Manic, magic, madcap … Julie Andrews is superb in the role of the flying nanny, in a film filled with amazing songs
Brilliant, entrancing, exhausting, and with thermonuclear showtunes from Richard and Robert Sherman, Disney’s hybrid live-action/animation classic from 1964 is now rereleased on home entertainment platforms for its 60th anniversary. And it has a brand-new certificate from the BBFC: upgraded from a U to a PG on account of “discriminatory language” from the eccentric seadog character Admiral Boom, who fires a cannon from his roof shouting “Fight the Hottentots!” (an obsolete term for South Africa’s indigenous Khoekhoe people). However the BBFC is evidently not bothered by the foxhunting scene in which the fox has a cod Irish accent, nor by the cheerful suicide reference made by one of the servants: “Nice spot there by Southwark Bridge, very popular with jumpers!”
In an upmarket part of Edwardian London created...
Brilliant, entrancing, exhausting, and with thermonuclear showtunes from Richard and Robert Sherman, Disney’s hybrid live-action/animation classic from 1964 is now rereleased on home entertainment platforms for its 60th anniversary. And it has a brand-new certificate from the BBFC: upgraded from a U to a PG on account of “discriminatory language” from the eccentric seadog character Admiral Boom, who fires a cannon from his roof shouting “Fight the Hottentots!” (an obsolete term for South Africa’s indigenous Khoekhoe people). However the BBFC is evidently not bothered by the foxhunting scene in which the fox has a cod Irish accent, nor by the cheerful suicide reference made by one of the servants: “Nice spot there by Southwark Bridge, very popular with jumpers!”
In an upmarket part of Edwardian London created...
- 3/28/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The age rating for the 1964 “Mary Poppins” has been increased in the U.K. due to “discriminatory language.”
On Friday, the British Board of Film Classification upped the Disney movie’s cinema rating from U, meaning it contained “no material likely to offend or harm,” to PG for “discriminatory language.”
In a statement to Variety, a BBFC spokesperson said that the film “includes two uses of the discriminatory term ‘hottentots’. While ‘Mary Poppins’ has a historical context, the use of discriminatory language is not condemned, and ultimately exceeds our guidelines for acceptable language at U. We therefore classified the film PG for discriminatory language.”
The word is a racially insensitive term for the Khoekhoe, an indigenous group in South Africa. The BBFC further explained that the word is used in the film by Admiral Boom (Reginald Owen), including when referring to the chimney sweeps whose faces are covered in soot.
On Friday, the British Board of Film Classification upped the Disney movie’s cinema rating from U, meaning it contained “no material likely to offend or harm,” to PG for “discriminatory language.”
In a statement to Variety, a BBFC spokesperson said that the film “includes two uses of the discriminatory term ‘hottentots’. While ‘Mary Poppins’ has a historical context, the use of discriminatory language is not condemned, and ultimately exceeds our guidelines for acceptable language at U. We therefore classified the film PG for discriminatory language.”
The word is a racially insensitive term for the Khoekhoe, an indigenous group in South Africa. The BBFC further explained that the word is used in the film by Admiral Boom (Reginald Owen), including when referring to the chimney sweeps whose faces are covered in soot.
- 2/26/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Stage and screen actor best known for her role as Winifred Banks in Disney’s Mary Poppins
In the childhood memories of more than one generation, Glynis Johns, who has died aged 100, will be best remembered as the Edwardian materfamilias of the hugely popular Walt Disney musical Mary Poppins (1964). Winifred Banks, married to David Tomlinson’s George W Banks, is the mother of Jane and Michael, the children in the care of the magical nanny played by Julie Andrews. A protester for the right to vote, Winifred delivers a spirited rendition of the song Sister Suffragette – “Our daughters’ daughters will adore us. And they’ll sing in grateful chorus: ‘Well done, Sister Suffragette!’” – as the children’s previous nanny tries to quit.
But the husky-voiced actor had other claims to fame from her more than 60 films and 30 stage productions. In 1973, Stephen Sondheim composed the song Send in the Clowns for...
In the childhood memories of more than one generation, Glynis Johns, who has died aged 100, will be best remembered as the Edwardian materfamilias of the hugely popular Walt Disney musical Mary Poppins (1964). Winifred Banks, married to David Tomlinson’s George W Banks, is the mother of Jane and Michael, the children in the care of the magical nanny played by Julie Andrews. A protester for the right to vote, Winifred delivers a spirited rendition of the song Sister Suffragette – “Our daughters’ daughters will adore us. And they’ll sing in grateful chorus: ‘Well done, Sister Suffragette!’” – as the children’s previous nanny tries to quit.
But the husky-voiced actor had other claims to fame from her more than 60 films and 30 stage productions. In 1973, Stephen Sondheim composed the song Send in the Clowns for...
- 1/5/2024
- by Tim Pulleine
- The Guardian - Film News
English actor Glynis Johns, who played the daffy suffragette mother Mrs. Banks in the classic film “Mary Poppins,” died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles, her manager Mitch Clem confirmed to Variety. She was 100.
“Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives,” Clem said in a statement. “She entered my life early in my career and set a very high bar on how to navigate this industry with grace, class, and truth. Your own truth. Her light shined very brightly for 100 years. She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely. Today is a somber day for Hollywood. Not only do we mourn the passing of our dear Glynis, but we mourn the end of the golden age of Hollywood.”
Johns won a Tony for her...
“Glynis powered her way through life with intelligence, wit, and a love for performance, affecting millions of lives,” Clem said in a statement. “She entered my life early in my career and set a very high bar on how to navigate this industry with grace, class, and truth. Your own truth. Her light shined very brightly for 100 years. She had a wit that could stop you in your tracks powered by a heart that loved deeply and purely. Today is a somber day for Hollywood. Not only do we mourn the passing of our dear Glynis, but we mourn the end of the golden age of Hollywood.”
Johns won a Tony for her...
- 1/4/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Glynis Johns, most known for playing the high-spirited Mrs. Winifred Banks in Disney’s Mary Poppins, has died. She was 100 years old. Johns’ publicist, Mitch Clem, told ABC Eyewitness News that the legendary actor died of natural causes on Thursday, January 4. She was living in an assisted living facility. Before she played the suffragette in the 1964 Julie Andrews classic, Johns starred in another Disney film called The Sword and the Rose. She was named a Disney Legend in 1998 alongside Mary Poppins co-star Dick Van Dyke. Andrews was named one in 1991, with David Tomlinson (Mr. George Banks) being added in 2002 and Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber (Jane and Michael Banks) being added in 2004. With the death of Betty White in 2021, Johns became the oldest living Disney Legend. With the death of Olivia de Havilland in 2020, she became the oldest living Oscar nominee for acting. Karen Dotrice, Glynis Johns, Matthew Garber, David...
