respect, as he doesn’t only look very much like the writer, but is also familiar with his horror universe as he played the adult Richie Tozier in It Chapter Two (2019).
“Hader would be perfect not just because of his looks, but because Sk is a genuinely funny guy Irl,” admits Redditor @thewoodlayer. Indeed, the actor’s comedy skills would be of much value here too.
2. Rainn Wilson
“Identity theft is not a joke, Steve,” jokes @msstark, recalling...
- 5/16/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Ava Raxa)
- STartefacts.com
Forty years ago today, late-night TV lost one of its most influential players—and perhaps its most polarizing.
Andy Kaufman, who passed away on May 16, 1984, became a prominent figure in comedy thanks to appearances on programs like Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, and Fridays.
Often described as a performance artist, an anti-comic, and a prankster, Kaufman aimed not to make audiences laugh, but to make them question. While he would ultimately become something of a household name when his“Foreign Man” character was worked into the sitcom Taxi, Kaufman only took the role to enable his more eccentric comedy acts, put-ons, and performance art experiments—which often took place in late night.
Intent on committing to the bit, Kaufman didn’t have as many TV shows eager to embrace him as the most successful traditional comics did.
Continue reading Late Night Legend Andy Kaufman Died 40 Years Ago Today at LateNighter.
Andy Kaufman, who passed away on May 16, 1984, became a prominent figure in comedy thanks to appearances on programs like Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, and Fridays.
Often described as a performance artist, an anti-comic, and a prankster, Kaufman aimed not to make audiences laugh, but to make them question. While he would ultimately become something of a household name when his“Foreign Man” character was worked into the sitcom Taxi, Kaufman only took the role to enable his more eccentric comedy acts, put-ons, and performance art experiments—which often took place in late night.
Intent on committing to the bit, Kaufman didn’t have as many TV shows eager to embrace him as the most successful traditional comics did.
Continue reading Late Night Legend Andy Kaufman Died 40 Years Ago Today at LateNighter.
- 5/16/2024
- by Nick Riccardo
- LateNighter
The WWE has declined to renew its contract with Hall of Fame wrestler and broadcaster Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Lawler joined the WWF (which later became the WWE) as a commentator in 1992, working on Superstars. In the early ’90s, he defeated Bret Hart and was named “Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation.” While he continued to wrestle, Lawler was a broadcaster for Raw, SmackDown! and WWE pay-per-views until 2016.
Lawler has not been been featured on a WWE TV broadcast for over a year, but he still has a legends deal that allows him to work with the organization on merch and other licensing. Despite his departure from the broadcast team, Lawler is said to still have a great relationship with the company. Indeed, he was backstage at SmackDown in Memphis in March.
He is known for his feud with comedian Andy Kaufman, and together they created one of the...
Lawler joined the WWF (which later became the WWE) as a commentator in 1992, working on Superstars. In the early ’90s, he defeated Bret Hart and was named “Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation.” While he continued to wrestle, Lawler was a broadcaster for Raw, SmackDown! and WWE pay-per-views until 2016.
Lawler has not been been featured on a WWE TV broadcast for over a year, but he still has a legends deal that allows him to work with the organization on merch and other licensing. Despite his departure from the broadcast team, Lawler is said to still have a great relationship with the company. Indeed, he was backstage at SmackDown in Memphis in March.
He is known for his feud with comedian Andy Kaufman, and together they created one of the...
- 5/7/2024
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Committed is one word you could use to describe Tony Khan. The Aew owner and CEO wore a neck brace during the NFL Draft, selling an onscreen attack by Jack Perry and members of the villainous faction The Elite on Dynamite. Khan’s dad Shahid Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars owner, even appeared to express concern for his son at the end of the April 24 episode. It was the first time in the five-year history of the company that Tony was part of a physical angle on the show. In the spirit of Andy Kaufman and wanting to capitalize on the buzz, he kept the story going during multiple high-profile appearances during the NFL Draft. Tony Schiavone updated viewers on Khan’s condition during the April 27 episode of Aew’s Collision. The story given was that he suffered multiple head and neck injuries, and doctors advised him not to travel. That until...
- 4/30/2024
- TV Insider
CBS sitcom "The Bob Newhart Show" was a staple for American TV audiences of the '70s, thanks in large part to clever writing and Newhart's much-loved performance as psychologist and comedic straight man Bob Hartley. The show ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978, but it had a surprisingly long pop cultural afterlife. Characters from "The Bob Newhart Show" have popped up in everything from "Murphy Brown" to "St. Elsewhere" to "Alf," though their most famous reappearance came in the jokey "Newhart" finale in 1990. In it, Newhart wakes up in bed next to his wife from the previous series and discovers that this entire sitcom was all an elaborate dream. "The Bob Newhart Show," it turned out, was his real world.
When it wasn't being resurrected for increasingly meta crossovers, "The Bob Newhart Show" was a pretty straightforward sitcom about the life of a mental health clinician and the assortment...
When it wasn't being resurrected for increasingly meta crossovers, "The Bob Newhart Show" was a pretty straightforward sitcom about the life of a mental health clinician and the assortment...
- 4/23/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Exclusive: In recent years, comedian Tom Segura has taken to both his podcasts and the press to tease a pilot that he self-financed, produced and sold. And now, he’s revealed Netflix as the destination for the project, a six-episode dark comedy series that he’ll star in and produce.
This is just Segura’s latest deal with the streamer, which has previously put out each of his five chart-topping comedy specials. The untitled series, for which he also serves as narrator, will see him take the viewer through a series of vignettes in each episode. The twisted comedic sensibility of his stand-up is the core DNA of this series, where every story will unfold in a in a hilariously disturbing way only he could imagine.
Segura wrote and fully produced the pilot, with Rami Hachache serving as its director. Jeremy Konner, whose credits include Drunk History, Another Period and Waffles & Mochi,...
This is just Segura’s latest deal with the streamer, which has previously put out each of his five chart-topping comedy specials. The untitled series, for which he also serves as narrator, will see him take the viewer through a series of vignettes in each episode. The twisted comedic sensibility of his stand-up is the core DNA of this series, where every story will unfold in a in a hilariously disturbing way only he could imagine.
Segura wrote and fully produced the pilot, with Rami Hachache serving as its director. Jeremy Konner, whose credits include Drunk History, Another Period and Waffles & Mochi,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Comedian Tom Segura has identified the most promising vehicle yet to showcase his acting chops, as Deadline understands that he’s in talks for multiple roles in Dirty Rotten Bastard, a show biz-centric indie from Ed Helms & Mike Falbo’s Pacific Electric Picture Company.
Helmed by Ryan McNeely and Josh Martin, aka The Director Brothers, the film tells the insane true story of an aspiring filmmaker who is kidnapped by deranged lounge singer Tony Clifton. Initially drawn to document Clifton’s world, he is thrust into a chaotic journey of sex, celebrity, and comedy, blurring the lines between observer and participant, and testing his sanity.
Segura will play legendary avant-garde comedian Andy Kaufman’s larger-than-life comedic persona Clifton, as well as the performer’s friend and longtime collaborator Bob Zmuda.
