News for
The Big Sleep (1946) More at IMDbPro »

2009 | 2008 | 2004 | 2001

13 articles from 2009

---

Susannah Straughan, London Correspondent

3 November 2009 2:05 PM, PST | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

Susannah negotiated those difficult teenage years in front of a black and white TV, in the company of the inimitable Humphrey Bogart. There were many long, smoke-filled nights, punctuated by sardonic dialogue and the sound of some B-grade villain expiring in a hail of bullets. After studying law, Susannah embarked on a career in book and magazine publishing that has so far failed to make her rich or famous. But thanks to a nine-year stint at Radio Times magazine she feels certain that she has already met more than her fair share of film geeks and fan-boys. A team lunch last Christmas with film critic and football fan Barry Norman was a highlight. Movie heaven: Sunset Boulevard, The Lady Eve, The Big Sleep, La Confidential, The Graduate, Chinatown, All about My Mother. I could go on . . . Movie hell: awards shows; anything directed by, sanctioned by, or starring Mel Gibson Email: sustraug@googlemail. »

- Ricky

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Inside 'Michael Jackson's This Is It' From The New York Premiere

27 October 2009 10:20 PM, PDT | MTV Movie News | See recent MTV Movie News news »

We offer an inside look at the film as it simultaneously premieres in 17 cities around the world.

By Eric Ditzian

Orianthi at the "Michael Jackson's This Is It" premiere in New York on Tuesday

Photo: Stephen Lovekin/ Getty Images

New York — Tuesday night marked the worldwide premiere of "Michael Jackson's This Is It," as Sony Pictures simultaneously unveiled the documentary in 17 cities around the world. MTV News nabbed a seat at the New York screening, in the midst of Times Square, to take in the long-anticipated action.

(Spoilers, if you can call them that, abound below, so if you don't want to know anything about what you'll see up on the screen, turn back now.)

The film opens with scrolling text explaining the origins of the planned This Is It comeback shows and Jackson's decisions to launch them and to allow rehearsals to be filmed. Then we get Mj's dancers »

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Citizen Kane? Of course I’ve seen it!

23 October 2009 2:50 AM, PDT | t5m.com | See recent t5m.com news »

In a recent survey commissioned by Orange, in association with Orange Wednesday, it was revealed that - shock! horror! - people sometimes lie about the films they have seen….especially if someone from Orange collars them in the street and asks them what films they’ve lied about seeing. Dirty Dancing, Taxi Driver and Gone With The Wind are all in the top ten, while 1 in 5 people have apparently lied about seeing the 1972 masterpiece The Godfather. The reason for doing so is unclear (Dirty Dancing?) but it got me thinking about those films that I probably should have seen, possibly never will never see, but if someone asked me…well, I might just say I have. Why? Because I’m just so, so ashamed! Discounting all the world cinema that has so far slipped through the net, here are my top ten movie blanks: Ben Hur Casablanca High Noon The Magnificent Ambersons »

- Nick Clarke

Permalink | Report a problem

---

New Twitter Avatars, Warwick Davis And A Busy Day For 'Eclipse' In Today's Twitter-Wood

18 September 2009 3:30 PM, PDT | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »

Warwick Davis has only gotten cooler in my eyes since I started following his Twitter account. The "Harry Potter" and "Willow" star apparently set up a laser tag match this week with John Williams' "Star Wars" score playing in the background, which sounds like quite the celebration of sci-fi geekdom.

It was also a relief this morning to read that I wasn't the only one seeing little bird-shaped, multicolor avatars everywhere when I logged in to Twitter. Diablo Cody and Richard Kelly experienced the same thing with reactions similar to my own. If you know what I'm talking about, or want to find out, click on down below and read their posts, along with Peter Facinelli's exhausting end-of-day tweet from the "Eclipse" set and a Selena Gomez Alma Award pic for all you "Wizard of Waverly Place" fans. They're in the Twitter-Wood report for September 18, 2009.

