Riggs and Murtagh. Tango and Cash. Starsky and Hutch. John McClane. Frank Bullitt. Dirty Harry Callahan. While those are all tough movie cops, none of them are as hard as nails was perhaps the toughest, most dangerous movie cop of all time… Frank Drebin as played by Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Jump back to 1980. Leslie Nielsen was a character actor known for playing deadpan, ultra-serious roles. He was typically the bad guy of the week on TV shows and TV movies, and his biggest claim to fame was playing the captain in 1956s Forbidden Planet. His career was middling; David Zucker, Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker, aka Zaz – Zucker-Abrams-Zucker – wanted to cast him in their movie Airplane. He would play the third lead, a deadpan doctor who would perfectly ape similar roles he played in movies like The Poseidon Adventure. While the studio initially balked,...
Jump back to 1980. Leslie Nielsen was a character actor known for playing deadpan, ultra-serious roles. He was typically the bad guy of the week on TV shows and TV movies, and his biggest claim to fame was playing the captain in 1956s Forbidden Planet. His career was middling; David Zucker, Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker, aka Zaz – Zucker-Abrams-Zucker – wanted to cast him in their movie Airplane. He would play the third lead, a deadpan doctor who would perfectly ape similar roles he played in movies like The Poseidon Adventure. While the studio initially balked,...
- 1/2/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Bobi Wine, the subject of Bobi Wine: The People’s President, said he hopes the National Geographic Documentary Films doc educates international communities who have supported Uganda’s dictator Yoweri Museveni.
Wine had the support of the Ugandan people to be elected president in 2021, yet Museveni remains in power. Wine considers Museveni worse than his predecessor, Idi Amin, by the sheer fact that Amin was only in power for eight years and Museveni for 37.
“Amin was not educated,” Wine said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary. “Museveni was a smart dictator that for a very long time has got the international community backing him. I would like to believe that they are doing that ignorantly. I hope this film opens up the reality of General Museveni to the international communities.”
Related: Deadline’s Contenders Documentary – Full Coverage
Wine’s wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, said Museveni also hires expensive firms to keep...
Wine had the support of the Ugandan people to be elected president in 2021, yet Museveni remains in power. Wine considers Museveni worse than his predecessor, Idi Amin, by the sheer fact that Amin was only in power for eight years and Museveni for 37.
“Amin was not educated,” Wine said at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary. “Museveni was a smart dictator that for a very long time has got the international community backing him. I would like to believe that they are doing that ignorantly. I hope this film opens up the reality of General Museveni to the international communities.”
Related: Deadline’s Contenders Documentary – Full Coverage
Wine’s wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, said Museveni also hires expensive firms to keep...
- 12/10/2023
- by Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
The Last King of Scotland.In 2007, Forest Whitaker won the Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator and army general Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006), becoming only the fourth Black man to win Best Actor. Lauded as the role of his career, critics praised his “full-throated, technically accomplished” performance, and his ability to “seize the space and show us how he can rage”.“Full-throated” the performance was indeed, but it was a throat filled with an accent that neither sounded like Amin’s nor any person from Koboko, northern Uganda, where the general was born. “Technically accomplished,” but the accent, directed by dialect coach Robert Easton, was neither technical, nor accomplished. Linguistically speaking, Whitaker’s accent is riddled with instances of the US English rhotic R pronunciation (which is pronounced at the back of the throat without a trill), and a combination of vowel pronunciations from across East Africa,...
- 11/9/2023
- MUBI
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” the latest acclaimed epic drama from Martin Scorsese, is now in theaters, and the film’s star Leonardo DiCaprio is already an early favorite to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance. In honor of the new movie from Apple Original Films, let’s look back at his seven Oscar nominations and talk about why DiCaprio finally won his first gold trophy at the 2016 Academy Awards for “The Revenant” (2015).
His first Oscar nomination came in the Best Supporting Actor category for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993). DiCaprio’s only Academy Award nom of the 1990s put him up against older acting titans — Ralph Fiennes for “Schindler’s List,” John Malkovich for “In the Line of Fire,” Pete Postlethwaite for “In the Name of the Father” and Tommy Lee Jones, who won for his performance in “The Fugitive.” DiCaprio’s biggest hurtle that first time around...
His first Oscar nomination came in the Best Supporting Actor category for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993). DiCaprio’s only Academy Award nom of the 1990s put him up against older acting titans — Ralph Fiennes for “Schindler’s List,” John Malkovich for “In the Line of Fire,” Pete Postlethwaite for “In the Name of the Father” and Tommy Lee Jones, who won for his performance in “The Fugitive.” DiCaprio’s biggest hurtle that first time around...
- 11/2/2023
- by Brian Rowe
- Gold Derby
Surprise! Legendary director Barbet Schroeder, in Locarno to introduce his latest doc “Ricardo and Painting,” was greeted with a Special Tribute Award before the screening.
“Is this for the film?” Shroeder, a modest man, asked on stage. “No,” said Locarno festival director Giona Nazzaro. “It’s for being Barbet Schroeder.”
Despite focusing on harsher subjects in his previous documentaries, “General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait,” “Terror’s Advocate” or “The Venerable W.,” this time Schroeder decided to follow painter Ricardo Cavallo.
“I have already done my ‘Trilogy of Evil.’ I could continue: the world is full of bad people. But then there was this friend of mine, who I thought was such a good person,” he tells Variety.
Cavallo, convinced that “true life exists in creation,” could teach anyone how to change their way of seeing, claims Schroeder, sacrificing everything for his art.
“I am always interested in my characters,...
“Is this for the film?” Shroeder, a modest man, asked on stage. “No,” said Locarno festival director Giona Nazzaro. “It’s for being Barbet Schroeder.”
Despite focusing on harsher subjects in his previous documentaries, “General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait,” “Terror’s Advocate” or “The Venerable W.,” this time Schroeder decided to follow painter Ricardo Cavallo.
“I have already done my ‘Trilogy of Evil.’ I could continue: the world is full of bad people. But then there was this friend of mine, who I thought was such a good person,” he tells Variety.
Cavallo, convinced that “true life exists in creation,” could teach anyone how to change their way of seeing, claims Schroeder, sacrificing everything for his art.
“I am always interested in my characters,...
