by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURAL NEWS:
STREAMING - From Deadline: "Jack Reacher," the star of author Lee Child's international bestselling series of novels, is coming to Amazon TV. Actor Alan Ritchson will star as Reacher, who was previously played by Tom Cruise in two films.
MOVIES - From Variety: Paramount Pictures will release a new edit and restoration of "The Godfather III (1990). The new version will be entitled "Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone."
TELEVISION - From Variety: Anna Faris is leaving the hit CBS television sitcom, "Mom," ahead of the beginning of production of Season 8.
CULTURE - From RollingStone: "The Unraveling of America" by Wade Davis.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Amazon will not go forward with the miniseries, "Cortes y Moctezuma," due to the production constraints created by COVID-19, it says.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Production on SyFy/USA's "Chucky" reboot TV series has been pushed to 2021.
COVID-19 - From Deadline: Superstar actor Dwayne Johnson announced on social media that he, his wife, and their two young daughters have tested positive for COVID-19. He said that they are all recovering and are no longer contagious.
STAR TREK - From YahooEntertainment: When "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 3 arrives on Oct. 15th, the series feature the "Star Trek" franchise's first non-binary and transgender characters.
CELEBRITY - From Forbes: - Media mogul and film and TV creator, Tyler Perry, is a billionaire. "Forbes" has a cover feature on Perry - "'Poor as Hell' to billionaire."
LGBTQ - From YahooEntertainment: Actress Niecy Nash comes out and marries girlfriend, Jessica Betts, in surprise wedding ceremony.
STREAMING - From Variety: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the masterminds behind "Game of Thones," and Alexander Woo will adapt Chinese book series, "The Three-Body Problem" for Netflix.
RACE-BUSINESS - From YahooBI: 52 Black ex-franchisees file a $1 billion racial-discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's, claiming the company sent them on "financial suicide missions."
CULTURE - From TheDailyBeast: Larry Flynt, president of Larry Flynt Publications and best known for publishing "Hustler" magazine, takes a victory lap after the Jerry Faldwell, Jr., the son of Flynt's late nemesis, Rev. Jerry Faldwell, takes a fall.
CELEBRITY - From BleedingCool: Nathan Fillion talks about his audio choose-your-own-adventure, "Starfinder."
OBIT:
From ESPN: Hall of Fame Major League Baseball pitcher, Tom Seaver, has died at the age of 75, Monday, August 31, 2020 of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. Seaver was a three-time Cy Young Winner and 12-time All-Star. Nicknamed "Tom Terrific," Seaver was also a member of the 1969 World Series champions New York Mets.
REMEMBERING CHADWICK BOSEMAN:
From Slate: Friends and Fans mourn "Black Panther" star, Chadwick Boseman, dead at 43.
From YahooHuffPost: Why Chadwick Boseman kept his cancer battle secret, according to his agent.
From Variety: Chadwick Boseman's life and career in photos.
From CNN: Denzel Washington offers a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, for whom he once paid school tuition.
From THR: Co-star Harrison Ford remembers Chadwick Boseman as being "as much a hero as any he played.
From BuzzFeed: Why Chadwick Boseman's death hurts so much.
From Variety: Michael B. Jordan remembers his "Black Panther" co-star, Chadwick Boseman.
From YahooEntertainment: Remembering Chadwick Boseman: A journalist’s cherished, complicated friendship with a superhero.
From Deadline: The site has a page dedicated to the late actor, Chadwick Boseman.
From Variety: Chadwick Boseman: A Virtuoso Actor Who Could Do Just About Anything
From Variety: Chadwick Boseman’s Final Tweet Is Twitter’s Most-Liked Post of All Time
From YahooEntertainment: Did Chadwick Boseman hint at his cancer battle in a 2017 interview?
From Newsweek: Chadwick Boseman's final tweet was a picture of him with Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator Kamala Harris.
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION:
From CNN: Full video of Vice-President Joe Biden's acceptance speech at the 2020 DNC.
From CNN: Full video of Sen. Kamala Harris acceptance speech at the 2020 DNC
CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS:
From CDC: The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."
From YahooNews: Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?
From YahooNews: Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.
From Deadline: The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.
From TheNewYorker: The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.
From YahooNews: Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?
From YahooLife: What is "happy hypoxia?" And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?
From JuanCole: Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19. Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.
From TheIntercept: The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...
From TheAtlantic: The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.
From ProPublica: Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns
From TheGuardian: More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.
From RSN/WashPost: The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.
7/13 - From YahooSports: Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.
7/13- From YahooNews: The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.
7/19 - From YahooFinance: Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.
7/22 - From YahooNews: A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.
7/22 - From YahooLifestyle: Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.
7/23 - From TheWrap: The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19
From Bloomberg: Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?
7/27 - From CNN: Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients. He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.
7/30 - From Deadline: Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") reveals that he had a bout with COVID-19.
