On May 25, 1934, “The Thin Man” was released to rave reviews and big box office returns. The popularity of husband-and-wife sleuths Nick and Nora Charles set the standard for romantic comedies with a dash of thrill and mystery, and cemented actors William Powell and Myrna Loy as one of the greatest film teams of all time. Read on for more about “The Thin Man” 90th anniversary.
Dashiell Hammett was a well-known writer of hardboiled detective novels, but he added a light touch to his novel “The Thin Man,” and MGM quickly snatched up the film rights. Nick Charles (Powell) is a retired detective who enjoys the high life with his wealthy socialite wife Nora (Loy) and their spoiled pooch Asta (Skippy). Nick is lured back to his mystery-solving days by the disappearance of his old acquaintance, Clyde (Edward Ellis), whose daughter Dorothy (Maureen O’Sullivan) begs Nick to find out what happened to her father.
Dashiell Hammett was a well-known writer of hardboiled detective novels, but he added a light touch to his novel “The Thin Man,” and MGM quickly snatched up the film rights. Nick Charles (Powell) is a retired detective who enjoys the high life with his wealthy socialite wife Nora (Loy) and their spoiled pooch Asta (Skippy). Nick is lured back to his mystery-solving days by the disappearance of his old acquaintance, Clyde (Edward Ellis), whose daughter Dorothy (Maureen O’Sullivan) begs Nick to find out what happened to her father.
- 5/25/2024
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
10. The Cat's Meow (2001)
It’s 1924, and Charlie Chapman is the biggest movie star in history. When a famous producer is murdered on a powerful media magnate’s yacht, there is no media coverage or investigation.
No one knows what truly happened, but the bizarre rumors about Chaplin and his close circle’s involvement in that crime are in the air.
You can watch The Cat's Meow on Prime Video.
9. The Bank Job (2008)
A foolproof bank robbery sounds like any criminal team’s dream, right? There’s only one extra step they must do to satisfy their mastermind, an MI5 agent who orchestrates the robbery: apart from money, they need to steal dirt on a member of the royal family stored in the same bank. Sounds easy, but things go horribly wrong.
You can watch The Bank Job on Netflix and Prime Video.
8. Burke & Hare (2010)
In the 19th century, medical studies are flourishing,...
It’s 1924, and Charlie Chapman is the biggest movie star in history. When a famous producer is murdered on a powerful media magnate’s yacht, there is no media coverage or investigation.
No one knows what truly happened, but the bizarre rumors about Chaplin and his close circle’s involvement in that crime are in the air.
You can watch The Cat's Meow on Prime Video.
9. The Bank Job (2008)
A foolproof bank robbery sounds like any criminal team’s dream, right? There’s only one extra step they must do to satisfy their mastermind, an MI5 agent who orchestrates the robbery: apart from money, they need to steal dirt on a member of the royal family stored in the same bank. Sounds easy, but things go horribly wrong.
You can watch The Bank Job on Netflix and Prime Video.
8. Burke & Hare (2010)
In the 19th century, medical studies are flourishing,...
- 4/20/2024
- by dean-black@startefacts.com (Dean Black)
- STartefacts.com
It’s got less than 40,000 miles on the odometer, comes with luxurious leather interior and sports a V-8 engine packing a whopping 200 horsepower. But its biggest selling point is that its previous owner was a retired NFL star who only drove it around town for light errands — and one epic freeway police chase.
It’s no mystery what happened to the late O.J. Simpson after he was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman — there was a trial, the glove, an acquittal, another 2008 arrest (and this time a conviction) for the armed robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas — but what about the white Ford Bronco? Back in June 1994, that vehicle captivated a nation, with 90 million viewers tuning in to watch the live news chopper coverage of it being pursued by scores of Los Angeles Police Department cars along...
It’s no mystery what happened to the late O.J. Simpson after he was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman — there was a trial, the glove, an acquittal, another 2008 arrest (and this time a conviction) for the armed robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas — but what about the white Ford Bronco? Back in June 1994, that vehicle captivated a nation, with 90 million viewers tuning in to watch the live news chopper coverage of it being pursued by scores of Los Angeles Police Department cars along...
- 4/12/2024
- by Benjamin Svetkey
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mark Harmon wasn’t NCIS creator Don Bellisario’s first choice for the show. But Bellisario was quickly sold on Harmon after seeing the actor’s performance in The West Wing. His acting on the political drama even informed how Bellisario would end up writing Gibbs.
Don Bellisario decided to keep dialogue to a minimum after seeing Mark Harmon in ‘The West Wing’ Mark Harmon | Erik Voake/Getty Images
Harmon was being looked at for the potential lead role in NCIS from the beginning. Casting director Susan Bluestein remembered that a lot of big names were being floated around for the NCIS lead role. These included the likes of Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Clive Owen. But Bluestein was one of a few executives that had her heart set on Harmon.
“I cast Mark Harmon to play John Dillinger in a movie of the week in 1991, and he was terrific,...
Don Bellisario decided to keep dialogue to a minimum after seeing Mark Harmon in ‘The West Wing’ Mark Harmon | Erik Voake/Getty Images
Harmon was being looked at for the potential lead role in NCIS from the beginning. Casting director Susan Bluestein remembered that a lot of big names were being floated around for the NCIS lead role. These included the likes of Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Clive Owen. But Bluestein was one of a few executives that had her heart set on Harmon.
“I cast Mark Harmon to play John Dillinger in a movie of the week in 1991, and he was terrific,...
- 12/31/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Clockwise from top right: Robert De Niro in Heat, Colin Farrell in Miami Vice, Chris Hemsworth in Blackhat, James Caan in Thief, Tom Cruise in Collateral, Will Smith in Ali.Screenshot: YouTube
There have been several reasons for cinephiles to rejoice in 2023, but few are more exciting than the return of Michael Mann.
There have been several reasons for cinephiles to rejoice in 2023, but few are more exciting than the return of Michael Mann.
- 12/25/2023
- by Matt Schimkowitz
- avclub.com
Based on Brock Yates' book "Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine," Michael Mann's new biopic "Ferrari" follows the famous Italian car maker through a significant four-month portion of his life wherein his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) learns about a secret mistress (Shailene Woodley) and son that he had been hiding for years. His company is also on the brink of bankruptcy and a Ferrari vehicle will have to win the 1957 Mille Miglia, a notable Italian car race, to put the company back on the map. In Mann's usual style, "Ferrari" is terse and distant, and the title character, played by Adam Driver, comes across as aloof and robotic; it's hard to imagine this man being passionate enough to maintain one marriage, let alone an entire secret secondary family.
Mann could have made "Ferrari" into a more traditional biopic that followed its subject from birth to...
Mann could have made "Ferrari" into a more traditional biopic that followed its subject from birth to...