- 8/5/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker has had a long and celebrated acting career though initially he aspired to be an opera singer. He enrolled at the University of Southern California to study opera but then changed his major to acting and graduated from the school with a Bfa in Drama.
While still enrolled in college, Whitaker began acting professionally. His first film role came in a movie called “Tag: The Assassination Game,” which starred Robert Carradine and Linda Hamilton. That same year he would get a small role in a movie about high school students that would become a classic. He joined a cast of unknown actors including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” The film was a bit of a sleeper hit in 1982 but became a classic through repeated showings on cable TV.
Six years later Whitaker would gain his...
While still enrolled in college, Whitaker began acting professionally. His first film role came in a movie called “Tag: The Assassination Game,” which starred Robert Carradine and Linda Hamilton. That same year he would get a small role in a movie about high school students that would become a classic. He joined a cast of unknown actors including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” The film was a bit of a sleeper hit in 1982 but became a classic through repeated showings on cable TV.
Six years later Whitaker would gain his...
- 7/8/2023
- by Robert Pius, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Michael Chiklis knew "The Shield" would attract audiences before it even premiered. He showed a rough cut of the pilot to his neighbors and when they reached the now infamous ending — Chiklis' character, the corrupt detective Vic Mackey, kills one of his own men, Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond), who'd been spying on the rest of the team -- Chiklis recalled:
"One of my friends turned and said, 'Oh my God, you're a villain.' And my other friend went, 'Wait a minute, whoa! He's not a villain, that guy's [Crowley] a rat.' And they started vehemently fighting and I just sat there going [...] 'Wow, we're onto something here.'"
According to Chiklis, this divide spoke to the question of the show: how much evil will we accept from law enforcement in the name of public safety? It was an especially pertinent question in the wake of 9/11 and his friends'...
"One of my friends turned and said, 'Oh my God, you're a villain.' And my other friend went, 'Wait a minute, whoa! He's not a villain, that guy's [Crowley] a rat.' And they started vehemently fighting and I just sat there going [...] 'Wow, we're onto something here.'"
According to Chiklis, this divide spoke to the question of the show: how much evil will we accept from law enforcement in the name of public safety? It was an especially pertinent question in the wake of 9/11 and his friends'...
- 2/4/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Actors Kerry Washington and Forest Whitaker once collaborated on the feature The Last King Of Scotland. But Washington admitted that she didn’t have the easiest time working alongside Whitaker after he immersed himself in his role.
Forest Whitaker was consumed by his character in ‘The Last King of Scotland’ Kerry Washington and Forest Whitaker | Matthew Simmons/WireImage
The Last King of Scotland was a 2006 movie adapted from the 1998 novel of the same name. It featured James McAvoy playing Nicholas Garrigan, a young doctor who finds himself taking care of Ugandan President Idi Amin.
Idi was played by Whitaker, with the character having a profound impact on the actor. The Godfather of Harlem star first immersed himself in Idi by learning and inheriting the way the dictator spoke.
“Well, I started by studying Kiswahili to learn the dialect. Then, I studied tapes, documentaries, footage, and audio cassettes of Idi Amin’s speeches.
Forest Whitaker was consumed by his character in ‘The Last King of Scotland’ Kerry Washington and Forest Whitaker | Matthew Simmons/WireImage
The Last King of Scotland was a 2006 movie adapted from the 1998 novel of the same name. It featured James McAvoy playing Nicholas Garrigan, a young doctor who finds himself taking care of Ugandan President Idi Amin.
Idi was played by Whitaker, with the character having a profound impact on the actor. The Godfather of Harlem star first immersed himself in Idi by learning and inheriting the way the dictator spoke.
“Well, I started by studying Kiswahili to learn the dialect. Then, I studied tapes, documentaries, footage, and audio cassettes of Idi Amin’s speeches.
- 1/28/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
When it comes to awards, it often helps if voters want to give you a big hug; consider all the heroic, Oscar-winning roles ranging from Gregory Peck‘s Atticus Finch to Sean Penn‘s Harvey Milk. But sometimes you can win for breaking bad, especially if you’re a well-liked performer showing off your acting mettle by playing against type. No one will turn up their nose if a thespian plays Macbeth, after all. Eddie Redmayne makes that kind of transformation in “The Good Nurse.”
Redmayne won Best Actor at the Oscars for playing a sympathetic role, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, in “The Theory of Everything.” He was also sympathetic in his next Oscar-nominated performance, as a pioneering transgender woman in “The Danish Girl.” Those are a far cry from his role in “The Good Nurse” as Charles Cullen, a nurse responsible for at least dozens of murders – possibly hundreds...
Redmayne won Best Actor at the Oscars for playing a sympathetic role, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, in “The Theory of Everything.” He was also sympathetic in his next Oscar-nominated performance, as a pioneering transgender woman in “The Danish Girl.” Those are a far cry from his role in “The Good Nurse” as Charles Cullen, a nurse responsible for at least dozens of murders – possibly hundreds...
- 10/26/2022
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
For any actor, playing a villain or just a plain bad person can be a true joy, because it lets them flex their imagination and acting muscles to play someone (hopefully) unlike themselves. That has also led many of those performances to winning Oscars. Even so, if you ask many actors (especially Christoph Waltz) about “playing a villain,” they’ll probably tell you that they couldn’t look at their character in that way, since they needed to create a believable motivation for their character to do all the awful things they do. And yet, so many actors have won Academy Awards for playing generally bad people, as you can see in the gallery above (or click here for direct access). Read on to see all of the Oscar-winning villains from the past 30 years.
SEE2023 Best Picture Oscar predictions
Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshall Samuel Gerard in ‘The Fugitive...
SEE2023 Best Picture Oscar predictions
Tommy Lee Jones as U.S. Marshall Samuel Gerard in ‘The Fugitive...
- 10/14/2022
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
The political activism of pop stars is, as a rule, on the restrained side. Those who make their allegiances clear still tend to keep all factions in their fanbases sweet by limiting divisive rhetoric, or filtering their politics through broadly palatable humanitarian causes; those who speak a little more frankly still risk the wrath of the public, the internet and their record labels alike. Yet for Ugandan singer Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu — better known to his adoring fans as Bobi Wine — there’s both everything and nothing to lose by getting a little more directly involved in national politics than most such celebrities would dare. Entering a presidential election against corrupt, long-ruling incumbent Yoweri Museveni is, he knows, both a folly and a necessary symbolic stand — a certain path to honorable defeat that “Bobi Wine: Ghetto President” documents with angry urgency and bitter gallows humor.
