Through the lens of 2024, “Dogfight” plays like a subtle, personal film you would expect from indie director Nancy Savoca (“Household Saints”), but that’s not what Warner Bros. thought they were making.
“They were thinking ‘Porky’s.’ They thought it was a comedy,” said director Nancy Savoca while on IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast to discuss “Dogfight,” which is entering the Criterion Collection on April 30.
At the end of the 1980s headed into the early ’90s, when Warners was developing Bob Comfort’s “Dogfight” screenplay, teen comedies were big business for the studios. Alongside the wild success of the classic slate of teen comedies John Hughes wrote, directed, or produced, the “Porky’s” trilogy came to define the sex comedies of the era. It’s through this lens the studio saw the dogfight competition in Comfort’s script: A group of young soldiers pick up the “ugliest” woman they can find, bring her to a bar,...
“They were thinking ‘Porky’s.’ They thought it was a comedy,” said director Nancy Savoca while on IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast to discuss “Dogfight,” which is entering the Criterion Collection on April 30.
At the end of the 1980s headed into the early ’90s, when Warners was developing Bob Comfort’s “Dogfight” screenplay, teen comedies were big business for the studios. Alongside the wild success of the classic slate of teen comedies John Hughes wrote, directed, or produced, the “Porky’s” trilogy came to define the sex comedies of the era. It’s through this lens the studio saw the dogfight competition in Comfort’s script: A group of young soldiers pick up the “ugliest” woman they can find, bring her to a bar,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The year was 1985 when Super Mario Bros. took the Nintendo Entertainment System by storm; Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes debuted in newspapers, and two unlikely friends named Marty McFly and Emmett Lathrop Brown piloted cinema’s most iconic time machine to a year when Panama hats and kitten heels were all the rage, 1955.
Fiercely protected at a level akin to Ghostbusters and Star Wars by millennials worldwide, Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future sits enthroned at Nostalgia Mountain’s top. The original film has spawned two sequels, a cartoon series, video game adaptations, a Broadway musical, and more. But how does it hold up by today’s standards? Strap on your seatbelt, and prepare yourselves to see some serious shit because this is Back to the Future Revisited.
In 1977, Robert Zemeckis did the unthinkable. He bulldozed into Amblin Entertainment without an appointment, heading straight for Steven Spielberg’s office.
Fiercely protected at a level akin to Ghostbusters and Star Wars by millennials worldwide, Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future sits enthroned at Nostalgia Mountain’s top. The original film has spawned two sequels, a cartoon series, video game adaptations, a Broadway musical, and more. But how does it hold up by today’s standards? Strap on your seatbelt, and prepare yourselves to see some serious shit because this is Back to the Future Revisited.
In 1977, Robert Zemeckis did the unthinkable. He bulldozed into Amblin Entertainment without an appointment, heading straight for Steven Spielberg’s office.
- 4/15/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Tony Ganios, the comedic actor known for his turn as fan-favorite Meat in Bob Clark’s “Porky’s” and as Perry in Philip Kaufman’s 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama “The Wanderers,” died Feb. 18 following surgery at a hospital in New York. He was 64.
Ganios’ finacée shared the news on social media — publishing a tweet that featured a photo of the two holding hands with the caption, “I love you so much, my love. I’m broken.” She later followed up with a tweet containing a photo of Ganios and the caption, “The last words we said to each other were, “I love you.” Love is an understatement. You are everything to me. My heart, my soul and my best friend.”
Ganios was known for his roles in 1980s teen comedies and action movies. He gained prominence for his portrayal of tough, muscular characters that frequently had him tap into character acting to play...
Ganios’ finacée shared the news on social media — publishing a tweet that featured a photo of the two holding hands with the caption, “I love you so much, my love. I’m broken.” She later followed up with a tweet containing a photo of Ganios and the caption, “The last words we said to each other were, “I love you.” Love is an understatement. You are everything to me. My heart, my soul and my best friend.”
Ganios was known for his roles in 1980s teen comedies and action movies. He gained prominence for his portrayal of tough, muscular characters that frequently had him tap into character acting to play...
- 2/20/2024
- by Diego Ramos Bechara
- Variety Film + TV
Tony Ganios, the actor who made his film debut in Philip Kaufman’s 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama The Wanderers and played audience favorite Anthony ‘Meat’ Tuperello in the 1980s Porky’s sex comedy franchise, died Sunday following surgery at a hospital in New York. He was 64.
His death was announced on social media by his fiancée, Amanda Serrano-Ganios, who said that the actor fell ill last week, was hospitalized Saturday with a spinal cord infection, and passed away Sunday of heart failure.
Cast as one of the Bronx Italian-American street toughs in the 1963-set The Wanderers, based on the novel by Richard Price, Ganios became, for much of the ’80s, a go-to actor for directors looking for a touch of East Coast flavor. Ganios re-teamed with his Wanderers co-star Ken Wahl for a recurring role as a mob lawyer on Wahl’s 1987-90 crime series Wiseguy.
John Friedrich, Ken Wahl, Tony Ganios,...
His death was announced on social media by his fiancée, Amanda Serrano-Ganios, who said that the actor fell ill last week, was hospitalized Saturday with a spinal cord infection, and passed away Sunday of heart failure.
Cast as one of the Bronx Italian-American street toughs in the 1963-set The Wanderers, based on the novel by Richard Price, Ganios became, for much of the ’80s, a go-to actor for directors looking for a touch of East Coast flavor. Ganios re-teamed with his Wanderers co-star Ken Wahl for a recurring role as a mob lawyer on Wahl’s 1987-90 crime series Wiseguy.
John Friedrich, Ken Wahl, Tony Ganios,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Eli Roth's 2023 slasher film "Thanksgiving" famously started its life back in 2007 in the form of a fake trailer sandwiched in between Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" and Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof," two movies released as a single mega-feature called "Grindhouse." The goal of "Grindhouse" was to recreate the experience of seeing a cheap exploitation double-feature in a run-down New York theater in the early 1980s, complete with film scratches, missing reels, and several previews for upcoming ultra-salacious genre movies. The trailers were all fake at the time, but since 2007, the trailers for "Machete," "Hobo with a Shotgun," and "Thanksgiving" have been made into real movies.
Roth, as the director's fans know, is a voracious cineaste, and has likely spent more time watching movies than most people. He also wears his influences on his sleeve; in the credits for Roth's 2013 cannibal film "The Green Inferno," he includes a list...
Roth, as the director's fans know, is a voracious cineaste, and has likely spent more time watching movies than most people. He also wears his influences on his sleeve; in the credits for Roth's 2013 cannibal film "The Green Inferno," he includes a list...
- 1/28/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Another weekend in the books, another weekend atop the box office for "Barbie." Director Greta Gerwig's pop culture phenomenon has now topped the charts for four straight weekends, a feat that few movies will ever get to claim — particularly in the post-pandemic landscape. It's remarkably rare air, only enjoyed by the biggest of big blockbusters like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" or "Top Gun: Maverick." But as the rest of August looks largely devoid of any certain breakout hits the question must be asked: how many weekends can this movie keep the crown?