- 12/20/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
From his John Dillinger film “Public Enemies” to his long awaited racing drama “Ferrari,” Michael Mann is no stranger to making films about prominent historical figures. But the director has no interest in conventional biopics that document a subject’s entire life.
While discussing his decades-spanning quest to make “Ferrari” with The Guardian, Mann explained that he never considered directing a film about Enzo Ferrari’s overarching life story. Instead, his film follows a 59-year-old Ferrari (Adam Driver) as he attempts to salvage his racing empire as his personal life crumbles around him.
“I wouldn’t have been interested in some lengthy biopic,” Mann said. “Those are documentaries that belong on the History Channel. They never work. And within this four-month period, all the dynamic forces of Enzo’s life are compacted and in collision.”
Mann also explained that Ferrari’s tendency to avoid leaving his hometown further condensed the...
While discussing his decades-spanning quest to make “Ferrari” with The Guardian, Mann explained that he never considered directing a film about Enzo Ferrari’s overarching life story. Instead, his film follows a 59-year-old Ferrari (Adam Driver) as he attempts to salvage his racing empire as his personal life crumbles around him.
“I wouldn’t have been interested in some lengthy biopic,” Mann said. “Those are documentaries that belong on the History Channel. They never work. And within this four-month period, all the dynamic forces of Enzo’s life are compacted and in collision.”
Mann also explained that Ferrari’s tendency to avoid leaving his hometown further condensed the...
- 12/17/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
It only took one movie, 2018’s critically acclaimed “A Star Is Born,” for Bradley Cooper to establish himself as one of Hollywood’s most formidable directors. Five years later, his sophomore outing “Maestro” once again sees him directing himself in a complex portrait of a troubled, brilliant musical figure. But even though Cooper is now a peer to some of the industry’s most lauded filmmakers, he still remembers what it’s like to be an actor facing rejection.
Cooper joined The Hollywood Reporter’s Directors Roundtable for a discussion featuring Greta Gerwig, Todd Haynes, Blitz Bazawule, Ava Duvernay, and Michael Mann. While much of the conversation focused on the craft of directing, Cooper took a moment to single out Mann for a kind gesture he made early in Cooper’s career.
Cooper explained that he auditioned for “Public Enemies,” Mann’s 2009 period piece that starred Johnny Depp as infamous...
Cooper joined The Hollywood Reporter’s Directors Roundtable for a discussion featuring Greta Gerwig, Todd Haynes, Blitz Bazawule, Ava Duvernay, and Michael Mann. While much of the conversation focused on the craft of directing, Cooper took a moment to single out Mann for a kind gesture he made early in Cooper’s career.
Cooper explained that he auditioned for “Public Enemies,” Mann’s 2009 period piece that starred Johnny Depp as infamous...
- 12/16/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Uncover the secrets of the past as “Mysteries of the Abandoned” returns with a gripping new episode, “Gunslingers and Gangsters,” airing at 11:07 Pm on Friday, December 1, 2023, on Discovery. This installment takes viewers on a journey to an unassuming jail that holds a fascinating history – once the site of a daring escape by the notorious gunslinger, John Dillinger.
Delve into the story of Dillinger’s clash with Indiana’s first female sheriff and the gripping tale of his dramatic getaway that continues to captivate the public’s imagination. With a mix of historical reenactments and expert analysis, “Mysteries of the Abandoned” brings to life the events that unfolded in this seemingly ordinary jail, revealing the hidden layers of a notorious gunslinger’s escape. Don’t miss this captivating episode, as it unravels the mysteries of a bygone era, shedding light on the untold stories of gunslingers and gangsters. Tune in...
Delve into the story of Dillinger’s clash with Indiana’s first female sheriff and the gripping tale of his dramatic getaway that continues to captivate the public’s imagination. With a mix of historical reenactments and expert analysis, “Mysteries of the Abandoned” brings to life the events that unfolded in this seemingly ordinary jail, revealing the hidden layers of a notorious gunslinger’s escape. Don’t miss this captivating episode, as it unravels the mysteries of a bygone era, shedding light on the untold stories of gunslingers and gangsters. Tune in...
- 11/24/2023
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
‘NCIS’ Creators Considered a Lot of A-list Actor to Play Gibbs — From Alec Baldwin to Patrick Swayze
Fans of NCIS eagerly await season 21 updates, as we can’t wait to find out when the beloved series returns. Unfortunately, we don’t anticipate Mark Harmon’s character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, appearing. Harmon played Gibbs for 19 seasons before calling it quits. And before Harmon got the job, NCIS creators considered A-list stars to play Gibbs.
‘NCIS’ creators considered A-listers to play Leroy Jethro Gibbs instead of Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon wasn’t always who NCIS creators wanted to play Leroy Jethro Gibbs. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that other A-list stars were considered for the role.
Charles Floyd Johnson, executive producer for Jag and NCIS, spoke about the casting challenges production initially faced. “I know Harrison Ford was a name that everybody thought about for Gibbs because he was so perfect,” Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter. “But, I don’t think it ever got further than,...
‘NCIS’ creators considered A-listers to play Leroy Jethro Gibbs instead of Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon wasn’t always who NCIS creators wanted to play Leroy Jethro Gibbs. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that other A-list stars were considered for the role.
Charles Floyd Johnson, executive producer for Jag and NCIS, spoke about the casting challenges production initially faced. “I know Harrison Ford was a name that everybody thought about for Gibbs because he was so perfect,” Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter. “But, I don’t think it ever got further than,...
- 10/28/2023
- by Lauren Weiler
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Christian Bale is known for completely immersing himself in his roles, even if that means transforming his body to do so. But there was one instance where his intense method acting confused even his family.
Christian Bale confused his daughter with his acting for ‘Public Enemies’ Christian Bale | Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Public Enemies was a 2009 Michael Mann project that saw Bale portraying FBI agent Melvin Purvis, who was on the hunt for Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger. Bale put as much dedication and effort into his Public Enemies character as he usually does with most of his roles. In a resurfaced interview with Collider, the actor remembered the intense research and preparation he did to nail his character.
“There’s a wealth of information about Purvis; newspaper clippings, newsreel footage, books. A book written by Purvis himself. A book written by his son Alston [Purvis] which I kept with...
Christian Bale confused his daughter with his acting for ‘Public Enemies’ Christian Bale | Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Public Enemies was a 2009 Michael Mann project that saw Bale portraying FBI agent Melvin Purvis, who was on the hunt for Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger. Bale put as much dedication and effort into his Public Enemies character as he usually does with most of his roles. In a resurfaced interview with Collider, the actor remembered the intense research and preparation he did to nail his character.
“There’s a wealth of information about Purvis; newspaper clippings, newsreel footage, books. A book written by Purvis himself. A book written by his son Alston [Purvis] which I kept with...