Zmuda was known to switch off with Kaufman in portraying Clifton, a foul-mouthed lounge singer out of Las Vegas,...
Helmed by Ryan McNeely and Josh Martin, aka The Director Brothers, the film tells the insane true story of an aspiring filmmaker who is kidnapped by deranged lounge singer Tony Clifton. Initially drawn to document Clifton’s world, he is thrust into a chaotic journey of sex, celebrity, and comedy, blurring the lines between observer and participant, and testing his sanity.
Segura will play legendary avant-garde comedian Andy Kaufman’s larger-than-life comedic persona Clifton, as well as the performer’s friend and longtime collaborator Bob Zmuda.
Zmuda was known to switch off with Kaufman in portraying Clifton, a foul-mouthed lounge singer out of Las Vegas,...
- 4/2/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Madonna made headlines 30 years ago when she dropped the F-bomb 14 times (including her description of host David Letterman as a “sick f—k”), made sexual innuendos, and refused to get off the stage during her Late Show appearance on March 31, 1994. Arguably, however, Letterman fired the first shot while introducing Madonna, saying that the pop star had “slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.” In 2015, Madonna told Howard Stern she was in “a weird mood” that day in 1994. “I was dating Tupac Shakur at the time, and the thing is, he got me all riled up about life in general,” she said. As you’ll see below, though, Madonna’s Late Show appearance is one of many late-night interviews that took a controversial, scandalous, or chaotic turn — and two even went down on the same night. Jerry Lawler & Andy Kaufman on Late Night With David Letterman Letterman...
- 3/31/2024
- TV Insider
“My whole life is backwards,” muses Steve Martin during the second “episode” of Morgan Neville’s Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in Two Pieces.
The point that Martin is making stems not from some Benjamin Button-style anomaly, but from his contention that he has gone from being riddled with anxiety in his 30s to achieving contentment and happiness in his 70s.
While I would posit that this isn’t all that remarkable — “Finding wisdom and peace with age” seems ideal and not unusual — there’s truth to Martin’s bigger point. Biopics and bio-docs tend to have familiar arcs that allow us to reconcile the contradictions of complicated lives; Martin’s biography has no such arc.
Neville’s approach, in the annoyingly titled documentary that I will henceforth only call Steve!, is to bifurcate Martin’s life.
The 98-minute “Then” looks at the origins of Martin’s comic style — a...
The point that Martin is making stems not from some Benjamin Button-style anomaly, but from his contention that he has gone from being riddled with anxiety in his 30s to achieving contentment and happiness in his 70s.
While I would posit that this isn’t all that remarkable — “Finding wisdom and peace with age” seems ideal and not unusual — there’s truth to Martin’s bigger point. Biopics and bio-docs tend to have familiar arcs that allow us to reconcile the contradictions of complicated lives; Martin’s biography has no such arc.
Neville’s approach, in the annoyingly titled documentary that I will henceforth only call Steve!, is to bifurcate Martin’s life.
The 98-minute “Then” looks at the origins of Martin’s comic style — a...
- 3/28/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
David Dastmalchian in Late Night With The DevilImage: Shudder/IFC Films
There’s a certain quality that select horror movies can conjure, something with a high degree of difficulty that gets even higher when said horror movie is trying to evoke a very specific time and place. We’ve seen...
There’s a certain quality that select horror movies can conjure, something with a high degree of difficulty that gets even higher when said horror movie is trying to evoke a very specific time and place. We’ve seen...
- 3/21/2024
- by Matthew Jackson
- avclub.com
We aim to be a one-stop shop for late-night TV, but sometimes stories fall through the cracks. Here are the late-night news items we didn’t get to this week:
Wrong Jimmy
Tuesday morning on The View, Joy Behar confessed that she sent the wrong Jimmy a congratulations text for doing such a stellar job hosting the Oscars. “Did he respond,” her co-hosts asked? “No.” [ The View ]
Good Sport
After SNL’s much-talked about send-up of Alabama Senator Katie Britt, Jenna Bush Hager recalled watching Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush SNL impression with her father while he was president. She said he thought it was hilarious. [ Today ]
First Look
New York paparazzi snapped some photos at 30 Rock while Jason Reitman’s SNL 1975 movie was shooting on location, giving us our first glimpses of Gabriel Labelle (The Fabelmans) playing Lorne Michaels and Nicholas Braun (Succession) seemingly dressed as Andy Kaufman (although...
Wrong Jimmy
Tuesday morning on The View, Joy Behar confessed that she sent the wrong Jimmy a congratulations text for doing such a stellar job hosting the Oscars. “Did he respond,” her co-hosts asked? “No.” [ The View ]
Good Sport
After SNL’s much-talked about send-up of Alabama Senator Katie Britt, Jenna Bush Hager recalled watching Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush SNL impression with her father while he was president. She said he thought it was hilarious. [ Today ]
First Look
New York paparazzi snapped some photos at 30 Rock while Jason Reitman’s SNL 1975 movie was shooting on location, giving us our first glimpses of Gabriel Labelle (The Fabelmans) playing Lorne Michaels and Nicholas Braun (Succession) seemingly dressed as Andy Kaufman (although...
- 3/16/2024
- by Jed Rosenzweig
- LateNighter
Individuals like Andy Kaufman, Richard Pryor, John Candy, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Robin Williams, Gilda Radner, George Carlin, and Gene Wilder come to mind in a list of late comedic greats who changed the comedy landscape. Their influence remains a part of the art, with up-and-coming joke-slingers citing them as sources of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s good to reflect on the contributions of comedy’s titans. So Kino Lorder is proud to present Ron Frank’s Remembering Gene Wilder trailer, celebrating the life and career of the curly-haired clown alongside notable friends.
Remembering Gene Wilder is a heartfelt documentary and entertaining portrait of the life and career of the beloved actor, featuring an extensive array of highlights from Wilder’s most memorable films and interviews with his closest friends, family, and fellow comics.
Here’s the official description for Remembering Gene Wilder:
Remembering Gene Wilder is a loving tribute to...
Remembering Gene Wilder is a heartfelt documentary and entertaining portrait of the life and career of the beloved actor, featuring an extensive array of highlights from Wilder’s most memorable films and interviews with his closest friends, family, and fellow comics.
Here’s the official description for Remembering Gene Wilder:
Remembering Gene Wilder is a loving tribute to...
- 3/5/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Problemista.As a former Saturday Night Live writer, co-creator of the bilingual HBO cult favorite Los Espookys, and government-certified “alien of extraordinary ability,” Julio Torres has been preoccupied with the secret life of objects: the existential dilemmas that plague baubles and trinkets divorced from their original purpose. In Problemista (2024), Torres’s debut feature, the efficacy of form and function, as it applies to the predominant social order and the flimsy structures that reinforce it, is up for constant reconsideration. Through fabulist vignettes and an iridescent array of signs and symbols, the film offers a buoyant critique of institutional frameworks, especially the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the American immigration system, but also the avarice of corporate banks and the innumerable hypocrisies of the art world. Contributing a singular perspective to the discourse surrounding “the queer art of failure,” Torres views conventional notions of utility with puckish skepticism and advocates for a deliberate...
