Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 20th to 28th, 2022 - Update #26

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

AWARDS - From Deadline:   The winners at the 2022 / 28th annual SAG Awards. "CODA" wins the top prize, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:   The winner of the 2/25 to 2/27/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Uncharted" with an estimated take of $23.25 million.

NAACP - From Variety:  Here is a complete list of winners at 2022 / 53rd NAACP Image Awards in the film, television and music categories.  Jennifer Hudson was named "Entertainer of the Year."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Quentin Tarantino is in early talks to direct one or two episodes of "Justified: City Primeval," the FX limited series that brings Timothy Olyphant as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens from FX's long-running series, "Justified" (2010-15).

MOVIES/NETFLIX - From BET:  Tyler Perry talks to BET about his new Madea movie, "A Madea Homecoming," which is streaming on Netflix.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Steven Spielberg is attached to direct a new original story based on "Lt. Frank Bullitt," the character the late Steve McQueen played in the 1968 film, "Bullitt."

AWARDS - From Deadline:  "Lost Illusions" and "Annette" top the 2022 Cesar Awards in France.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney has set the release date for its film, "Haunted Mansion," for March 10, 2023.  Justin Simien is directing stars Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Danny DeVito, and LaKeith Stanfield.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Universal Pictures will release its monster movie, "Renfield" on April 14, 2023.  The films focuses on Count Dracula's lackey/aide, Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult with Nicolas Cage playing Dracula.

NEWS - From Variety:  Oscar-winning actor, Sean Penn, is in Ukraine filming a documentary about the Russia's invasion of the country.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Sacha Baron Cohen has joined the cast of director Alfonso Cuaron's film, "Disclaimer," for Apple TV+.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Paramount Pictures has acquired "80 For Brady." NFL legend and Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady, will produce and star in the film with Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda,  Rita Moreno, and Sally Field.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Director James Mangold and 20th Century Studios are developing a biopic of Hollywood legend and icon, the comedian and filmmaker, Buster Keaton.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  The site has a first look at actor Daniel Radcliffe as "Weird" Al Yankovic in the biopic, "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story."

OSCARS - From THR:  During this year's Oscar telecast, for the 94th Academy Awards, eight categories that are usually presented live during the ceremony will not be this year.  The categories of "documentary short," "film editing," "makeup/hairstyling," "original score," "production design," "animated short," "live action short," and "sound" will take place inside the Dolby Theatre an hour before the live telecast commences, will be recorded, and will then be edited into the subsequent live broadcast.

From Deadline:  The changes to this year's Oscar telecast for the 94th Academy Awards have created a backlash.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  "The Wendy Williams Show" is ending for now, and will be replaced by a daytime syndicated talk show headline by Sherri Shepherd, a former co-host on "The View," slated to debut Fall 2022.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Universal Pictures has released a moody first image of actor Cillian Murphy as "J. Robert Oppenheimer" in director Christopher Nolan's film, "Oppenheimer." The film has begun principal photography and is due July 2023.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 2/18 to 2/20/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Uncharted" with an estimated take of 44.16 million dollars.

From Deadline:  "Uncharted" scores 139 million dollars in global box office.

From BuzzFeed:  Actor Tom Holland worked as a bartender while making "Uncharted."

MOVIES - From VogueUK:  Here is the first look of actor Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in director Baz Luhrmann's biopic, "Elvis."

OBITS:

From Variety:   Film and television actress, Sally Kellerman, has died at the age of 84, Thursday, Feruary 24, 2022.  Kellerman was nominated for a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar for her role as "Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan" in director Robert Altman's 1970 film, "MASH."  From 2014 to 2015, she had a recurring guest role on the CBS soap opera, "The Young and the Restless," which earned her a 2015 Daytime Emmy Award nomination.

From Deadline:  American singer-songwriter and rock musician, Mark Lanegan, has died at the age of 57, Tuesday, February 22, 2022.  He was one of the leading figures in the development of "grunge music" as the vocalist for the band, "Screaming Tress," and recorded seven albums with them.  He also released 12 solo studio albums.  He was also a member of the rock band, "Queens of the Stone Age."

From Deadline:  British music entrepreneur and YouTube star, Jamal Edwards, has died at the age of 31, Sunday, February 20, 2022.  He was known for founding "SBTV," a YouTube music channel dedicated to breaking emerging music acts in the United Kingdom.  Edwards helped launch the careers of artists such as Ed Sheeran and Jessie J, to name a few.  Edwards and SBTV are also credited with helping to popularize "grime music" in the UK and beyond.