- 9/22/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon is the latest turn in a long motion picture tradition of pilfering FBI case files for screen scenarios. Originally, Hollywood coveted the validation of the bureau (“based on actual FBI case histories!”) and the personal imprimatur of its lord high ruler, J. Edgar Hoover (who in 1945 actually read life insurance commercials for NBC radio’s This Is Your FBI). Today, it often takes cues without the official stamp of the FBI shield. Either way, the two American institutions have enjoyed a profitable relationship.
Created in 1908 within the Department of Justice as the Bureau of Investigation and formally branded with the trademark initials in 1935, the FBI grew up during the first wave of electronic age media and took full advantage of the coincidence. Hollywood cinema (newsreels, shorts, and feature films), radio crime shows, comic strips and television series...
Created in 1908 within the Department of Justice as the Bureau of Investigation and formally branded with the trademark initials in 1935, the FBI grew up during the first wave of electronic age media and took full advantage of the coincidence. Hollywood cinema (newsreels, shorts, and feature films), radio crime shows, comic strips and television series...
- 7/7/2023
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnny Depp has made out with many celebrities onscreen over the course of his career. Although many enjoyed kissing the actor, there was one co-star who was too nervous to lock lips with her idol.
Johnny Depp worked with actor Carey Mulligan in ‘Public Enemies’ Johnny Depp | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Actor Carey Mulligan teamed up with her onscreen idol Johnny Depp in the 2009 feature Public Enemies. Depp played infamous thief John Dillinger in the Michael Mann-directed thriller, and worked with an ensemble cast that included stars like Christian Bale.
An established star herself, Mulligan wasn’t completely new to working with movie stars. She’d been building up her filmography nicely in films like Pride & Prejudice, Brothers, and The Great Gatsby. But she admitted that working with her celebrity crushes could sometimes be challenging. Mulligan confided that she was barely able to maintain her composure around Great Gatsby co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.
Johnny Depp worked with actor Carey Mulligan in ‘Public Enemies’ Johnny Depp | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Actor Carey Mulligan teamed up with her onscreen idol Johnny Depp in the 2009 feature Public Enemies. Depp played infamous thief John Dillinger in the Michael Mann-directed thriller, and worked with an ensemble cast that included stars like Christian Bale.
An established star herself, Mulligan wasn’t completely new to working with movie stars. She’d been building up her filmography nicely in films like Pride & Prejudice, Brothers, and The Great Gatsby. But she admitted that working with her celebrity crushes could sometimes be challenging. Mulligan confided that she was barely able to maintain her composure around Great Gatsby co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.
- 4/5/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Is there a classic Hollywood actor more iconic than Humphrey Bogart? Perhaps James Cagney or John Wayne, but neither of them had the versatility of Bogart. He's a genuine star, someone whose career you can track from studio bit player to leading man. Bogart is simultaneously one of the most distinctive, easily imitable actors of the Hollywood era and one of the most natural, subtle performers of the era, whether he is playing heroes, villains, or something in between.
It's difficult to pick standout scenes from his career, as he's an actor whose most memorable moments tend to be little non-verbal flourishes, such as the look of disdain he gives his fellow convicts as they listen to music in "We're No Angels," or his amusement at Rocco's childlike fear of the storm in "Key Largo." Yet, there are a few definitive moments that are the most memorable scenes of his film career.
It's difficult to pick standout scenes from his career, as he's an actor whose most memorable moments tend to be little non-verbal flourishes, such as the look of disdain he gives his fellow convicts as they listen to music in "We're No Angels," or his amusement at Rocco's childlike fear of the storm in "Key Largo." Yet, there are a few definitive moments that are the most memorable scenes of his film career.
- 12/25/2022
- by Nick Bartlett
- Slash Film
Lawrence Tierney: New book biography of legendary Hollywood tough guy generating holiday season buzz
The moment that writer-producer-author Burt Kearns knew he had to write a book about actor Lawrence Tierney came early in 2019 while he was researching a different book called “The Show Won’t Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage” that would publish that same year. He came upon a 1951 article in the Los Angeles Times headlined, “Lawrence Tierney Arrested 13th Time.” It was due to drunken driving, a familiar charge for perhaps the most pugnacious, self-destructive star in showbiz annals. “Drunk and disorderly” was another of his favorites.
“I decided to do a little more research,” Kearns recalls, “and it turned out it wasn’t actually his 13th arrest but more like his 22nd.”
Mind you, Tierney had only been acting professionally for less than a decade in ’51. Born in 1919, the Brooklyn native broke into the business with Rko Radio Pictures in 1943, earning a reputation for playing mobsters,...
“I decided to do a little more research,” Kearns recalls, “and it turned out it wasn’t actually his 13th arrest but more like his 22nd.”
Mind you, Tierney had only been acting professionally for less than a decade in ’51. Born in 1919, the Brooklyn native broke into the business with Rko Radio Pictures in 1943, earning a reputation for playing mobsters,...
- 12/14/2022
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has pre-bought North American rights to under-the-radar Pretty Boy Floyd biopic Good Side Of A Bad Man, which begins principal photography today in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The film stars Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) as legendary bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Thomas Jane (Troppo) as FBI Detective Melvin Purvis, Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) as Floyd’s dad Walter, Ashley Benson (Spring Breakers) as Floyd’s wife Ruby, and Shawn Hatosy (Animal Kingdom) as Floyd’s older brother Bradley. Lera Abova (Peacock’s upcoming Pitch Perfect series) and Oliver Cooper (Echo Boomers) round out the cast.
Motus Studios is handling international sales at this week’s AFM.
Good Side of a Bad Man will chart the true story of Floyd (Hirsch), a poor midwestern farm boy who grew up to become one of the most notorious criminals of the Depression era. Labeled as a deadly crook and danger to society,...
The film stars Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) as legendary bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Thomas Jane (Troppo) as FBI Detective Melvin Purvis, Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) as Floyd’s dad Walter, Ashley Benson (Spring Breakers) as Floyd’s wife Ruby, and Shawn Hatosy (Animal Kingdom) as Floyd’s older brother Bradley. Lera Abova (Peacock’s upcoming Pitch Perfect series) and Oliver Cooper (Echo Boomers) round out the cast.
Motus Studios is handling international sales at this week’s AFM.
Good Side of a Bad Man will chart the true story of Floyd (Hirsch), a poor midwestern farm boy who grew up to become one of the most notorious criminals of the Depression era. Labeled as a deadly crook and danger to society,...
- 11/1/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman and Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Toronto and Vancouver routinely double as New York City, Chicago and other American cities in Hollywood movies and TV series that tap generous tax credits and currency savings when shot in Canada.
But in what Canadian director Allan Ungar claims is a first, he had to re-create 1980s Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton in modern-day Georgia to shoot his bank robber drama Bandit, which stars Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, Mel Gibson and Néstor Carbonell.