According to The Numbers, "Barbie" added $33.7 million domestically in its fourth weekend, representing a shockingly great 36% drop from its prior frame. The movie's week-to-week holds have been truly impressive up to this point, as positive word of mouth has carried it to impressive heights. Big competition from "Oppenheimer," "Meg 2," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" has hardly mattered.
According to The Numbers, "Barbie" added $33.7 million domestically in its fourth weekend, representing a shockingly great 36% drop from its prior frame. The movie's week-to-week holds have been truly impressive up to this point, as positive word of mouth has carried it to impressive heights. Big competition from "Oppenheimer," "Meg 2," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" has hardly mattered.
- 8/14/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Harmony Korine teased upcoming Venice premiere “Aggro Dr1ft” in Locarno, where he picked up the Pardo d’onore Manor award for outstanding achievement in cinema.
“I am excited. I have never made anything like it. I was trying not to make a movie. I don’t know if it will be a scandal, but it will be its own statement,” he said.
“Aggro Dr1ft” stars Spain’s Jordi Molla and Travis Scott. Korine has already worked with Scott on “Circus Maximus” – as well as his friend Gaspar Noé, surprise guest at the fest, who ended up co-moderating his Saturday masterclass.
“It was pretty wild. It was crazy!,” said Korine about the “last-minute” collab with Scott, also opening up about his humble beginnings.
“I grew up in Nashville, I was born into a commune. My dad made strange documentaries about Southern moonshiners and circus people, and then he sold some weed.
“I am excited. I have never made anything like it. I was trying not to make a movie. I don’t know if it will be a scandal, but it will be its own statement,” he said.
“Aggro Dr1ft” stars Spain’s Jordi Molla and Travis Scott. Korine has already worked with Scott on “Circus Maximus” – as well as his friend Gaspar Noé, surprise guest at the fest, who ended up co-moderating his Saturday masterclass.
“It was pretty wild. It was crazy!,” said Korine about the “last-minute” collab with Scott, also opening up about his humble beginnings.
“I grew up in Nashville, I was born into a commune. My dad made strange documentaries about Southern moonshiners and circus people, and then he sold some weed.
- 8/12/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
For many of us, high school was a time that we spent overly invested in our own adolescent lives and juvenile misadventures that (at the time) seemed to be the most mature and important thing in the world. And in some cases, the witty antics and perverted scheming of Jim Levinstein and his friends hit the nail right on the head- and especially for those of us who were going through our formative years in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
And as most movie nerds do, I used to find myself feeling seen and heard by the American Pie movies in that I related to being a suburban teenager whose attention was constantly shifting between dating way out of my league, and the constant desire to make the leap from a hormonal teenager to a grown up with everything under control. After all, these movies follow that very journey...
And as most movie nerds do, I used to find myself feeling seen and heard by the American Pie movies in that I related to being a suburban teenager whose attention was constantly shifting between dating way out of my league, and the constant desire to make the leap from a hormonal teenager to a grown up with everything under control. After all, these movies follow that very journey...
- 5/2/2023
- by Kier Gomes
- JoBlo.com
Ah, 1978. It was the year that Slashfilm writer Lee Adams entered the world, and two movies changed the course of comedy forever (those landmarks are unrelated; I'm not trying to claim any credit). Those movies were "National Lampoon's Animal House" and Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke" — two lowbrow hits whose influences are still felt to this day.
There was lowbrow stuff before 1978, of course. Slapstick — the age-old art of falling over, breaking things, and hitting people — was still doing the rounds in the increasingly weary adventures of Inspector Clouseau. But the class of '78 was different: wild, irreverent, raucous, bawdy, subversive, counterculture comedy that delighted the kids and antagonized the squares.
The two films had their roots in the '60s. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong developed their stand-up act in the latter part of the decade before making their break on the big screen with the granddaddy of stoner movies,...
There was lowbrow stuff before 1978, of course. Slapstick — the age-old art of falling over, breaking things, and hitting people — was still doing the rounds in the increasingly weary adventures of Inspector Clouseau. But the class of '78 was different: wild, irreverent, raucous, bawdy, subversive, counterculture comedy that delighted the kids and antagonized the squares.
The two films had their roots in the '60s. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong developed their stand-up act in the latter part of the decade before making their break on the big screen with the granddaddy of stoner movies,...
- 3/26/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
The headline of this column is doubtlessly unfair. I’m judging a movie before I’ve seen it, before it has even been made. Given the vast volume of junky indifferent product that now slides through the megaplex, and the streaming ocean, on a weekly basis, why not settle in for an ambitious remake of “Vertigo,” Alfred Hitchcock’s romantically kinky and voluptuous dream thriller of 1958? At least it’s not “Texas Chainsaw Xviii” or another “Minions” movie. At least it will be interesting (right?).
Robert Downey Jr., who is in talks to produce and possibly star in a remake of “Vertigo” at Paramount (home of the original film), is a great actor. But once he became a box-office superstar, 15 years ago, with “Iron Man,” he got sucked into the escapist vortex of Marvel and “Sherlock Holmes” and duds like “Dolittle.” Downey, who is about to turn 58, needs to rediscover himself as an actor.
Robert Downey Jr., who is in talks to produce and possibly star in a remake of “Vertigo” at Paramount (home of the original film), is a great actor. But once he became a box-office superstar, 15 years ago, with “Iron Man,” he got sucked into the escapist vortex of Marvel and “Sherlock Holmes” and duds like “Dolittle.” Downey, who is about to turn 58, needs to rediscover himself as an actor.
- 3/25/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
101 Films presents the Bob Clark: Horror Collection, featuring the director’s highly influential horrors of the early 1970s, brought together for the first time. Though he would achieve wider success in the 1980s with hit comedies such as Porky’s (1981) and A Christmas Story (1983), Clark’s run of three horror movies a decade earlier — low budget horror-comedy Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972), chilling Vietnam War critique Deathdream (Aka Dead of Night) (1974) and genre-defining slasher masterpiece Black Christmas (1974) — ensure his legacy as a master of the horror genre.
Title 029 on the 101 Films Black Label, this limited-edition set also features new Bob Clark documentary ‘Dreaming of Death’, stunning newly commissioned artwork for all three titles with reversible sleeves, a booklet with new writing on Clark’s career, a set of art cards, and extensive additional content.
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things
Led by a mean-spirited director, a theatre...
Title 029 on the 101 Films Black Label, this limited-edition set also features new Bob Clark documentary ‘Dreaming of Death’, stunning newly commissioned artwork for all three titles with reversible sleeves, a booklet with new writing on Clark’s career, a set of art cards, and extensive additional content.
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things
Led by a mean-spirited director, a theatre...
- 3/3/2023
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
The legendary RZA joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Man With The Iron Fists (2012)
Cut Throat City (2020)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Cooley High (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Car Wash (1976) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Grease (1978)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) – Dennis Cozzalio’s best of 2020
The Devil You Know (2022)
The Last American Virgin (1982)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Porky’s (1981)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Carmen Jones (1954)
An American In Paris (1951)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Is That Black Enough for You?!?...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Man With The Iron Fists (2012)
Cut Throat City (2020)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Cooley High (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Car Wash (1976) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Grease (1978)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) – Dennis Cozzalio’s best of 2020
The Devil You Know (2022)
The Last American Virgin (1982)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Porky’s (1981)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Carmen Jones (1954)
An American In Paris (1951)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Is That Black Enough for You?!?...