- 1/4/2024
- TV Insider
Disney+ Releases “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” Trailer
Disney+ has released its first official teaser trailer for the highly anticipated “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” the series adaptation of the beloved Rick Riordan book series.
Walker Scobell stars as the title 12-year-old, a modern demigod who is just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Gover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jefferies), Percy embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.
Watch the trailer for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” below:
Riordan co-wrote the pilot of the action-adventure series, which will also star Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer and Jessica Parker Kennedy. Guest stars will include Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, Timm Sharp, Dior Goodjohn, Charlie Bushnell, Olivea Morton, Jay Duplass, Lance Reddick, and Timothy Omundson.
The eight-episode first season will premiere on Dec.
Disney+ has released its first official teaser trailer for the highly anticipated “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” the series adaptation of the beloved Rick Riordan book series.
Walker Scobell stars as the title 12-year-old, a modern demigod who is just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Gover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jefferies), Percy embarks on the adventure of a lifetime.
Watch the trailer for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” below:
Riordan co-wrote the pilot of the action-adventure series, which will also star Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer and Jessica Parker Kennedy. Guest stars will include Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, Timm Sharp, Dior Goodjohn, Charlie Bushnell, Olivea Morton, Jay Duplass, Lance Reddick, and Timothy Omundson.
The eight-episode first season will premiere on Dec.
- 9/20/2023
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Exclusive: Heat and Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore has boarded Bruce Bellocchi’s female revenge thriller The Legend of Jack and Diane.
In the movie, Diane (newcomer Lydia Zelmac) decides to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When Jack (David Tomlinson) and Diane discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved. Cameras roll in Los Angeles next month.
Sizemore will star alongside Zelmac, Tomilson, Robert Lasardo (The Mule) and Alvaro Orlando (Destin Daniel Cretton’s I Am Not a Hipster). Bellocchi is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Rick Geller and Zelmac.
The project was originally written as an episodic series for HBO but lost its footing when the pandemic crippled the entertainment industry last year.
In the movie, Diane (newcomer Lydia Zelmac) decides to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When Jack (David Tomlinson) and Diane discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved. Cameras roll in Los Angeles next month.
Sizemore will star alongside Zelmac, Tomilson, Robert Lasardo (The Mule) and Alvaro Orlando (Destin Daniel Cretton’s I Am Not a Hipster). Bellocchi is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Rick Geller and Zelmac.
The project was originally written as an episodic series for HBO but lost its footing when the pandemic crippled the entertainment industry last year.
- 12/14/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, writers of the stage musical adaptation of Disney’s Bedknobs And Broomsticks that launched a UK and Ireland tour last weekend, have signed with Verve for representation.
Produced by Michael Harrison, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is adapted from Disney’s 1971 live action-animation hybrid. Bertram wrote new music for the stage production (which also includes songs from the original film) and Hill wrote the book.
The stage musical made its world premiere at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle on Aug. 14, with additional tour dates currently scheduled through next spring.
The production stars Dianne Pilkington as Miss Price, the witch-in-training played in the film by Angela Lansbury, and Charles Brunton as Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson in the movie).
Other Bertram-Hill credits include The Story of My Life, which ran on Broadway in 2009, and Goodspeed Musicals’ The Theory of Relativity and Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Produced by Michael Harrison, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is adapted from Disney’s 1971 live action-animation hybrid. Bertram wrote new music for the stage production (which also includes songs from the original film) and Hill wrote the book.
The stage musical made its world premiere at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle on Aug. 14, with additional tour dates currently scheduled through next spring.
The production stars Dianne Pilkington as Miss Price, the witch-in-training played in the film by Angela Lansbury, and Charles Brunton as Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson in the movie).
Other Bertram-Hill credits include The Story of My Life, which ran on Broadway in 2009, and Goodspeed Musicals’ The Theory of Relativity and Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s The Adventures of Pinocchio.
- 8/17/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Before passing away on Wednesday at the age of 103, Kirk Douglas had a brush with death that he said had “forever changed” his life.
In his 2000 memoir Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning, the Hollywood icon opened up about the mid-air collision on Feb. 13, 1991, that took the lives of two men. As one of the three survivors of the fatal crash, Douglas wrote that the incident made the date “the most important day of my life.”
On the fateful day, Douglas was a passenger in a helicopter flown by his pilot friend, cartoon voice artist Noel Blanc, and copilot Michael Carra.
In his 2000 memoir Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning, the Hollywood icon opened up about the mid-air collision on Feb. 13, 1991, that took the lives of two men. As one of the three survivors of the fatal crash, Douglas wrote that the incident made the date “the most important day of my life.”
On the fateful day, Douglas was a passenger in a helicopter flown by his pilot friend, cartoon voice artist Noel Blanc, and copilot Michael Carra.
- 2/6/2020
- by Gabrielle Chung
- PEOPLE.com
Mary Poppins Returns can’t possibly be expected to transcend its historical foundation. It’s been over half a century since the Disney original seeped its way into the collective consciousness. Julie Andrews is all but synonymous with the stern, yet cheerful magical nanny. Songs like “Spoonful of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and other Sherman Brothers’ creations are now musical standards. Hence, any long-in-the-making, Disney-stamped sequel will inevitably be forced to pay homage to the original and re-introduce the concept of Mary Poppins to a new generation. Mary Poppins Returns serves too many cultural and financial masters to be its own beast, so it’s forced to make space in a middle ground circumscribed by nostalgia.
While that’s not necessarily a deal breaker, director Rob Marshall and screenwriter David Magee don’t help matters by tying the film to its predecessor in almost every way imaginable. It’s one thing for...
While that’s not necessarily a deal breaker, director Rob Marshall and screenwriter David Magee don’t help matters by tying the film to its predecessor in almost every way imaginable. It’s one thing for...
- 12/14/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Platitudes and homilies abound in this honey-drizzled story of grownup Christopher’s reunion with the bear of little brain
What to make of the movies’ renewed Pooh fetish? Last year’s handsome if mild-mannered Fox production Goodbye Christopher Robin, revealing how AA Milne’s most beloved creations were steeped in harsh wartime truths, might at a push be claimed as Pooh: A Warning from History. Disney’s new Christopher Robin is rather more along the lines of The Tao of Pooh: a self-helpy, post-Paddington fiction that seeks to applaud viewers for clinging on to (and paying forward) childish things.
This Robin (a still boyish Ewan McGregor) has been conceived as a junior variant of David Tomlinson’s stuffy banker in Mary Poppins: a mid-ranking suit fussing over costs in a luggage-manufacturing enterprise in 50s London. A heinous indifference to wife Hayley Atwell telegraphs that this chap requires a valuable life...