- 3/5/2024
- MUBI
Renowned comedian Richard Lewis, famous for his stand-up performances and memorable role on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, died on Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home after he suffered a heart attack. He was 76 years old.
The news of Lewis’s death was confirmed by his publicist, Jeff Abraham. Lewis had been living with Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis he revealed in April 2023. In a statement, Lewis’s wife, Joyce Lapinsky, expressed gratitude for the love, friendship and support people had extended, and asked for privacy at this difficult time.
Born as Richard Philip Lewis on June 29, 1947, in Brooklyn and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, Lewis went on to graduate from Ohio State University. He emerged in the 1970s comedy scenes of New York and Los Angeles alongside future stars like Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer and Elayne Boosler. Lewis quickly gained popularity and made appearances on late-night shows such...
The news of Lewis’s death was confirmed by his publicist, Jeff Abraham. Lewis had been living with Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis he revealed in April 2023. In a statement, Lewis’s wife, Joyce Lapinsky, expressed gratitude for the love, friendship and support people had extended, and asked for privacy at this difficult time.
Born as Richard Philip Lewis on June 29, 1947, in Brooklyn and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, Lewis went on to graduate from Ohio State University. He emerged in the 1970s comedy scenes of New York and Los Angeles alongside future stars like Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer and Elayne Boosler. Lewis quickly gained popularity and made appearances on late-night shows such...
- 2/29/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Hollywood suffered another great loss today, with news that comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis has died at age 76.
Last April, Richard announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Diagnosis.
Despite admitting that he felt good, Richard also shared that he was retiring from doing stand-up comedy.
Today, news broke that Richard passed away after suffering a heart attack.
According to Deadline, Richard’s long-time publicist, Jeff Abraham, confirmed the news, revealing the actor died in his Los Angeles home.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship, and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Jeff expressed to the outlet.
Curb Your Enthusiasm comedian Richard Lewis dead at 76
Although best known for Curb Your Enthusiasm, Richard had a long comedic career before his signature role on the hit HBO show in 2000. Richard got his start in the 1970s comedy scene in...
Last April, Richard announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Diagnosis.
Despite admitting that he felt good, Richard also shared that he was retiring from doing stand-up comedy.
Today, news broke that Richard passed away after suffering a heart attack.
According to Deadline, Richard’s long-time publicist, Jeff Abraham, confirmed the news, revealing the actor died in his Los Angeles home.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship, and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Jeff expressed to the outlet.
Curb Your Enthusiasm comedian Richard Lewis dead at 76
Although best known for Curb Your Enthusiasm, Richard had a long comedic career before his signature role on the hit HBO show in 2000. Richard got his start in the 1970s comedy scene in...
- 2/28/2024
- by Rachelle Lewis
- Monsters and Critics
Richard Lewis, the wild, eccentric, ultra-neurotic stand-up comedian and comic actor who most recently served as a semi-regular alongside Larry David on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” is dead. He was 76. Lewis suffered a fatal heart attack Tuesday night less than a year after announcing in April 2023 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was retiring from performing stand-up comedy. Lewis’ death was confirmed by his publicist Jeff Abraham, who noted, “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for the love, friendship and support and asks everyone for privacy at this time.”
He appeared this month on the 12th and final season of “Curb” after begging off of the show in its 11th season while recovering from a series of surgeries. But he wound up shooting a scene in an episode that year, anyway.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2024: In Memoriam Gallery
A beloved and respected comedian known to be the kind...
He appeared this month on the 12th and final season of “Curb” after begging off of the show in its 11th season while recovering from a series of surgeries. But he wound up shooting a scene in an episode that year, anyway.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2024: In Memoriam Gallery
A beloved and respected comedian known to be the kind...
- 2/28/2024
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Richard Lewis, the beloved comedian, stand-up comedy all-star, and series regular on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, has died after suffering a heart attack. He was 76. Lewis’ death was confirmed by his publicist, Jeff Abraham. “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Abraham said.
Richard Lewis’ comedic journey began with dual debuts in the New York and Los Angeles comedy arenas in the 1970s. Mentioned in the same breaths as comedy legends like Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer, and Elayne Boosler, Lewis’ comedy style was darker and more self-deprecating than his fellow kings and queens of comedy. Not afraid to lampoon his shortcomings, Richard Lewis shared grim comedy about his addictions and bizarre thinking.
Lewis revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in April 2023 and planned to retire from his stand-up career.
Related Curb Your Enthusiasm...
Richard Lewis’ comedic journey began with dual debuts in the New York and Los Angeles comedy arenas in the 1970s. Mentioned in the same breaths as comedy legends like Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer, and Elayne Boosler, Lewis’ comedy style was darker and more self-deprecating than his fellow kings and queens of comedy. Not afraid to lampoon his shortcomings, Richard Lewis shared grim comedy about his addictions and bizarre thinking.
Lewis revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in April 2023 and planned to retire from his stand-up career.
Related Curb Your Enthusiasm...
- 2/28/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Richard Lewis, one of America’s most beloved and revered stand-up comics who also played a fictionalized version of himself on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, died Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack. He was 76.
His death was confirmed by his publicist Jeff Abraham. Lewis had been living with Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis he revealed in April 2023.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Abraham said.
Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.
Related: Remembering Richard Lewis: A Career In Photos
Richard Lewis on ‘The Tonight Show’ in late-’70s
Born Richard Philip Lewis on June 29, 1947, in Brooklyn and raised in Englewood, NJ, Lewis — after a childhood he would describe as difficult — graduated from Ohio State University before landing in the New York and Los Angeles comedy scenes of the 1970s.
His death was confirmed by his publicist Jeff Abraham. Lewis had been living with Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis he revealed in April 2023.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Abraham said.
Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.
Related: Remembering Richard Lewis: A Career In Photos
Richard Lewis on ‘The Tonight Show’ in late-’70s
Born Richard Philip Lewis on June 29, 1947, in Brooklyn and raised in Englewood, NJ, Lewis — after a childhood he would describe as difficult — graduated from Ohio State University before landing in the New York and Los Angeles comedy scenes of the 1970s.
- 2/28/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
In her one-woman show, there’s a running joke that Kate Berlant cannot cry on cue. Throughout the performance, she stands in front of a camera that projects footage of her onto a screen above the stage, contorting her face, willing a single tear to fall until, at long last, she triumphs.
Recently, as she closed out the final performances of Kate at the Pasadena Playhouse — after runs in New York and London — the tears were real and more akin to hysterical sobs. “It’s such a surreal experience,” says Berlant, 36, from backstage at the Playhouse. “The crowd can’t tell because they see the tears and think I’m just acting. It made me think about how there’s sort of no difference between a deep emotional experience and just … pretending.”
Kate is an auto-fictional scripted comedy routine meets theatrical experience. Berlant speaks directly to the audience, telling a...
Recently, as she closed out the final performances of Kate at the Pasadena Playhouse — after runs in New York and London — the tears were real and more akin to hysterical sobs. “It’s such a surreal experience,” says Berlant, 36, from backstage at the Playhouse. “The crowd can’t tell because they see the tears and think I’m just acting. It made me think about how there’s sort of no difference between a deep emotional experience and just … pretending.”