- 2/14/2023
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Last week, we looked at Wtf Happened to the cast of A Christmas Story in a special yuletide edition of Wtf Happened to this Celebrity. This week, we’re digging back into Bob Clark’s 1983 classic, A Christmas Story, and looking into how the film itself got made in the first place. While many consider it one of the definitive holiday movies now, in 1983, it was a pretty modest film that came from a director best known for exploitation films, Bob Clark.
Indeed, the Canadian Bob Clark had already made one Christmas classic, 1974’s Black Christmas, which is widely regarded as the first classic-style slasher film, within having also made the most popular Canadian film of all time, 1981’s Porky’s. Yet, neither of those hard-r films would have you think Clark could make a gentle, PG-rated Christmas movie that would stand the test of time. Suffice it to say, he pulled it off,...
Indeed, the Canadian Bob Clark had already made one Christmas classic, 1974’s Black Christmas, which is widely regarded as the first classic-style slasher film, within having also made the most popular Canadian film of all time, 1981’s Porky’s. Yet, neither of those hard-r films would have you think Clark could make a gentle, PG-rated Christmas movie that would stand the test of time. Suffice it to say, he pulled it off,...
- 12/21/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Given that 1983's "A Christmas Story" only continues to grow in popularity with each passing year, one of my favorite party tricks to use when a relative or friend is in the throes of TNT's annual 24-hour marathon of the heartwarming holiday comedy is explain how it and 1974's "Black Christmas" — a bitter, bleak, and uncompromising horror classic — were made by the same director, Bob Clark.
It's a fun bit of trivia because both movies are so diametrically opposed in tone, with each exploring very different facets of Christmastime. Yet when examined closely, "A Christmas Story" and "Black Christmas" have a surprising amount in common, with the films containing a streak of knowing cynicism when it comes to the trappings of the holiday.
As it turns out, this isn't by coincidence. While Clark was never really an auteur director, careening as he did between numerous genres and budgets, his...
It's a fun bit of trivia because both movies are so diametrically opposed in tone, with each exploring very different facets of Christmastime. Yet when examined closely, "A Christmas Story" and "Black Christmas" have a surprising amount in common, with the films containing a streak of knowing cynicism when it comes to the trappings of the holiday.
As it turns out, this isn't by coincidence. While Clark was never really an auteur director, careening as he did between numerous genres and budgets, his...
- 12/11/2022
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
The holidays, in general, are about family. Spending time with family, appreciating family, and also, getting really sick of family after an afternoon listening to that one crazy uncle rant just a little too long about god knows what this time. But that sense of family leads to wanting to watch family-friendly, wholesome content, which is no doubt part of why "A Christmas Story" is on TV around the clock every December. It's become a genuine classic, beloved enough to have been added to the National Film Registry. Not bad for a movie about a little kid just hoping to get a Bb gun for Christmas.
Along the way, Ralphie — our protagonist — gets into mischief with his friends, drops an F-bomb in front of his old man, and gets a little too into his father's major award (that just happens to be shaped like a woman's leg). Come to think of it,...
Along the way, Ralphie — our protagonist — gets into mischief with his friends, drops an F-bomb in front of his old man, and gets a little too into his father's major award (that just happens to be shaped like a woman's leg). Come to think of it,...
- 12/4/2022
- by Jeff Kelly
- Slash Film
Writer/producer/showrunner David Kajganich discusses a few of his favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
All The Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
Badlands (1973)
Bones And All (2022)
A Bigger Splash (2015)
Suspiria (2018)
Deathdream (1974) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Porky’s (1981)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Black Christmas (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Murder By Decree (1979) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things (1972)
Black Vengeance a.k.a. Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness
Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
The Last Wave (1977) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003)
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
Dressed To Kill (1980) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Criterion review
The Last Picture Show (1971) – Mark Pellington’s trailer...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
All The Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
Badlands (1973)
Bones And All (2022)
A Bigger Splash (2015)
Suspiria (2018)
Deathdream (1974) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Porky’s (1981)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Black Christmas (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Murder By Decree (1979) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things (1972)
Black Vengeance a.k.a. Poor Pretty Eddie (1975)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) – Robert Weide’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness
Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
The Last Wave (1977) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003)
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
Dressed To Kill (1980) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Criterion review
The Last Picture Show (1971) – Mark Pellington’s trailer...
- 11/22/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we take a look at an Oscars category from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winner stands the test of time.)
1982 was a crucial year in Hollywood moviemaking. The New Hollywood that brought the auteur-driven boom of the 1970s had firmly ended, with the financial calamity of Michael Cimino's Western epic "Heaven's Gate" the previous year placing the final nail in that coffin. Look at the box office of 1982, and you see a fascinating melange of prestige dramas like "An Office and a Gentleman," sex comedies like "Porky's," and the onset of the franchise filmmaking that will come to dominate today's Hollywood with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Rocky III."
The hit among hits, the king among kings, of 1982 was Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which just enjoyed an IMAX re-release to commemorate its 40th anniversary.
1982 was a crucial year in Hollywood moviemaking. The New Hollywood that brought the auteur-driven boom of the 1970s had firmly ended, with the financial calamity of Michael Cimino's Western epic "Heaven's Gate" the previous year placing the final nail in that coffin. Look at the box office of 1982, and you see a fascinating melange of prestige dramas like "An Office and a Gentleman," sex comedies like "Porky's," and the onset of the franchise filmmaking that will come to dominate today's Hollywood with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Rocky III."
The hit among hits, the king among kings, of 1982 was Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which just enjoyed an IMAX re-release to commemorate its 40th anniversary.
- 11/15/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Based on both John W. Campbell, Jr.'s 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" and its 1951 film adaptation "The Thing from Another World," John Carpenter's 1982 film "The Thing" is often celebrated as one of the better films of its decade. "The Thing" notoriously bombed upon its initial release, a financial failure that may be attributed to the more upbeat, less nihilistic alien film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" from earlier that same year. Additionally, "The Thing" is a bleak, cold, angry film, which may have been a tough sell for audiences more eager to consume larger hits like "Rocky III," "Annie," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," and "Porky's."
Many pundits will be eager to point out that "The Thing" features some of the scariest and most grotesque special effects of any feature film. The titular Thing is a shapeless mass of tissue and goop that can invade the body of any living host,...
Many pundits will be eager to point out that "The Thing" features some of the scariest and most grotesque special effects of any feature film. The titular Thing is a shapeless mass of tissue and goop that can invade the body of any living host,...
- 10/21/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The teen sex comedy craze kicked into overdrive in the spring of 1982 when Bob Clark's semi-autobiographical raunch-fest "Porky's" stunned the industry by racking up 105 million for distributor 20th Century Fox at the U.S. box office. The nation's critics shredded it, but the film's target audience didn't care. They identified with the characters' unabashedly juvenile antics, and kept going back for more.