7/31 - From YahooEntertainment: Writer and actress, Lena Dunham, creator of HBO's "Girls, reveals that she contracted COVID-19 and the symptoms she experiences and still experience.
7/30 - From YahooGMA: In their bid to crackdown on illegal gatherings amid COVID-19, New York authorities break up an alleged sex party.
7/31 - From Slate: COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!
8/2 - From TheDailyBeast: In Mississippi, COVID-19 has coroners terrified.
8/6 - From YahooNews: Testing everyone constantly could stop the spread of COVID-19... according to this article.
8/8 - From YahooNYT: The coronavirus is new, but your immune system might recognize it.
8/8 - From YahooNBC: They thought COVID-19 was a hoax, and they almost died from it or are watching family and loved ones suffer with it or die from it.
8/9 - From YahooNews: The rest of the world is incredulous at the pitiful U.S. response to COVID-19.
8/9 - From YahooAFP: According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.
8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians
9/1 - From YahooPeople: Mark Mothersbaugh is the front man of the rock band, Devo," and the prolific composer of music for film and television, but he also had a near-fatal battle with COVID-19. He recalls it in this article.
9/2 - YahooNews: The first COVID-19 death linked to the massive biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota has been reported in Minnesota, several weeks after the event attracted over 400,000 vehicles. Minnesota is also tracking 50 coronavirus cases related to the event.
BLACK LIVES MATTER:
From RSN: Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability
From Billboard: In an interview will the venerable music publication, legendary country music singer-songwriter and actress, Dolly Parton, expresses support for the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
From RSN: Reader Supported News' "Sunday Song" for Aug. 8th, 2020 is "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke.
From VICE: One of the 2020 Republican National Convention's top speakers, Abby Johnson, says the police would be justified in profiling her adopted biracial son.
From TheGuardian: Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."
From NPR: Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."
Showing posts with label Francis Ford Coppola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francis Ford Coppola. Show all posts
Saturday, September 5, 2020
Friday, February 16, 2018
"Call Me by Your Name," "The Handmaid's Tale" Top 2018 USC Libraries Scripter Award
USC Libraries Scripter Honors “Call Me by Your Name” and “Handmaid’s Tale”
Francis Ford Coppola received the libraries’ Literary Achievement Award at the 30th-annual celebration
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The authors and screenwriters behind the film “Call Me by Your Name,” and the television series “The Handmaid’s Tale” received the 30th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award in the Feb. 10, 2018 ceremony at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library.
The Scripter Award recognizes the year’s best cinematic adaptation of the written word, and includes feature film and television adaptations.
In her welcoming remarks, USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan paid tribute to the legacy of the Scripter Awards, “Scripter is celebrating its 30th birthday, and whether it’s your first Scripter or your thirtieth, I am grateful to everyone who has supported this fine, enduring Trojan tradition.”
USC Provost Michael Quick hailed the importance of libraries. “More than places where students have a space to learn and faculty have collections from which to launch their scholarship, libraries are the core for what we stand for in higher education,” he said.
In the television category, the selection committee chose “Offred,” the first episode of the “The Handmaid’s Tale,” written for the screen by creator and executive producer Bruce Miller. The series, streaming on Hulu, is based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood.
Miller acknowledged Doheny Library, which hosted the ceremony. “The Handmaid’s Tale has been very wonderfully and generously feted over the last few months, but there’s something about getting an award in a library that is particularly wonderful.”
The other finalists were the writers behind episodes of “Alias Grace” (distributed by Netflix), “Big Little Lies” (HBO), “Genius” (National Geographic), “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” (HBO), and “Mindhunter” (Netflix).
In the film category, the winners were writer André Aciman, author of “Call Me by Your Name,” and screenwriter-director James Ivory, who adapted Aciman’s work for the screen.
Ivory, a USC alumnus, noted that he had been to Doheny Library before. “I left this building exactly 60 years ago when I graduated from the USC film school and they had the ceremony out in front of the library, and I haven’t been back since—not to this building. It’s amazing to come back,” Ivory said. “I’m glad to be back for an adaptation of a very good book. As you know, I’ve made my career and name through adaptations.”
Due to a three-way tie in the nominating round, seven films were eligible this year. The other finalist films were “The Disaster Artist” (distributed by A24), “Logan” (20th Century Fox), “The Lost City of Z” (Amazon Studios), “Molly’s Game” (STX Entertainment), “Mudbound” (Netflix), and “Wonder Woman” (Warner Bros.).
Earlier in the evening, Quinlan honored USC trustees and longtime USC Libraries supporters Ronald and Valerie Sugar as the 2018 Ex Libris Award winners. In receiving the award, Ronald Sugar said, “The libraries are an essential underpinning of the mission of this university. And as the university grows and evolves to meet a world of social and technological change, so must its libraries. Catherine, you and your team have provided more than a decade of innovative leadership to advance and expand the reach of this precious academic resource.”