Kate is an auto-fictional scripted comedy routine meets theatrical experience. Berlant speaks directly to the audience, telling a...
- 2/16/2024
- by Seija Rankin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
We haven’t seen the last of Dr. Robotnik.
Jim Carrey will reprise his role as the mad scientist with the formidable facial hair in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” The news comes despite the fact that (and here there be spoilers) the second film in the series ended with Dr. Robotnik falling from a giant robot to the ground below, a potentially fatal tumble. In the film’s post-credits scene, however, it is revealed that Dr. Robotnik’s body has not been found, setting the stage for Sonic’s main antagonist to make a dramatic return.
The combined global box office for “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” stands at $725.2 million, hence the enthusiasm of Paramount, the studio behind the video game adaptations, for another installment in the franchise. The studio is also making a spin-off series, “Knuckles,'” that will premiere on Paramount+. Carrey’s return was...
Jim Carrey will reprise his role as the mad scientist with the formidable facial hair in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” The news comes despite the fact that (and here there be spoilers) the second film in the series ended with Dr. Robotnik falling from a giant robot to the ground below, a potentially fatal tumble. In the film’s post-credits scene, however, it is revealed that Dr. Robotnik’s body has not been found, setting the stage for Sonic’s main antagonist to make a dramatic return.
The combined global box office for “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” stands at $725.2 million, hence the enthusiasm of Paramount, the studio behind the video game adaptations, for another installment in the franchise. The studio is also making a spin-off series, “Knuckles,'” that will premiere on Paramount+. Carrey’s return was...
- 2/2/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
First you get radicalized, then you get professionalized—a familiar trajectory Chris Smith’s Devo retells in a familiar idiom. After sitting down with dour conspiracy theorist Michael Ruppert for 2009’s Collapse, the American Movie director didn’t make a feature for eight years. He returned to begin his populist doc era with 2017’s Jim & Andy, which made generous use of previously unseen videos of Jim Carrey acting like a maniac “in character” as Andy Kaufman on the set of 1999’s Man on the Moon. In present-day interviews, Carrey described his dilemma: having given a performance at a relatively young age that confirmed […]
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/25/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
First you get radicalized, then you get professionalized—a familiar trajectory Chris Smith’s Devo retells in a familiar idiom. After sitting down with dour conspiracy theorist Michael Ruppert for 2009’s Collapse, the American Movie director didn’t make a feature for eight years. He returned to begin his populist doc era with 2017’s Jim & Andy, which made generous use of previously unseen videos of Jim Carrey acting like a maniac “in character” as Andy Kaufman on the set of 1999’s Man on the Moon. In present-day interviews, Carrey described his dilemma: having given a performance at a relatively young age that confirmed […]
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Sundance 2024: Devo, War Game, Girls State first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/25/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It took a savvy comedy fan to know what Andy Kaufman was doing with his career. More than a mere funnyman, Kaufman tended to satirize the trappings of standup comedy, often using his routines to play pranks on the audience. As detailed in Miloš Forman's 1999 biopic "Man on the Moon," Kaufman wanted to host a TV special that contained artificial signal "static" in the hope that viewers would get up out of their seats and whack their "broken" TV sets. That's not funny for the audience, but it's certainly funny for Kaufman.
Part of Kaufman's satirical act was a whole separate stage persona named Tony Clifton, a foul-mouthed, alcoholic lounge singer who cussed and behaved badly. Clifton was also occasionally played by Kaufman's close friend and associate Bob Zmuda, allowing Clifton and Kaufman to occasionally appear in the same room, calling the reality of the character into question. Tony Clifton...
Part of Kaufman's satirical act was a whole separate stage persona named Tony Clifton, a foul-mouthed, alcoholic lounge singer who cussed and behaved badly. Clifton was also occasionally played by Kaufman's close friend and associate Bob Zmuda, allowing Clifton and Kaufman to occasionally appear in the same room, calling the reality of the character into question. Tony Clifton...
- 1/25/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
"Mary Poppins" has been a beloved children's film since its release in 1964. The musical comedy was a veritable hit among British and American audiences alike and launched the career of the incomparable Julie Andrews, who became one of the brightest stars of the late 20th century.
The Disney classic swept the 1965 Oscars, earning Andrews an Academy Award for her performance and snagging additional awards for visual effects, editing, and music. The film was a great triumph for the studio as well as the stars. It was immediately recognized as the masterpiece that it is and has only retained and strengthened its legendary status with age.
Sadly, as the picture ages, so too do the actors that made it such an unforgettable romp. Very few members of the main cast are still alive today and the ones that haven't made it might surprise you. Glynis Johns, who played suffragette and mother...
The Disney classic swept the 1965 Oscars, earning Andrews an Academy Award for her performance and snagging additional awards for visual effects, editing, and music. The film was a great triumph for the studio as well as the stars. It was immediately recognized as the masterpiece that it is and has only retained and strengthened its legendary status with age.
Sadly, as the picture ages, so too do the actors that made it such an unforgettable romp. Very few members of the main cast are still alive today and the ones that haven't made it might surprise you. Glynis Johns, who played suffragette and mother...
- 1/21/2024
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
There has only ever been one Devo — and there will likely never be another. The new wave band best known for their 1980 megahit “Whip It” was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1973, when two sets of brothers — Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald and Bob Casale — met at Kent State University and decided to create an art collective.
The name came from the concept of “de-evolution,” a kind of reverse Darwinism that posited, tongue in cheek, that humankind was moving backwards. But then they bore witness to the infamous Kent State Massacre on May 4, 1970, in which Ohio National Guardsmen killed four unarmed student war protesters — pushing Devo into the realm of performances and protest art. Along the way, they created surrealist art videos to accompany their music, including 1976’s short film The Truth About De-Evolution, which became an underground phenomenon, drawing the attention of David Bowie and landing them a record deal at Warner.
The name came from the concept of “de-evolution,” a kind of reverse Darwinism that posited, tongue in cheek, that humankind was moving backwards. But then they bore witness to the infamous Kent State Massacre on May 4, 1970, in which Ohio National Guardsmen killed four unarmed student war protesters — pushing Devo into the realm of performances and protest art. Along the way, they created surrealist art videos to accompany their music, including 1976’s short film The Truth About De-Evolution, which became an underground phenomenon, drawing the attention of David Bowie and landing them a record deal at Warner.
- 1/19/2024
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In early January, comedian Katt Williams went on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast and took aim at Cedric the Entertainer for stealing “my very best joke.” The bit in question — which involved a pantomime of driving with music blasting — was first performed by Katt in a 1998 appearance on ComicView, then reproduced by Cedric (according to Katt) for his set in Spike Lee’s The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric called the accusations “revisionist history” on Instagram.
We’ve been down this road many times before. For much of the 20th century, joke stealing was an open secret. “All comedians steal from all comedians,” the legend Stan Laurel once mused. Some of the biggest names in comedy did it. Milton Berle was so blatant in his joke stealing that he earned the nickname “The Thief of Bad Gags.” Richard Pryor admitted on The Tonight Show that he ripped off his comedy idols,...