You'd think rival studios, which rushed their own hormonally addled high-school comedies into production, would've been fine with this critical/commercial trade-off, but Universal had serious misgivings about their August 1982 release, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." In fact, according to director Amy Heckerling and star Judge Reinhold, they nearly shelved it.
Too Hot For Theatrical?
In a 40th anniversary article for The Hollywood Reporter, Reinhold, who plays the wincingly overconfident Ridgemont senior Brad Hamilton, alleges that executive resistance to the material was fierce. "We were really heartsick,...
You'd think rival studios, which rushed their own hormonally addled high-school comedies into production, would've been fine with this critical/commercial trade-off, but Universal had serious misgivings about their August 1982 release, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." In fact, according to director Amy Heckerling and star Judge Reinhold, they nearly shelved it.
Too Hot For Theatrical?
In a 40th anniversary article for The Hollywood Reporter, Reinhold, who plays the wincingly overconfident Ridgemont senior Brad Hamilton, alleges that executive resistance to the material was fierce. "We were really heartsick,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
We've waited one more minute at the hardware store, our couch potato hearts thumbing through cable TV reruns of "George of the Jungle," idly watching "Porky's" for the 27th time this week, all in anticipation of the trailer for The Roku Channel's "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story," and our patience, dear friends, had paid off. The teaser for the upcoming biopic is finally here, and audiences can now see actor Daniel Radcliffe in full Yankovic regalia playing the biggest star to emerge from the comedy/music scene since the heyday of Spike Jones through the days of...
The post Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Teaser: Someone Get Daniel Radcliffe an Accordion appeared first on /Film.
The post Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Teaser: Someone Get Daniel Radcliffe an Accordion appeared first on /Film.
- 5/3/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Kim Cattrall has joined the cast of Peacock’s Queer As Folk in a recurring guest star role. The Golden Globe winner will portray a martini-soaked, high-society Southern debutant with trailer park roots in the series, which was picked up by the streamer in April.
The series, a reimagination of the hit British series of the same name from Russell T. Davis, follows the lives of a diverse group of friends in New Orleans whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy. A U.S. remake, set in Pittsburgh, aired on Showtime from 2000-2005.
Cattrall joins previously announced cast members Ryan O’Connell, Jesse James Keitel, Candace Grace, Johnny Sibilly, Devin Way and Fin Argus.
Queer as Folk is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. The series is created, written and executive produced by Stephen Dunn, who will also direct the pilot episode. Executive producers also include Jaclyn Moore,...
The series, a reimagination of the hit British series of the same name from Russell T. Davis, follows the lives of a diverse group of friends in New Orleans whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy. A U.S. remake, set in Pittsburgh, aired on Showtime from 2000-2005.
Cattrall joins previously announced cast members Ryan O’Connell, Jesse James Keitel, Candace Grace, Johnny Sibilly, Devin Way and Fin Argus.
Queer as Folk is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. The series is created, written and executive produced by Stephen Dunn, who will also direct the pilot episode. Executive producers also include Jaclyn Moore,...
- 11/9/2021
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Prisoners of the Ghostland screenwriter/producer Reza Sixo Safai joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss his wildest cinematic experiences.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)
Mandy (2018)
Candy (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary
S.O.B. (1981)
The Shining (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary
Robin Hood (1973)
The Story of Robin Hood (1952)
Modern Times (1936)
The Kid (1921)
The Deer (1974)
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Qeysar (1969)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Warriors (1979)
New Jack City (1991)
Colors (1988)
The Whip And The Body (1963)
Blow Out (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Porky’s (1981)
Cinema Paradiso (1988) – Glenn Erickson’s Region B Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
Circumstance (2011)
Ninja 3: The Domination (1984)
Flashdance (1983)
Debbie...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)
Mandy (2018)
Candy (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary
S.O.B. (1981)
The Shining (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary
Robin Hood (1973)
The Story of Robin Hood (1952)
Modern Times (1936)
The Kid (1921)
The Deer (1974)
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Qeysar (1969)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Warriors (1979)
New Jack City (1991)
Colors (1988)
The Whip And The Body (1963)
Blow Out (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Porky’s (1981)
Cinema Paradiso (1988) – Glenn Erickson’s Region B Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review
Circumstance (2011)
Ninja 3: The Domination (1984)
Flashdance (1983)
Debbie...
- 11/9/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: Golden Globe winner Kim Cattrall has joined the cast of Hulu’s How I Met Your Mother spinoff, How I Met Your Father, in a major recurring role.
Cattrall will play the future version of Hilary Duff’s character Sophie, who is telling her son the story of how she met his father, much like Josh Radnor (and Bob Saget’s) Ted Mosby did in the original series.
Sophie’s story will transport audiences back to the year 2021 where she and her close-knit group of friends— Jesse (Chris Lowell), Valentina (Francia Raisa), Charlie (Tom Ainsley), Ellen (Tien Tran), and Sid (Suraj Sharma)— are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.
Series writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger will also executive produce alongside Himym creators/exec producers...
Cattrall will play the future version of Hilary Duff’s character Sophie, who is telling her son the story of how she met his father, much like Josh Radnor (and Bob Saget’s) Ted Mosby did in the original series.
Sophie’s story will transport audiences back to the year 2021 where she and her close-knit group of friends— Jesse (Chris Lowell), Valentina (Francia Raisa), Charlie (Tom Ainsley), Ellen (Tien Tran), and Sid (Suraj Sharma)— are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.
Series writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger will also executive produce alongside Himym creators/exec producers...
- 11/5/2021
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
“Only I didn’t say fudge… I said The Word. The big one. The queen mother of all dirty words… the F-dash-dash-dash Word!!!!”
It’s Christmas in July when A Christmas Story screens at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday July 27th. $3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm.
I used an air rifle I got one Christmas growing up, but I never had a mail-in decoder ring which required me to consume mass quantities of Ovaltine, I never ran into bullies with yellow eyes, and I never took a dare to stick my tongue to an aluminum pole in the middle of winter. Of all the holiday films that have been released in the last 34 years, did anyone envision that the sleepy low budget film from 1983, generically titled A Christmas Story,...
It’s Christmas in July when A Christmas Story screens at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday July 27th. $3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm.
I used an air rifle I got one Christmas growing up, but I never had a mail-in decoder ring which required me to consume mass quantities of Ovaltine, I never ran into bullies with yellow eyes, and I never took a dare to stick my tongue to an aluminum pole in the middle of winter. Of all the holiday films that have been released in the last 34 years, did anyone envision that the sleepy low budget film from 1983, generically titled A Christmas Story,...
- 7/25/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Mike Fenton, the legendary casting director who worked on the “Back to the Future” franchise, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and scores of other classic movies and TV shows, has died. He was 85.
Fenton co-founded what is now known as Casting Society of America in 1982. He was a prominent casting director for more than 40 years, with a mile-long resume that stretched from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “That Girl” to “Chinatown,” “American Graffiti,” “The Godfather II,” “Blade Runner,” “A Christmas Story,” “Norma Rae,” “Footloose,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Chaplin.”