With censorship rife in local broadcasting,...
With censorship rife in local broadcasting,...
- 9/2/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
One of the most stirring moments in Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo’s documentary Bobi Wine: Ghetto President — a film full of stirring moments — is the sight of Bobi Wine on the back of a truck, spearing through the back-blocks of Uganda with a copy of the country’s constitution held aloft. As a new Member of Parliament, he believes in that document. People all over the country, he insists, believe in that document. Through imprisonment and torture, he holds fast to the belief that if Uganda only followed its own rules — as set out clearly in this very constitution, which both he and President Museveni promised at different times to uphold — the country would be saved.
Bobi Wine (real name Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) grew up in a Kampala slum. In this Venice Film Festival out of competition title, we see him go back there as a pop star and a politician,...
Bobi Wine (real name Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) grew up in a Kampala slum. In this Venice Film Festival out of competition title, we see him go back there as a pop star and a politician,...
- 9/1/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The line between empathy and topical colonialism can be a difficult one for a documentary filmmaker to walk.
It’s the difference between “In this specific story, I see elements of my own truth” and “This story is just a placeholder for something else that will be immediately visible to most viewers.”
Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo’s Bobi Wine: Ghetto President doesn’t lack for global relevance and, like Daniel Roher’s superficially similar Navalny, it gains potency from the ability to view its chaotic and harrowing political narrative through an American prism. But the connections viewers will want to make aren’t being imposed by the directors. Ghetto President is a Ugandan story, Sharp and Bwayo keep the focus within Uganda and on its main character, and the film benefits from not forcing artificial universality on a story that comes by it authentically.
The line between empathy and topical colonialism can be a difficult one for a documentary filmmaker to walk.
It’s the difference between “In this specific story, I see elements of my own truth” and “This story is just a placeholder for something else that will be immediately visible to most viewers.”
Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo’s Bobi Wine: Ghetto President doesn’t lack for global relevance and, like Daniel Roher’s superficially similar Navalny, it gains potency from the ability to view its chaotic and harrowing political narrative through an American prism. But the connections viewers will want to make aren’t being imposed by the directors. Ghetto President is a Ugandan story, Sharp and Bwayo keep the focus within Uganda and on its main character, and the film benefits from not forcing artificial universality on a story that comes by it authentically.
- 9/1/2022
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The second season of the Mubi Podcast, titled “Only in Theaters,” tells surprising stories of individual cinemas that had huge impacts on film history, and in some cases, history in general. In Episode 1, host Rico Gagliano sits down with Barbet Schroeder to delve into the wild history of the Cinémathèque Française and its legendary founder, Henri Langlois. In this extended conversation, the filmmaker shares memories of the French New Wave, his Oscar-winning film Reversal of Fortune, and working with Pink Floyd in the late ‘60s.To listen to the episode and subscribe on your preferred podcast app, click here.Earlier this year, I spoke to Barbet Schroeder for this week’s episode of the Mubi Podcast. The main topic of discussion: the early days of the Cinémathèque Française, that hallowed institution where, in the ’50s, he and other budding filmmakers got steeped in movies, guided by legendary programmer Henri Langlois.
- 6/30/2022
- MUBI
“Mina is my only child. I don’t want her to go through the same struggle as I did.”
Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (1991) starring Denzel Washington opens in St. Louis Friday April 22nd at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Theater (1701 South Lindbergh Boulevard # 210 Plaza, Frontenac, Mo 63131). For showtimes, check The Plaza Frontenac Cinema’s website Here.
In Mississippi Masala, an Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it.
The post Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala Starring Denzel Washington Opens April 22nd in St. Louis at The Plaza Frontenac Cinema appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (1991) starring Denzel Washington opens in St. Louis Friday April 22nd at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Theater (1701 South Lindbergh Boulevard # 210 Plaza, Frontenac, Mo 63131). For showtimes, check The Plaza Frontenac Cinema’s website Here.
In Mississippi Masala, an Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it.
The post Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala Starring Denzel Washington Opens April 22nd in St. Louis at The Plaza Frontenac Cinema appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
- 4/20/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Arriving in just in time to kick off the hot summer season, Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala is one of the major new restorations of the year, starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury in a blossoming romance as their characters face societal and cultural pressures. With the 4K restoration from The Criterion Collection supervised by both Nair and cinematographer Edward Lachman, it’ll get a theatrical release beginning next week at NYC’s IFC Center and the following week at LA’s NuArt Theater, followed by a national rollout and a disc release on May 24.
As the official synopsis reads, “The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South are blended and simmered into a rich and fragrant fusion feast in Mira Nair’s luminous look at the complexities of love in the modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda...
As the official synopsis reads, “The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South are blended and simmered into a rich and fragrant fusion feast in Mira Nair’s luminous look at the complexities of love in the modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda...
- 4/7/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
"We're just friends." "Did I say any different?" Janus Films has revealed an official trailer for Mississippi Masala, an early 90s romantic drama from filmmaker Mira Nair - her second film at the time. She later went on to make Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, but before those she made this starring Denzel Washinton and Sarita Choudhury. The film first premiered in 1991, and opened in US theaters in early 1992. This 4K digital restoration was commissioned by the Criterion Collection and supervised by director Mira Nair and cinematographer Edward Lachman. The film is about an ethnic Indian family that's expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and now lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back, while the grown daughter falls in love with a Black man - played by Denzel. It also stars Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, & Ranjit Chowdhry.
- 4/7/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Will Smith has received his third and fourth Oscar nominations this morning, earning his place on the Best Actor list for his role in King Richard, and sharing in the film’s Best Picture nomination with Tim White and Trevor White. Smith produced the film and played Richard Williams, the father of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, in a story charting the early days of their careers. His role in the movie has been a favorite with critics and guilds all season long. In addition to pending nominations from SAG, BAFTA, and Critics Choice, Smith has already claimed prizes from several critics groups. It is a long-overdue return to the Oscars spotlight for Smith, whose turn in Warner Bros.’ King Richard, written by Zach Baylin and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, has been recognized 15 years on from his last citation by the Motion Picture Academy.