From Deadline:   American film editor, David Brenner, has died at the age of 59, February 17, 2022.  Brenner was known for editing blockbuster films of noted directors like Roland Emmerich, Oliver Stone, and Zach Snyder, to name a few.  He won an Oscar with Joe Hutshing for editing Stone's 1989 film, "Born on the Forth of July."  Brenner was the editor on the "Avatar" sequels.

-------------------------------

94TH ACADEMY AWARDS:

OSCARS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2022 / 94th Academy Awards have been announced.  "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 nominations.  The winners will be revealed March 27th.

From Deadline:    With his "Best Actor" nomination for "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Denzel Washington is the most nominated Black actor is Oscar history.  He has been nominated in two acting categories a total of 10 times with two wins total.

From Variety:   With her "Best Director" Oscar nomination for "The Power of the Dog," Jane Campion becomes the first woman nominated twice in that category. She was previously nominated in that category for "The Piano" (1993).

From Variety:  With his three nominations today, Kenneth Branagh of "Belfast" becomes the first person to have been nominated in seven individual categories over his career.

-----------------------

MOVIE AWARDS:

From Deadline:   The 2022 / 9th annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards were announced.  The Amazon film, "Coming 2 America" (the sequel to the 1988 film, "Coming to America"), led with three wins.

From Deadline:  The 2022 BAFTA Film Awards nominations have been announced.  "Dune" leads with 11 nominations.  The winners will be announced March 13th.

From Deadline:   The 2022 / 33rd annual Producers Guild of America Awards nominations have been announced.  The winners will be announced Saturday, March 19th.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2022 / 74th annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced March 12th.

From COFCA:  The Columbus Film Critics Association name "The Power of the Dog" the "Best Film" of 2021.

From Deadline:  Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," was named the "Best Picture" of 2021 at the 13th annual African American Film Critics Association Awards.  The Western tied with "King Richard" for most wins with four.  Will Smith was named "Best Actor" for "King Richard."

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2022 / 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced.

From Variety:  The snubs and surprises in the nominations for the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

From Variety:   At the 2022 / 79th Golden Globes, "The Power of the Dog" wins "Best Motion Picture-Drama" and "West Side Story" wins "Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy."

From Variety:  The National Society of Film Critics names the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the best film of 2021.

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 22nd Annual Black Reel Awards were announced a few weeks ago. Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," has a record 20 nominations.  The winners will be announced February 27, 2022.

From AwardsWatch:  The Columbus Film Critics Association announced the nominations for their annual film awards.  Director Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 noms.  The winners will be announced Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline:  The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.

From Deadline:  The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.

From THR:  The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced.  "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each.  Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From GoldDerby:   The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From Deadline:   The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."

From THR:  Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."

From Variety:   The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."

From Deadline:  The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards.  Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."

From THR:  Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th).  The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."

---------------------------------

"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

From Deadline:  This link will take you to Deadline's Halyna Hutchins page, which articles related to everything about her shooting death on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  Matt Hutchins, the husband of Halyna Hutchins, blames Alec Baldwin for Halyna's accidental shooting death on the set of the doomed Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  The family and estate of Halyna Hutchins has filed suit against Alec Baldwin (who accidentally shot Hutchins), a slew of production companies and entities, producers, and key crew members involved in the Western film, "Rust," for her death.

From THR:   A Republican New Mexico legislator, State Sen. Cliff Pirtle of Roswell, on Monday introduced a bill that would require all film set personnel who handle firearms to complete a safety course offered by the New Mexico Game and Fish Department.  This is in the wake a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, being fatally shot on the set of the Western, "Rust," last year by Alec Baldwin with a weapon he says he thought was not loaded with live ammunition.

From Deadline:  Alec Baldwin and the other producers of the doomed Western film, "Rust," want a California judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell.

From Deadline:   Alec Baldwin has finally turned over his cell phone to police for their probe into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Baldwin's Western film, "Rust," last October in New Mexico.

From Variety:  One of the producers of tragic Western film, Rust, Emily Salveson, pushes tax shelters and hid income.

From THR:  "I let go of the hammer and 'Bang,' the gun goes off" says Alec Baldwin says in his first interview of the moment when a gun he was holding accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  Alec Baldwin will sit down with ABC's news-reading clown George Stephanopoulos for a one hour special tomorrow night to talk about what happened on the set of the movie "Rust."  It will be Baldwin’s first extensive interview about the shooting.

From Deadline:  Industry veteran, Thall Reed, the father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Western, "Rust," may have handed the police a tip on why the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot to death on the set.

From THR:  A search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday for a prop shop sheds light on how alleged live ammunition ended up on the set of the Western film, "Rust," where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in October.