What to make of the movies’ renewed Pooh fetish? Last year’s handsome if mild-mannered Fox production Goodbye Christopher Robin, revealing how AA Milne’s most beloved creations were steeped in harsh wartime truths, might at a push be claimed as Pooh: A Warning from History. Disney’s new Christopher Robin is rather more along the lines of The Tao of Pooh: a self-helpy, post-Paddington fiction that seeks to applaud viewers for clinging on to (and paying forward) childish things.
This Robin (a still boyish Ewan McGregor) has been conceived as a junior variant of David Tomlinson’s stuffy banker in Mary Poppins: a mid-ranking suit fussing over costs in a luggage-manufacturing enterprise in 50s London. A heinous indifference to wife Hayley Atwell telegraphs that this chap requires a valuable life...
- 8/17/2018
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
How could England have won the war without him? Horatio Smith sneaks about in Nazi Germany, liberating concentration camp inmates right under the noses of the Gestapo. Leslie Howard directed and stars in this wartime escapist spy thriller, as a witty professor too passive to be suspected as the mystery spy.
‘Pimpernel’ Smith
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 121 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Morris, Allan Jeayes, Peter Gawthorne, Hugh McDermott, David Tomlinson, Raymond Huntley, Sebastian Cabot, Irene Handl, Ronald Howard, Michael Rennie.
Cinematography Mutz Greenbaum
Camera Operators Guy Green, Jack Hildyard
Film Editor Douglas Myers
Original Music John Greenwood
Written by Anatole de Grunwald, Roland Pertwee, A.G. Macdonell, Wolfgang Wilhelm based on a character by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Produced by Leslie Howard, Harold Huth
Directed by Leslie Howard
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I like movies...
‘Pimpernel’ Smith
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 121 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Morris, Allan Jeayes, Peter Gawthorne, Hugh McDermott, David Tomlinson, Raymond Huntley, Sebastian Cabot, Irene Handl, Ronald Howard, Michael Rennie.
Cinematography Mutz Greenbaum
Camera Operators Guy Green, Jack Hildyard
Film Editor Douglas Myers
Original Music John Greenwood
Written by Anatole de Grunwald, Roland Pertwee, A.G. Macdonell, Wolfgang Wilhelm based on a character by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Produced by Leslie Howard, Harold Huth
Directed by Leslie Howard
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I like movies...
- 12/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Clean-cut Disney actor who co-starred with cats, dogs, chimps and Herbie the Love Bug
Mickey Mouse apart, the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s was the clean-cut actor Dean Jones. Jones, who has died aged 84, starred as the bumbling, somewhat bland, hero in five entertaining kiddie movies with animals in the title: That Darn Cat! (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), Monkeys, Go Home! (1966), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) and The Love Bug (1968). The last of these starred not strictly speaking an animal, nor an insect, but a white Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, ostensibly owned by the unsuccessful racing car driver Jim Douglas, played by Jones.
Happily, Herbie – as the cuddly, anthropomorphic auto is christened – helps Jim win an all-important race through the Sierra Nevada mountains against his nemesis, the villainous Thorndyke (David Tomlinson) in his sleek Italian Thorndyke Special. Jones, who did...
Mickey Mouse apart, the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s was the clean-cut actor Dean Jones. Jones, who has died aged 84, starred as the bumbling, somewhat bland, hero in five entertaining kiddie movies with animals in the title: That Darn Cat! (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), Monkeys, Go Home! (1966), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) and The Love Bug (1968). The last of these starred not strictly speaking an animal, nor an insect, but a white Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, ostensibly owned by the unsuccessful racing car driver Jim Douglas, played by Jones.
Happily, Herbie – as the cuddly, anthropomorphic auto is christened – helps Jim win an all-important race through the Sierra Nevada mountains against his nemesis, the villainous Thorndyke (David Tomlinson) in his sleek Italian Thorndyke Special. Jones, who did...
- 9/4/2015
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Dean Jones: Actor in Disney movies. Dean Jones dead at 84: Actor in Disney movies 'The Love Bug,' 'That Darn Cat!' Dean Jones, best known for playing befuddled heroes in 1960s Walt Disney movies such as That Darn Cat! and The Love Bug, died of complications from Parkinson's disease on Tue., Sept. 1, '15, in Los Angeles. Jones (born on Jan. 25, 1931, in Decatur, Alabama) was 84. Dean Jones movies Dean Jones began his Hollywood career in the mid-'50s, when he was featured in bit parts – at times uncredited – in a handful of films at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer In 2009 interview for Christianity Today, Jones recalled playing his first scene (in These Wilder Years) with veteran James Cagney, who told him “Walk to your mark and remember your lines” – supposedly a lesson he would take to heart. At MGM, bit player Jones would also be featured in Robert Wise's...
- 9/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
In the history of soggy underwater adventures, none have been been soggier than this A.I.P. Panavision curiosity from England. Four out of five insomniacs agree: it has the most awkwardly mis-matched cast of players in fantasy film history... starting with a chicken. Kl Studio Classics Savant Blu-ray Review 1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen 1:37 flat Academy / 84 min. / City in the Sea / Street Date August ll, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, David Tomlinson, Susan Hart, John Le Mesurier, Harry Oscar, Derek Newark, Roy Patrick, Herbert the Rooster. Cinematography Stephen Dade Film Editor Gordon Hales Original Music Stanley Black Written by Charles Bennett, Louis M. Heyward, David Whitaker based on City in the Sea by Edgar Allan Poe Produced by Daniel Haller Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
By 1965 American-International Pictures was looking in all directions, trying to hit on new themes to replace the monsters...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
By 1965 American-International Pictures was looking in all directions, trying to hit on new themes to replace the monsters...
- 8/25/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
We’ve got another busy week of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases on the horizon as August 11th has a great variety of titles both new and old to get excited about. Scream Factory is releasing their Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs and Kino Lorber has dug up another great cult classic, War-Gods of the Deep, and given it an HD overhaul as well. Unfriended is also coming home on Blu and DVD and Universal is finally releasing James Wan’s Dead Silence on Blu-ray, featuring an unrated version of the underrated film. And for all you DC Comics fans out there, get ready for a ton of titles making their debut this week on Blu courtesy of Warner Home Video.
The People Under the Stairs: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Wes Craven, the director of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream,...
The People Under the Stairs: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Wes Craven, the director of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream,...
- 8/11/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...
- 6/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
We're back with a special round-up, taking a look at three upcoming horror film Blu-rays, two of which star the legendary Vincent Price. Scream Factory revealed the bonus features for the anthology horror film, From a Whisper to a Scream, Kino Lorber has announced they're bringing Jacques Tourneur's War Gods of the Deep, a.k.a. The City Under the Sea, out on Blu-ray with a new extra, and Olive Films has slated a Satan's Blade 30th anniversary Blu-ray for a spring release.