“In certain parts of the U.S., people are very patriotic. And so it was very bizarre for some of the locals to be walking down Main Street and see Canadian flags everywhere,” Ungar tells The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Bandit getting a theatrical release on around 100 North American screens starting this Friday.
Ungar had originally been set to shoot in Canada his true-life movie about American Gilbert Galvan Jr.
Toronto and Vancouver routinely double as New York City, Chicago and other American cities in Hollywood movies and TV series that tap generous tax credits and currency savings when shot in Canada.
But in what Canadian director Allan Ungar claims is a first, he had to re-create 1980s Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton in modern-day Georgia to shoot his bank robber drama Bandit, which stars Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, Mel Gibson and Néstor Carbonell.
“In certain parts of the U.S., people are very patriotic. And so it was very bizarre for some of the locals to be walking down Main Street and see Canadian flags everywhere,” Ungar tells The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Bandit getting a theatrical release on around 100 North American screens starting this Friday.
Ungar had originally been set to shoot in Canada his true-life movie about American Gilbert Galvan Jr.
- 9/20/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Looking back from the 21st century, it's hard to see Humphrey Bogart as anything less than a skilled, accomplished actor. With such a wide body of influential work, it's no surprise that Bogart has made a lasting impact and inspired the next generation of actors. But things didn't always look so good for the suave actor, especially when he was just starting out.
Despite the myriad of successes that Bogart would later experience on the big screen, the actor got his start on Broadway, working on plays like "Meet the Wife" and "Invitation to a Murder." Though he worked on a few films during this time, the majority of Bogart's early success came from stage work. However, the sudden onset of heavy debts would soon put the actor under considerable stress, significantly jeopardizing his career.
Bogart's father, Belmont Bogart, passed away in 1934, a very difficult situation under any circumstances. Unfortunately,...
Despite the myriad of successes that Bogart would later experience on the big screen, the actor got his start on Broadway, working on plays like "Meet the Wife" and "Invitation to a Murder." Though he worked on a few films during this time, the majority of Bogart's early success came from stage work. However, the sudden onset of heavy debts would soon put the actor under considerable stress, significantly jeopardizing his career.
Bogart's father, Belmont Bogart, passed away in 1934, a very difficult situation under any circumstances. Unfortunately,...
- 8/29/2022
- by Demetra Nikolakakis
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
[This story contains spoilers for the series finale of Better Call Saul.]
“Face the music. You walk in with your head held high, you’ll be the John Dillinger of the Metropolitan Detention Center. How bad is that?”
That was the parting advice that Saul Goodman gave Walter White in Breaking Bad’s “Granite State,” and nearly nine years later, the con artist formerly known as Jimmy McGill has taken his own counsel in Better Call Saul’s series finale, “Saul Gone.” Saul Co-creator Peter Gould wrote and directed both of the aforementioned episodes, and quite fittingly, he made sure that Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) took a roundabout way towards accepting responsibility and permanently shedding the Saul Goodman persona.
Up until the eleventh hour, Saul was on the verge of finagling a generous deal that would’ve put him behind bars for seven years in a country club prison, but he ultimately came...
[This story contains spoilers for the series finale of Better Call Saul.]
“Face the music. You walk in with your head held high, you’ll be the John Dillinger of the Metropolitan Detention Center. How bad is that?”
That was the parting advice that Saul Goodman gave Walter White in Breaking Bad’s “Granite State,” and nearly nine years later, the con artist formerly known as Jimmy McGill has taken his own counsel in Better Call Saul’s series finale, “Saul Gone.” Saul Co-creator Peter Gould wrote and directed both of the aforementioned episodes, and quite fittingly, he made sure that Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) took a roundabout way towards accepting responsibility and permanently shedding the Saul Goodman persona.
Up until the eleventh hour, Saul was on the verge of finagling a generous deal that would’ve put him behind bars for seven years in a country club prison, but he ultimately came...
- 8/16/2022
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screambox original documentary Pennywise: The Story of It uncovered a wealth of insight into the 1990 Stephen King adaptation. Five years of work from co-directors John Campopiano (Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary) and Christopher Griffiths (Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser) paid untold dividends for horror fans.
With exclusive interviews with many of the miniseries’ key players – Pennywise himself, Tim Curry, cast members Richard Thomas, Seth Green, Tim Reid, and Emily Perkins, director Tommy Lee Wallace, writer Lawrence D. Cohen, special effects makeup artist Bart Mixon, and more – along with rare materials and never-before-seen footage, even the most knowledgeable viewers will learn a thing or two.
Here are six things I learned from Pennywise: The Story of It.
1. George A. Romero was originally attached to direct.
King and George A. Romero were fans of one another’s output, which ultimately led to their friendship and several collaborations, but both wanted to work together more.
With exclusive interviews with many of the miniseries’ key players – Pennywise himself, Tim Curry, cast members Richard Thomas, Seth Green, Tim Reid, and Emily Perkins, director Tommy Lee Wallace, writer Lawrence D. Cohen, special effects makeup artist Bart Mixon, and more – along with rare materials and never-before-seen footage, even the most knowledgeable viewers will learn a thing or two.
Here are six things I learned from Pennywise: The Story of It.
1. George A. Romero was originally attached to direct.
King and George A. Romero were fans of one another’s output, which ultimately led to their friendship and several collaborations, but both wanted to work together more.
- 8/10/2022
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Clark Olofsson is not a widely known figure in the States, but for three decades he was Sweden’s answer to John Dillinger. With his daring criminal lifestyle and charismatic personality, Olofsson captured the public’s imagination and eventually became the most infamous celebrity in the country. Now, his story is coming to Netflix with “Clark,” a series tracking Olofsson’s professional career from the mid-1960s through the 1980s. Based on details from his autobiography, the show will reportedly combine fact and fiction to create a comprehensive and entertaining look at one of the 20th century’s most notorious criminals.
Continue reading ‘Clark’ Trailer: Bill Skarsgård Plays Notorious Swedish Outlaw In New Netflix Biopic Series at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Clark’ Trailer: Bill Skarsgård Plays Notorious Swedish Outlaw In New Netflix Biopic Series at The Playlist.
- 2/7/2022
- by Jake Sweltz
- The Playlist
Idw Publishing's "Crime Comics Confidential", now available with 20 fully restored vintage comic book stories, is edited by Steven Brower and illustrated by 'Golden Age' comic book artists John Buscema, Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Bernie Krigstein, Reed Crandall, Everett Raymond Kinstler and a whole lot more:
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Bernie Krigstein, Mort Meskin,...
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Bernie Krigstein, Mort Meskin,...
- 2/6/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
It’s not wedding bells which break up the old gang in Ben Affleck’s The Town, it’s witness protection. The romance in the middle of the film is only there to delineate the boundaries between heist film and crime procedural. The movie’s center is Charlestown, right across the bridge from the rest of Boston, a legend in illicit locales. The blue-collar neighborhood “produced more bank robbers and armored car thieves than anywhere else in the world,” according to the movie’s prologue. Affleck’s second film as a director charts the fall of a mythic heist gang and the streets which made them.