From Deadline:  A month after cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed on the New Mexico set the movie Western, "Rust," by a prop gun “discharged” by Alec Baldwin, those closest to the cinematographer held a private ceremony and interred her ashes at an unknown location.

From Deadline:  Actor Daniel Baldwin defends his brother, Alec Baldwin, in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, "Rust."  "Someone loaded that gun improperly," Daniel says.

From Deadline:  The newest lawsuit involving the tragic shooting on the set of the Western film, "Rust," has been filed by the film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, against Alec Baldwin, the producers, the production company, armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, and others.

From Deadline:  Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer on "Rust," has filed a lawsuit against several parties related to the film, including the production, the financiers, star Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first Assistant Director David Halls.

From THR:   In the wake of the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film, "Rust," Alec Baldwin on Monday took to social media to urge Hollywood to employ a police officer on every film and TV set that uses guns.

From THR:   The budget for "Rust" - Alec Baldwin was set to earn $150,000 as lead actor and $100,000 as producer, while $7,913 was earmarked for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and $17,500 was set aside for the rental of weapons and $5,000 for rounds.

From Deadline:  Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film, "Rust," said that they’re looking into whether a live bullet was placed in a box of dummy rounds with the intent of  “sabotaging the set.”

From THR:   Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, "Rust," released a statement through her lawyers.  She says she had “no idea where the live rounds came from” that were recovered by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's during the investigation of the accidental on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

From Jacobin:  An opinion piece says that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of the film, "Rust," was not a freak accident, but was about Alec Baldwin and his fellow producers' cost-cutting decisions.  Baldwin accidentally fired the gun that killed Hutchins.

From Deadline:   Two of executive producers on "Rust," Allen Cheney and Emily Salveson, disavow responsibility for the film's troubled production.

From THR:   Iconic "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson is reeling from the news of the death of Halyna Hutchins, like the rest of Hollywood. Hudson also appeared in the film, "The Crow," the film in which its star, Brandon Lee, was killed because of an on-set accidental shooting.  He also agrees with the call to ban real guns from movie sets.

From THR:  The Sheriff of Sante Fe County says that his office has recovered three guns and 500 rounds of ammunition from the set of the movie "Rust" where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

From Deadline:  Regarding criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis, "all options are on the table - no one has been ruled out."

From THR:  Does Hollywood Need Guns? Will new regulations lead to an overreactions to a tragedy.

From Deadline:   "Rust" producers have opened an internal investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the Western film.  They have hired outside lawyers to conduct interviews with the film's production crew.

From Deadline:  "Rust's" AD (assistant director), Dave Halls, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The affidavit of Sante Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano has been made public. It can be read at "Deadline."  The affidavit was for a search warrant from the property were the Western, "Rust," was being filmed.

From THR:  The production company behind "Rust" has shut the film down until the police investigation into the fatal, on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is through.  The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office has also revealed a timeline of the shooting.

From Deadline:  The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun on the New Mexico set of the movie, "Rust."  As a result, one crew member, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured and remains in a local hospital - his condition unknown.

From THR:  "Rust" director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the accidental on-set shooting, says that he is "gutted" by the death of his cinematographer on the film, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" may have been "recorded" according to detective for Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

From Deadline:  The production company behind the film, "Rust," will launch an internal safety review after the fatal accident that killed Halyna Hutchins; possible prior gun incidents; and a camera crew walkout.

From CNN:   Crew member yelled "cold gun" as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows.

From Variety:  Actor Alec Baldwin releases statement on the death of Halyna Hutchins: "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness."

From Variety:  The prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on during an on-set accident on Thursday contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by IATSE Local 44 to its membership.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 14th to 20th, 2021- Update #21

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From THR:  Father/producer Ivan Reitman and son/director Jason Reitman discuss "Ghostbusters: Afterlife."

From Negromancer:   My review of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   ABC's holiday special, "A Very Boy Band Holiday," will feature members from several famous boy bands, including "New Edition," "*NSYNC," "NKOTB" (New Kids on the Block), and "Boys II Men," to name a few.  This special will air Mon., Dec. 6th, 2021.

MOVIES - From Variety:  “Oppenheimer,” director Christopher Nolan's $100 million-budgeted historical drama about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb, could be considered one of an endangered species - prestige dramas with budgets that big.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:   "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) screenwriter Anthony McCarten has filed a breach of contract suit against Graham King and his GK Films for money owed on the Oscar-winning film about Queen and its iconic singer Freddie Mercury.  The film grossed 911 million dollars worldwide, but Fox says the film is still not profitable and is 51 million dollars "in the red" (debt).

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Martin Scorsese is set to direct and produce a biographical film about the legendary rock band, "The Grateful Dead."  Oscar-nominee Jonah Hill will play the band's front man, the late Jerry Garcia.