Twitter Pic of »

- Brian Warmoth

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Toronto 2009: "Micmacs"' Charming Arms Race

17 September 2009 8:06 AM, PDT | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

Why there were a few scattered empty seats left at the world premiere of "Micmacs," I don't know. This is Jean-Pierre Jeunet, dammit, and after putting the excess of "A Very Long Engagement" behind him, he arrived in Toronto with a leaner and meaner comedy that seems to have been designed as a playground for his visual ingenuity and boundless imagination.

His partner in crime, the French star Dany Boon ("My Best Friend"), stars as Bazil, a video store clerk who's introduced to us playfully mouthing along to the dialogue in "The Big Sleep" before a freak gun accident leaves him with a bullet lodged in his brain. (The operating surgeon flips a coin to decide whether to keep it in or remove it and risk putting him into a coma.) Already having lost his father to a landmine during war, Bazil becomes an unlikely peace activist, igniting a feud »

- Stephen Saito

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman to receive honorary Academy Awards

11 September 2009 1:42 PM, PDT | Hitfix | See recent Hitfix news »

Actress Lauren Bacall, producer-director Roger Corman and cinematographer Gordon Willis are the first Oscar winners of the season. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday that the three will receive honorary Oscar statuettes. Bacall made her screen debut with Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not" in 1944. She went on to star in more than 30 films, including such classics as "The Big Sleep" and "Key Largo." Corman has directed more than 50 films and produced more than 300 during his five-decade career, including "It Conquered... »

- AP Staff

Permalink | Report a problem

---

What are the 25 Best Book to Film Adaptations?

10 September 2009 4:46 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

The Telegraph has posted a nice little list of what they consider to be the 25 best book to film adaptations and while most of the titles will likely not surprise you, perhaps the order in which they are placed will. Considering this is the Internet, the most discussed placement is sure to be The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the 25th spot while the Harry Potter filmed franchise comes in three spots earlier at 22. Unfortunately, I haven't read many of the books from this list, but I have seen all but a few of the films. I will say I am far more partial to Stephen King's "The Shining" than I was to Kubrick's adaptation and I hardly remember the Harry Potter books well enough to even say if I think they are great adaptations as much as I have simply enjoyed both the films and the books. »

- Brad Brevet

Permalink | Report a problem

---

This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: September 1, 2009

1 September 2009 2:08 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed No major new reviews this week, but if you have some time I too a rather extensive look at the Warner Bros. Archive title Don't Be Afraid of the Dark yesterday. It's a film being remade with Guillermo del Toro producing and may be of interest as well as it will introduce you to Warner's attempt to creatively distribute some of their never-before-released titles on DVD. You can check that piece out right here if you are interested. Paramount Blu-ray Sapphire Series

Braveheart / Gladiator I am expecting to have review copies of these two in my hands any day now, and I will hustle through them as fast as I can. However, considering the two titles in question I would expect many of you are already eying one or both of them. I know I would definitely be looking »

- Brad Brevet

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Chopping List 9/01/2009

29 August 2009 11:06 PM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

Curious to know what frightful films and devilish discs will be available to view in the privacy of your own digital dungeon this week? Fango's got you covered.

Below the jump you'll find the full list of titles arriving in-stores this Tuesday, September 1, 2009 in our weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List - updated with all the last-minute additions and deletions. Want a glimpse into the future? Click here for the master list, which just received a major update on titles through September!

Note: Clickable links lead to Amazon.com Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas - Lionsgate

Considered to be one of America's most notorious serial killers, Henry Lee Lucas admitted to committing over 350 murders with partner and fellow serial killer Ottis Toole while drifting through multiple states in the American South from 1975 until his arrest in 1983.