From a Whisper to a Scream: Scream Factory will release From a Whisper to a Scream on Blu-ray beginning April 28th, with bountiful bonus features included.
From Scream Factory: "**Extras for From A Whisper To A Scream Revealed!**
Fans of this underrated 1987 gem with Vincent Price (in his last role in a horror film) are in for a super treat. Check out the extensive line-up...
From a Whisper to a Scream: Scream Factory will release From a Whisper to a Scream on Blu-ray beginning April 28th, with bountiful bonus features included.
From Scream Factory: "**Extras for From A Whisper To A Scream Revealed!**
Fans of this underrated 1987 gem with Vincent Price (in his last role in a horror film) are in for a super treat. Check out the extensive line-up...
- 2/26/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The inspirational mentor is dead. On screen, that is. In recent years we've seen a drop-off in this once-beloved trope, with distinctly anti-heroic teachers, instructors and father figures coming to the forefront – see Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson, Steve Carell in Foxcatcher, Breaking Bad's Walter White, etc.
The latest example is Terence Fletcher, Jk Simmons's fearsome and sadistic jazz instructor who terrorises Miles Teller into greatness in this week's stunning Whiplash.
Below, Digital Spy picks out 11 more of the very best and very worst mentors in cinema history.
Best: Sean Maguire (Good Will Hunting)
It was a close run thing in this spot between "Carpe diem" and "It's not your fault", and in truth about half of Robin Williams's characters could qualify for this list.
But avuncular therapist Sean is everything you could wish for in a mentor, gently chipping away at Will's (Matt Damon) self-destructive defence...
The latest example is Terence Fletcher, Jk Simmons's fearsome and sadistic jazz instructor who terrorises Miles Teller into greatness in this week's stunning Whiplash.
Below, Digital Spy picks out 11 more of the very best and very worst mentors in cinema history.
Best: Sean Maguire (Good Will Hunting)
It was a close run thing in this spot between "Carpe diem" and "It's not your fault", and in truth about half of Robin Williams's characters could qualify for this list.
But avuncular therapist Sean is everything you could wish for in a mentor, gently chipping away at Will's (Matt Damon) self-destructive defence...
- 1/18/2015
- Digital Spy
One of the more obnoxious trailers I've seen in the last six months was for "Paddington," which looked like loud, annoying children's trash. I've sat through so many of those movies since I had my kids, and even when it's my job to review them, it is one of those things that I have to steel myself for ahead of time. Whoever cut the trailers for "Paddington" owes writer/director Paul King a personal apology, though. I mean, I get it. I know why they didn't push the whole "From the director of 'The Mighty Boosh'" angle in the trailers, but it would have at least convinced me. I am delighted to report that King's movie is sweet and smart and silly, beautifully made from top to bottom. While my kids were entertained by it, I found it very moving and was pleased to see how well King's sense of style,...
- 1/15/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Fifty years ago this month, Mary Poppins chim-chim-cher-ee'd its way into cinemas. The sugary sweet spectacular was rapturously received by cinemagoers of the era and audiences are still in love with the magical movie more than half a century on from its original release.
You’ve probably watched the film a hundred times. You might even know all of the words to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." But in celebration of Mary Poppins’ fiftieth anniversary here are ten fun things that you might not know about the movie.
It took Walt Disney more than 20 years to acquire the rights After his daughters fell in love with the books Walt Disney promised he’d adapt P.L Travers’ hit story for the silver screen. However, convincing the notoriously sceptical author proved harder than he could have ever imagined and after first pursuing the project in 1938 it took more than twenty years for Disney to finally secure the film rights.
You’ve probably watched the film a hundred times. You might even know all of the words to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." But in celebration of Mary Poppins’ fiftieth anniversary here are ten fun things that you might not know about the movie.
It took Walt Disney more than 20 years to acquire the rights After his daughters fell in love with the books Walt Disney promised he’d adapt P.L Travers’ hit story for the silver screen. However, convincing the notoriously sceptical author proved harder than he could have ever imagined and after first pursuing the project in 1938 it took more than twenty years for Disney to finally secure the film rights.
- 8/26/2014
- by Daniel Bettridge
- Cineplex
A slew of classic Disney movies are hitting for the first time on Blu-Ray, including one double-pack release, and you’re going to want to make sure to pick these up. You haven’t paid attention to some of these titles for a while, and it’s about time you got the chance to catch them on Blu-Ray. The best part is that there’s a great mix of releases hitting. Bedknobs and Broomsticks is all but lost in the cultural consciousness, and it deserves a return. The Academy Award-winning movie from the year I was born is filled with a lot of fun and adventure, and like most Disney films, holds up well for a whole new generation.
The rest of the group covers a great spectrum, including two animated “big” titles, and a 10th Anniversary release. There’s a lot to expose your family to here, so check out all the info below,...
The rest of the group covers a great spectrum, including two animated “big” titles, and a 10th Anniversary release. There’s a lot to expose your family to here, so check out all the info below,...
- 8/6/2014
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
There are people out there who have never seen The Princess Bride. They walk among us, holding down jobs, contributing to society, and generally living happy, semi-fulfilled lives. But whisper a perfectly-timed “mawage” in their direction during a wedding, and the resulting blank stare or awkward chuckle will expose an inconceivable pop-cultural blind spot. Someone failed them when they were growing up.
In many ways it’s too late for them, but we can still save the next generation. The 55 Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13) is a starting point. This isn’t a list of the 55 “best” kids movies,...
In many ways it’s too late for them, but we can still save the next generation. The 55 Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13) is a starting point. This isn’t a list of the 55 “best” kids movies,...
- 6/23/2014
- by EW staff
- EW.com - PopWatch
Walt Disney passed away December 15, 1966, and in the decade that followed, the Walt Disney Company struggled to define itself. Should the company stay beholden to Walt and his vision, asking themselves what Walt would do, or should they take the opportunity to try something new? The decades that followed Walt’s death were a mix of trying to recreate old magic and experimenting with new genres and styles.
Good – Bedknobs and Broomsticks
In Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Disney was returning to a tried-and-true formula, one that had worked beautifully in Mary Poppins. The screenplay was based on a book series by an English children’s author, the story of a magical woman and the children under her care. Mary Poppins’ director Robert Stevenson helmed the project, which combined live action and animation. Robert and Richard Sherman, the team responsible for Mary Poppins as well as numerous other classic Disney songs, wrote the music and lyrics.