We’ve been down this road many times before. For much of the 20th century, joke stealing was an open secret. “All comedians steal from all comedians,” the legend Stan Laurel once mused. Some of the biggest names in comedy did it. Milton Berle was so blatant in his joke stealing that he earned the nickname “The Thief of Bad Gags.” Richard Pryor admitted on The Tonight Show that he ripped off his comedy idols,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Eric Spitznagel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
George Carlin’s daughter Kelly Carlin is not laughing at an AI-generated comedy special on YouTUbe consisting entirely of an “impersonation” of her comic-genius father.
The special, titled George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead!, is attributed to the AI-generated Dudesy, with the Dudesy voice introducing the hourlong special by likening it to “Andy Kaufman impersonating Elvis or like Will Ferrell impersonating George W. Bush.”
Kelly Carlin isn’t convinced by the argument. In a statement posted last night on X, the daughter of the late comic (George Carlin died in 2008) says, “My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain and imagination. No machine will ever replace his genius. These AI generated products are clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again. Let’s let the artist’s work speak for itself. Humans are so afraid of the...
The special, titled George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead!, is attributed to the AI-generated Dudesy, with the Dudesy voice introducing the hourlong special by likening it to “Andy Kaufman impersonating Elvis or like Will Ferrell impersonating George W. Bush.”
Kelly Carlin isn’t convinced by the argument. In a statement posted last night on X, the daughter of the late comic (George Carlin died in 2008) says, “My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain and imagination. No machine will ever replace his genius. These AI generated products are clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again. Let’s let the artist’s work speak for itself. Humans are so afraid of the...
- 1/11/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Benny Safdie is late.
Frantic and a bit sweaty, he arrives at Westside Restaurant 40 minutes past our 10 a.m. breakfast, and just five minutes after I email his publicist, “Did Benny forget about the interview?”
Benny forgot about the interview.
Out of breath, he profusely apologizes, offering a Mad Lib of an explanation: “I was spray-painting a Tin Man costume in Central Park.”
Before that, Safdie spends three and a half hours answering my questions, legs cramping in a tight booth, metallic-smudged hands dancing around a heated corn muffin. “This place is awesome,” he says after a stack of plates shatters on the old tiled floor, as servers bark omelet orders across the narrow restaurant.
Safdie, 37, grew up bouncing between his divorced parents in Queens and the Upper West Side, and says he’s been coming to this particular spot since his teenage years, when it used to be open all night.
Frantic and a bit sweaty, he arrives at Westside Restaurant 40 minutes past our 10 a.m. breakfast, and just five minutes after I email his publicist, “Did Benny forget about the interview?”
Benny forgot about the interview.
Out of breath, he profusely apologizes, offering a Mad Lib of an explanation: “I was spray-painting a Tin Man costume in Central Park.”
Before that, Safdie spends three and a half hours answering my questions, legs cramping in a tight booth, metallic-smudged hands dancing around a heated corn muffin. “This place is awesome,” he says after a stack of plates shatters on the old tiled floor, as servers bark omelet orders across the narrow restaurant.
Safdie, 37, grew up bouncing between his divorced parents in Queens and the Upper West Side, and says he’s been coming to this particular spot since his teenage years, when it used to be open all night.
- 1/4/2024
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
After receiving harsh criticism for his remarks about transgender and LGBTQ+ communities in his previous Netflix special The Closer, Dave Chappelle again took a jab at trans people and targeted the disabled community in his latest special The Dreamer.
Chappelle focused on the trans community in his opening. He recalled meeting Jim Carrey on the set of the 1999 movie Man on the Moon, in which Carrey portrayed the late comedian Andy Kaufman.
“I was very disappointed because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey and I had to pretend he was Andy Kaufman all afternoon. It was clearly Jim Carrey. I could look at him and clearly see it was Jim Carrey,” Chappelle said, describing how Carrey stayed in character while off-camera. “I say all that to say … that’s how trans people make me feel.”
He then moved on to the disabled community. “Tonight, I’m doing all handicapped jokes.
Chappelle focused on the trans community in his opening. He recalled meeting Jim Carrey on the set of the 1999 movie Man on the Moon, in which Carrey portrayed the late comedian Andy Kaufman.
“I was very disappointed because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey and I had to pretend he was Andy Kaufman all afternoon. It was clearly Jim Carrey. I could look at him and clearly see it was Jim Carrey,” Chappelle said, describing how Carrey stayed in character while off-camera. “I say all that to say … that’s how trans people make me feel.”
He then moved on to the disabled community. “Tonight, I’m doing all handicapped jokes.
- 12/31/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Maybe it’s time for Dave Chappelle to try some new material.
The comedian’s newest special, “The Dreamer,” debuted on Netflix on Dec. 31, and largely focuses on his early years in entertainment and how he manifested his success. But he floods the first 12 minutes of the set revisiting his favorite target in recent years: Transgender people.
Chappelle opens the special by telling a story about visiting Jim Carrey while he was shooting the 1999 film “Man on the Moon,” where the actor famously went method on set while portraying comedian Andy Kaufman. Dave recalls being “very disappointed” that he spent the day speaking to Carrey pretending to be Kaufman, ending by saying, “That’s how trans people make me feel.”
He then addressed the controversy surrounding his anti-trans material, saying, “If you guys came here to this show tonight thinking that I’m going to make fun of those people again,...
The comedian’s newest special, “The Dreamer,” debuted on Netflix on Dec. 31, and largely focuses on his early years in entertainment and how he manifested his success. But he floods the first 12 minutes of the set revisiting his favorite target in recent years: Transgender people.
Chappelle opens the special by telling a story about visiting Jim Carrey while he was shooting the 1999 film “Man on the Moon,” where the actor famously went method on set while portraying comedian Andy Kaufman. Dave recalls being “very disappointed” that he spent the day speaking to Carrey pretending to be Kaufman, ending by saying, “That’s how trans people make me feel.”
He then addressed the controversy surrounding his anti-trans material, saying, “If you guys came here to this show tonight thinking that I’m going to make fun of those people again,...
- 12/31/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer, the comic’s seventh stand-up special for Netflix, opens with a quote about the nature of success by Henry David Thoreau before capturing the comic in stark black-and-white, moving through the crowd in slow-mo (cigarette in hand, naturally) to Radiohead’s “Daydreaming,” like a championship boxer before a fight. We’re at the Lincoln Theatre in Chappelle’s hometown of Washington, D.C., the very place where he filmed his first stand-up special, Killin’ Them Softly, 24 years ago. Quite a lot’s changed since then,...
- 12/31/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
You wouldn’t expect an animated film about a talking iguana to draw equal inspiration from Andy Kaufman and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but that just might help explain the wide appeal of Netflix’s smash hit “Leo.” It also makes perfect sense when you consider the creative minds behind Adam Sandler-led project, which includes his longtime collaborator and comedy’s not-so-secret weapon, Robert Smigel.