The Boston area was prime cinematic crime fields during the early 2000s. In Black Mass, Johnny Depp plays South Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, an Irish gangster who informed on the Italian mob to the FBI. Some of the scenes were shot on the real crime locations depicted.
The Boston area was prime cinematic crime fields during the early 2000s. In Black Mass, Johnny Depp plays South Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, an Irish gangster who informed on the Italian mob to the FBI. Some of the scenes were shot on the real crime locations depicted.
- 1/14/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Idw Publishing's "Crime Comics Confidential", now available with 20 fully restored vintage comic book stories, is edited by Steven Brower and illustrated by 'Golden Age' comic book artists John Buscema, Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Bernie Krigstein, Reed Crandall, Everett Raymond Kinstler and a whole lot more:
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Bernie Krigstein, Mort Meskin,...
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Bernie Krigstein, Mort Meskin,...
- 11/21/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Powerhouse Indicator moves forward to their fourth fancy box of noirs from the studio of Harry Cohn, six pictures stretching from the postwar boom to the end of the original classic noir era. This time around we have some notable directors, and a nice selection of stars — Dennis O’Keefe, George Murphy, Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun and Richard Conte. Kim Novak makes her starring debut as a femme fatale; noir icon Richard Conte shines in a movie that marks a turn into a new kind of existential, paranoid thriller. And speaking of paranoid, we again get to lighten up with another selection of theme-appropriate Three Stooges shorts.
Columbia Noir #4
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1948-1957 / B&w + Color / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / Street Date September 27, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / 49.99
Starring: Louis Hayward, Dennis O’Keefe; George Murphy; Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak; Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun; Dennis O’Keefe,...
Columbia Noir #4
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1948-1957 / B&w + Color / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / Street Date September 27, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / 49.99
Starring: Louis Hayward, Dennis O’Keefe; George Murphy; Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak; Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun; Dennis O’Keefe,...
- 9/14/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Frank McRae, the actor who appeared in films such as “Licence to Kill” and “Last Action Hero,” has died. He was 80.
McRae died in Santa Monica, Calif. on April 29 as a result of a heart attack, his daughter-in-law confirmed to Variety.
The NFL player-turned-actor was born in Memphis, Tenn. A star athlete in high school, he went on to Tennessee State University as a double major in drama and history. McRae had a brief career as a professional football player and was the defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams.
Making the pivot to a new kind of stage, McRae found his calling in the entertainment industry. In his 30-plus years as a character actor, he appeared in over 40 movies. Standing at approximately six-and-a-half feet tall, McRae took advantage of scooping up tough guy roles in movies like “Hard Times,” “Big Wednesday” and “F.I.S.T.” with Sylvester Stallone.
McRae died in Santa Monica, Calif. on April 29 as a result of a heart attack, his daughter-in-law confirmed to Variety.
The NFL player-turned-actor was born in Memphis, Tenn. A star athlete in high school, he went on to Tennessee State University as a double major in drama and history. McRae had a brief career as a professional football player and was the defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams.
Making the pivot to a new kind of stage, McRae found his calling in the entertainment industry. In his 30-plus years as a character actor, he appeared in over 40 movies. Standing at approximately six-and-a-half feet tall, McRae took advantage of scooping up tough guy roles in movies like “Hard Times,” “Big Wednesday” and “F.I.S.T.” with Sylvester Stallone.
- 5/5/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
Idw Publishing's "Crime Comics Confidential", available May 5, 2021, with 20 fully restored vintage stories, is edited by Steven Brower and illustrated by 'Golden Age' comic book artists John Buscema, Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Bernie Krigstein, Reed Crandall, Everett Raymond Kinstler and a whole lot more:
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler,...
"...relive the days when ruthless, moronic gangsters ruled the streets, in this gripping collection of notorious vintage 'pre-Code' crime comics.
"True life degenerate criminals including 'Al Capone', 'Legs Diamond', 'Pretty Boy Floyd', 'Dutch Schultz', 'Lucky Luciano' and 'John Dillinger' are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze.
"These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits...
"...living outside the law until getting their just desserts in the end."
Illustrators include Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler,...
- 2/6/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
At the dawning of 2021, one of the first big new releases harkens back to a movie trope that goes back nearly eighty years, the “team-up picture”. Probably 1943 really, when Universal Studios had the idea to pair two of its big “monster” properties in Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, which proved so successful that they added Dracula for their House Of flicks before sending them out to pasture after encountering comedians Abbott & Costello. The idea would resurface in the 60s as the Japanese giant “beasties” tangled in several films (even our King Kong dropped in for one). In between those series other genres gave it a try with Westerns and crime sagas, low-cost since they’re historical figures. Most recently the franchises of Marvel and DC have converged for The Avengers (four so far) and Justice League. So, why not another “real-life re-uniting”? How about a fictional “get together” of four African American icons?...
- 1/8/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sometime during the rickety, rollicking production of Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind in 1974, the 1942 Oscar statuette for Best Original Screenplay (which Welles had won for Citizen Kane) disappeared. Only three decades later did cinematographer Gary Graver reveal that he’d placed the Oscar, blasphemously used as a prop for The Other Side of the Wind, in his storage. “Here, keep this,” Welles had told him. And so he did. The filmmaker’s daughter, Beatrice Welles, then sued Graver, and sold the statue herself. Because her father had “loathed everything that [the Citizen Kane] Oscar represented,” she argued, “To sell the one thing that had no value to him, but was of great value to others, perhaps was not so bad after all.”This award, however, held immense value for the other winner, the screenwriter and producer Herman J. Mankiewicz (nicknamed “Mank”), who threatened Orson Welles—with rumors and...
- 12/14/2020
- MUBI
This has a major spoiler so don’t read until you’ve seen Fargo season 4 episode 8 “The Nadir.”
Fargo’s season 4, episode 8, “The Nadir,” contains an allegorical reference to a true crime occurrence. It appears Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) dropped dime on the two lady criminals he felt responsible for, Zelmare Roulette (Karen Aldridge) and Swanee Capps (Kelsey Asbille). He thought he was turning two tickets to Philadelphia into a one-way ride to Palookaville. They turned it into a grand exit. The conclusion of this sequence points to a conspiracy. Put these together and you have the Union Station Massacre.
In the opening disclaimer of every Fargo, we read how the names have been changed on real events. In this case, that includes the genders, body count, and arc of the gunfight at Kansas City’s main transportation hub, the Union Railway Station. The real events of the Union Station...