NETFLIX - From CNET:  Netflix launched a website Tuesday (Nov. 16th) where it posts charts of its most popular shows and movies, updated every week and ranked by the total number of hours that subscribers spent watching them. 

STAR TREK - From Deadline:  "Star Trek: Discovery" has left Netflix and now will be exclusive to Paramount+.

MOVIES - From THR:  The film studio Miramax is suing director Quentin Tarantino over plans to release non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on his 1994 film, "Pulp Fiction."

STREAMING - From THR:   The "Harry Potter" franchise trio: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson and director Chris Columbus are among those appearing in a 20th anniversary HBO Max retrospective of the first film in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

TELEVISION - From THR:  TV Pilots 2021: The Complete Guide: Keep track of all the broadcast pilots that are in contention for the 2021-22 season at ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and The CW.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 11/12 to 11/14/2021 weekend box office is Marvel Studios' "Eternals" with an estimated take of 27.5 million dollars.

From Negromancer:   My review of Marvel Studios' "Eternals."

MOVIES - From THR:  Mel Gibson is set to direct "Lethal Weapon 5," which will likely be the final installment in the franchise which began in 1987 with "Lethal Weapon" starring Gibson and Danny Glover.

STREAMING/PARAMOUNT+ - From Variety:  Paramount Plus has released a teaser trailer for its "Halo" live-action TV series, which is due in 2022.

STREAMING/HULU - From THR:  The next film in the "Predator" film franchise is a prequel entitled "Prey."  Set 300 years in the past, it pits Comanche Nation warrior, a young woman named "Naru," against an alien Predator warrior.  It is expected to stream on Hulu Summer 2022.

BOOKS/MOVIES - From THR:  Over the summer HarperCollins released Quentin Tarantino's paperback novelization of his Oscar-winning film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."  On Nov. 9th, the deluxe hardcover edition debuted and it has lots of extras.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  MGM has won the bidding war for a pitch about an buddy-action movie starring Jason Momoa ("Aquaman") and Dave Bautista ("Guardians of the Galaxy" series; "Dune")

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Veteran character actor, Art LaFleur, has died at the age of 78, Wednesday, November 17, 2021.  LaFleur appeared in many television series and in at least 20 TV movies.  LaFleur is best known for playing "Babe Ruth" in the coming-of-age sports movie, "The Sandlot" (1993) and for his appearances in two other baseball-themed movies, "Field of Dreams" (1989) and "Mr. Baseball" (1992)

From Deadline:  American jazz musician, composer, and lyricist, Dave Frishberg, has died at the age of 88, Wednesday, November 17, 2021.  His songs have been recorded by Rosemary Clooney, Shirley Horn, and Mel Torme, to name a few.  He also wrote the song, "I'm Just a Bill" for ABC's "Schoohouse Rock!" series.

------------------

"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

From Deadline:  This link will take you to Deadline's Halyna Hutchins page, which articles related to everything about her shooting death on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  Actor Daniel Baldwin defends his brother, Alec Baldwin, in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, "Rust."  "Someone loaded that gun improperly," Daniel says.

From Deadline:  The newest lawsuit involving the tragic shooting on the set of the Western film, "Rust," has been filed by the film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, against Alec Baldwin, the producers, the production company, armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, and others.

From Deadline:  Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer on "Rust," has filed a lawsuit against several parties related to the film, including the production, the financiers, star Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first Assistant Director David Halls.

From THR:   In the wake of the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film, "Rust," Alec Baldwin on Monday took to social media to urge Hollywood to employ a police officer on every film and TV set that uses guns.

From THR:   The budget for "Rust" - Alec Baldwin was set to earn $150,000 as lead actor and $100,000 as producer, while $7,913 was earmarked for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and $17,500 was set aside for the rental of weapons and $5,000 for rounds.

From Deadline:  Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film, "Rust," said that they’re looking into whether a live bullet was placed in a box of dummy rounds with the intent of  “sabotaging the set.”

From THR:   Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, "Rust," released a statement through her lawyers.  She says she had “no idea where the live rounds came from” that were recovered by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's during the investigation of the accidental on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

From Jacobin:  An opinion piece says that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of the film, "Rust," was not a freak accident, but was about Alec Baldwin and his fellow producers' cost-cutting decisions.  Baldwin accidentally fired the gun that killed Hutchins.

From Deadline:   Two of executive producers on "Rust," Allen Cheney and Emily Salveson, disavow responsibility for the film's troubled production.

From THR:   Iconic "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson is reeling from the news of the death of Halyna Hutchins, like the rest of Hollywood. Hudson also appeared in the film, "The Crow," the film in which its star, Brandon Lee, was killed because of an on-set accidental shooting.  He also agrees with the call to ban real guns from movie sets.