Smith’s previous Academy...
Smith’s previous Academy...
- 2/8/2022
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
Forest Whitaker has joined global economist and author Dr. Dambisa Moyo to become the latest among a group of African business leaders and ex-basketball players to invest in NBA Africa. They are strategic investors who bring money, brainpower and activism to the body. Whitaker’s Oscar came from The Last King of Scotland, playing the tyrannical former Ugandan leader Idi Amin.
“The game of basketball is incredibly inspirational, and my decade working in Africa has shown me how sports can be a transformative method of helping to foster peace, as well as an economic engine for socioeconomic development in areas of conflict,” Whitaker said. “ I too deeply believe in the league’s commitment to youth empowerment and am so excited to work alongside the NBA Africa family.”
Last July, former President Barack Obama joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner. Strategic investors in NBA Africa also include a consortium led by Babatunde “Tunde” Folawiyo,...
“The game of basketball is incredibly inspirational, and my decade working in Africa has shown me how sports can be a transformative method of helping to foster peace, as well as an economic engine for socioeconomic development in areas of conflict,” Whitaker said. “ I too deeply believe in the league’s commitment to youth empowerment and am so excited to work alongside the NBA Africa family.”
Last July, former President Barack Obama joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner. Strategic investors in NBA Africa also include a consortium led by Babatunde “Tunde” Folawiyo,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Veteran Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow will step down at the end of the year after 32 years at the helm of the U.K. broadcaster’s flagship news program, the longest in the show’s history.
His career with ITN, the company which produces news for Channel 4 and ITV, spanned 45 years.
Continuing to work with Channel 4 in 2022, Snow will front longer form projects that focus on his charities and his other passions, including peoples’ stories, inequality, Africa, Iran and the arts.
Snow began his career in journalism for Independent Radio News, Lbc in 1973. He started at ITN in 1976 and served as Washington correspondent (1983–1986) and as diplomatic editor (1986–1989) before becoming the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989.
As a journalist, globally important stories he has covered include the fall of Idi Amin in Uganda; the revolution in Iran; the wars in Iraq and conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian...
His career with ITN, the company which produces news for Channel 4 and ITV, spanned 45 years.
Continuing to work with Channel 4 in 2022, Snow will front longer form projects that focus on his charities and his other passions, including peoples’ stories, inequality, Africa, Iran and the arts.
Snow began his career in journalism for Independent Radio News, Lbc in 1973. He started at ITN in 1976 and served as Washington correspondent (1983–1986) and as diplomatic editor (1986–1989) before becoming the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989.
As a journalist, globally important stories he has covered include the fall of Idi Amin in Uganda; the revolution in Iran; the wars in Iraq and conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian...
- 4/29/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Forest Whitaker has joined Tom Hardy in the upcoming Netflix crime drama film “Havoc,” Variety has learned.
The film hails from writer, director, and producer Gareth Evans, the first under a new exclusive multi-year deal to produce and direct films for the streamer.
In “Havoc,” after a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city. Hardy’s casting was reported in February.
Whitaker won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for best actor for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland.” He has turned in tour de force performances in a number of other films, including but not limited to “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” “The Butler,” “Black Panther,” “Platoon,” “Bird,” and “The Great Debaters.
The film hails from writer, director, and producer Gareth Evans, the first under a new exclusive multi-year deal to produce and direct films for the streamer.
In “Havoc,” after a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city. Hardy’s casting was reported in February.
Whitaker won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for best actor for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland.” He has turned in tour de force performances in a number of other films, including but not limited to “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” “The Butler,” “Black Panther,” “Platoon,” “Bird,” and “The Great Debaters.
- 3/22/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Los Angeles, March 16 (Ians) Actor Yaphet Kotto, who played the villain in the 1973 James Bond film "Live And Let Die", passed away on Tuesday. He was 81.
Kotto played the role of Dr Kanaga, a.k.a Mr Big, in the film that stars Roger Moore as Agent 007 and Jane Seymour as Solitaire, Kananga's psychic and Bond's love interest.
The news of his demise was announced by Kotto's wife, Sinahon Thessa.
"I'm saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years. This is a very painful moment for me to inform you all fans, friends and family of my husband. You still have plan to release your book and build a religious organization based on Yogananda's Teachings. You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you're a real hero and to a lot of people also," Thessa wrote on Facebook.
She went...
Kotto played the role of Dr Kanaga, a.k.a Mr Big, in the film that stars Roger Moore as Agent 007 and Jane Seymour as Solitaire, Kananga's psychic and Bond's love interest.
The news of his demise was announced by Kotto's wife, Sinahon Thessa.
"I'm saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years. This is a very painful moment for me to inform you all fans, friends and family of my husband. You still have plan to release your book and build a religious organization based on Yogananda's Teachings. You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you're a real hero and to a lot of people also," Thessa wrote on Facebook.
She went...
- 3/16/2021
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
You could not ignore Yaphet Kotto when he came on the screen. There was his sheer size: 6’3″ and broad as a barn in a business where most actors are much smaller than the camera makes them seem. There was that voice: hard as gravel, but also with an unmistakable lisp that lent just the right degree of vulnerability to the characters he played. And there were those eyes, so often red with a mix of rage, regret, and sheer weariness about the many travails his characters had been through.
Kotto,...
Kotto,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Yaphet Kotto, the distinctive and distinguished actor, has passed away at age 81. Kotto was born in Harlem and began to study acting at age 16. He made his big screen debut in 1964 in the acclaimed race-themed drama "Nothing But a Man" opposite Ivan Dixon, a fellow African-American whose star would rise on the basis of the film. Kotto also appeared in "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968) and was a regular presence in guest star roles on top TV series such as "Gunsmoke", "Daniel Boone", "Night Gallery", "The Big Valley", "Hawaii Five-0", "Mannix" and "The High Chapparal". He was nominated for an Emmy award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 1976 TV production of "Raid on Entebbe". Kotto simultaneously kept landing good parts in major movies such as "5 Card Stud", "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" and "Across 110th Street". In 1973, he appeared in what is perhaps his most memorable role,...