Fargo’s season 4, episode 8, “The Nadir,” contains an allegorical reference to a true crime occurrence. It appears Loy Cannon (Chris Rock) dropped dime on the two lady criminals he felt responsible for, Zelmare Roulette (Karen Aldridge) and Swanee Capps (Kelsey Asbille). He thought he was turning two tickets to Philadelphia into a one-way ride to Palookaville. They turned it into a grand exit. The conclusion of this sequence points to a conspiracy. Put these together and you have the Union Station Massacre.
In the opening disclaimer of every Fargo, we read how the names have been changed on real events. In this case, that includes the genders, body count, and arc of the gunfight at Kansas City’s main transportation hub, the Union Railway Station. The real events of the Union Station...
- 11/9/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Johnny Depp will be awarded the Camerimage Award for “an actor with unique visual sensitivity” at the EnergaCamerimage Film Festival. “Minamata,” starring Depp, will be the closing film of the 28th edition of the event, which focuses on cinematography.
Due to the pandemic, Depp will be unable to accept the award in person, but will connect to the ceremony remotely from the U.S. Depp has appeared in person at other fall festivals, including Zurich and San Sebastian, but Covid-19 levels have now risen across Europe.
The screening of “Minamata,” which was directed by Andrew Levitas and shot by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme, will take place on Nov. 21 in Toruń’s Jordanki Festival Center, following the closing gala and awards ceremony. The festival announced its competition lineup at the weekend, which includes critics’ favorites “Ammonite” and “Nomadland.”
“Minamata,” Levitas’ sophomore feature, tells the story of how war photographer W. Eugene Smith...
Due to the pandemic, Depp will be unable to accept the award in person, but will connect to the ceremony remotely from the U.S. Depp has appeared in person at other fall festivals, including Zurich and San Sebastian, but Covid-19 levels have now risen across Europe.
The screening of “Minamata,” which was directed by Andrew Levitas and shot by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme, will take place on Nov. 21 in Toruń’s Jordanki Festival Center, following the closing gala and awards ceremony. The festival announced its competition lineup at the weekend, which includes critics’ favorites “Ammonite” and “Nomadland.”
“Minamata,” Levitas’ sophomore feature, tells the story of how war photographer W. Eugene Smith...
- 10/27/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Depp‘s career has been filled with wonderful movies like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Edward Scissorhands and the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Unfortunately, though, it’s also been filled with a handful of stinkers like The Astronaut’s Wife, The Ninth Gate and Mortdecai. Yet, it’s somewhere in between these two vastly different levels of quality where you can find some of Depp’s most interesting work, even if the material itself doesn’t make for the best of his films.
One of the famous actor’s appearances that hovers in the realm of underrated movies is 2009’s Public Enemies, which was directed by Michael Mann and stars other great actors like Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and Jason Clarke. For those unfamiliar with the pic, it’s an American biographical crime drama that adapts the story of Bryan Burrough’s non-fiction novel, Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime...
One of the famous actor’s appearances that hovers in the realm of underrated movies is 2009’s Public Enemies, which was directed by Michael Mann and stars other great actors like Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and Jason Clarke. For those unfamiliar with the pic, it’s an American biographical crime drama that adapts the story of Bryan Burrough’s non-fiction novel, Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime...
- 5/24/2020
- by Billy Givens
- We Got This Covered
Michael Mann directing a period gangster flick? With Johnny Depp as John Dillinger? And Christian Bale playing an obsessed agent on his tail? What more could you ask for?
That’s Public Enemies in a nutshell, one of Depp’s, and indeed Mann’s most underrated movies. We’ll be the first to admit that it has its flaws and is far from either of their best work, with the film lacking some of the riveting, pulse-quickening entertainment that many of Mann’s efforts are known for. But still, it certainly didn’t deserve the 68% Rotten Tomatoes score that it ended up with.
After all, the attention to detail in the period setting, Depp and Bale’s performances and lush sets and gorgeous costumes all come together to make a pretty rich viewing experience, and it seems that many Netflix viewers would agree, as the pic has been dominating on the platform this week.
That’s Public Enemies in a nutshell, one of Depp’s, and indeed Mann’s most underrated movies. We’ll be the first to admit that it has its flaws and is far from either of their best work, with the film lacking some of the riveting, pulse-quickening entertainment that many of Mann’s efforts are known for. But still, it certainly didn’t deserve the 68% Rotten Tomatoes score that it ended up with.
After all, the attention to detail in the period setting, Depp and Bale’s performances and lush sets and gorgeous costumes all come together to make a pretty rich viewing experience, and it seems that many Netflix viewers would agree, as the pic has been dominating on the platform this week.
- 5/19/2020
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Notorious mobster Al Capone was a larger than life bootlegger, racketeer, killer and organized crime boss in the first half of the 20th century, who has been portrayed on big-screen and small for seven decades. Here is a look at the actors who took on the challenge. And, if you’re curious, here is archival footage of Scarface himself.
Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it. The suit was eventually dismissed. Check out Steiger as Capone in a clip here.
Neville Brand – “The George Raft Story” (1961) • Although Neville Brand had an extensive resume...
Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it. The suit was eventually dismissed. Check out Steiger as Capone in a clip here.
Neville Brand – “The George Raft Story” (1961) • Although Neville Brand had an extensive resume...
- 5/11/2020
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Actor Robert Conrad, the star of television series including “Hawaiian Eye,” “The Wild Wild West” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” during an almost five-decade career that also included the occasional feature film, has died in Malibu, Calif. He was 84.
Conrad toplined at least one series in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, a rare feat of longevity for a TV star.
He made his debut playing a pilot in the 1958 film “Thundering Jets” and would go on to make credited appearances in some 15 features, making the biggest impression in 1975 heist pic “Murph the Surf” and playing John Dillinger in 1979’s “The Lady in Red.” But Conrad was a far bigger presence in television.
In 1959 Conrad signed a contract with Warner Bros., and the studio cast the young actor, with Anthony Eisley, in the Honolulu-set detective show “Hawaiian Eye,” which ran from 1959-63. Conrad played the half-Hawaiian P.I. Tom...
Conrad toplined at least one series in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, a rare feat of longevity for a TV star.
He made his debut playing a pilot in the 1958 film “Thundering Jets” and would go on to make credited appearances in some 15 features, making the biggest impression in 1975 heist pic “Murph the Surf” and playing John Dillinger in 1979’s “The Lady in Red.” But Conrad was a far bigger presence in television.
In 1959 Conrad signed a contract with Warner Bros., and the studio cast the young actor, with Anthony Eisley, in the Honolulu-set detective show “Hawaiian Eye,” which ran from 1959-63. Conrad played the half-Hawaiian P.I. Tom...
- 2/8/2020
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Members of John Dillinger’s family have called off their efforts to exhume the Depression-era gangster’s body. The decision comes a month after a lawsuit that argued for the exhumation was dismissed without prejudice by an Indiana court.