From THR:  The Sheriff of Sante Fe County says that his office has recovered three guns and 500 rounds of ammunition from the set of the movie "Rust" where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

From Deadline:  Regarding criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis, "all options are on the table - no one has been ruled out."

From THR:  Does Hollywood Need Guns? Will new regulations lead to an overreactions to a tragedy.

From Deadline:   "Rust" producers have opened an internal investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the Western film.  They have hired outside lawyers to conduct interviews with the film's production crew.

From Deadline:  "Rust's" AD (assistant director), Dave Halls, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The affidavit of Sante Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano has been made public. It can be read at "Deadline."  The affidavit was for a search warrant from the property were the Western, "Rust," was being filmed.

From THR:  The production company behind "Rust" has shut the film down until the police investigation into the fatal, on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is through.  The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office has also revealed a timeline of the shooting.

From Deadline:  The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun on the New Mexico set of the movie, "Rust."  As a result, one crew member, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured and remains in a local hospital - his condition unknown.

From THR:  "Rust" director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the accidental on-set shooting, says that he is "gutted" by the death of his cinematographer on the film, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" may have been "recorded" according to detective for Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

From Deadline:  The production company behind the film, "Rust," will launch an internal safety review after the fatal accident that killed Halyna Hutchins; possible prior gun incidents; and a camera crew walkout.

From CNN:   Crew member yelled "cold gun" as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows.

From Variety:  Actor Alec Baldwin releases statement on the death of Halyna Hutchins: "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness."

From Variety:  The prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on during an on-set accident on Thursday contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by IATSE Local 44 to its membership.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 8th to 14th, 2021 - Update #23

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   Disney/20th Century Studios "Free Guy," starring Ryan Reynolds, looks to lead the weekend box office.

TELEVISION - From IndieWire:  In an interview, actor Jonathan Majors talks about the "jarring" end of HBO's "Lovecraft Country."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winner Emma Stone signs a deal to star in a sequel to Disney's recent hit, "Cruella."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   FX chairman John Landgraf would like TV super-producer Ryan Murphy to return to 20th Century Television and Disney from his current perch at Netflix.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Gina Carano's first project since getting fired from the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian," is an untitled revenge thriller.  Eric Red ("The Hitcher") has written the script for the film, which is based on his novel "White Knuckle."  Carano will star in the film and will be one of the film's producers.

MUSIC - From Afrotech:   Singer-songwriter Dolly Parton has made millions of dollars in songwriting royalties from the late Whitney Houston's 1992 remake of Parton's 1974 song, "I Will Always Love You."  Parton revealed that she has invested some of that money in the African-American community of Nashville, TN.

CELEBRITY - From YahooTelegraphy:  Oscar-nominated actress, Debra Winger, talks about how the MeToo movement has gone too far and about why she really left Hollywood in the early 1990s.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  There is a second teaser and a full trailer for FX's "Impeachment: American Crime Story," which debuts Sept 7th.  The series focuses on the scandal involving President Bill Clinton and the intern Monica Lewinsky.

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   Oscar-winner Quentin Tarantino says that the has stuck to a childhood promise not to never give a "penny" to his mother.

From YahooEntertainment:  His mother, Connie Zastoupil, has something else to say.

MOVIES - From IndieWire:   Recent Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao has raved about director Denis Villeneuve's upcoming sci-fi epic, "Dune."  But how many people will see it in movie theaters.

TELEVISION - From TVInsider:   Seth McFarlane says the third season of his sci-fi comedy TV series, "The Orville," has wrapped and will debut on Hulu.

SPORTS/TELEVISION - From Deadline:   According to early numbers, NBC suffered an all-time viewership low in its broadcast of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (a.k.a. "the Games of the XXXII Olympiad").  Still, an average of 15.5 million in today's numbers is actually good.  NBC has broadcast the Summer Olympics since 1988 Seoul Korea Olympics.

MOVIES - From IGN:   Actor Idris Elba will provide the voice for the character, "Knuckles," in the sequel to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie.

NETFLIX - From Variety:  Netflix is developing "Wednesday Addams," a TV series based on "The Addams Family" television series and on Charles Addams' series of cartoons in "The New Yorker" magazine.   Actor Luis Guzman has been cast as "Gomez Addams."

From Variety:  Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Morticia Addams in Netflix's series, "Wednesday Addams."  Jenny Ortega has been previously announced as Wednesday.