Yaphet Kotto, the distinctive and distinguished actor, has passed away at age 81. Kotto was born in Harlem and began to study acting at age 16. He made his big screen debut in 1964 in the acclaimed race-themed drama "Nothing But a Man" opposite Ivan Dixon, a fellow African-American whose star would rise on the basis of the film. Kotto also appeared in "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968) and was a regular presence in guest star roles on top TV series such as "Gunsmoke", "Daniel Boone", "Night Gallery", "The Big Valley", "Hawaii Five-0", "Mannix" and "The High Chapparal". He was nominated for an Emmy award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 1976 TV production of "Raid on Entebbe". Kotto simultaneously kept landing good parts in major movies such as "5 Card Stud", "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" and "Across 110th Street". In 1973, he appeared in what is perhaps his most memorable role,...
- 3/16/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Yaphet Kotto, the compelling character actor who portrayed police lieutenant Al Giardello on Homicide: Life on the Street, a space traveler in Alien and a supervillain in Live and Let Die, has died. He was 81.
In a message posted on Facebook, Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, said that the actor died Monday. “I’m saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years,” she wrote.
A presence at 6-foot-4 and more than 240 pounds in his prime, Kotto also was known for his eerie Emmy-nominated performance as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in Raid on Entebbe, a 1976 NBC ...
In a message posted on Facebook, Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, said that the actor died Monday. “I’m saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years,” she wrote.
A presence at 6-foot-4 and more than 240 pounds in his prime, Kotto also was known for his eerie Emmy-nominated performance as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in Raid on Entebbe, a 1976 NBC ...
- 3/16/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Yaphet Kotto, the compelling character actor who portrayed police lieutenant Al Giardello on Homicide: Life on the Street, a space traveler in Alien and a supervillain in Live and Let Die, has died. He was 81.
In a message posted on Facebook, Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, said that the actor died Monday. “I’m saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years,” she wrote.
A presence at 6-foot-4 and more than 240 pounds in his prime, Kotto also was known for his eerie Emmy-nominated performance as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in Raid on Entebbe, a 1976 NBC ...
In a message posted on Facebook, Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, said that the actor died Monday. “I’m saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years,” she wrote.
A presence at 6-foot-4 and more than 240 pounds in his prime, Kotto also was known for his eerie Emmy-nominated performance as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in Raid on Entebbe, a 1976 NBC ...
- 3/16/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
STXfilms has decided to enter this unconventional awards season with a mighty and timely drama, “The Mauritanian,” formerly called “Prisoner 760,” from Scottish director Kevin Macdonald. The film will be released on Feb. 19, 2021, and could echo the same late-breaking awards success that past movies like “Million Dollar Baby” were able to execute. With an impressive cast that includes Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley, the inspiring true story could resonate with AMPAS voters, especially its large international membership.
“The Mauritanian” tells the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Rahim), who was held captive and tortured by the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 10 years without a charge or trial. Losing faith, he finds hope in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Woodley), who face countless legal obstacles in their pursuit of justice.
I was able to view an unfinished version of the film,...
“The Mauritanian” tells the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Rahim), who was held captive and tortured by the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 10 years without a charge or trial. Losing faith, he finds hope in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Woodley), who face countless legal obstacles in their pursuit of justice.
I was able to view an unfinished version of the film,...
- 11/23/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
It’s often the case that Academy Award winners get all the glory, while the nominees they stand alongside tend to fade away. Such is the case for Frost/Nixon, a 2008 drama that hit Netflix today.
The movie tells a fictionalized account of a series of televised interviews broadcast in May 1977, between disgraced former president Richard Nixon and British media personality David Frost. Principally, it focuses on the fallout of the Watergate scandal and Nixon being issued a pardon by his successor Gerald Ford, meaning he would never face the legal consequences for his part in the infamous break-in, so Frost managing to wrangle an admission from Nixon of his guilt would be the closest thing to a trial he would receive.
Directed by Ron Howard, the movie is based on a stage play by British writer Peter Morgan, who over the last couple of decades has made something of...
The movie tells a fictionalized account of a series of televised interviews broadcast in May 1977, between disgraced former president Richard Nixon and British media personality David Frost. Principally, it focuses on the fallout of the Watergate scandal and Nixon being issued a pardon by his successor Gerald Ford, meaning he would never face the legal consequences for his part in the infamous break-in, so Frost managing to wrangle an admission from Nixon of his guilt would be the closest thing to a trial he would receive.
Directed by Ron Howard, the movie is based on a stage play by British writer Peter Morgan, who over the last couple of decades has made something of...
- 6/16/2020
- by Andrew Marshall
- We Got This Covered
Godfather of Harlem goes after the American Dream by any means necessary.
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Godfather of Harlem is a modern look into the past which is both unflinching and hopeful. It's a crime drama, yes, but the law-breaking cuts both ways. Forest Whitaker plays real life New York Crime boss Bumpy Johnson after he got out of Alcatraz prison for taking the fall for the mob in a heroin deal.
The series leaves out one true fact which could have been extremely cinematic. When Johnson got out of Alcatraz, the people of Harlem threw him a ticker tape parade. It wasn't planned. It happened spontaneously. That's how much Bumpy was loved in the hood. His family moved to Harlem when Bumpy was 10 years old. His brother William was accused of killing a white man in Charleston, South Carolina. Born on Halloween 1905, he got the nickname “Bumpy” because he had a slightly deformed head.
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Godfather of Harlem is a modern look into the past which is both unflinching and hopeful. It's a crime drama, yes, but the law-breaking cuts both ways. Forest Whitaker plays real life New York Crime boss Bumpy Johnson after he got out of Alcatraz prison for taking the fall for the mob in a heroin deal.
The series leaves out one true fact which could have been extremely cinematic. When Johnson got out of Alcatraz, the people of Harlem threw him a ticker tape parade. It wasn't planned. It happened spontaneously. That's how much Bumpy was loved in the hood. His family moved to Harlem when Bumpy was 10 years old. His brother William was accused of killing a white man in Charleston, South Carolina. Born on Halloween 1905, he got the nickname “Bumpy” because he had a slightly deformed head.
- 9/20/2019
- Den of Geek
NBC released a six-episode companion digital series to “The Good Place” on Friday, previewing the fourth season’s big good-versus-evil experiment.
The last season of the NBC comedy left off with Eleanor (Kristen Bell) and Michael (Ted Danson) preparing for a contest against Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson) and the other demons to prove that humans can be made into better people in the afterlife.