Though perhaps best known to audiences for his work as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the foul-mouthed canine puppet who began life on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” where Smigel was the first head writer. But Smigel was also behind some of the most memorable comic moments of the last 30 years. On “Saturday Night Live” he created countless indelible sketches and the animated segment “TV Funhouse,” which received its own spin-off series on Comedy Central. He wrote and performed on the brilliant but short-lived “Dana Carvey Show,...
Though perhaps best known to audiences for his work as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the foul-mouthed canine puppet who began life on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” where Smigel was the first head writer. But Smigel was also behind some of the most memorable comic moments of the last 30 years. On “Saturday Night Live” he created countless indelible sketches and the animated segment “TV Funhouse,” which received its own spin-off series on Comedy Central. He wrote and performed on the brilliant but short-lived “Dana Carvey Show,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
The View hosted an epic reunion of the cast of Taxi, 45 years after the series premiered on ABC. The ladies hosted Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner and Carol Kane for the celebration.
“For us, from the first day, the first moment we got together, it was like a family,” said DeVito, who played Louie De Palma, about the continued popularity of the series. “We were hugging and kissing the first day and we didn’t even really know each other. We read the script and everyone was falling into place. It was miraculous. But we appreciated it and never took it for granted. We always felt like the work was the most important thing.”
Added Hirsch, who played Alex Reiger, “We said, we gotta do this. If we’re not good, it’s not gonna work. They canceled shows left and right in those years.
“For us, from the first day, the first moment we got together, it was like a family,” said DeVito, who played Louie De Palma, about the continued popularity of the series. “We were hugging and kissing the first day and we didn’t even really know each other. We read the script and everyone was falling into place. It was miraculous. But we appreciated it and never took it for granted. We always felt like the work was the most important thing.”
Added Hirsch, who played Alex Reiger, “We said, we gotta do this. If we’re not good, it’s not gonna work. They canceled shows left and right in those years.
- 12/11/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
At the end of the first season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," the U.S.S. Enterprise had lost its chief engineer, Lieutenant Hemmer (Bruce Horak), to a Gorn egg that had been implanted inside his body. At the beginning of the second season, audiences were introduced to a new character named Pelia (Carol Kane) an engineer who had no intention of serving on board the ship. After a merry misadventure, Pelia decided she liked the Enterprise and its crew and signed onto a senior role on the ship. Pelia was unlike many of the more rule-oriented characters on "Strange New World," rarely abiding by protocol, hoarding strange art artifacts in her room, and generally ignoring orders. She was a wonderful addition to the show, and a worthy successor to the already-great Hemmer.
Pelia is a Lanthanite, a humanoid species that lives literally thousands of years. It's their longevity,...
Pelia is a Lanthanite, a humanoid species that lives literally thousands of years. It's their longevity,...
- 12/4/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Wavelength, the award-winning film and branded content studio of Jenifer Westphal and Joe Plummer, has inked an exclusive first-look deal with Steve Zahn, Rick Gomez, and Coby Toland’s banner, Macaroni Art Productions.
Formalizing a creative partnership between the two companies for scripted and non-scripted projects, the deal follows their collaborations on the short documentaries How To Paint a Peace Sign and Lynn’s Fire. Under it, Wavelength will of course receive a first look at all projects generated by Macaroni Art. Already, the companies are developing a sports-focused docuseries, along with a couple of narrative projects.
“We are thrilled to partner with Macaroni Art Productions,” said Wavelength’s Founder, CEO, and Executive Producer, Westphal. “When I first met Steve and Rick it was a true meeting of the minds. Not only do they exemplify how we like to work at Wavelength but they do the work with full commitment,...
Formalizing a creative partnership between the two companies for scripted and non-scripted projects, the deal follows their collaborations on the short documentaries How To Paint a Peace Sign and Lynn’s Fire. Under it, Wavelength will of course receive a first look at all projects generated by Macaroni Art. Already, the companies are developing a sports-focused docuseries, along with a couple of narrative projects.
“We are thrilled to partner with Macaroni Art Productions,” said Wavelength’s Founder, CEO, and Executive Producer, Westphal. “When I first met Steve and Rick it was a true meeting of the minds. Not only do they exemplify how we like to work at Wavelength but they do the work with full commitment,...
- 11/28/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Emmy-and-Golden Globe winning actor. Oscar-nominated producer. Director. Writer. In his 50 years in the industry, Danny DeVito has worn many hats, becoming one of the most successful and popular entertainers of his generation.
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, in New Jersey, with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia. Also known as Fairbank’s disease, this rare genetic disorder affects bone growth and contributed to his short stature. This has not hindered his successes, beginning with his training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and early work in the theater.
In 1975, DeVito successfully reprised his off-Broadway role in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in the film version, and soon found success as Louie DePalma in the television sitcom “Taxi,” for which he received four Primetime Emmy and four Golden Globe nominations, winning the Emmy in 1978 and the Globe in 1980. Louie was the arrogant dispatcher of the Sunshine Cab Company who...
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, in New Jersey, with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia. Also known as Fairbank’s disease, this rare genetic disorder affects bone growth and contributed to his short stature. This has not hindered his successes, beginning with his training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and early work in the theater.
In 1975, DeVito successfully reprised his off-Broadway role in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in the film version, and soon found success as Louie DePalma in the television sitcom “Taxi,” for which he received four Primetime Emmy and four Golden Globe nominations, winning the Emmy in 1978 and the Globe in 1980. Louie was the arrogant dispatcher of the Sunshine Cab Company who...
- 11/11/2023
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
(from left) Kurt Russell in Elvis (Photo: Worldvision Enterprises); Austin Butler in Elvis (Photo: Warner Bros); Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Elvis (Photo: CBS); Jacob Elordi in Priscilla (Photo: Zoey Kang/A24) Graphic: The A.V. Club
When Sofia Coppola’s new biopic Priscilla opens in theaters on November 3, Jacob Elordi will...
When Sofia Coppola’s new biopic Priscilla opens in theaters on November 3, Jacob Elordi will...
- 10/31/2023
- by Cindy White, Luke Y. Thompson, Brent Simon, Brandon Kirby, Manuel Betancourt, Scott Huver, and AV Club Staff
- avclub.com
WME has signed the Estate of Nigerian bandleader, composer, political activist and Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti for management worldwide under its WME Legends division.
WME’s Legends division focuses on estate and legacy brand management with the objective of managing and growing the legacies of artists and brands. Kuti, whose music was celebrated in the 2009-2011 Broadway musical Fela!, died of complications related to AIDS In 1997.
The WME Legends team will manage Kuti’s name, image, likeness, as well as life, IP, music and publishing rights across WME and parent company Endeavor’s departments and companies worldwide in partnership with the administrators of Fela’s Estate.
Specifically, the agency says, a focus will be on projects to grow the estate’s legacy for a new generation via a definitive scripted biopic, expansion of the Fela! stage musical franchise, previously unreleased masters and unpublished songs, licensing and merchandising along with commercials,...
WME’s Legends division focuses on estate and legacy brand management with the objective of managing and growing the legacies of artists and brands. Kuti, whose music was celebrated in the 2009-2011 Broadway musical Fela!, died of complications related to AIDS In 1997.