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store — he made casting a blast,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s. He didn’t just support actors, he launched crusades.
Fenton co-founded what is now known as Casting Society of America in 1982. He was a prominent casting director for more than 40 years, with a mile-long resume that stretched from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “That Girl” to “Chinatown,” “American Graffiti,” “The Godfather II,” “Blade Runner,” “A Christmas Story,” “Norma Rae,” “Footloose,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Chaplin.”
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store — he made casting a blast,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s. He didn’t just support actors, he launched crusades.
- 1/1/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
This tribute to director Bob Clark and the 1983 chestnut “A Christmas Story” was originally published Dec. 20, 2007 on the Variety blog “Littleton On the Air”
It’s that wonderful time of year, time for repeated viewings of the holiday pic that never, ever gets old, 1983’s “A Christmas Story.”
TBS is obliging with its annual 24-hour marathon of the pic, starting Monday, Christmas Eve, at 8 p.m. Et. My family’s “Christmas Story” DVD is well-worn — no matter how many times we’ve seen it, we crack up at the scene where Darren McGavin unpacks his “fra-gi-le” major award. We can pretty much recite this movie from start to “you’ll shoot your eye out” finish.
But this year the fun of the pic that perfectly balances the sweet ‘n’ sour ‘n’ silly of the season comes with a tinge of sadness for the memory of “Christmas Story” helmer Bob Clark,...
It’s that wonderful time of year, time for repeated viewings of the holiday pic that never, ever gets old, 1983’s “A Christmas Story.”
TBS is obliging with its annual 24-hour marathon of the pic, starting Monday, Christmas Eve, at 8 p.m. Et. My family’s “Christmas Story” DVD is well-worn — no matter how many times we’ve seen it, we crack up at the scene where Darren McGavin unpacks his “fra-gi-le” major award. We can pretty much recite this movie from start to “you’ll shoot your eye out” finish.
But this year the fun of the pic that perfectly balances the sweet ‘n’ sour ‘n’ silly of the season comes with a tinge of sadness for the memory of “Christmas Story” helmer Bob Clark,...
- 12/25/2020
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Seth MacFarlane will produce a reboot of the 1984 nerds vs. jocks comedy “Revenge of the Nerds” that will star and be written by comedians Kenny and Keith Lucas aka The Lucas Brothers, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
The project is currently in development at 20th Century Studios, with MacFarlane producing with Erica Huggins for his company Fuzzy Door Productions. The Lucas Brothers will co-write the script with Alex Reubens, who has written for both “Key & Peele” and “Rick & Morty.”
The new “Revenge of the Nerds” will be a reboot rather than a direct remake of the original, which has not aged well due to its depictions of rape that have been criticized in recent years. The new film will be set in the present-day and will re-imagine what we consider nerdy in 2020.
The original film from 1984 and directed by Jeff Kanew only grossed $40.8 million worldwide,...
The project is currently in development at 20th Century Studios, with MacFarlane producing with Erica Huggins for his company Fuzzy Door Productions. The Lucas Brothers will co-write the script with Alex Reubens, who has written for both “Key & Peele” and “Rick & Morty.”
The new “Revenge of the Nerds” will be a reboot rather than a direct remake of the original, which has not aged well due to its depictions of rape that have been criticized in recent years. The new film will be set in the present-day and will re-imagine what we consider nerdy in 2020.
The original film from 1984 and directed by Jeff Kanew only grossed $40.8 million worldwide,...
- 12/16/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Writer/director Catherine Hardwicke talks about her favorite intense movies with Josh.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Citizen Kane (1941)
Thirteen (2003)
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
Heat and Sunlight (1987)
Angelo My Love (1983)
Kids (1995)
Out Of The Blue (1980)
The Wanderers (1979)
Mean Streets (1973)
A Woman Under The Influence (1974)
Husbands (1970)
City of God (2002)
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Hair (1979)
The Hangover (2009)
Porky’s (1981)
Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)
Twilight (2008)
The Nativity Story (2006)
Pariah (2011)
Mudbound (2017)
Sex And The City: The Movie (2008)
The Florida Project (2017)
Tangerine (2015)
The Ocean of Helena Lee (2015)
Other Notable Items
Rob Nilsson
Sundance Film Festival
Robert Duvall
Larry Clark
Peanuts comic strip (1950-2000)
Charles M. Schulz
Chloe Sevigny
Rosario Dawson
Heath Ledger
Linda Manz
Dennis Hopper
Philip Kaufman
Ken Wahl
The Wanderers novel by Richard Price (1974)
Robert De Niro
John Cassavetes
Gena Rowlands
Fernando Meirelles
Kátia Lund
Kimberly Pierce
Hillary Swank
Scarlett Johansson
Treat Williams
John Savage
The Eli...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Citizen Kane (1941)
Thirteen (2003)
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
Heat and Sunlight (1987)
Angelo My Love (1983)
Kids (1995)
Out Of The Blue (1980)
The Wanderers (1979)
Mean Streets (1973)
A Woman Under The Influence (1974)
Husbands (1970)
City of God (2002)
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Hair (1979)
The Hangover (2009)
Porky’s (1981)
Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)
Twilight (2008)
The Nativity Story (2006)
Pariah (2011)
Mudbound (2017)
Sex And The City: The Movie (2008)
The Florida Project (2017)
Tangerine (2015)
The Ocean of Helena Lee (2015)
Other Notable Items
Rob Nilsson
Sundance Film Festival
Robert Duvall
Larry Clark
Peanuts comic strip (1950-2000)
Charles M. Schulz
Chloe Sevigny
Rosario Dawson
Heath Ledger
Linda Manz
Dennis Hopper
Philip Kaufman
Ken Wahl
The Wanderers novel by Richard Price (1974)
Robert De Niro
John Cassavetes
Gena Rowlands
Fernando Meirelles
Kátia Lund
Kimberly Pierce
Hillary Swank
Scarlett Johansson
Treat Williams
John Savage
The Eli...
- 12/8/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
A weirdly tame, let’s-all-get-wasted riff on “The Purge” from the team behind such solid youth-focused comedies as “Banana Split” and “Big Time Adolescence,” Hulu original “The Binge” imagines an alternate America where all drugs and alcohol are illegal, except during a 12-hour window each year, at which time anything goes. , treating intoxication as the punchline rather than the setup for what should have been a more subversive satire.
If only the country’s Puritan forefathers, or the teetotalers behind Prohibition, could see where their influence has steered us! Screenwriter Jordan VanDina (who’s also working on the “Animaniacs” reboot) has a few genuinely rowdy ideas up his sleeve — including an epic case of a driving under the influence and a shootout involving the world’s smallest crossbow — all of which is heightened by some reasonably inspired improvisation, especially from Mvp Vince Vaughn as a wildly inappropriate high school principal.
If only the country’s Puritan forefathers, or the teetotalers behind Prohibition, could see where their influence has steered us! Screenwriter Jordan VanDina (who’s also working on the “Animaniacs” reboot) has a few genuinely rowdy ideas up his sleeve — including an epic case of a driving under the influence and a shootout involving the world’s smallest crossbow — all of which is heightened by some reasonably inspired improvisation, especially from Mvp Vince Vaughn as a wildly inappropriate high school principal.