Legendary writer-director-producer Francis Ford Coppola received the 2018 Literary Achievement Award. Coppola noted that his films based on earlier written works gave possessive credit to the original author. The 1972 classic “The Godfather,” for example, which Coppola directed and adapted for the screen, was marketed as “Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’”—not “Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather.’” “Anyone who’s adapted screenplays,” Coppola explained, “knows the author did the heavy lifting.”
In-kind donors to the event included A24 Films, Amazon Studios, Hulu, Netflix, Picador USA, and Urth Caffé.
Scripter began in 1988, co-founded by USC Libraries board members Glenn Sonnenberg and Marjorie Lord. For more information about Scripter—including additional images from the ceremony—visit scripter.usc.edu.
-----------------------------
Francis Ford Coppola received the libraries’ Literary Achievement Award at the 30th-annual celebration
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The authors and screenwriters behind the film “Call Me by Your Name,” and the television series “The Handmaid’s Tale” received the 30th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award in the Feb. 10, 2018 ceremony at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library.
The Scripter Award recognizes the year’s best cinematic adaptation of the written word, and includes feature film and television adaptations.
In her welcoming remarks, USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan paid tribute to the legacy of the Scripter Awards, “Scripter is celebrating its 30th birthday, and whether it’s your first Scripter or your thirtieth, I am grateful to everyone who has supported this fine, enduring Trojan tradition.”
USC Provost Michael Quick hailed the importance of libraries. “More than places where students have a space to learn and faculty have collections from which to launch their scholarship, libraries are the core for what we stand for in higher education,” he said.
In the television category, the selection committee chose “Offred,” the first episode of the “The Handmaid’s Tale,” written for the screen by creator and executive producer Bruce Miller. The series, streaming on Hulu, is based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood.
Miller acknowledged Doheny Library, which hosted the ceremony. “The Handmaid’s Tale has been very wonderfully and generously feted over the last few months, but there’s something about getting an award in a library that is particularly wonderful.”
The other finalists were the writers behind episodes of “Alias Grace” (distributed by Netflix), “Big Little Lies” (HBO), “Genius” (National Geographic), “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” (HBO), and “Mindhunter” (Netflix).
In the film category, the winners were writer André Aciman, author of “Call Me by Your Name,” and screenwriter-director James Ivory, who adapted Aciman’s work for the screen.
Ivory, a USC alumnus, noted that he had been to Doheny Library before. “I left this building exactly 60 years ago when I graduated from the USC film school and they had the ceremony out in front of the library, and I haven’t been back since—not to this building. It’s amazing to come back,” Ivory said. “I’m glad to be back for an adaptation of a very good book. As you know, I’ve made my career and name through adaptations.”
Due to a three-way tie in the nominating round, seven films were eligible this year. The other finalist films were “The Disaster Artist” (distributed by A24), “Logan” (20th Century Fox), “The Lost City of Z” (Amazon Studios), “Molly’s Game” (STX Entertainment), “Mudbound” (Netflix), and “Wonder Woman” (Warner Bros.).
Earlier in the evening, Quinlan honored USC trustees and longtime USC Libraries supporters Ronald and Valerie Sugar as the 2018 Ex Libris Award winners. In receiving the award, Ronald Sugar said, “The libraries are an essential underpinning of the mission of this university. And as the university grows and evolves to meet a world of social and technological change, so must its libraries. Catherine, you and your team have provided more than a decade of innovative leadership to advance and expand the reach of this precious academic resource.”
Legendary writer-director-producer Francis Ford Coppola received the 2018 Literary Achievement Award. Coppola noted that his films based on earlier written works gave possessive credit to the original author. The 1972 classic “The Godfather,” for example, which Coppola directed and adapted for the screen, was marketed as “Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’”—not “Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather.’” “Anyone who’s adapted screenplays,” Coppola explained, “knows the author did the heavy lifting.”
In-kind donors to the event included A24 Films, Amazon Studios, Hulu, Netflix, Picador USA, and Urth Caffé.
Scripter began in 1988, co-founded by USC Libraries board members Glenn Sonnenberg and Marjorie Lord. For more information about Scripter—including additional images from the ceremony—visit scripter.usc.edu.
-----------------------------
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Crowdfunding Platform Launched to Support "Apocalypse Now" Video Game
Apocalypse Now Team Builds Unique Crowdfunding Platform
American Zoetrope and Veteran Crowdfunders Create a New Platform for the Apocalypse Now Video Game
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apocalypse Now is being adapted into a video game, led by game industry veterans with a maverick vision as original and unorthodox as the film 40 years ago. Erebus, a cross-disciplinary team of game developers and crowdfunding experts, have created a new online platform to deliver the latest updates and progress on the video game through the development process, found at apocalypsenow.com. Those interested in helping to make the game possible can back via Kickstarter through February 23, 2017 and at apocalypsenow.com from the close of Kickstarter through the game’s launch.