The WME Legends team will manage Kuti’s name, image, likeness, as well as life, IP, music and publishing rights across WME and parent company Endeavor’s departments and companies worldwide in partnership with the administrators of Fela’s Estate.
Specifically, the agency says, a focus will be on projects to grow the estate’s legacy for a new generation via a definitive scripted biopic, expansion of the Fela! stage musical franchise, previously unreleased masters and unpublished songs, licensing and merchandising along with commercials,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Bowen produced Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days On Earth.
Emmy-winning New York-based Wavelength, the company behind 2023 Andy Kaufman Venice documentary Thank You Very Much, has opened a London office and named former Pulse Films and Vice creative production executive Dan Bowen as UK managing director.
Bowen will work closely with Wavelength’s Emmy-winning duo Jenifer Westphal, founder, CEO and executive producer, and Joe Plummer, president and executive producer, to build on the company’s global strategy.
Bowen will lead the expansion of Wavelength’s burgeoning commercials and branded entertainment division into the UK market. To date, it has created campaigns for clients such as lululemon,...
Emmy-winning New York-based Wavelength, the company behind 2023 Andy Kaufman Venice documentary Thank You Very Much, has opened a London office and named former Pulse Films and Vice creative production executive Dan Bowen as UK managing director.
Bowen will work closely with Wavelength’s Emmy-winning duo Jenifer Westphal, founder, CEO and executive producer, and Joe Plummer, president and executive producer, to build on the company’s global strategy.
Bowen will lead the expansion of Wavelength’s burgeoning commercials and branded entertainment division into the UK market. To date, it has created campaigns for clients such as lululemon,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, a fantastical feminist fable starring Emma Stone as a woman reanimated by a Frankenstein-style Victorian scientist (Willem Dafoe), has won the Golden Lion for best film at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.
The Hollywood Reporter critics praised the film — which includes a potentially career-defining performance by star Emma Stone as Isabella Baxter, the woman who struggles to understand the restrictive patriarchy of the world around her, and then proceeds to dismantle it.
In his acceptance speech, Lanthimos said it took a long time to make the movie, his first since 2018 Oscar winner The Favourite, “until the world, until our industry, was ready for this film.” He singled out Stone for praise.
“Above all, this film is the central character of Isabella Baxter, this incredible creature, and she wouldn’t exist without Emma Stone, another incredible creature. This film is her, in front and behind the camera.
The Hollywood Reporter critics praised the film — which includes a potentially career-defining performance by star Emma Stone as Isabella Baxter, the woman who struggles to understand the restrictive patriarchy of the world around her, and then proceeds to dismantle it.
In his acceptance speech, Lanthimos said it took a long time to make the movie, his first since 2018 Oscar winner The Favourite, “until the world, until our industry, was ready for this film.” He singled out Stone for praise.
“Above all, this film is the central character of Isabella Baxter, this incredible creature, and she wouldn’t exist without Emma Stone, another incredible creature. This film is her, in front and behind the camera.
- 9/9/2023
- by Scott Roxborough and Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While it was difficult for the world to discern at the time, and maybe even now, to the legendary, notorious absurdist comedian Andy Kaufman, comedy was an art, and the act of performance was an act worth living in beyond the stage. Infamous for his strange, bizarre comedic behavior and erratic and provocative, even goading, live appearances, Kaufman, the subject of the documentary “Thank You Very Much: Andy Kaufman,” was seemingly on a quest for truth.
Continue reading ‘Thank You Very Much’ Review: Gonzo Comedian Andy Kaufman’ Is Finally Understood & Yet Remains An Enigma [Telluride] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Thank You Very Much’ Review: Gonzo Comedian Andy Kaufman’ Is Finally Understood & Yet Remains An Enigma [Telluride] at The Playlist.
- 9/1/2023
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
When Andy Kaufman passed away in May 1984, it was the final full stop in a life that seemed to be endlessly self-regenerating. Or was it? Rumors that this was another of his bizarre stunts were rife at the time, so much so that one of the mourners at the comedian’s funeral poked the body that lay in the casket to see if it would move.
Premiering this week in Venice Classics, Alex Braverman’s feature-length documentary Thank You Very Much is an attempt to locate the man behind the myth, and though there’s plenty of firsthand testimony and a treasure trove of archive material, it soon becomes achingly clear that the real Andy Kaufman likely never will be unmasked.
It seems fitting, then, that Kaufman seemed to appear fully formed from nowhere when comedy impresario Budd Friedman, owner of The Improv, booked his first slots in the early ’70s.
Premiering this week in Venice Classics, Alex Braverman’s feature-length documentary Thank You Very Much is an attempt to locate the man behind the myth, and though there’s plenty of firsthand testimony and a treasure trove of archive material, it soon becomes achingly clear that the real Andy Kaufman likely never will be unmasked.
It seems fitting, then, that Kaufman seemed to appear fully formed from nowhere when comedy impresario Budd Friedman, owner of The Improv, booked his first slots in the early ’70s.
- 9/1/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
“Thank You Very Much” is a documentary about Andy Kaufman that does just what you want it to do. It details Kaufman’s life and career, showcasing all the stage bits he became famous for (and including rare footage of performances and offstage antics that even Kaufman fanatics have never seen). But more than that, the movie understands him. It explores the depths of what Andy Kaufman was about — though that doesn’t mean that we’re subjected to a bunch of talking heads discussing how “conceptual” and punk-the-audience weird he was, and who was the real Andy, anyway?
I mean, there’s some of that. But Alex Braverman, the director of “Thank You Very Much,” grasps the fundamental truth of Andy Kaufman: that what he was up to, in his defiant and Dada screwball way, was showbiz. It was theater. He wanted to tickle you, to make you giggle and squirm,...
I mean, there’s some of that. But Alex Braverman, the director of “Thank You Very Much,” grasps the fundamental truth of Andy Kaufman: that what he was up to, in his defiant and Dada screwball way, was showbiz. It was theater. He wanted to tickle you, to make you giggle and squirm,...
- 8/31/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Nearly 40 years after outré comedian Andy Kaufman’s death from cancer, there remain fans who are certain that a faked demise was Kaufman’s most ambitious and committed hoax.
Until proven otherwise, this is a ridiculous conviction. That said, it’s probably no more or less absurd than believing that Andy Kaufman is a figure who could be explained or even adequately summarized in a conventional documentary. There are some outsized personalities so cloaked in mythology that even the tallest tales about them seem believable, but Kaufman’s personality was so cloaked in subterfuge that any attempt to deconstruct that personality or his behavior is going to come across as a bit within a bit.
This is the problem that Alex Braverman’s new documentary Thank You Very Much runs into. The documentary is filled with fantastic footage from Kaufman’s fearless performances, mostly familiar but still wildly iconoclastic. It...
Until proven otherwise, this is a ridiculous conviction. That said, it’s probably no more or less absurd than believing that Andy Kaufman is a figure who could be explained or even adequately summarized in a conventional documentary. There are some outsized personalities so cloaked in mythology that even the tallest tales about them seem believable, but Kaufman’s personality was so cloaked in subterfuge that any attempt to deconstruct that personality or his behavior is going to come across as a bit within a bit.