- 8/26/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Evan Daves, Jillian Mueller, Katelyn Pearce, Peter Reznikoff, Larry Saperstein, Glenn Stott, Robbie Tann | Written by Matt Black, Laurence Vannicelli | Directed by Keola Racela
Two of my all-time favourite horror films are Michele Soavi’s Stagefright (1987), which sees a group of stage actors locked in the theater for a rehearsal of their upcoming musical production with a psychopathic killer; and Mark Herrier’s Popcorn (1991), which sees a murderer kill the attendees of a movie marathon in an old abandoned cinema. Why am I telling you this? Well Keola Racela’s Porno continues the same thematic tradition found in those films and other movies such as Fade to Black, Anguish and Demons, whilst also harkens back to that similar period in film history, setting this particular story in small-town America circa 1992…
Taking place in a local ultra-Christian movie theater, currently showing 90s “classics” like Encino Man and A League of Their Own,...
Two of my all-time favourite horror films are Michele Soavi’s Stagefright (1987), which sees a group of stage actors locked in the theater for a rehearsal of their upcoming musical production with a psychopathic killer; and Mark Herrier’s Popcorn (1991), which sees a murderer kill the attendees of a movie marathon in an old abandoned cinema. Why am I telling you this? Well Keola Racela’s Porno continues the same thematic tradition found in those films and other movies such as Fade to Black, Anguish and Demons, whilst also harkens back to that similar period in film history, setting this particular story in small-town America circa 1992…
Taking place in a local ultra-Christian movie theater, currently showing 90s “classics” like Encino Man and A League of Their Own,...
- 6/1/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Make way for the parade! Featuring Brian Trenchard-Smith, Eli Roth, Katt Shea, Thomas Jane, our very own Don Barrett and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Extraction (2020)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Mermaid (2016)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Singin’ In The Rain (1953)
Nightcrawler (2014)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)
Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
Hostel (2005)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
Gremlins (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)
Troll 2 (1990)
In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Screams of a Winter Night (1979)
Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)
The Rhythm Section (2020)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
The Ipcress File (1965)
Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Extraction (2020)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Mermaid (2016)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Singin’ In The Rain (1953)
Nightcrawler (2014)
I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)
Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)
Hostel (2005)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)
The Movie Orgy (1968)
Gremlins (1984)
The Goonies (1985)
Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)
Troll 2 (1990)
In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...
- 5/8/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The star, Alexandra Daddario, the writer, Alan Trezza, and the director, Marc Meyers, of the terrific new film We Summon The Darkness walk us through some of their favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
We Summon The Darkness (2020)
Burying The Ex (2015)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
American Beauty (1999)
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Sound of Music (1965)
L.A. Story (1991)
Ghost Dad (1990)
Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)
Roxanne (1987)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Fargo (1996)
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1998)
Defending Your Life (1991)
Modern Romance (1981)
The Jerk (1979)
Jaws (1975)
Notting Hill (1999)
Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Love Actually (2003)
Marley & Me (2008)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
World’s Greatest Dad (2009)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Raging Bull (1980)
Mandy (2018)
Heathers (1988)
Ed Wood (1994)
Hellzapoppin’ (1941)
Fletch (1985)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Batman Returns (1992)
Warlock (1989)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Star Wars (1977)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Swimmer (1968)
Sherman’s March (1985)
Amadeus (1984)
Amarcord (1974)
Hugo Pool (1997)
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
We Summon The Darkness (2020)
Burying The Ex (2015)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
American Beauty (1999)
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Sound of Music (1965)
L.A. Story (1991)
Ghost Dad (1990)
Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)
Roxanne (1987)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Fargo (1996)
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Psycho (1960)
Psycho (1998)
Defending Your Life (1991)
Modern Romance (1981)
The Jerk (1979)
Jaws (1975)
Notting Hill (1999)
Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Love Actually (2003)
Marley & Me (2008)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
World’s Greatest Dad (2009)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Raging Bull (1980)
Mandy (2018)
Heathers (1988)
Ed Wood (1994)
Hellzapoppin’ (1941)
Fletch (1985)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Batman Returns (1992)
Warlock (1989)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Star Wars (1977)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Swimmer (1968)
Sherman’s March (1985)
Amadeus (1984)
Amarcord (1974)
Hugo Pool (1997)
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills...
- 4/14/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Habits die hard. It’s Sunday, which is usually the time to list and analyze the weekend’s grosses. However, since almost all theaters are closed, I decided to take a look back to this weekend in 1982 — the year when box-office statistics became part of entertainment reporting.
Almost 40 years ago, coverage wasn’t instantaneous. People had to wait until midweek for reports, which inched closer to real time as the years went on. Here, we have the benefit of hindsight — and the title’s performance might offer us some perspective on how these films informed what Hollywood, and box office, would become.
More from IndieWire'Onward' Leads VOD Charts, but So Far It's the Cheaper Rentals That RuleA Government Bailout for Movie Theaters Is Uncertain, but a Wholly Changed Future Is Not
Since tickets cost three times more now than they did in 1982, I’ve included both the original grosses and...
Almost 40 years ago, coverage wasn’t instantaneous. People had to wait until midweek for reports, which inched closer to real time as the years went on. Here, we have the benefit of hindsight — and the title’s performance might offer us some perspective on how these films informed what Hollywood, and box office, would become.
More from IndieWire'Onward' Leads VOD Charts, but So Far It's the Cheaper Rentals That RuleA Government Bailout for Movie Theaters Is Uncertain, but a Wholly Changed Future Is Not
Since tickets cost three times more now than they did in 1982, I’ve included both the original grosses and...
- 3/22/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
“Black Christmas,” a low-budget Canadian horror movie released in 1974, was a slasher thriller with a difference: It was the very first one! Okay, there were more than a few precedents, from “Psycho” (the great-granddaddy of the genre) to “The Last House on the Left” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” to Mario Bava’s “A Bay of Blood.” But “Black Christmas,” directed by the not so horror-minded Bob Clark (who went on to make “Porky’s” and “A Christmas Story”), may have been the first movie to draw the slasher components together, almost by happenstance, into a mythological commercial template: the plot that ritualistically knocks off one pretty young thing after the next; the dark-side-of-a-holiday title; the ending that suggests that the evil will just go on.
That, however, was a thousand slasher movies ago. “Black Christmas,” the new remake of the 1974 film (there was another remake in 2006), is also
Once again,...
That, however, was a thousand slasher movies ago. “Black Christmas,” the new remake of the 1974 film (there was another remake in 2006), is also
Once again,...
- 12/13/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Now a perennial holiday favorite, A Christmas Story was only a moderate success on its release the week before Thanksgiving, 35 years ago, on Nov. 18, 1983. The film ranked third at the box office its opening weekend and grossed only $55 million domestically during its theatrical run (number adjusted for inflation), though it won two Genie Awards (the Canadian equivalent of Oscars from 1980 to 2012) for best screenplay and best director (Bob Clark, known at the time for the raunchy comedy Porky's).