In July 2019, Michael C. Thompson, Dillinger’s nephew, filed a permit with the Indiana Department of Health to have Dillinger’s corpse exhumed in concert with a History Channel documentary; the permit was approved and a September 16th exhumation was planned before the Crown Hill Cemetery, the Indianapolis, Indiana cemetery where Dillinger is buried,...
In July 2019, Michael C. Thompson, Dillinger’s nephew, filed a permit with the Indiana Department of Health to have Dillinger’s corpse exhumed in concert with a History Channel documentary; the permit was approved and a September 16th exhumation was planned before the Crown Hill Cemetery, the Indianapolis, Indiana cemetery where Dillinger is buried,...
- 1/9/2020
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Long before Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” (2006) won the best picture Oscar, Academy voters had a soft spot for bad fellas. From the first Academy Awards, voters have taken crime tales and gangster yarns seriously. In 1929, “The Racket” was “best picture, production” nommed, and Ben Hecht won the screenplay award for “Underworld.” In 1931, the classic James Cagney-starrer “The Public Enemy,” competed in the original screenplay category, while Edward G. Robinson’s iconic “Little Caesar” competed for the adapted screenplay award.
In 1935, the gangster film not only won its second Oscar, but that movie became part of American crime lore when John Dillinger met his fate at the hands of the G-men’s Tommy guns when he made the mistake of escorting a certain lady in red to a screening of the picture in Chicago.
As evidence of the genre’s respectability back in that era, perhaps no “serious” actor...
In 1935, the gangster film not only won its second Oscar, but that movie became part of American crime lore when John Dillinger met his fate at the hands of the G-men’s Tommy guns when he made the mistake of escorting a certain lady in red to a screening of the picture in Chicago.
As evidence of the genre’s respectability back in that era, perhaps no “serious” actor...
- 12/20/2019
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
If you woke up this morning and thought, “Gee, it’s been a while since my favorite Depression-era gangster featured prominently in the 2019 news cycle,” then we are pleased to inform you that it is indeed your lucky day. The body of John Dillinger, the gangster and bank robber who was notoriously gunned down outside of Chicago’s Biograph movie theater in 1934, will be exhumed from an Indiana cemetery for an upcoming TV special on History.
According to the Indianapolis Star, Michael C. Thompson, Dillinger’s nephew, reportedly recently applied...
According to the Indianapolis Star, Michael C. Thompson, Dillinger’s nephew, reportedly recently applied...
- 7/31/2019
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
There’s a strange, unspoken melancholy that hangs over the otherwise loose and endearing The Old Man & the Gun, a collective acknowledgement of the passage of time inherent in seeing an aged Robert Redford passing through a convincingly rendered aesthetic we familiarize with the actor’s younger self. It’s a simple (if a touch cloying) conceit on the part of writer/director David Lowery—whose previous two outings include the wonderfully economical and sensitive Pete’s Dragon, also starring Redford, and the intimately ambitious A Ghost Story. However, it fits perfectly within Lowery’s sensibilities as one of the more broadly generous, unassuming filmmakers we currently have.
Adapted from the New Yorker article by the same name, Old Man & the Gun is a tender swan song for Redford who stars as Forrest Tucker, a career bank-robber and escape artist whose warm, modest nature allows him and his gang...
Adapted from the New Yorker article by the same name, Old Man & the Gun is a tender swan song for Redford who stars as Forrest Tucker, a career bank-robber and escape artist whose warm, modest nature allows him and his gang...
- 9/8/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Chicago – This is Year Two for the Windy City International Film Festival (Wcff) – from Thursday, July 12th to Sunday, July 15th, 2018 – and the festival that celebrates indie filmmaking both locally and internationally will have its screenings at Chicago’s historic Biograph Theater (2433 North Lincoln Avenue). Also for the second year, the festival is co-directed by Mindy Kay Parks and Josh Hope. For a complete weekend schedule, click here.
July 12-15, 2018, at the Biograph Theater in Chicago
Photo credit: WindyCityFilmFest.com
The festival’s mission statement is “to provide a home for Chicago’s local filmmakers and bring the best indie films from around the world to our community.” The four-day event has two feature films, short film programs in various genres, acting/screenwriting panels and plenty of opportunity for networking. Mindy Kay Parks is a Chicago actor and filmmaker. Josh Hope is an award-winning filmmaker whose latest film was “The...
July 12-15, 2018, at the Biograph Theater in Chicago
Photo credit: WindyCityFilmFest.com
The festival’s mission statement is “to provide a home for Chicago’s local filmmakers and bring the best indie films from around the world to our community.” The four-day event has two feature films, short film programs in various genres, acting/screenwriting panels and plenty of opportunity for networking. Mindy Kay Parks is a Chicago actor and filmmaker. Josh Hope is an award-winning filmmaker whose latest film was “The...
- 7/12/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Matthew Einstein’s Tradition Pictures is developing a TV series based on the life of notorious bank robber Robert “Casper” Brown, Variety has learned exclusively.
Dikega Hadnot and Spencer Mandel are attached to write and produce the project, which takes place in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. 19 year-old Brown became the most prolific bank robber in history despite never setting foot inside a bank. He trained members of the Rollin Sixties Crips, some of whom were as young as thirteen, to use tactics like the bank takeover and using school buses as getaway vehicles. When Brown was finally arrested, he was suspected of being involved in 175 bank robberies.
“We’re very excited for the opportunity to bring this story to audiences around the world,” said Einstein. “A group of kids from the streets of South La masterfully orchestrated over 175 bank robberies, shocking the community and baffling law enforcement for years.
Dikega Hadnot and Spencer Mandel are attached to write and produce the project, which takes place in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. 19 year-old Brown became the most prolific bank robber in history despite never setting foot inside a bank. He trained members of the Rollin Sixties Crips, some of whom were as young as thirteen, to use tactics like the bank takeover and using school buses as getaway vehicles. When Brown was finally arrested, he was suspected of being involved in 175 bank robberies.
“We’re very excited for the opportunity to bring this story to audiences around the world,” said Einstein. “A group of kids from the streets of South La masterfully orchestrated over 175 bank robberies, shocking the community and baffling law enforcement for years.
- 5/18/2018
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Searching a world of darkness for a truth he was never ready for, a rogue detective (Dean S. Jagger) is murdered only to be reborn the ultimate killer. Embracing his destiny, vowing vengeance on all that destroyed his family; he is Corbin Nash, Demon Hunter. With the film out now, I got a chance to sit down with actor and producer Richard Wagner to talk all things Corbin Nash…
As well as acting in the Corbin Nash you also produce the film. Can you tell us a bit about your role as producer for the film and how you got involved in the project?
I think it was Dean Jagger who told me originally about this idea which they had been throwing around. Dean, Ben Jagger and Chris Taylor who is the other writer. He told me a little bit about it, very briefly as they were still in the early stages,...
As well as acting in the Corbin Nash you also produce the film. Can you tell us a bit about your role as producer for the film and how you got involved in the project?