Good – Bedknobs and Broomsticks
In Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Disney was returning to a tried-and-true formula, one that had worked beautifully in Mary Poppins. The screenplay was based on a book series by an English children’s author, the story of a magical woman and the children under her care. Mary Poppins’ director Robert Stevenson helmed the project, which combined live action and animation. Robert and Richard Sherman, the team responsible for Mary Poppins as well as numerous other classic Disney songs, wrote the music and lyrics.
- 2/20/2014
- by Rachel Kolb
- SoundOnSight
Based on P.L. Travers' series of books, Mary Poppins follows the adventures of a magical nanny Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) as she helps her wards Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) and their parents George (David Tomlinson) and Winifred (Glynis Johns) learn how to be a happy family again. When Mary Poppins arrives, George is too wrapped up in his work at the bank to be a father to his children. He also believes that as the head of his household, society expects him to keep his children at arm's length, patting them on the head and sending them off to bed. Winifred is similarly distracted from her family by her activism for women's suffrage. She leaves her children with the nanny to go to rallies and throw eggs at the Prime Minister, and when it comes to parenting, she usually defers to her husband's judgment. Mary Poppins sweeps in,...
- 1/21/2014
- by Rachel Kolb
- JustPressPlay.net
‘Gilda,’ ‘Pulp Fiction’: 2013 National Film Registry movies (photo: Rita Hayworth in ‘Gilda’) See previous post: “‘Mary Poppins’ in National Film Registry: Good Timing for Disney’s ‘Saving Mr. Banks.’” Billy Woodberry’s UCLA thesis film Bless Their Little Hearts (1984). Stanton Kaye’s Brandy in the Wilderness (1969). The Film Group’s Cicero March (1966), about a Civil Rights march in an all-white Chicago suburb. Norbert A. Myles’ Daughter of Dawn (1920), with Hunting Horse, Oscar Yellow Wolf, Esther Labarre. Bill Morrison’s Decasia (2002), featuring decomposing archival footage. Alfred E. Green’s Ella Cinders (1926), with Colleen Moore, Lloyd Hughes, Vera Lewis. Fred M. Wilcox’s Forbidden Planet (1956), with Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Robby the Robot. Charles Vidor’s Gilda (1946), with Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready. John and Faith Hubley’s Oscar-winning animated short The Hole (1962). Stanley Kramer’s Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), with Best Actor Oscar winner Maximilian Schell,...
- 12/20/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
By Todd Garbarini
Mary Poppins (1964) was a first for me in two ways: one of the earliest movies I can remember seeing in a theater (I was five years old when it was reissued in 1973 and the Rialto Cinema in Westfield, New Jersey, the theater where I saw it, is actually one of the few remaining theaters from that era that is still in business) and one of the first movies I saw played back on a Vcr (in 1980). I could hardly believe my eyes at age 5 and wondered just how in the world Mary Poppins (she is never, ever to be called just “Mary”), the chimney sweeper, and her two young charges managed to make their way into the sidewalk paintings with all of the colorful characters. 40 years later, I could pretty much figure it out for myself having seen many behind-the-scenes documentaries. And yet even though the man...
Mary Poppins (1964) was a first for me in two ways: one of the earliest movies I can remember seeing in a theater (I was five years old when it was reissued in 1973 and the Rialto Cinema in Westfield, New Jersey, the theater where I saw it, is actually one of the few remaining theaters from that era that is still in business) and one of the first movies I saw played back on a Vcr (in 1980). I could hardly believe my eyes at age 5 and wondered just how in the world Mary Poppins (she is never, ever to be called just “Mary”), the chimney sweeper, and her two young charges managed to make their way into the sidewalk paintings with all of the colorful characters. 40 years later, I could pretty much figure it out for myself having seen many behind-the-scenes documentaries. And yet even though the man...
- 12/18/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
In my opinion, kid’s movies are among the best ever made but are often over-looked because they usually lack tragic drama or passionate physical romances, but that’s what makes them great. They are a fantasy escape into a world we’ve never seen but we all wish we had. And that’s what Mary Poppins did so brilliantly in 1964 and I don’t think that anyone anywhere can honestly say that they didn’t yearn for Mary to fly to their doorstep and teach them magic when they were little.
With expert flair, Walt Disney made a spirited, visually captivating and touching adaptation from the P.L. Travers books and it was the first film from his studio to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Featuring a knockout, Oscar-winning performance of prim, proper British beauty and intelligence by Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, Disney studios most expensive film up to that time,...
With expert flair, Walt Disney made a spirited, visually captivating and touching adaptation from the P.L. Travers books and it was the first film from his studio to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Featuring a knockout, Oscar-winning performance of prim, proper British beauty and intelligence by Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, Disney studios most expensive film up to that time,...
- 12/9/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A fan of Disney's Mary Poppins as an eight-year-old, Kathryn Hughes was given Pl Travers's book. But she found it dull, odd and severely lacking in dancing penguins. As Saving Mr Banks arrives in cinemas, she re-encounters a classic story
Being given a copy of Mary Poppins by Pl Travers for my eighth birthday was both a thrill and, as it turned out, one of the greatest disappointments of my young life. A thrill, because for the last five years I had lived and breathed the Disney version, which had come out in a blaze of glory in 1964. At school I won the unofficial prize for the person who had seen the film the most times (I said eight, although it was actually only six: but in the Disney universe, believing something hard enough is the key to making it come true). I did, though, definitely win the competition for who could say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" backwards.
Being given a copy of Mary Poppins by Pl Travers for my eighth birthday was both a thrill and, as it turned out, one of the greatest disappointments of my young life. A thrill, because for the last five years I had lived and breathed the Disney version, which had come out in a blaze of glory in 1964. At school I won the unofficial prize for the person who had seen the film the most times (I said eight, although it was actually only six: but in the Disney universe, believing something hard enough is the key to making it come true). I did, though, definitely win the competition for who could say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" backwards.
- 12/7/2013
- by Kathryn Hughes
- The Guardian - Film News
Bankers are dicks. This is a truth more or less universally acknowledged, and while there's been ample real-world evidence, the real reason we all know this to be the case is because Mary Poppins taught us in childhood. Robert Stevenson's beloved wish fulfillment classic isn't actually about the magical nanny of the title – played with sharp vim by Julie Andrews – nor even about the neglected children whose lives she whips into shape.
It's all about David Tomlinson's emotionally shut-down Mr Banks, an oblivious cold fish who gradually learns how to love his family under the shrewd influence of Poppins. And what's the turning point in his redemptive journey? He stops being a banker. We're just saying.
"You should have seen the look on his face. He doesn't like us at all," says little Michael (Matthew Garber), lip wobbling, after a dressing down from Banks. Watching him proved wrong...
It's all about David Tomlinson's emotionally shut-down Mr Banks, an oblivious cold fish who gradually learns how to love his family under the shrewd influence of Poppins. And what's the turning point in his redemptive journey? He stops being a banker. We're just saying.