In the years since, however, its popularity has grown immensely, and the film is now ...
In the years since, however, its popularity has grown immensely, and the film is now ...
- 11/16/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Now a perennial holiday favorite, A Christmas Story was only a moderate success on its release the week before Thanksgiving, 35 years ago, on Nov. 18, 1983. The film ranked third at the box office its opening weekend and grossed only $55 million domestically during its theatrical run (number adjusted for inflation), though it won two Genie Awards (the Canadian equivalent of Oscars from 1980 to 2012) for best screenplay and best director (Bob Clark, known at the time for the raunchy comedy Porky's).
In the years since, however, its popularity has grown immensely, and the film is now ...
In the years since, however, its popularity has grown immensely, and the film is now ...
- 11/16/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
For a low-budget Canadian film about summer camp, 1979's Meatballs had quite the impact. At the time, the $1 million production was the country's highest-grossing film. Its $43 million in box office would be $150 million today, surpassed only by 1982's Porky's ($300 million today) and 2002's My Big Fat Greek Wedding ($336 million). It also made Bill Murray a star and established Ivan Reitman, who would later direct Ghostbusters, Twins and Kindergarten Cop.
Meatballs' plot centers on low-rent Camp North Star's head counselor Tripper Harrison (Murray), who revels in practical jokes, ups the self-esteem of downtrodden campers,...
Meatballs' plot centers on low-rent Camp North Star's head counselor Tripper Harrison (Murray), who revels in practical jokes, ups the self-esteem of downtrodden campers,...
For a low-budget Canadian film about summer camp, 1979's Meatballs had quite the impact. At the time, the $1 million production was the country's highest-grossing film. Its $43 million in box office would be $150 million today, surpassed only by 1982's Porky's ($300 million today) and 2002's My Big Fat Greek Wedding ($336 million). It also made Bill Murray a star and established Ivan Reitman, who would later direct Ghostbusters, Twins and Kindergarten Cop.
Meatballs' plot centers on low-rent Camp North Star's head counselor Tripper Harrison (Murray), who revels in practical jokes, ups the self-esteem of downtrodden campers,...
Meatballs' plot centers on low-rent Camp North Star's head counselor Tripper Harrison (Murray), who revels in practical jokes, ups the self-esteem of downtrodden campers,...
Kay Cannon is ticking off names, one finger at a time. "There's Amy Heckerling," she says, mentioning the Fast Times at Ridgemont High director, "and Tamra Davis ... Nora Ephron did at least one ... and the two women behind the Bridget Jones' movies, I can't remember their names." After some memory-jogging, both Betty Thomas (Private Parts) and Martha Coolidge (Valley Girl) are added to the list; so is Rough Night's Lucia Aniello and, thanks to Jumpin' Jack Flash, Penny Marshall. "You know, there's a pot-smoking scene in It's Complicated,...
- 4/9/2018
- Rollingstone.com
There is no definitive answer as to what the first slasher movie really is. Many point to Michael Powell's Peeping Tom or even Psycho as the film that launched the genre. Others suggest it's Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood (aka Twitch of the Death Nerve) that invented the slasher tropes. Some still say it's John Carpenter's original Halloween, a movie that, even if it is not the first slasher movie ever made, can still be called the most influential. It (and Bava’s Bay of Blood) is the movie that producer Sean Cunningham was ripping off when he made the original Friday the 13th, the copycat that launched a thousand more copycats. There has been a push in the last 10–15 years, though, to recognize Bob Clark's 1974 film Black Christmas (aka Silent Night, Evil Night) as the first “real” slasher, as a clear line can be drawn...
- 12/7/2016
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
Welcome back for Day 6 of Daily Dead’s fourth annual Holiday Gift Guide, readers! Once again, our goal is to help you navigate through the horrors of the 2016 shopping season with our tips on unique gift ideas, and we’ll hopefully help you save a few bucks over the next few weeks, too. For today’s offerings, we’re taking a look at some fun ideas from Diamond Select Toys, Dark Bunny Tees, artist Chad Savage, the soundtrack for Bob Clark’s Black Christmas, a Zombie Science Kit for kids (includes fart putty!), and so much more.
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by several amazing companies, including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help you get into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently teamed up with Texas-based artist Dustin Pace of...
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by several amazing companies, including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help you get into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently teamed up with Texas-based artist Dustin Pace of...
- 12/1/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Hey, let's dig up a rotting corpse, just for fun! A group of crazy Florida theater students plays a group of crazy Florida theater students in Bob Clark's no-budget, spirited attempt to ride in the wake of Night of the Living Dead. An hour of bad jokes is capped by a satisfying zombie onslaught that got the film a major release and launched a career. That's how a score of good directors got started in the 1970s. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things Blu-ray Vci Entertainment 1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 76 min. / Street Date February 23, 2016 / 24.99 Starring Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeffrey Gillen, Anya Ormsby, Paul Cronin. Cinematography Jack McGowan Film Editor Gary Goch Art Direction Forest Carpenter Original Music Carl Zittrer Special Makeup Creator Alan Ormsby Written by Bob Clark, Alan Ormsby Produced by Gary Goch Directed by Bob Clark credited as Benjamin Clark
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Hitting film school,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Hitting film school,...
- 1/16/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Watching Bob Clark's Black Christmas is a holiday tradition for many horror fans, and if you've ever wanted to simply listen to the film's eerie soundtrack while lounging by the fire, then you'll be pleased to know that Waxwork Records has announced the first-ever official release of Black Christmas' creepy score.
The folks at Waxwork Records announced today that they have teamed up with Black Christmas composer Carl Zittrer and Thomas Dimuzio of Gench Mastering to give Black Christmas' score its first release on any format.
The album cover is adorned with new artwork by the talented "Ghoulish" Gary Pullin, and pre-orders for the vinyl will go up this Friday, December 4th on Waxwork Records' website.
From Waxwork Records: "Waxwork Records is thrilled to announce that we are releasing the score to Black Christmas! Directed by the late Bob Clark and released in 1974, Black Christmas follows a...
The folks at Waxwork Records announced today that they have teamed up with Black Christmas composer Carl Zittrer and Thomas Dimuzio of Gench Mastering to give Black Christmas' score its first release on any format.
The album cover is adorned with new artwork by the talented "Ghoulish" Gary Pullin, and pre-orders for the vinyl will go up this Friday, December 4th on Waxwork Records' website.
From Waxwork Records: "Waxwork Records is thrilled to announce that we are releasing the score to Black Christmas! Directed by the late Bob Clark and released in 1974, Black Christmas follows a...
- 12/2/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Elizabeth Berkley was all set to make Hollywood waves after achieving teen cult status as 17-year-old Jessie Spano, grappling with amphetamines caffeine pill addiction in Saved by the Bell.
Yet a swimming pool splash-about with Kyle MacLachlan in Robocop director Paul Verhoeven's 1995 skin flick Showgirls - the Us's first and only big-budget Nc-17 - unfortunately torpedoed her career before it began.
But as Showgirls celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, having been reappraised and reborn as a midnight movie regular, a musical masterpiece (tagline: "Singing. Dancing. Tits") and a classic exploitation film of our time (not our words, but Jim Jarmusch's), we look at what happened to the actress best known as Nomi Malone.