“In terms of subject matter, source material, and artistic inspiration, Apocalypse Now will be unlike any video game that has come before, allowing our team to dig deeper and be more artful than I've ever dared in my two decades of game development”
With the new platform, the crowdfunding and game experts at Erebus have created a long-term strategic plan for the fans to control and guide the progress of Apocalypse Now and possibly many more projects to come. The platform is designed to complement Kickstarter, as crowdfunding for Apocalypse Now will continue on the new platform after the initial Kickstarter to support the total vision for the game.
The development team builds upon a legacy of writing, production and directorial experience on a dozen role-playing game series, including blockbuster game series such as Fallout, Wasteland, Gears of War, Far Cry, Pillars of Eternity, Witcher, Neverwinter Nights and many more best-selling games. Working under the sponsorship of Francis Ford Coppola’s studio American Zoetrope, the creative team aims to usher Apocalypse Now into the internet age, reimagined as a terrifying role-playing experience.
In the game, players will be able to experience and direct the psychedelic vision of the Vietnam War as originally presented in the film. Apocalypse Now - The Game is an interactive recreation of Cpt. Benjamin Willard’s journey, tasking players with the assassination of Col. Walter E. Kurtz, an officer who has gone rogue and assembled his own army of worshippers deep within the jungle. Each player unveils their own unique version of Willard’s experience, with different aspects of the mission, story and combat-related decisions creating a multitude of new, personalized variations on the Apocalypse Now story.
“In terms of subject matter, source material, and artistic inspiration, Apocalypse Now will be unlike any video game that has come before, allowing our team to dig deeper and be more artful than I've ever dared in my two decades of game development,” said executive producer Lawrence Liberty. "With the apocalypsenow.com site, we are creating a central hub where we can source feedback and direction directly from the people backing the game and I firmly believe that we can make better development decisions with the guidance of a large number of interested and invested players.”
For the latest updates, please visit the Apocalypse Now - The Game Kickstarter page and apocalypsenow.com.
Key Links:
Website: https://www.apocalypsenow.com
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fringerider/apocalypse-now-the-game
Game Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apocalypsenowgame/
Motion Picture Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApocalypseNowMovie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/apocnowgame
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apocalypsenowgame/
Game Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/apocalypsenowgame/
Motion Picture Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ApocalypseNow/
About American Zoetrope
American Zoetrope (also known as Zoetrope Studios from 1979 until 1990) is a privately run American film studio, centred in San Francisco and founded by Francis Ford Coppola. Opened on December 12, 1969, American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV. The studio has produced not only the films of Coppola (including Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Tetro), but also George Lucas's pre-Star Wars films such as THX 1138, as well as many others by avant-garde directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Wim Wenders and Godfrey Reggio. Four films produced by American Zoetrope are included in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. American Zoetrope-produced films have received 15 Academy Awards and 68 nominations.
About Framestore Ventures
Framestore Ventures is the internal incubator and venture division of the Academy-Award winning visual effects company Framestore. Leveraging 1500 creative and technical staff in five cities, Ventures combines homegrown talent and strategic partnerships to develop original IP across many media, with a diverse content slate ranging from TV shows, video games and realtime animation to live experiences, virtual and augmented reality.
About Ringling College of Art and Design
RCAD is a private four-year accredited college located in Sarasota, Florida. They collaborated with Auten and Markland on early visual prototypes of an Unreal Engine 4-rendered Apocalypse Now.
About Erebus LLC
Erebus LLC is a new crowdfunding and development studio of game veterans on a mission to develop Apocalypse Now as a video game. To learn more, please visit: apocalypsenow.com
---------------------------
American Zoetrope and Veteran Crowdfunders Create a New Platform for the Apocalypse Now Video Game
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apocalypse Now is being adapted into a video game, led by game industry veterans with a maverick vision as original and unorthodox as the film 40 years ago. Erebus, a cross-disciplinary team of game developers and crowdfunding experts, have created a new online platform to deliver the latest updates and progress on the video game through the development process, found at apocalypsenow.com. Those interested in helping to make the game possible can back via Kickstarter through February 23, 2017 and at apocalypsenow.com from the close of Kickstarter through the game’s launch.
“In terms of subject matter, source material, and artistic inspiration, Apocalypse Now will be unlike any video game that has come before, allowing our team to dig deeper and be more artful than I've ever dared in my two decades of game development”
With the new platform, the crowdfunding and game experts at Erebus have created a long-term strategic plan for the fans to control and guide the progress of Apocalypse Now and possibly many more projects to come. The platform is designed to complement Kickstarter, as crowdfunding for Apocalypse Now will continue on the new platform after the initial Kickstarter to support the total vision for the game.