"You should have seen the look on his face. He doesn't like us at all," says little Michael (Matthew Garber), lip wobbling, after a dressing down from Banks. Watching him proved wrong...
- 11/30/2013
- Digital Spy
Digital and Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Dec. 10, 2013
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Now this is supercalifragilistic-expialidocious! The Mary Poppins 50th Anniversary Edition is the high-definition debut of this Oscar-winning family film.
Based on the book by P.L. Travers, the 1964 musical stars the brilliant Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music) as a magical umbrella-wielding nanny who brightens a cold banker’s (David Tomlinson, Bedknobs and Broomsticks) unhappy family with help from a singing chimney sweep (Dick Van Dyke, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).
G-rated Mary Poppins won five Academy Awards, for its visual effects, film editing, the original song “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” Andrews as Best Actress and the score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
Both the Blu-ray/DVD Combo and the high-def digital download come with two new special features:
“Mary-oke’s” highlighting popular music from the film, including “Spoon Full of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Now this is supercalifragilistic-expialidocious! The Mary Poppins 50th Anniversary Edition is the high-definition debut of this Oscar-winning family film.
Based on the book by P.L. Travers, the 1964 musical stars the brilliant Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music) as a magical umbrella-wielding nanny who brightens a cold banker’s (David Tomlinson, Bedknobs and Broomsticks) unhappy family with help from a singing chimney sweep (Dick Van Dyke, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).
G-rated Mary Poppins won five Academy Awards, for its visual effects, film editing, the original song “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” Andrews as Best Actress and the score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
Both the Blu-ray/DVD Combo and the high-def digital download come with two new special features:
“Mary-oke’s” highlighting popular music from the film, including “Spoon Full of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,...
- 8/15/2013
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: Mary Poppins never explains anything! That's true of both the character and the film, actually. There's no back story (Hallelujah!) and no fussiness about the how and why of her "magic". (Sadly, this movie would never be made today when the mystery is drained from everything). More surprising for a family film there's very little overstating of its message (though Dick Van Dyke does a little bit of singing it directly to Mr. Banks just to make sure he's clear). If you don't believe me, really watch it again. Despite the imposing length (2 hours and 20 minutes) it's structurally smart and so light on its feet that it simply blows in on the East wind and then floats away when the super nanny's mission is accomplished. Like its heroine, the movie is practically perfect in every way.
"Cheeky" - my favorite shot of Julie Andrews...
"Cheeky" - my favorite shot of Julie Andrews...
- 7/17/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Feature Aliya Whiteley Feb 12, 2013
Aliya celebrates the life and work of a Hollywood great - Leslie Howard, star of Gone With The Wind, Pygmalion and many, many more...
Leslie Howard is best known for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, noble and yet ineffectual against the machinations of Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett. It was a great role, but not one of his best performances; he could be funny, charming, wise, driven, intense, comedic, tragic – take your pick. He had a pale, thin face with a high forehead and a pointed jaw, giving him an intelligent look over which directors loved to throw shadows.
I always thought he was one of those actors that black and white suited better than colour; he looked more handsome, more interesting that way. I was mesmerised by the old movies of his that appeared on television on a Sunday afternoon, where he would...
Aliya celebrates the life and work of a Hollywood great - Leslie Howard, star of Gone With The Wind, Pygmalion and many, many more...
Leslie Howard is best known for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, noble and yet ineffectual against the machinations of Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett. It was a great role, but not one of his best performances; he could be funny, charming, wise, driven, intense, comedic, tragic – take your pick. He had a pale, thin face with a high forehead and a pointed jaw, giving him an intelligent look over which directors loved to throw shadows.
I always thought he was one of those actors that black and white suited better than colour; he looked more handsome, more interesting that way. I was mesmerised by the old movies of his that appeared on television on a Sunday afternoon, where he would...
- 2/11/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Herbie Goes Bananas
Written by Don Tait, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed By Vincent McEveety
USA, 1980, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema Herbie Goes Bananas podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
Some films acquire a bad reputation that sticks like a bad smell, driving potential viewers away before they ever see it. Everyone knows that Alien³ and Alien Resurrection are terrible even especially those who have never seen the film. This fate happens particularly to notorious bombs – especially to films that (temporarily) kill off franchises. There is a perverse feedback loop in place, the film bombed because no one went to see it, and since the film bombed it must be terrible, so no one wants to watch it.
But this is confusing quality with popularity. They can be linked, but films bombing may result from any number of factors...
Written by Don Tait, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed By Vincent McEveety
USA, 1980, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema Herbie Goes Bananas podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
Some films acquire a bad reputation that sticks like a bad smell, driving potential viewers away before they ever see it. Everyone knows that Alien³ and Alien Resurrection are terrible even especially those who have never seen the film. This fate happens particularly to notorious bombs – especially to films that (temporarily) kill off franchises. There is a perverse feedback loop in place, the film bombed because no one went to see it, and since the film bombed it must be terrible, so no one wants to watch it.
But this is confusing quality with popularity. They can be linked, but films bombing may result from any number of factors...
- 7/10/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
From Captain Mainwaring to Patrick Bateman, positive representations of the banking profession are hardly abundant
Why are there so few positive images of bankers? One reason surely is that the banker exists as a figure on to which we project things we cannot stand about ourselves – how we are mired in acquisitiveness and inflamed by the desire to put our Gucci-loafered foot on the throat of our fellow man or indeed woman. Or maybe it's just me.
Bankers have an even worse reputation than journalists in novels and films. At least us grubby hacks sometimes bring down presidents or topple venal corporations in Hollywood cinema
Bankers are rarely allowed such narrative development. Instead they are often irreversible reptiles, tempting us innocent Adam and Eves into their sick, debauched world where we will max out our credit cards. Think Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko in Wall Street and his dreary eulogy to avarice: "Greed,...
Why are there so few positive images of bankers? One reason surely is that the banker exists as a figure on to which we project things we cannot stand about ourselves – how we are mired in acquisitiveness and inflamed by the desire to put our Gucci-loafered foot on the throat of our fellow man or indeed woman. Or maybe it's just me.
Bankers have an even worse reputation than journalists in novels and films. At least us grubby hacks sometimes bring down presidents or topple venal corporations in Hollywood cinema
Bankers are rarely allowed such narrative development. Instead they are often irreversible reptiles, tempting us innocent Adam and Eves into their sick, debauched world where we will max out our credit cards. Think Michael Douglas's Gordon Gekko in Wall Street and his dreary eulogy to avarice: "Greed,...
- 7/6/2012
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
Colin Farrell is about to get a little more family-friendly.