ANIMATION - From YahooEntertainment:   Voice actor Jeff Bergman talks about the responsibility in voicing classic animated cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny and Yogi Bear.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:   Actor Joel Kinnaman has obtained a restraining order against a former sex partner, Swedish model Gabriella Magnusson.  According to Kinnaman, Magnusson has threatened to accuse him of raping her.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 8/6 to 8/8/2021 weekend box office is "The Suicide Squad" with an estimated take of 26.5 million dollars.

MOVIE REVIEW - From Negromancer:   Here is my review of "The Suicide Squad."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Actor Kapil Talwalkar ("Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist") will be a series regular on NBC's upcoming sequel to "Night Court" (1984-92), its long-running courtroom comedy.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Former child star, Jane Withers, has died at the age of 95, Saturday, August 7, 2021.  She was one of the most popular child stars of the 1930s and early 1940s, and she was the only child star to complete a seven-year contract.  Her breakthrough role came as a supporting actor next to Shirley Temple in the film, "Bright Eyes" (1934).   Withers retired at 21 in 1947, but returned to screen and television work in 1955.

From Deadline:   The actress, Markie Post, has died at the age of 70, Saturday, August 7, 2021, after a nearly four-year battle with cancer.  Post was best known for playing the role of "Christine Sullivan" on NBC's former courtroom comedy, "Night Court," becoming a series regular in its third season.  Post was also the star (with John Ritter) of CBS' late sitcom, "Hearts Afire" (1992-95).  In recent years, Post had a recurring role on NBC's police drama, "Chicago P.D."

From Deadline:  Former costars and colleagues remember Markie Post ("The Fall Guy," "Night Court,") who died on Saturday at the age of 70.

TRAILERS:

From THR:  There is a trailer for Nicolas Cage's upcoming film, "Prisoners of the Ghostland," which arrives Sept. 17th at theaters, on digital, and video-on-demand.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 15th to 21st, 2020 - Update #25

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

TELEVISION - From THR:   A contestant on TBS' "Wipeout" died Wednesday, November 18th, after completing the competition reality show's course.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Disney's 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) is producing a fifth movie in the "Predator" film franchise.  Dan Trachtenberg ("10 Cloverfield Lane") is currently scheduled to direct.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Six actors have been cast in Netflix's live-action version on the beloved, cult anime, "Cowboy Bebop."

STREAMING - From BloodyDisgusting:  Horror movie icon, Robert Englund, the original "Freddy Krueger," will be a cast member on Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season Four.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney is considering pulling three of its live-action remakes of its classic animated feature films, "Peter Pan and Wendy" "Pinocchio," and "Cruella," from theatrical release for Disney+ premieres. 

CELEBRITY - From People:  Actor Michael B. Jordan has been named "People's Sexiest Man Alive 2020."

MOVIES - From Variety:   Warner Bros. will release "Wonder Woman 1984" on HBO Max and to theaters on Dec. 25th and to international theaters Dec. 16th.

CELEBRITY - From LATimes:   Emmy-winning actor Michael J. Fox is reportedly planning a retire again because of his decline health.  Fox has been battling Parkinson's disease since 1991.

MOVIES - From BloodyDisgusting:  The site offers a list of 10 recent great horror movies, plus one more.

TELEVISION - From BloodyDisgusting:   TV god-king Ryan Murphy has shared the poster for "American Horror Stories," the spinoff of his long-running "American Horror Story."  The new series will feature "one-hour contained episodes" and will be exclusive to "FX on Hulu."

MOVIES - From BloodyDisgusting:  "Scream" creator Kevin Williamson has revealed that the official title of "Scream 5" is ... "Scream."

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Spike Lee and eOne are prepping a film musical about the miracle drug, "Viagra."

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:   Quentin Tarantino has signed a two-book deal with "Harper," the HarperCollins imprint.  One of the books will be a novelization of Tarantino's Oscar-winning film, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood."

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Universal and the Cinemark theater chain sign a "theatrical window"/"premium video on demand." Universal previously signed such a deal with AMC in July.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Steven Caple, Jr., who directed "Creed 2," will direct the next "Transformers" movie, which will be set in a re-invented universe.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  With its Barack Obama interview (Sun, Nov. 15th), "60 Minutes" ratings surge again.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Beloved stand-up comedian and actor, Sinbad, is recovering from a stroke.  Sinbad is best remembered for starring in "The Cosby Show" spinoff, "A Different World" and for hosting "It's Showtime at the Apollo" from 1989 to 1991.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of 11/13 to 11/15/2020 weekend box office is "Freaky" with an estimated take of 3.7 million dollars.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Terry McMillan's bestselling 1990 novel, "Waiting to Exhale," was adapted into a popular 1995 film.  The author recently announced that a sequel television series is being developed.