This is the problem that Alex Braverman’s new documentary Thank You Very Much runs into. The documentary is filled with fantastic footage from Kaufman’s fearless performances, mostly familiar but still wildly iconoclastic. It...
- 8/31/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For a fan of alternative comedy, seeing a young Andy Kaufman humiliate himself on stage is like showing footage of the Big Bang to a theoretical physicist. As Kaufman creates an awkward silence with a series of lame jokes that quickly give way to a spot-on Elvis impression, you can see everything from the intentional rigidity of Neil Hamburger to the madcap cultural pastiche of “The Eric Andre Show” forming before your eyes. Kaufman set out to make a mockery of the rules of comedy, but ended up building a new sandbox that his medium’s most exciting performers return to again and again.
Alex Braverman’s new documentary “Thank You Very Much” takes viewers on a linear journey through the highs and lows of Kaufman’s career. From his subversive stand-up sets at the Hollywood Improv to his successful run on “Taxi” and provocative turn as a faux-misogynistic wrestling...
Alex Braverman’s new documentary “Thank You Very Much” takes viewers on a linear journey through the highs and lows of Kaufman’s career. From his subversive stand-up sets at the Hollywood Improv to his successful run on “Taxi” and provocative turn as a faux-misogynistic wrestling...
- 8/31/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Films about Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste, Andy Kaufman and designer John Galliano are part of this year’s Telluride Film Festival documentary feature lineup.
In all, 22 feature and four short documentaries are heading to the 50th edition of Tff, where buzz for docs seeking Oscar consideration frequently takes hold.
The lineup, kept under wraps until the eve of the fest’s opening on Aug. 31, includes docs from novice and veteran documentarians, including Errol Morris (“The Pigeon Tunnel”), Madeleine Gavin (“Beyond Utopia”), Matthew Heineman (“American Symphony”) and Paul B. Preciado.
After premiering “Orlando, My Political Biography” in Berlinale last February, Preciado garnered four awards, including the Teddy award for best documentary. Sideshow and Janus Films acquired North American rights to the doc in March.
In the docu, the first-time director, who is a trans writer and activist, uses Virginia Woolf’s 1928 book “Orlando,” the first novel in which the main...
In all, 22 feature and four short documentaries are heading to the 50th edition of Tff, where buzz for docs seeking Oscar consideration frequently takes hold.
The lineup, kept under wraps until the eve of the fest’s opening on Aug. 31, includes docs from novice and veteran documentarians, including Errol Morris (“The Pigeon Tunnel”), Madeleine Gavin (“Beyond Utopia”), Matthew Heineman (“American Symphony”) and Paul B. Preciado.
After premiering “Orlando, My Political Biography” in Berlinale last February, Preciado garnered four awards, including the Teddy award for best documentary. Sideshow and Janus Films acquired North American rights to the doc in March.
In the docu, the first-time director, who is a trans writer and activist, uses Virginia Woolf’s 1928 book “Orlando,” the first novel in which the main...
- 8/30/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The Telluride Film Festival, a key part of the fall festival circuit launching awards season and perhaps some major Academy Award contenders, announced the wide-ranging lineup of films for its landmark 50th edition. The fest kicks off Thursday and runs through Labor Day and will feature world premieres of Oscar winners Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers (Focus Features), Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn (Amazon) and Free Solo filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s narrative feature Nyad (Netflix).
50th Anniversary Telluride Film Festival poster designed by Luke Dorman/Meow Wolfe
Other world premieres in the lineup include Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers (Searchlight) with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott; George C. Wolfe’s Rustin (Netflix), starring Colman Domingo in the title role; Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat starring daughter Maya Hawke; Bhutan filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated international breakthrough Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,...
50th Anniversary Telluride Film Festival poster designed by Luke Dorman/Meow Wolfe
Other world premieres in the lineup include Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers (Searchlight) with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott; George C. Wolfe’s Rustin (Netflix), starring Colman Domingo in the title role; Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat starring daughter Maya Hawke; Bhutan filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated international breakthrough Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,...
- 8/30/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Why did the Taxi and Saturday Night Live star travel across America paying women $1,000 to wrestle him? Could transcendental meditation have had anything to do with it?
By the time he died in 1984 of lung cancer aged only 35, Andy Kaufman had wrestled more than 400 women. One of those who grappled for three minutes in the ring with him, the mud wrestler Red Snapper (Aka Robin Kelly), says that his impulse to rumble in the ring was very sexual. This raises the possibility that the entertainer who claimed to be both the intergender wrestling champion of the world and women’s wrestling champion of the World was sublimating his desires in spandex. From 1977 onwards, Kaufman travelled America offering prize money of $1,000 and/or his hand in marriage to any woman who would wrestle him for three minutes and pin him – and it’s notable that he went on to date several of the women he wrestled.
By the time he died in 1984 of lung cancer aged only 35, Andy Kaufman had wrestled more than 400 women. One of those who grappled for three minutes in the ring with him, the mud wrestler Red Snapper (Aka Robin Kelly), says that his impulse to rumble in the ring was very sexual. This raises the possibility that the entertainer who claimed to be both the intergender wrestling champion of the world and women’s wrestling champion of the World was sublimating his desires in spandex. From 1977 onwards, Kaufman travelled America offering prize money of $1,000 and/or his hand in marriage to any woman who would wrestle him for three minutes and pin him – and it’s notable that he went on to date several of the women he wrestled.
- 8/29/2023
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor David Cross is an easily recognizable face on comedy television, having starred in several popular sitcoms throughout his career. Cross isn’t just a comedy actor but a stand-up comedian. His work off-screen is as reputable as his credits on the small and big screens. The multi-talented actor and comedian is also a published author and producer. Coupled with several comedy albums he has released, Cross draws inspiration from several comedic influences. From Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, Lenny Bruce, Lou Costello, and Bill Hicks to Steven Wright, Cross is known for his preference for sketch comedy, political satire, and black...
- 8/20/2023
- by Onyinye Izundu
- TVovermind.com
Comedian Jim Carrey is no stranger to method acting. But those around him noticed that the comedian tended to go too far when immersing himself in his roles. So much so that he was cautioned to give up his method acting or else real harm might come his way.
Jim Carrey was warned against method acting when he starred in ‘Me, Myself & Irene’ Jim Carrey | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Carrey has dabbled in dramatic films before like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. but he wanted to truly inhabit his role as Andy Kaufman in the film Man on the Moon. The actor confided that he started becoming the character as soon as he was cast in the role.
“When I heard I had the part, I was looking at the ocean and that’s the moment Andy came back to make his movie,” he once said on the documentary...
Jim Carrey was warned against method acting when he starred in ‘Me, Myself & Irene’ Jim Carrey | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Carrey has dabbled in dramatic films before like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. but he wanted to truly inhabit his role as Andy Kaufman in the film Man on the Moon. The actor confided that he started becoming the character as soon as he was cast in the role.
“When I heard I had the part, I was looking at the ocean and that’s the moment Andy came back to make his movie,” he once said on the documentary...
- 8/1/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
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