The development team builds upon a legacy of writing, production and directorial experience on a dozen role-playing game series, including blockbuster game series such as Fallout, Wasteland, Gears of War, Far Cry, Pillars of Eternity, Witcher, Neverwinter Nights and many more best-selling games. Working under the sponsorship of Francis Ford Coppola’s studio American Zoetrope, the creative team aims to usher Apocalypse Now into the internet age, reimagined as a terrifying role-playing experience.
In the game, players will be able to experience and direct the psychedelic vision of the Vietnam War as originally presented in the film. Apocalypse Now - The Game is an interactive recreation of Cpt. Benjamin Willard’s journey, tasking players with the assassination of Col. Walter E. Kurtz, an officer who has gone rogue and assembled his own army of worshippers deep within the jungle. Each player unveils their own unique version of Willard’s experience, with different aspects of the mission, story and combat-related decisions creating a multitude of new, personalized variations on the Apocalypse Now story.
“In terms of subject matter, source material, and artistic inspiration, Apocalypse Now will be unlike any video game that has come before, allowing our team to dig deeper and be more artful than I've ever dared in my two decades of game development,” said executive producer Lawrence Liberty. "With the apocalypsenow.com site, we are creating a central hub where we can source feedback and direction directly from the people backing the game and I firmly believe that we can make better development decisions with the guidance of a large number of interested and invested players.”
For the latest updates, please visit the Apocalypse Now - The Game Kickstarter page and apocalypsenow.com.
Key Links:
Website: https://www.apocalypsenow.com
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fringerider/apocalypse-now-the-game
Game Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apocalypsenowgame/
Motion Picture Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApocalypseNowMovie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/apocnowgame
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apocalypsenowgame/
Game Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/apocalypsenowgame/
Motion Picture Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ApocalypseNow/
About American Zoetrope
American Zoetrope (also known as Zoetrope Studios from 1979 until 1990) is a privately run American film studio, centred in San Francisco and founded by Francis Ford Coppola. Opened on December 12, 1969, American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV. The studio has produced not only the films of Coppola (including Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Tetro), but also George Lucas's pre-Star Wars films such as THX 1138, as well as many others by avant-garde directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Wim Wenders and Godfrey Reggio. Four films produced by American Zoetrope are included in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. American Zoetrope-produced films have received 15 Academy Awards and 68 nominations.
About Framestore Ventures
Framestore Ventures is the internal incubator and venture division of the Academy-Award winning visual effects company Framestore. Leveraging 1500 creative and technical staff in five cities, Ventures combines homegrown talent and strategic partnerships to develop original IP across many media, with a diverse content slate ranging from TV shows, video games and realtime animation to live experiences, virtual and augmented reality.
About Ringling College of Art and Design
RCAD is a private four-year accredited college located in Sarasota, Florida. They collaborated with Auten and Markland on early visual prototypes of an Unreal Engine 4-rendered Apocalypse Now.
About Erebus LLC
Erebus LLC is a new crowdfunding and development studio of game veterans on a mission to develop Apocalypse Now as a video game. To learn more, please visit: apocalypsenow.com
---------------------------
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Review: "Lost in Translation" is Superb (Happy B'day, Bill Murray)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for some sexual content
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sofia Coppola
PRODUCERS: Sofia Coppola and Ross Katz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lance Acord (D.o.P.)
COMPOSER: Kevin Shields
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/ROMANCE with some elements of comedy
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Nancy Steiner (uncredited voice), Fumihiro Hayashi, Hiroko Kawasaki, and Akiko Takeshita
The subject of this movie review is Lost in Translation, a 2003 drama and romantic film from writer-director Sofia Coppola. Sofia’s legendary filmmaker father, Francis Ford Coppola, is also this film’s executive producer.
In 1990, film critics howled in derision when director Francis Ford Coppola cast his daughter, Sofia, in The Godfather: Part III, when another actress had to drop out early in filming schedule. Over a decade later, Sofia Coppola has firmly established herself as a directorial talent to watch thanks to her excellent film, Lost In Translation, the story of two displaced Americans in Tokyo who form a unique friendship of platonic love.
Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a fading TV star who goes to Tokyo after he’s paid $2 million to appear in an ad for Suntory whiskey. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is in Tokyo with her husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), who is photographing a rock band for a major magazine. Bob and Charlotte spend most of their time stuck in a hotel. Charlotte is frozen in her life, unsure of where her marriage is going and of what’s she going to do in life. Bob’s marriage is kind of shaky as he goes through a midlife crisis.
Bob and Charlotte meet in a hotel bar and bond. It’s that bond that helps them to deal with their feelings of confusion and loneliness, and in that special friendship, they share the hilarity caused by the cultural and language differences they encounter in Tokyo. They turn their time in a strange land into a wonderful and special week in Japan.