I think it was Dean Jagger who told me originally about this idea which they had been throwing around. Dean, Ben Jagger and Chris Taylor who is the other writer. He told me a little bit about it, very briefly as they were still in the early stages,...
- 5/2/2018
- by Philip Rogers
- Nerdly
Exclusive: Roc-a-Fella Records co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke has signed on to two Tribeca Film Festival titles as Executive Producer, Madeleine Sackler’s feature O.G. and her documentary It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It, both of which were shot in Indiana’s maximum-security Pendleton Correctional Facility.
O.G. which premieres tonight at 7Pm Est at the SVA2 stars Jeffrey Wright as a security prison inmate who is on the cusp of being sprung until unfortunate complications occur when he meets a younger inmate, reminiscent of himself. You can watch a clip of the movie above.
“In prison you can be surrounded by thousands of people but yet feel lonely. I think Jeffrey Wright brought that feeling to life with his performance. This movie shows the inner workings of prison politics and the repercussion of the crimes committed,” says Burke about O.G.
It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It,...
O.G. which premieres tonight at 7Pm Est at the SVA2 stars Jeffrey Wright as a security prison inmate who is on the cusp of being sprung until unfortunate complications occur when he meets a younger inmate, reminiscent of himself. You can watch a clip of the movie above.
“In prison you can be surrounded by thousands of people but yet feel lonely. I think Jeffrey Wright brought that feeling to life with his performance. This movie shows the inner workings of prison politics and the repercussion of the crimes committed,” says Burke about O.G.
It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It,...
- 4/20/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Johnny Depp is a cat in the hat one 12-year-old will never forget. Playing 1930's bank robber John Dillinger – American's Most Wanted at the time – for his upcoming movie Public Enemies, Depp was shooting on location in Wisconsin in April when he was observed on the set by local boy Jack Taylor, who especially admired Depp/Dillinger's hat. In fact, the boy wanted the fedora, and asked the actor if he could have it. Depp, 45, said Taylor could, once the movie was finished. Last week, reports the Oshkosh, Wis., newspaper the Northwestern, Depp made good on his promise. Taylor received the hat.
- 6/18/2008
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Johnny Depp is heading to jail!
The actor is expected to film scenes for his John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies at the closed Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet and Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois.
Public Enemies is scheduled for release in summer 2009.
The actor is expected to film scenes for his John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies at the closed Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet and Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois.
Public Enemies is scheduled for release in summer 2009.
- 6/16/2008
- WENN
Johnny Depp has followed through on his promise to a 12-year-old Oshkosh, Wisconsin fan - by sending him the fedora he wore as bank robber John Dillinger in new film Public Enemies.
Jack Taylor asked for the actor's hat after meeting him on the set of the movie and an amused Depp agreed to pass it on "when I'm done with it".
And, after Taylor's parents reminded Depp of his promise in a letter to the movie star's production company, the young fan received a package in the post.
In the box was the hat and various other promotional items from Depp's past films.
Taylor's parents, Kris and Matt Brand, were thrilled with Depp's gifts - because there were enough treats for Jack and his four siblings.
Kris Brand says, "It's not exactly the easiest thing to make all five kids happy, but they did a good job. It's finally nice to see a celebrity being nice and following through on his promises."
Depp also wrote Jack a short, personal note telling him to enjoy the hat.
The thrilled youngster tells TheNorthwestern.com, "It was pretty awesome when it came. I didn't think it actually would come."...
Jack Taylor asked for the actor's hat after meeting him on the set of the movie and an amused Depp agreed to pass it on "when I'm done with it".
And, after Taylor's parents reminded Depp of his promise in a letter to the movie star's production company, the young fan received a package in the post.
In the box was the hat and various other promotional items from Depp's past films.
Taylor's parents, Kris and Matt Brand, were thrilled with Depp's gifts - because there were enough treats for Jack and his four siblings.
Kris Brand says, "It's not exactly the easiest thing to make all five kids happy, but they did a good job. It's finally nice to see a celebrity being nice and following through on his promises."
Depp also wrote Jack a short, personal note telling him to enjoy the hat.
The thrilled youngster tells TheNorthwestern.com, "It was pretty awesome when it came. I didn't think it actually would come."...
- 6/16/2008
- WENN
Actor Johnny Depp turned real-life action hero on the set of his latest crime drama Public Enemies, after saving a group of extras from being struck down by an out-of-control car.
Depp, 44, was shooting a scene as bank robber John Dillinger when a stuntdriver in a 1933 Ford car sped onto a patch of ice and skidded towards six extras, who were standing with their backs turned, oblivious to the danger.
But the Hollywood hunk spotted the potentially fatal incident and leaped into action.
An eyewitness tells British newspaper News Of The World, "Johnny slammed into the group with arms outspread, shoving them all back."...
Depp, 44, was shooting a scene as bank robber John Dillinger when a stuntdriver in a 1933 Ford car sped onto a patch of ice and skidded towards six extras, who were standing with their backs turned, oblivious to the danger.
But the Hollywood hunk spotted the potentially fatal incident and leaped into action.
An eyewitness tells British newspaper News Of The World, "Johnny slammed into the group with arms outspread, shoving them all back."...
- 4/6/2008
- WENN
David Wenham and Stephen Graham have joined the cast of Universal's Public Enemies, Michael Mann's gangster film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.
An adaptation of Brian Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43," the film centers on the government's attempt to stop John Dillinger and his gang. Depp is playing Dillinger to Bale's famed FBI agent Melvin Purvis.
Wenham is playing Pete Pierpont, a member of Dillinger's crew who has a violent hostility to all authority. British actor Graham will portray Baby Face Nelson.
Also in the cast are Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi and Stephen Dorff.
Shooting begins in March in Chicago.
Wenham recently finished production on Baz Luhrmann's Australia, opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, for 20th Century Fox. He also appeared in the Lord of the Rings movies and 300. He is repped by Endeavor, Artists-Independent Management in the U.S. and Shanahan Management in Australia.
Graham (This Is England) is repped by Kritzer Levine Wilkins Entertainment and in the U.K.
An adaptation of Brian Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43," the film centers on the government's attempt to stop John Dillinger and his gang. Depp is playing Dillinger to Bale's famed FBI agent Melvin Purvis.
Wenham is playing Pete Pierpont, a member of Dillinger's crew who has a violent hostility to all authority. British actor Graham will portray Baby Face Nelson.
Also in the cast are Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi and Stephen Dorff.
Shooting begins in March in Chicago.
Wenham recently finished production on Baz Luhrmann's Australia, opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, for 20th Century Fox. He also appeared in the Lord of the Rings movies and 300. He is repped by Endeavor, Artists-Independent Management in the U.S. and Shanahan Management in Australia.
Graham (This Is England) is repped by Kritzer Levine Wilkins Entertainment and in the U.K.
- 2/22/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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