Earth Day - R Squared Films

Earth Day tells the tale of a »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)

Permalink | Report a problem

---

400 Screens, 400 Blows - Literary Devices

23 August 2009 7:02 AM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Sam Mendes' Away We Go (54 screens) makes for a great trailer, consisting of all the very funny, snarky stuff written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The actual movie has some very funny moments as well, and some terrific individual scenes, but it doesn't add up to a reasonable whole, mainly because the ever-shifting tones never quite mesh. Nevertheless, it seems to be performing well in its arthouse capacity, surviving more on a well-executed stream of hype rather than on the quality of the movie itself. From the ads, you'd think it has already won an Oscar (and, because of this kind of subconscious suggestion, it still might). Either way, what this means is that a literary giant like Eggers didn't have to go slumming. His reputation is intact.

In the old days, great novelists would sometimes write for the movies, but it was sneered at and looked down upon. »

- Jeffrey M. Anderson

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Lauren Bacall will show you young whippersnappers how to 'twitt'

21 August 2009 10:41 AM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »

Credit where credit is due: I didn't know Lauren Bacall was on Twitter until I read yesterday's Jezebel roundup of all things in celebrity tweets, wherein my favorite actress and personal attitude icon — or someone doing an excellent job of posing as her — was highlighted for the following two missives (all errors , and tweets reordered for the sake of linear logic): "I'm so sorry you guys didn't like my Studio 54 image simply because I was smoking,belive me there was far more worse things going on there.. / ...then smoking! I was not expecting such negative feedback, ugh all this stress has made me want to light up and relax with a cigarette." Why is Lauren Bacall on Twitter, assuming this is really her? That's a different blog post. But — wait, what kind of sanctimonious yahoo criticizes Lauren Bacall for smoking??? In 1977???? Here is the offending photo. To my eyes, »

- Whitney Pastorek

Permalink | Report a problem

---

The Long Goodbye: Elliott Gould Remembers Robert Altman

10 May 2009 2:01 PM, PDT | The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news »

(Elliott Gould, above, as Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye.)

by Jon Zelazny

Editor’s note: this article originally appeared at EightMillionStories.com on November 14, 2008.

With the back-to-back success of his Oscar-nominated role in the off-beat wife-swapping hit Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and the even bigger off-beat hit Mash (1970), Brooklyn’s own Elliott Gould skyrocketed to worldwide fame.

While perhaps best known to those under 40 as Ross and Monica’s dad on “Friends,” or Vegas financier Reuben Tishkoff in the blockbuster Ocean’s 11 series, cine-scholars generally regard Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) as Gould’s most iconic starring role. 2008 marks the 35th anniversary of their extraordinary modern-day reinterpretation of Raymond Chandler’s classic private eye, Philip Marlowe.

Elliott Gould invited me to his home in west Los Angeles, where he generously spoke at length of his three major collaborations with Altman, who passed away two years ago.

I read »

- The Hollywood Interview.com

Permalink | Report a problem

---

Jeff Dowd: The Hollywood Interview

17 April 2009 11:03 AM, PDT | The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news »

(Indie film producer, producer's rep, and Big Lebowski inspiration Jeff Dowd, above.)

Ten Years After Lebowski, The Real Dude Still Abides

by Jon Zelazny

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on EightMillionStories.com on September 26, 2008.

September 9th saw the release of a new 10th Anniversary Special Edition DVD of the Coen brothers’ cult favorite The Big Lebowski, their “Raymond Chandler on acid” saga of two middle-aged L.A. slackers (Jeff Bridges & John Goodman) who get caught up in a Byzantine kidnapping plot.

It used to be a little show biz secret that Jeff Bridges’ amiable character, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, was based on the Coens’ real-life friend and colleague, indie film producer and producer’s rep Jeff Dowd, but that began to change in 2002 when four Lebowski fanatics in Louisville, Kentucky promoted the first annual Lebowski Fest, an event so successful, they’re now staging three a year in various cities. »

- The Hollywood Interview.com

Permalink | Report a problem

---

2009 | 2008 | 2004 | 2001

13 articles from 2009

---