1. She won two Razzies
Worse than being on the end of a critical and commercial panning was Berkley's personal haul of Golden Raspberry awards for Showgirls, one for Worst Actress and Worst New Star...
Yet a swimming pool splash-about with Kyle MacLachlan in Robocop director Paul Verhoeven's 1995 skin flick Showgirls - the Us's first and only big-budget Nc-17 - unfortunately torpedoed her career before it began.
But as Showgirls celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, having been reappraised and reborn as a midnight movie regular, a musical masterpiece (tagline: "Singing. Dancing. Tits") and a classic exploitation film of our time (not our words, but Jim Jarmusch's), we look at what happened to the actress best known as Nomi Malone.
1. She won two Razzies
Worse than being on the end of a critical and commercial panning was Berkley's personal haul of Golden Raspberry awards for Showgirls, one for Worst Actress and Worst New Star...
- 9/24/2015
- Digital Spy
Think of a teeming metropolis like New York City. Now double that in size. If every single person who lived there, every hot-dog vendor, third-grader and euphoric Mets fan, was in fact a flesh-eating zombie, that would roughly equal the 17.3 million people that tuned into last October's fifth-season premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead, the most-watched episode of anything in cable history. Those are blockbuster numbers and they occurred week after week. The demand for the show has become so huge that a prequel spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, debuts this Sunday.
- 8/19/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Porky's, the first of Bob Clark's two enduring coming-of-age films (along with A Christmas Story), was once considered notorious and is now weirdly archetypal. The tits-and-zits genre, revived by American Pie, is fundamentally masculinist in way that feels uncomfortable post-Isla Vista, portraying a world in which the problems of men don't just supersede those of women; it's a world in which only men have problems, of which women are one.
Premature, you will be exhausted to hear, is a teen sex comedy with the plot of Groundhog Day, its supernatural comedy hearkening more to Scott Baio's Zapped! than to Porky's.
Uptight Ron (John Karna) keeps reliving the same day, waking up on the morning of his college entrance i...
Premature, you will be exhausted to hear, is a teen sex comedy with the plot of Groundhog Day, its supernatural comedy hearkening more to Scott Baio's Zapped! than to Porky's.
Uptight Ron (John Karna) keeps reliving the same day, waking up on the morning of his college entrance i...
- 7/2/2014
- Village Voice
Originally announced on Dread Central Live, we now have the official details and more for The Scream Factory's upcoming Blu-ray release of the Eighties classic, Motel Hell. Read on for details.
From the Press Release
People come from far and wide to sample Farmer Vincent's distinctively flavored dried, smoked sausages, but one might well ask why there are so few people staying at the nearby kitschy Motel Hello. Also, have you ever wondered about the secret ingredients that make his meats taste so darn good? The ‘80s cult classic horror-comedy film Motel Hell, directed by Kevin Connor (At The Earth's Core, The House Where Evil Dwells) takes on a frighteningly funny look into the different kinds of critters that make up Farmer Vincent's fritters with plenty of surprises. On August 12, 2014, Shout! Factory is bringing Motel Hell Collector’s Edition Blu-ray+ DVD combo pack to home entertainment shelves in the U.
From the Press Release
People come from far and wide to sample Farmer Vincent's distinctively flavored dried, smoked sausages, but one might well ask why there are so few people staying at the nearby kitschy Motel Hello. Also, have you ever wondered about the secret ingredients that make his meats taste so darn good? The ‘80s cult classic horror-comedy film Motel Hell, directed by Kevin Connor (At The Earth's Core, The House Where Evil Dwells) takes on a frighteningly funny look into the different kinds of critters that make up Farmer Vincent's fritters with plenty of surprises. On August 12, 2014, Shout! Factory is bringing Motel Hell Collector’s Edition Blu-ray+ DVD combo pack to home entertainment shelves in the U.
- 6/18/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
★★★★☆The Star Wars of smut-tinged coming-of-age comedies, Bob Clark's Porky's finally gets a new high-definition lease of life this week courtesy of cult connoisseurs Arrow Video. Unlike The Last American Virgin, another recent acquisition of theirs which covers similar terrain, the years have been much kinder to this 1982 Us-set, Canadian-funded production. It's a better-acted and immeasurably funnier film then the countless imitators it spawned (including two inferior sequels). Set around a fictitious area in 1950s Florida named Angel Beach, the film follows a group of libidinous high school buddies who are forever cooking up ways to lose their virginities.
- 6/18/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Michael Gottlieb, the writer and director of comedies like "Mannequin" and "Mr. Nanny," was killed in a motorcycle accident last Friday at the age of 69. Gottlieb began his career as a fashion photographer, moved into advertising, and later transitioned into a career as a producer, writer, and director. Gottlieb was also a professor at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, where he taught screenwriting.
Michael Gottlieb's "Mannequin" starred Brat Packer Andrew McCarthy as an artist who falls in love with the fashion mannequin he created. Kim Cattrall, who'd previously appeared in "Porky's," "Police Academy," and "Big Trouble in Little China," co-starred as Emmy, the mannequin that occasionally returns to life to hang out with her new pal. Gottlieb's "Mr. Nanny" starred Hulk Hogan and former New York Doll David Johansen. He also directed the comedy "The Shrimp on the Barbie" under the pseudonym "Alan Smithee," and "A Kid in King Arthur's Court...
Michael Gottlieb's "Mannequin" starred Brat Packer Andrew McCarthy as an artist who falls in love with the fashion mannequin he created. Kim Cattrall, who'd previously appeared in "Porky's," "Police Academy," and "Big Trouble in Little China," co-starred as Emmy, the mannequin that occasionally returns to life to hang out with her new pal. Gottlieb's "Mr. Nanny" starred Hulk Hogan and former New York Doll David Johansen. He also directed the comedy "The Shrimp on the Barbie" under the pseudonym "Alan Smithee," and "A Kid in King Arthur's Court...
- 5/28/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
There's a menswear store on a quaint cobblestone street in my suburban New Jersey town whose Christmas window display each year includes a lamp shaped like a woman's leg in a fishnet stocking. That no one thinks this is tacky or even unusual is a tribute to how remarkably pervasive "A Christmas Story" has become over the past three decades.
At the time of its release 30 years ago this week (November 18, 1983), the movie was a cult favorite at best. Since then, however, it's become the indispensable Christmas movie for a couple of generations of viewers, as essential a holiday staple as "It's a Wonderful Life." Tens of millions are expected to watch at least some part of the film when it airs 12 times in a row during the annual TBS "24 Hours of 'A Christmas Story'" marathon on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
How did the movie go from...
At the time of its release 30 years ago this week (November 18, 1983), the movie was a cult favorite at best. Since then, however, it's become the indispensable Christmas movie for a couple of generations of viewers, as essential a holiday staple as "It's a Wonderful Life." Tens of millions are expected to watch at least some part of the film when it airs 12 times in a row during the annual TBS "24 Hours of 'A Christmas Story'" marathon on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
How did the movie go from...
- 11/18/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
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