Lost in Translation was one of 2003’s best films. It’s smartly written, beautifully photographed, and splendidly directed. If there’s an adjective that suggests good, it belongs in descriptions of LiT. There is a patience in the filmmaking that suggests the filmmakers allowed the film to come together in an organic fashion, each adding their talents in the correct measure.
Ms. Coppola is brilliant in the way she lets her stars carry the film. She does her part to give LiT a unique visual look, something that suggests a documentary and an atmosphere of futurism. If you’ve heard that Bill Murray is just doing himself in this movie, you’re hearing ignorant people. Yes, Murray brings a lot of his personality to the role, but Bob Harris is mostly a stranger to us. Bill builds the character before our eyes, showing us a character new and rich in possibilities, someone with whom we can sympathize. Bill shows us just enough to know him and keeps enough hidden to make Bob mysterious and intriguing.
Ms. Johansson carries herself like a veteran actress of many films. She’s beautiful, but she’s puts those good looks to more use than just being eye candy. She’s subtle and crafty, and a lot of her character is revealed in her eyes, in the careful nuances of facial expressions, and in the understated movements of her slender, sexy frame. She’s a movie star.
For people who are always looking for something different in film, this is it. Lost in Translation is like sex, lies, and videotape or Reservoir Dogs, an early film in a director’s career that is more foreign than American, and announces the coming of a director who might just be a visionary. Plus, it’s a great romantic movie, as good as any classic love story.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards, USA: 1 win “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Sofia Coppola); 3 nominations “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Bill Murray), “Best Director” (Sofia Coppola), “Best Picture” (Ross Katz and Sofia Coppola)
2004 BAFTA Awards: 3 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Bill Murray), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Scarlett Johansson), and “Best Editing” (Sarah Flack); 5 nominations: “Best Film” (Sofia Coppola and Ross Katz), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Kevin Shields and Brian Reitzell), “Best Cinematography” (Lance Acord), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Sofia Coppola), “David Lean Award for Direction” (Sofia Coppola)
2004 Golden Globes, USA: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Bill Murray), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Sofia Coppola); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Sofia Coppola) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Scarlett Johansson)
Updated: Saturday, September 21, 2013
The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
"The Godfather" Returns for Cinemark's Classic Series
ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ‘THE GODFATHER’ RETURNS TO SCREENS FOR CINEMARK’S CLASSIC SERIES ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013
Next Round of Cinemark’s Classic Series Films to Feature ‘RAGING BULL’, and ‘THE GRADUATE’
Plano, TX (April 8, 2013) – Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), one of the world’s largest motion picture exhibitors, is pleased to announce the final film in the Best Picture Classic Series. The 1972 Academy Award Winner for Best Motion Picture, THE GODFATHER, will play in over 120 Cinemark theatres across the country, including on the Cinemark XD - Extreme Digital Cinema screens where available. Ranked #2 on the 2007 American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, the film is scheduled to play on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at two separate show times, 2 pm and 7pm.
"There is no greater iconic film than “The Godfather,” states James Meredith, VP, Head of Marketing and Communications at Cinemark. “It has set the standard for story-telling, launched a generation of great actors, and provided movie-goers an unparalleled experience. ”
“The Godfather,” Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece features Marlon Brando in his Oscar©-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan's rise and near fall from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between the Corleone's family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Cann and Robert Duvall, this searing and brilliant film garnered eleven Academy Award® nominations, and won three including Best Picture in 1972. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest American films ever made. Cinemark will show the 40th Anniversary restoration version of the film, which is rated R by the MPAA.
Cinemark is also pleased to announce that the next set of “Classic Series” films will feature four diverse and groundbreaking films. All Classics will show at 2pm and 7pm on the following days:
April 24: Raging Bull (1980) R
May 1: The Graduate (1967) PG
May 8: Alien (1979) R
May 15: Blazing Saddles (1974) R
“Four very distinctive directors are showcased in this round of classic films,” Meredith adds. “From Martin Scorsese and Mike Nichols to Ridley Scott and Mel Brooks, you cannot find four other directors who bring unparalleled styles to both the visual and acting aspects of their movies.”
Tickets for Cinemark’s Classic Series, including a specially priced bundled package of $20 for all four movies, are now available at www.cinemark.com or at the participating theatre box office. For a full list of participating Cinemark locations, advance ticket purchases and show time information go to the Cinemark web site.
About Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
Cinemark is a leading domestic and international motion picture exhibitor, operating 465 theatres with 5,240 screens in 39 U.S. states, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and 10 other Latin American countries as of December 31, 2012. For more information go to www.cinemark.com.
Next Round of Cinemark’s Classic Series Films to Feature ‘RAGING BULL’, and ‘THE GRADUATE’
Plano, TX (April 8, 2013) – Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), one of the world’s largest motion picture exhibitors, is pleased to announce the final film in the Best Picture Classic Series. The 1972 Academy Award Winner for Best Motion Picture, THE GODFATHER, will play in over 120 Cinemark theatres across the country, including on the Cinemark XD - Extreme Digital Cinema screens where available. Ranked #2 on the 2007 American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, the film is scheduled to play on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at two separate show times, 2 pm and 7pm.