The "Fright Night" star will be embracing his paternal instincts as he signs on for a rare "dad" role in "Saving Mr. Banks," according to Deadline.
Farrell joins Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in the true behind-the-scenes story of the long, hard road to making "Mary Poppins," in which Walt Disney (Hanks) waged a 14-year courtship to persuade Australian author P.L. Travers (Thompson) to sell him the rights to her story of the beloved nanny. Travers (obviously) eventually gave in but remained prickly about it all the way to the end and apparently despised the film's animated sequences.
"Mary Poppins" was a very personal story for Travers, as it reflected the hardships in her real life and her relationship with her father (to be played by Farrell), who died when she was seven years old. Travers' father inspired the character of Mr.
The "Fright Night" star will be embracing his paternal instincts as he signs on for a rare "dad" role in "Saving Mr. Banks," according to Deadline.
Farrell joins Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in the true behind-the-scenes story of the long, hard road to making "Mary Poppins," in which Walt Disney (Hanks) waged a 14-year courtship to persuade Australian author P.L. Travers (Thompson) to sell him the rights to her story of the beloved nanny. Travers (obviously) eventually gave in but remained prickly about it all the way to the end and apparently despised the film's animated sequences.
"Mary Poppins" was a very personal story for Travers, as it reflected the hardships in her real life and her relationship with her father (to be played by Farrell), who died when she was seven years old. Travers' father inspired the character of Mr.
- 6/15/2012
- by Bryan Enk
- NextMovie
Exclusive: Colin Farrell is in talks to join the cast of Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks, the John Lee Hancock directed and Kelly Marcel-scripted saga of how Walt Disney waged a 14-year courtship to persuade Australian author P.L. Travers to sell him rights to make a film out of Mary Poppins. Deadline has told you Tom Hanks will play Disney and Emma Thompson will play Travers. Farrell will play her father, the inspiration for the Mr. Banks character played by David Tomlinson in the 1964 classic film that starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The heart of this script comes from how close Travers felt to her story of a nanny with magical powers. Mary Poppins was highly personal, and reflected hardships in her own life and her relationship with her father, who died when she was 7. Disney finally persuaded her to let him make the film, but she...
- 6/15/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
1948 was a good year for mermaids.
In Britain, producer Betty E. Box presented Miranda, starring Glynis Johns as a Cornish water-nymph who goes on dry land disguised as an invalid, making merry with the menfolk. Six years later, a sequel, Mad About Men, continued the character's amorous adventures in Technicolor.
Meanwhile in America, William Powell romanced mute mermaid Ann Blyth, an apparent manifestation of his mid-life crisis, in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. (Tarzan and the Mermaids, the same year, did not supply any true amphbious ladies.)
What do these fish stories reveal about their respective countries of origin? None of the films' directors have much in the way of auteur credentials—Ken Annakin directed the first Miranda film, staying true to the tradition of innocuous entertainment which was the defining quality of his career, and Ralph Thomas directed the second: though his son Jeremy has produced major films for Bertolucci and Cronenberg,...
In Britain, producer Betty E. Box presented Miranda, starring Glynis Johns as a Cornish water-nymph who goes on dry land disguised as an invalid, making merry with the menfolk. Six years later, a sequel, Mad About Men, continued the character's amorous adventures in Technicolor.
Meanwhile in America, William Powell romanced mute mermaid Ann Blyth, an apparent manifestation of his mid-life crisis, in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. (Tarzan and the Mermaids, the same year, did not supply any true amphbious ladies.)
What do these fish stories reveal about their respective countries of origin? None of the films' directors have much in the way of auteur credentials—Ken Annakin directed the first Miranda film, staying true to the tradition of innocuous entertainment which was the defining quality of his career, and Ralph Thomas directed the second: though his son Jeremy has produced major films for Bertolucci and Cronenberg,...
- 5/31/2012
- MUBI
Tom Hanks is in talks to play Walt Disney in a movie called "Saving Mr Banks," about Disney's making of the 1964 film "Mary Poppins." Emma Thompson is in talks to play "Mary Poppins" author Pl Travers. The movie is based on the true story of how walt Disney spent fourteen years courting the Australian author for the rights to the Mary Poppins character in order to develop a film, which Travers was ultimately unhappy with, especially the animated sequences. She hated the project so much that she refused to sell any of her other works to Disney. "Saving Mr. Banks" will be directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Alamo) from a script by Kelly Marcel ("Terra Nova"). The title refers to the character played by David Tomlinson in the original film.
- 4/10/2012
- WorstPreviews.com
Update: Deadline is now reporting that Tom Hanks is officially in talks to play Walt Disney, with Emma Thompson even further along the negotiation stage for author Pl Travers....There has been some chatter recently about Disney sniffing around the rights to Black List script Saving Mr Banks, which follows the intriguing story behind the making of Mary Poppins. Now the studio might just have a director close to bringing it to life, with The Blind Side’s John Lee Hancock in early talks.Written by Kelly Marcel, Banks follows Walt Disney’s real-life efforts to persuade Australian author Pl Travers to sell him the rights to adapt her iconic magic nanny character. It was no small campaign; Walt spent 14 years wearing Travers down on the idea. The result was the 1964 film, which starred Julie Andrews as Poppins, Dick Van Dyke as Bert and David Tomlinson as Mr Banks. It...
- 4/10/2012
- EmpireOnline
Exclusive: Deadline told you back in February that Tom Hanks was in the mix to play Walt Disney in the John Lee Hancock directed and Kelly Marcel-scripted saga of how Walt Disney waged a 14-year courtship to persuade Australian author P.L. Travers to sell him rights to make a film out of Mary Poppins. Now, things are heating up with Hanks to potentially star with Emma Thompson (Meryl Streep was also being courted) for Disney, which in February made a deal to acquire the Black List script, which is set up with producer Alison Owen of Ruby Films. Disney seems a natural place for the script, considering the studio owns many rights from making the 1964 classic film that starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson, the latter of whom played Mr. Banks in the film. The heart of this script comes from how close Travers felt to...
- 4/9/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in talks for Saving Mr. Banks Disney's project is based on the true story of how Walt Disney took fourteen years courting author P.L. Travers for rights to make the film, which starred Julie Andrews in the sensational 1964 classic, reports Variety. Saving Mr. Banks is set to be helmed by The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock, based on the script by Kelly Marcel. David Tomlinson played Mr. Banks in the original Robert Stevenson film which also starred Dick Van Dyke and Glynis Johns. Hanks would play Walt Disney while Thompson would be Travers - unhappy with the film, and its animated sequences. Hanks was last seen in the critically-acclaimed Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close drama, and is currently shooting Cloud Atlas...