MOVIES - From ShadowandAct:   Zazie Beetz joins Brad Pitt and Brian Tyree in the action-thriller. "Bullet Train."

MOVIES - From THR:   "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey" is a Christmas that his getting acclaim and attention because of its Black cast.  This article talks about the great lengths hair and make-up designer Sharon Martin went to reimagine Black hairstyles for Victorian England.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Will Smith has posted the first trailer for HBO Max's "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" reunion special.  "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion" arrives Nov. 19th on HBO Max.

OBITS:

From THR:  Noted television writer and producer, Charlie Hauck, has died at the age of 79, Saturday, November 14, 2020.  Hauck wrote for such popular television series as "Maude," "Frasier," and, "Home Improvement."  Oscar-nominated actor, Michael Keaton, credits Hauck with getting his career in Hollywood started.  He was twice nominated for a Primetime Emmy, once as a producer on "Frasier" and once for co-writing an episode of "The Associates," a series he co-created.

From YahooSports:  Former NFL player, Jake Scott, has died at the age of 75, Thursday, November 19, 2020.   Scott was a defensive safety for the Miami Dolphins (1970-75).  He was the MVP of Super Bowl VII, in which the Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins and finished their 1972 undefeated season.  Scott was also on the Super Bow VIII-winning Dolphins team.

From ComicBook:  Noted Canadian voice actor and TV actor, Kirby Morrow, has died at the age of 47, Wednesday, November 18, 2020.  Morrow was best known for his voice performances in English dubs of Japanese anime, such as the role of "Goku" in "Dragon Ball Z."  He also acted in numerous TV series, such as "Stargate Atlantis," "The Flash," and most recently, ABC's "The Good Doctor."

COVID-19:

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.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

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

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

10/2 - From YahooNews:  President Donald and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.

10/26 -  From YahooFinance:  Walmart CEO detects a new wave a panic buying as consumers stock up for another surge in coronavirus cases.

11/5 - From CNN:  The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday -- following a week marked by high case numbers -- surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. 

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

11/13 - YahooNews:  "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

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."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.

From Truthout:   Yes, 55 Percent of White Women Voted for Trump. No, I’m Not Surprised.

Review: "The Hateful Eight" is Certainly Great

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

The Hateful Eight (2015)
Running time:  188 minutes (3 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, a scene of violent sexual content, language and some graphic nudity
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCERS:  Richard N. Gladstein, Shannon McIntosh, and Stacey Sher
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Richardson
EDITOR:  Fred Raskin
COMPOSER:  Ennio Morricone
Academy Award winner

WESTERN/CRIME/DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring:  Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Dana Gourrier, Zoe Bell, Lee Horsley, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Craig Strark, Belinda Owino, and Channing Tatum

The Hateful Eight is the 8th film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino.  A Western and mystery-thriller, The Hateful Eight focuses on two bounty hunters, a prisoner, and a new local sheriff who find themselves stranded in a cabin with a collection of nefarious strangers.  At least one of those strangers may be connected to the prisoner.

The Hateful Eight opens in the dead of a Wyoming winter some years after the Civil War.  O.B. Jackson (James Parks) drives a stagecoach through the snow-covered landscape.  Aboard his stagecoach is bounty hunter, John Ruth the Hangman (Kurt Russell), and his prisoner, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh).  Ruth is taking Domergue to Red Rock, Wyoming where she is to be tried and hanged for her crimes.

The stagecoach comes across a second bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), who was transporting three dead bounties to Red Rock when his horse died.  It takes some convincing, but Ruth allows Warren to board the stagecoach.  Shortly afterwards, former Confederate, Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), who claims to be heading to Red Rock to assume the job of sheriff, hails the stagecoach.  It takes some talking, but Ruth also lets him aboard.

A sudden blizzard forces this quintet to seek shelter at the stagecoach stopover, Minnie's Haberdashery, but Minnie (Dana Gourrier) is nowhere to be found.  Instead, they are met by Bob (Demián Bichir), a Mexican who says that Minnie is visiting her mother and has left him in charge; Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth) who claims to be Red Rock's hangman; Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), a quiet cowboy; and General Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern), a former Confederate officer.  John Ruth and Marquis Warren believe that at least one of the men they have found at Minnie's is in league with Daisy Domergue, but which one and when will he strike?

Although The Hateful Eight displays Quentin Tarantino's signature blend of wisecracking social commentary, action, humor, and over-the-top violence, this film is not like Tarantino's more popular films:  Pulp Fiction (1994), Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012).  These three films received best picture Oscar nominations, while The Hateful Eight did not.  The Hateful Eight is a parlor-room drama, but the parlor room is set up like a stage for live theater.