The new web series, titled “The Selection,” reveals the how the demons chose the four humans who would serve as the experiments test subjects.
Also Read: Mike Schur Explains How the 'Objective' of 'The Good Place' Changed Midway Through Its Run
The six episodes clock in at about two-minutes each and are available to stream on the NBC app.
From executive producer and showrunner Michael Schur, “The Good Place” stars Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and D’Arcy Carden.
The last season of the NBC comedy left off with Eleanor (Kristen Bell) and Michael (Ted Danson) preparing for a contest against Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson) and the other demons to prove that humans can be made into better people in the afterlife.
The new web series, titled “The Selection,” reveals the how the demons chose the four humans who would serve as the experiments test subjects.
Also Read: Mike Schur Explains How the 'Objective' of 'The Good Place' Changed Midway Through Its Run
The six episodes clock in at about two-minutes each and are available to stream on the NBC app.
From executive producer and showrunner Michael Schur, “The Good Place” stars Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and D’Arcy Carden.
- 9/13/2019
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
I thought I’d figured out Hollywood’s prevailing attitude toward firearms. Oscar winner John Legend seemed to sum it up at an appearance in Dayton this week when he said: “The NRA doesn’t represent America,” and “we’re tired of bigotry and hate turning lethal because of easy access to guns.”
Then I saw the trailer for Kasi Lemmons’s Harriet (watch it here) about the fiery anti-slavery resister Harriet Tubman. And I had to start thinking all over again.
Harriet, with Cynthia Erivo in the title role, is set for release by Focus Features on November 1, though it already will be causing a stir at the Toronto Film Festival in early September. Its trailer, currently attached to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, promises an impassioned telling of Tubman’s escape from slavery, her work to liberate others via the Underground Railroad and her...
Then I saw the trailer for Kasi Lemmons’s Harriet (watch it here) about the fiery anti-slavery resister Harriet Tubman. And I had to start thinking all over again.
Harriet, with Cynthia Erivo in the title role, is set for release by Focus Features on November 1, though it already will be causing a stir at the Toronto Film Festival in early September. Its trailer, currently attached to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, promises an impassioned telling of Tubman’s escape from slavery, her work to liberate others via the Underground Railroad and her...
- 8/15/2019
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Forest Whitaker has played real-life characters before, and he’s obviously very good at it: He won his Academy Award for playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Of course, playing a well-known real-life character means there are plenty of opportunities to learn more about the role you’ll be playing. Whitaker’s latest [...]
The post With ‘Godfather Of Harlem,’ Forest Whitaker Prepared For A Bumpy Ride appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post With ‘Godfather Of Harlem,’ Forest Whitaker Prepared For A Bumpy Ride appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 8/10/2019
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
On July 15, 2019, Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker will celebrate his 58th birthday. The actor has had a long and celebrated acting career though initially he aspired to be an opera singer. He enrolled at the University of Southern California to study opera but then changed his major to acting and graduated from the school with a Bfa in Drama.
While still enrolled in college, Whitaker began acting professionally. His first film role came in a movie called “Tag: The Assassination Game,” which starred Robert Carradine and Linda Hamilton. That same year he would get a small role in a movie about high school students that would become a classic. He joined a cast of unknown actors including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” The film was a bit of a sleeper hit in 1982 but became a classic through repeated showings on cable TV.
While still enrolled in college, Whitaker began acting professionally. His first film role came in a movie called “Tag: The Assassination Game,” which starred Robert Carradine and Linda Hamilton. That same year he would get a small role in a movie about high school students that would become a classic. He joined a cast of unknown actors including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” The film was a bit of a sleeper hit in 1982 but became a classic through repeated showings on cable TV.
- 7/15/2019
- by Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Arthur Bressan, Jr.Queer cinema in America is not without a sense of loss. In trying to bridge a period of censorship and queer coding (whether in compliance to censors or deliberately transmitting some kind of film language that reads queer without explicitly stating so) to New Queer Cinema and post-New Queer Cinema of today, there is an acceptance and resignation that what pervades a considerable period of queer cinema history is absence, something missing. It is the what could have been: art that was not made because it could not be made, as those who would have were dead. The lost lives and lost potential of HIV/AIDS among artists in the 1980s eidolically looms over queer cinema. But there was still art being made and artists to celebrate. Predating the AIDS epidemic, there was the post-Stonewall art, art of queer liberation that was highly political, a lot of...
- 6/23/2019
- MUBI
Epix is landing some great shows of late.
Coming this fall will be Godfather of Harlem, starring Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker in the lead role. He's joined by Vincent D’Onofrio, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Sorvino, Nigel Thatch, and Ilfenesh Hadera.
Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the movie The Last King of Scotland.
Whitaker should have no problem stepping into the shows of the infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.
With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control.
During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X (Thatch) – catching Malcolm’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart.
Coming this fall will be Godfather of Harlem, starring Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker in the lead role. He's joined by Vincent D’Onofrio, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Sorvino, Nigel Thatch, and Ilfenesh Hadera.
Whitaker won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the movie The Last King of Scotland.
Whitaker should have no problem stepping into the shows of the infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.
With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control.
During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X (Thatch) – catching Malcolm’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart.
- 3/21/2019
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
We all know that the academy loves when actors portray real people. Two years ago was the first time in 19 years that all four acting Oscar winners — Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”), Emma Stone (“La La Land”), Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) and Viola Davis (“Fences”) — won for playing fictional characters, which was frankly a minor miracle. But of the four categories, there is one where voters favor real-to-reel performances the most: Best Actor. And that love affair will continue if Rami Malek wins for his turn as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” as expected.
Malek would be the 12th Best Actor champ this century to win for playing a real person or a character based on a real person and the second in a row following Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” (2017). The other 10 since 2000 are:
1. Adrien Brody (Wladyslaw Szpilman), “The Pianist” (2002)
2. Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), “Ray” (2004)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman...
Malek would be the 12th Best Actor champ this century to win for playing a real person or a character based on a real person and the second in a row following Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” (2017). The other 10 since 2000 are:
1. Adrien Brody (Wladyslaw Szpilman), “The Pianist” (2002)
2. Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), “Ray” (2004)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman...