- 4/9/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in talks for Saving Mr. Banks Disney's project is based on the true story of how Walt Disney took fourteen years courting author P.L. Travers for rights to make the film, which starred Julie Andrews in the sensational 1964 classic, reports Variety. Saving Mr. Banks is set to be helmed by The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock, based on the script by Kelly Marcel. David Tomlinson played Mr. Banks in the original Robert Stevenson film which also starred Dick Van Dyke and Glynis Johns. Hanks would play Walt Disney while Thompson would be Travers - unhappy with the film, and its animated sequences. Hanks was last seen in the critically-acclaimed Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close drama, and is currently shooting Cloud Atlas...
- 4/9/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in talks for Saving Mr. Banks Disney's project is based on the true story of how Walt Disney took fourteen years courting author P.L. Travers for rights to make the film, which starred Julie Andrews in the sensational 1964 classic, reports Variety. Saving Mr. Banks is set to be helmed by The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock, based on the script by Kelly Marcel. David Tomlinson played Mr. Banks in the original Robert Stevenson film which also starred Dick Van Dyke and Glynis Johns. Hanks would play Walt Disney while Thompson would be Travers - unhappy with the film, and its animated sequences. Hanks was last seen in the critically-acclaimed Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close drama, and is currently shooting Cloud Atlas...
- 4/9/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Written By Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed By Vincent McEveety
USA, 1977, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
From the time that “Disney’s Folly” paid off and the first-ever animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became a hit, Disney (the company that Walt created) has been in the business of telling fairy tales. What we sometimes forget is that fairy tales can be stories that reassure children, but also stories that scare the bejeezus out of them. Case in point, the first film that I ever saw: Walt Disney’s Bambi, a film that also terrified Stephen King as a child.
The Herbie series is much more on the reassuring side of the spectrum than the scary side,...
Written By Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed By Vincent McEveety
USA, 1977, imdb
Listen to our Mousterpiece Cinema Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo podcast or read Josh‘s extended thoughts about the film.
*****
From the time that “Disney’s Folly” paid off and the first-ever animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became a hit, Disney (the company that Walt created) has been in the business of telling fairy tales. What we sometimes forget is that fairy tales can be stories that reassure children, but also stories that scare the bejeezus out of them. Case in point, the first film that I ever saw: Walt Disney’s Bambi, a film that also terrified Stephen King as a child.
The Herbie series is much more on the reassuring side of the spectrum than the scary side,...
- 4/2/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Herbie Rides Again
Written by Bill Walsh, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed by Robert Stevenson
USA, 1974, imdb
Listen to the Mousterpiece podcast about Herbie Rides Again or read Josh’s extended thoughts about the film!
*****
“The first rule of all drive-in sequels: make the same damn movie you made the first time!”
-Joe Bob Briggs
Herbie Rides Again stands proudly alongside Halloween III: Season of the Witch as the two films that most deliberately break the sequel rule. It is debatable which is more cruel. Halloween III has no Michael Myers (and for that matter no witches) but never explains why. No doubt many in the audience when it was first released must have been wondering when Michael Myers was going to show, right up until the moment the film ended.
While discarding most of what made the first film work: Dean Jones as racer Jim Douglas,...
Written by Bill Walsh, based on the novel Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford
Directed by Robert Stevenson
USA, 1974, imdb
Listen to the Mousterpiece podcast about Herbie Rides Again or read Josh’s extended thoughts about the film!
*****
“The first rule of all drive-in sequels: make the same damn movie you made the first time!”
-Joe Bob Briggs
Herbie Rides Again stands proudly alongside Halloween III: Season of the Witch as the two films that most deliberately break the sequel rule. It is debatable which is more cruel. Halloween III has no Michael Myers (and for that matter no witches) but never explains why. No doubt many in the audience when it was first released must have been wondering when Michael Myers was going to show, right up until the moment the film ended.
While discarding most of what made the first film work: Dean Jones as racer Jim Douglas,...
- 3/1/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
John Lee Hancock is in line to direct Saving Mr Banks. The Blind Side director is in talks for the film - documenting the true story of the making of the original Walt Disney musical - reports Deadline. The film will follow the 14 years Disney spent convincing Australian author Pl Travers to allow him to adapt her novel into a movie. The result was the 1964 musical classic starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson, the latter of whom played the titular Mr Banks. Tom Hanks has been (more)...
- 2/28/2012
- by By Hugh Armitage
- Digital Spy
Exclusive: The Blind Side helmer John Lee Hancock is in early talks with Disney to direct Saving Mr. Banks, the Kelly Marcel-scripted saga of how Walt Disney waged a 14-year courtship to persuade Australian author P.L. Travers to sell him rights to make a film out of Mary Poppins. Disney is near a deal to acquire the Black List script, which is set up with producer Alison Owen of Ruby Films. Disney seems a natural place for the script, considering the studio owns many rights from making the 1964 classic film that starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson, the latter of whom played Mr. Banks in the film. This is a hot project — names like Tom Hanks to play Disney and Meryl Streep to play Travers have been in the wind — and Disney’s intention is to put it into production this year. The heart of this...
- 2/28/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Deadline reports that Disney are close to acquiring Saving Mr. Banks, a black listed screenplay from up-and-coming Brit writer Kelly Marcel (and co-creator of Terra Nova) that re-tells the story of how Walt Disney persuaded Australian author P.L. Travers, over a 14 year period, to sell him the rights to make a film out of her most celebrated character, Mary Poppins.
Disney, who lets be honest here are the company who naturally would most want to make a film about their founder, are likely the only studio who could make it happen. Disney not only own the rights to the 1964 musical favourite that starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson (who played Mr Banks in that film) but with the resources they have for lawyers, it would be hard to see another studio getting it made without their blessing.
But the good news is that Disney have a plan...
Disney, who lets be honest here are the company who naturally would most want to make a film about their founder, are likely the only studio who could make it happen. Disney not only own the rights to the 1964 musical favourite that starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson (who played Mr Banks in that film) but with the resources they have for lawyers, it would be hard to see another studio getting it made without their blessing.
But the good news is that Disney have a plan...
- 2/8/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Exclusive: The Walt Disney Company is near a deal to acquire Saving Mr. Banks, the Kelly Marcel-scripted saga of how Walt Disney persuaded Australian author P.L. Travers to sell him the rights to make a film out of Mary Poppins. That courtship took 14 years. Disney seems a natural place for the script, considering the studio owns many rights from making the 1964 classic film that starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson, the latter of whom played Mr. Banks in the film. Also, what studio is better equipped to make its founder, Walt Disney, a major character in a feature film? The heart of this script comes from how close Travers felt to her story of a nanny with magical powers. Mary Poppins was highly personal, and reflected hardships in her own life and her relationship with her father, who died when she was 7. Disney finally persuaded her...
- 2/8/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
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