"There is no greater iconic film than “The Godfather,” states James Meredith, VP, Head of Marketing and Communications at Cinemark. “It has set the standard for story-telling, launched a generation of great actors, and provided movie-goers an unparalleled experience. ”
“The Godfather,” Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece features Marlon Brando in his Oscar©-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan's rise and near fall from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between the Corleone's family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Cann and Robert Duvall, this searing and brilliant film garnered eleven Academy Award® nominations, and won three including Best Picture in 1972. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest American films ever made. Cinemark will show the 40th Anniversary restoration version of the film, which is rated R by the MPAA.
Cinemark is also pleased to announce that the next set of “Classic Series” films will feature four diverse and groundbreaking films. All Classics will show at 2pm and 7pm on the following days:
April 24: Raging Bull (1980) R
May 1: The Graduate (1967) PG
May 8: Alien (1979) R
May 15: Blazing Saddles (1974) R
“Four very distinctive directors are showcased in this round of classic films,” Meredith adds. “From Martin Scorsese and Mike Nichols to Ridley Scott and Mel Brooks, you cannot find four other directors who bring unparalleled styles to both the visual and acting aspects of their movies.”
Tickets for Cinemark’s Classic Series, including a specially priced bundled package of $20 for all four movies, are now available at www.cinemark.com or at the participating theatre box office. For a full list of participating Cinemark locations, advance ticket purchases and show time information go to the Cinemark web site.
About Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
Cinemark is a leading domestic and international motion picture exhibitor, operating 465 theatres with 5,240 screens in 39 U.S. states, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and 10 other Latin American countries as of December 31, 2012. For more information go to www.cinemark.com.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Review: "Bram Stoker’s Dracula" Still a Stand-Out Dracula Movie
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality and horror violence
DIRECTOR: Francis Ford Coppola
WRITER: James V. Hart (based upon the novel by Bram Stoker)
PRODUCERS: Fred Fuchs, Charles Mulvehill, and Francis Ford Coppola
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Ballhaus
EDITORS: Anne Goursaud, Glen Scantlebury, and Nicholas C. Smith
COMPOSER: Wojciech Kilar
Academy Award winner
HORROR/FANTASY/ROMANCE with elements of drama
Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits, and Monica Bellucci
The subject of this movie review is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a 1992 vampire movie and Gothic horror film from director Francis Ford Coppola. The film’s screenplay essentially takes the familiar Dracula story and emphasizes romantic and sensual elements. The film’s lavish production values helped it earn many honors, box office success, and some favorable attention from film critics.
Francis Ford Coppola’s lavish and colorful gothic extravaganza, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is a three-time Academy Award winner. Dazzling, lush, and sensuous, the film affirms Coppola’s place as imaginative and brilliant filmmaker. The film also testifies to the talents of all the cohorts. Eschewing the (then) burgeoning use of computers to add special effects to films, the SFX, cinematographer, makeup, sets artists, and designers used old-fashioned craftsmanship and artistry to create an amazing movie that harks to the past while looking out of this world impossible.
The film’s story is similar to previous adaptations of Bram Stoker’s novel (although most films are actually based on an early 20th century stage version of Stoker’s novel than the novel itself), but the attraction here is the visual interpretation. Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves), a young lawyer, travels to into the gloomy misty land of Eastern Europe, Transylvania, to meet a mysterious client, Count Dracula (Gary Oldman), who is buying several tracts of property in London. Dracula, a vampire, later imprisons Harker when he discovers that Mina Murray (Winona Ryder), Harker’s fiancée, exactly resembles is late human wife, Elisabeta (Ms. Ryder), who killed herself centuries ago. Dracula travels in secret to London where he seduces and drains the life out of Mina’s friend, Lucy Westenra (Sadie Frost). However, the cautious Dr. Jack Seward (Richard E. Grant) summons his old mentor, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) who immediately recognizes Lucy’s ailment and subsequent death as the work of a vampire. Van Helsing gathers Lucy’s friends to destroy Dracula, but the undead count has in eyes on Mina, and she, surprisingly, as her eyes on him.