- 2/22/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
It’s not uncommon for actors to have won both Oscars and Emmys, especially in the current era of peak TV. But it’s particularly impressive to win on your first try. And it’s rare to win both on your first try. Rami Malek could be the latest to pull off that trick: he won Best Drama Actor at the Emmys for “Mr. Robot” (2016) on his career-first bid, and he may be on the cusp of winning Best Actor at the Oscars on his rookie nomination for playing Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Talk about beginner’s luck.
The last to achieve the feat was Allison Janney. She won her first Emmy on her first nomination: Best Drama Supporting Actress for “The West Wing.” After that she racked up six more Emmy wins before making her presence known to the motion picture academy, who gave the Oscar...
The last to achieve the feat was Allison Janney. She won her first Emmy on her first nomination: Best Drama Supporting Actress for “The West Wing.” After that she racked up six more Emmy wins before making her presence known to the motion picture academy, who gave the Oscar...
- 1/28/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Rumors of a Harriet Tubman biopic have persisted for years — in 2015, Viola Davis was reportedly set to produce and star in a feature about the seminal civil rights crusader — and the dearly departed Wgn America series “Underground” included a major plot centered on Tubman, as played by Aisha Hinds, but the news that Focus Features is set to start production on their very own “Harriet” still came as a bit of a surprise when it was announced last week. While it was initially announced that Tony-winning actress Cynthia Erivo (who is just one Oscar away from joining the ranks of fellow Egot recipients) was set to star as Tubman last year, that incarnation was an “independent” feature set to be helmed by Seith Mann.
On Thursday, the project got a major boost, when Focus Features announced that their “Harriet” was now set to be directed by “Eve’s Bayou” helmer...
On Thursday, the project got a major boost, when Focus Features announced that their “Harriet” was now set to be directed by “Eve’s Bayou” helmer...
- 9/18/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
DNA Films and Passion Pictures are partnering for a feature-length documentary about legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, the two companies announced Tuesday. The British production companies, whose credits include Oscar-winning narrative features “The Last King of Scotland” and “Ex Machina” and Oscar-winning documentaries “One Day in September” and “Searching for Sugarman,” will co-produce the new project, which is directed by the soccer legend’s son, Jason Ferguson.
The documentary will have exclusive and unrestricted access to Alex Ferguson, his family and friends, offering fans a deeply personal and revealing account of Ferguson’s life from his working-class roots in Glasgow through to his 26-year tenure as the longest-serving manager of world-renowned British soccer team Manchester United. It is scheduled to begin production in October.
“I don’t see this as a [soccer] film,” said Jason Ferguson. “What really appeals to me is to approach the story from a uniquely intimate...
The documentary will have exclusive and unrestricted access to Alex Ferguson, his family and friends, offering fans a deeply personal and revealing account of Ferguson’s life from his working-class roots in Glasgow through to his 26-year tenure as the longest-serving manager of world-renowned British soccer team Manchester United. It is scheduled to begin production in October.
“I don’t see this as a [soccer] film,” said Jason Ferguson. “What really appeals to me is to approach the story from a uniquely intimate...
- 8/28/2018
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
Never has Lars von Trier worn the badge of bad-boy provocateur with more pride than in The House That Jack Built, even if it's not always clear whether the film's self-importance is mischievous or in earnest. Ostensibly a probing portrait of a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, the movie also is quite literally a descent into hell. But its true raison d'etre is as a masturbatory dialectic about art and creation in which visual nods to Hitler, Mussolini, Mao, Stalin and Idi Amin give way to images lifted from across the Danish director's entire body of...
- 5/15/2018
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Never has Lars von Trier worn the badge of bad-boy provocateur with more pride than in <em>The House That Jack Built</em>, even if it's not always clear whether the film's self-importance is mischievous or in earnest. Ostensibly a probing portrait of a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, the movie also is quite literally a descent into hell. But its true raison d'etre is as a masturbatory dialectic about art and creation in which visual nods to Hitler, Mussolini, Mao, Stalin and Idi Amin give way to images lifted from across the Danish director's ...
- 5/15/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Six years after the untimely death of Whitney Houston at age 48, her family is ready to commemorate her life with a new documentary. They granted Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald access to a treasure trove including “previously unreleased recordings, rare never-before-seen footage and live performances recorded by Houston at various stages her life, as well as original studio recordings and a capellas of some of the late singer’s greatest hits.”
Macdonald has crafted all of this raw material into a new film, “Whitney,” which will hit theaters on July 6. In anticipation of that release, a teaser trailer has just hit the airwaves. (Watch the video above) Among those featured in the film are Houston’s husband Bobby Brown, her mentor and record label boss Clive Davis and her co-star in “The Bodyguard” Kevin Costner.
Macdonald won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2000 for “One Day in September,” a...
Macdonald has crafted all of this raw material into a new film, “Whitney,” which will hit theaters on July 6. In anticipation of that release, a teaser trailer has just hit the airwaves. (Watch the video above) Among those featured in the film are Houston’s husband Bobby Brown, her mentor and record label boss Clive Davis and her co-star in “The Bodyguard” Kevin Costner.
Macdonald won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2000 for “One Day in September,” a...
- 4/27/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Few actors have had a career trajectory quite like that of Cuba Gooding, Jr. Twenty years after winning an Oscar for his role in “Jerry Maguire,” the actor has mounted a comeback of sorts after what he describes as “10 years in the wilderness” marked by forgettable straight-to-dvd projects. Now he’s done a far-reaching interview with the Guardian to discuss how he always wanted to be an actor “who does all the parts” — and how that may have harmed his career as much as it helped it.
After admitting that he’s starred in “some real clunkers,” Gooding, Jr. is asked whether he made them for the money. “Not for me,” he says. “For me, it was always about protecting the sanctity of that golden statue… Because I felt I needed to show people that I can do more, I can do better.”
That mindset dates back to his breakthrough...
After admitting that he’s starred in “some real clunkers,” Gooding, Jr. is asked whether he made them for the money. “Not for me,” he says. “For me, it was always about protecting the sanctity of that golden statue… Because I felt I needed to show people that I can do more, I can do better.”
That mindset dates back to his breakthrough...
- 4/1/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September, The Last King of Scotland) is on board to direct the politically-charged Guantanamo Diary for Benedict Cumberbatch, Adam Ackland and their company SunnyMarch and ZeroGravity’s Mark Holder and Christine Holder.