The film is very entertaining, a stunning visual treat, and a unique horror film that hypnotizes you into watching it over and over again. Gary Oldman is one of the best screen Dracula’s ever; he is magnificent and alluring, but also fearsome and awe-inspiring. Winona Ryder is simultaneously demure and spirited as the brave Mina who is also secretly a naughty girl. The rest of the cast is mostly hit or miss. Anthony Hopkins gives a mostly annoying performance as Van Helsing, in which he only occasionally makes the character the brave and resolute leader he was in the original novel. Keanu Reeves is wooden, stiff, and nearly undead himself as Jonathan Harker. How could Mina not choose an undead monster with romantic inclinations over a pebble like Reeves’ Harker. The rest of the cast is functional and has its moments. The attraction here is the amazing work of Coppola and his filmmaking crew, as well as the screen duo of Oldman and Ms. Ryder; they’re the reasons you see this film.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
1993 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Costume Design” (Eiko Ishioka), “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Tom C. McCarthy and David E. Stone), and “Best Makeup” (Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke, and Matthew W. Mungle); 1 nomination: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Thomas E. Sanders and Garrett Lewis)
1994 BAFTA Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Eiko Ishioka), “Best Make Up Artist” (Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke, and Matthew W. Mungle), “Best Production Design” (Thomas E. Sanders), and “Best Special Effects” (Roman Coppola, Gary Gutierrez, Michael Lantieri, and Gene Warren Jr.)
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Negromancer News Bits and Bites July 31 2011 - Weekend Edition
News for me and news for y'all:
A Dark Knight Rises News Alert! Total Film has found several set pictures of Tom Hardy in one of his Bane costumes.
_________________________
They're rioting in the streets. Lawd! Two theatre chains, Regal and AMC, have cancelled showings of the documentary, Electric Daisy Carnival Experience, after violence erupted at the Hollywood premiere earlier this week. The documentary is about the Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual electronic music festival or rave.
______________________
The New York Times has a short article on Steven Spielberg's busy year, which will end with two films he has directed, Tintin and War Horse.
______________________
At the recently concluded 2011 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Francis Ford Coppola talked about his 3D film, Twixt. Reuters has the story and an interview.
______________________
Over at the excellent Box Office Mojo, Brandon Gray puts a beatdown on the lies being told by supporters of the Sarah Palin clownumentary... I mean documentary and propaganda puff piece, The Undefeated.
A Dark Knight Rises News Alert! Total Film has found several set pictures of Tom Hardy in one of his Bane costumes.
_________________________
They're rioting in the streets. Lawd! Two theatre chains, Regal and AMC, have cancelled showings of the documentary, Electric Daisy Carnival Experience, after violence erupted at the Hollywood premiere earlier this week. The documentary is about the Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual electronic music festival or rave.
______________________
The New York Times has a short article on Steven Spielberg's busy year, which will end with two films he has directed, Tintin and War Horse.
______________________
At the recently concluded 2011 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Francis Ford Coppola talked about his 3D film, Twixt. Reuters has the story and an interview.
______________________
Over at the excellent Box Office Mojo, Brandon Gray puts a beatdown on the lies being told by supporters of the Sarah Palin clownumentary... I mean documentary and propaganda puff piece, The Undefeated.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Directors Guild Awards Friend "The King's Speech"
The winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards for 2010 were announced last night (Sat. Jan. 29th). The big news: Tom Hooper won the DGA's "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film" for The King's Speech. The awards were handed out at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles. For a complete list of winners and nominees, please visit the DGA site.
The Directors Guild Awards Winners:
Best Feature Film: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Documentary: Charles Ferguson, Inside Job
Dramatic Series: Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire
Comedy Series: Michael Spiller, Modern Family, Halloween Episode
TV Movie/Miniseries: Mick Jackson, Temple Grandin
The winner of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for predicting the winner of the best director Oscar. Only six times since the DGA Award's inception in 1948 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director.
Here are the six DGA winners who did NOT win the best director Oscar the same year (with the Oscar winner in parenthesis):
1968: Anthony Harvey for The Lion in Winter (Carol Reed-Oliver!)
1972: Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather (Bob Fosse-Cabaret)
1985: Steven Spielberg for The Color Purple (Sydney Pollack-Out of Africa)
1995: Ron Howard for Apollo 13 (Mel Gibson-Braveheart)
2000: Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Steven Soderbergh-Traffic)
2002: Rob Marshall for Chicago (Roman Polanski-The Pianist)
The Directors Guild Awards Winners:
Best Feature Film: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Documentary: Charles Ferguson, Inside Job
Dramatic Series: Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire
Comedy Series: Michael Spiller, Modern Family, Halloween Episode
TV Movie/Miniseries: Mick Jackson, Temple Grandin
The winner of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for predicting the winner of the best director Oscar. Only six times since the DGA Award's inception in 1948 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director.
Here are the six DGA winners who did NOT win the best director Oscar the same year (with the Oscar winner in parenthesis):
1968: Anthony Harvey for The Lion in Winter (Carol Reed-Oliver!)
1972: Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather (Bob Fosse-Cabaret)
1985: Steven Spielberg for The Color Purple (Sydney Pollack-Out of Africa)
1995: Ron Howard for Apollo 13 (Mel Gibson-Braveheart)
2000: Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Steven Soderbergh-Traffic)
2002: Rob Marshall for Chicago (Roman Polanski-The Pianist)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)