Michael Bronner is scripting the project which follows the tribulations of 45 year-old Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a man who was a suspected terrorist and had been incarcerated at Guantanamo bay for 15 years without ever being charged with a crime or having the opportunity to defend himself in court. He was let out only last year, quietly and without media fanfare. Also producing is Lloyd Levin and Beatriz Levin.
Bronner is a former 60 Minutes producer who has covered the Guantanamo story extensively. He was previously involved with and provided expertise and research for Paul Greengrass’s United 93 and also the Tom Hanks-starring Captain Phillips.
Slahi is the son of a nomadic...
Michael Bronner is scripting the project which follows the tribulations of 45 year-old Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a man who was a suspected terrorist and had been incarcerated at Guantanamo bay for 15 years without ever being charged with a crime or having the opportunity to defend himself in court. He was let out only last year, quietly and without media fanfare. Also producing is Lloyd Levin and Beatriz Levin.
Bronner is a former 60 Minutes producer who has covered the Guantanamo story extensively. He was previously involved with and provided expertise and research for Paul Greengrass’s United 93 and also the Tom Hanks-starring Captain Phillips.
Slahi is the son of a nomadic...
- 3/29/2018
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – What would you expect from an event subject that has been already rendered four times on film, and deals with terrorism, hijacking and government negotiation? “7 Days in Entebbe” contained all of this, and yet still maintained a separate energy and cinematic artistry. In many ways, it’s one of the most surprising films of the young year.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The story combines some very interesting use of cinema with analogous casting. Character actors Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike portray hijackers in conflict, willing to stand up for their leftist beliefs until it comes to actual combat. Actual people are portrayed who were involved in incident (the film is set in 1976), and are treated with a respect to the reality of the situation. The tension of the decision making – should an Israeli task force raid the terrorist camp or should the government negotiate for the release of the hostages? – was...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The story combines some very interesting use of cinema with analogous casting. Character actors Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike portray hijackers in conflict, willing to stand up for their leftist beliefs until it comes to actual combat. Actual people are portrayed who were involved in incident (the film is set in 1976), and are treated with a respect to the reality of the situation. The tension of the decision making – should an Israeli task force raid the terrorist camp or should the government negotiate for the release of the hostages? – was...
- 3/16/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Though the Oscar ceremony is less than two weeks old, the studios are returning to real-life subject matter with a non-fiction flick usually released toward year’s end for awards consideration. Oh, and this true tale from nearly 42 years ago has been dramatized multiple times. It all really depends on this film maker’s take, their perspective. Big battles of WWII have been the source of several films. Just last year the story of Dunkirk was the backdrop for three films: the propaganda romance Their Finest, the acclaimed Churchill profile The Darkest Hour and Christopher Nolan’s same titled multi-story thriller. Now, returning to theatres is the tale of a hijacked airliner and the secret rescue of its passengers back in 1976. Shortly after the incident, the broadcast networks rushed out two dramatizations (later released theatrically overseas), “Raid on Entebbe” and “Victory at Entebbe” were multi-starred TV events that echoed the...
- 3/15/2018
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The story of how an Air France jet set to fly from Tel-Aviv, Israel to Paris, France was hijacked in 1976 and flown to Uganda has been a surprisingly fertile subject for film and television producers. This week another version of the tale opens in theaters. This work is entitled “7 Days in Entebbe” and stars Rosamund Pike and Daniel Bruhl. Will the new film, which opens March 16, bring more awards to this often told story?
Pike and Bruhl are both familiar to awards voters. Pike received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for “Gone Girl” (2014) and Bruhl competed for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and other awards for “Rush” the year before. While early reviews seem somewhat mixed on the quality of this particular version, previous attempts to tell the story have resulted in high awards recognition.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
In 2006 Forest Whitaker...
Pike and Bruhl are both familiar to awards voters. Pike received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for “Gone Girl” (2014) and Bruhl competed for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and other awards for “Rush” the year before. While early reviews seem somewhat mixed on the quality of this particular version, previous attempts to tell the story have resulted in high awards recognition.
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
In 2006 Forest Whitaker...
- 3/15/2018
- by Robert Pius
- Gold Derby
Forest Whitaker’s career is a testament to the slow-growth presence of diversity in Hollywood. He was the fourth African American in history to win the Best Actor Oscar, for his performance as Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland,” and now he stars as Archbishop Desmond Tutu in “The Forgiven,” the story of Tutu’s role as Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa in 1995. It opens just a few weeks after the historic box office success of Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” in which Whitaker had a supporting role. Coogler began his career with Whitaker in a different kind of supporting role: He produced Coogler’s 2013 debut, “Fruitvale Station.”
“We need to continue to tell stories that are inclusive and allow all voices to be heard,” he said in a phone interview, a few days before “The Forgiven” opened in limited theatrical release. “Hopefully,...
“We need to continue to tell stories that are inclusive and allow all voices to be heard,” he said in a phone interview, a few days before “The Forgiven” opened in limited theatrical release. “Hopefully,...
- 3/8/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a precedent! Barbet Schroeder’s documentary gets up close and personal with a narcissistic dictator consumed by his own ego. Idi Amin rants and raves incoherently and demands to be the center of all attention while taking his country down a road to ruin. This is Africa in 1973, where Uganda has been converted into ‘The Idi Amin Reality Show’ — and where a minion in disfavor might be fed to the crocodiles.
General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 153
1974 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 90 min. / Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 12, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Idi Amin
Cinematography: Néstor Almendros
Film Editor: Denise de Casabianca
Original Music: Idi Amin
Produced by Jean-Francois Chauvel, Charles-Henri Favrod and Jean-Pierre Rassam
Written and Directed by Barbet Schroeder
Criterion’s decision to bump Barbet Schroeder’s daring 1970s documentary to Blu-ray at this...
General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 153
1974 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 90 min. / Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 12, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Idi Amin
Cinematography: Néstor Almendros
Film Editor: Denise de Casabianca
Original Music: Idi Amin
Produced by Jean-Francois Chauvel, Charles-Henri Favrod and Jean-Pierre Rassam
Written and Directed by Barbet Schroeder
Criterion’s decision to bump Barbet Schroeder’s daring 1970s documentary to Blu-ray at this...
- 12/5/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
- 10/26/2017
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
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