The other three films were wide-ranging epics full of hyper-kinetic violence.  They are flashy examples of Tarantino's bravura film making, while The Hateful Eight is quiet and edgy and brimming with malice, menace, and venom.  More than half the characters in The Hateful Eight really are fucking hateful, and that is a ratio that can be off-putting for the audience.

But not for me.  I would put The Hateful Eight in the top half of Tarantino's filmography.  This isn't Tarantino's best dialogue or screenplay for that matter, but his execution is impeccable, as usual.  The Hateful Eight is a riveting piece of work, three hours of glorious film narrative, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I wanted more.

Besides Tarantino's stellar work, there are a number of good performances in this film.  Samuel L. Jackson, a Tarantino regular, gives his best performance in a lead role in years.  He gives the sly Marquis Warren layers, from vengeful former slave to death-dealing former P.O.W., but Jackson suggests that there is so much more to this man that it would take at least two movies to discover what is inside him.

Jennifer Jason Leigh also turns Daisy Domergue into so much more than what she seems.  Her performances is built on subtle changes in note; it is a bouquet of scents meant to keep the viewers on their heels when it comes to what her motivations are.  Joined at the hip with Kurt Russell, who also gives a spry, spicy turn, they make a good pair.  Walton Goggins also surprises, especially since his career, thus far, has been filled with oddballs who are odd for the sake of being an oddity in a film.

Ennio Morricone's score and the film's soundtrack offer a nice backdrop, heightening the sinister mood of the story.  The Hateful Eight might not be a Tarantino audience favorite; it is too slow for the kick-ass crowd.  However, I think that it is a masterpiece, a great modern Western that stands with the very few great Westerns of the previous four decades.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Revised:  Thursday, July 16, 2020

NOTES:
2016 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Ennio Morricone); 2 nominations:  “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson)

2016 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Ennio Morricone); 2 nomination:  “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino)

2016 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Original Music” (Ennio Morricone); 2 nominations: “Best Supporting Actress” (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and “Best Original Screenplay” (Quentin Tarantino)


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

------------------------

Review: "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" is a Sparkling Fairy Tale

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
Running time:  161 minutes (2 hours, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCERS:  Shannon McIntosh, David Heyman, and Quentin Tarantino
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Richardson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Fred Raskin
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Luke Perry, Al Pacino, Nicholas Hammond, Samantha Robinson, Rafal Zawierucha, Lorenza Izzo, Costa Ronin, Damon Herriman, Lena Dunham, Zoe Bell, and Kurt Russell

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is a 2019 comedy-drama and historical film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino.  The ninth film from Tarantino, it focuses on a faded television actor striving to maintain fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood's “Golden Age” in Los Angeles of 1969, with his TV stunt double at his side.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood opens in February 1969.  Veteran Hollywood television actor, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), fears that his career is rapidly fading to nothing.  Dalton was the star of the 1950s Western television series, NBC and Screen Gems' “Bounty Law” (a fictional show).  He believes that he has now been reduced to appearing as a guest star on TV series featuring new star actors, usually playing the villain.  Casting agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) recommends that Dalton move to Italy to make “Spaghetti Westerns,” which Dalton feels are beneath him.

At Dalton's side is his best friend and stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), a World War II veteran who is a stuntman that is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat.  Booth lives out in the boonies in a tiny trailer with his pit bull, “Brandy,” and he drives Dalton around Los Angeles because Dalton's driver's license has been suspended due to a DUI.  Booth is also currently struggling to find stunt work in Hollywood because of rumors that he murdered his wife.

Meanwhile, hot young actress, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), and her husband, one of the hottest young directors in Hollywood, Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha), have moved next door to Dalton.  Dalton dreams of befriending the couple in a bid to help revive his declining acting career.  Months later, late in the evening of August 8th and in the very early moments of August 9th, 1969, both Dalton and Booth will have a chance to change their own fates and that of Tate and her friends.

Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning, 2009 film, Inglourious Basterds, is a bracing, gripping, hugely entertaining, and brilliantly-made film.  However, I am always put-off by its alternate-history last act, which has some splendid moments and a genius final scene, but also has that kill Hitler thing.

Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is not bracing or gripping for most of first two hours of storytelling.  Rather than being a brilliantly-made film, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood has genius level productions values:  cinematography, production design and art direction, costumes, soundtrack, editing, etc.

However, there are two segments towards the end of the film that make Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood a truly great film and one of 2019's very best.  First, there is Cliff Booth's visit to the “Spahn Ranch,” a sequence that is scarier than most entire horror movies and has more tension than most crime thriller films have in their entire story.  The second great segment is the film's final half-hour, which is the kind of film-making that only a genius filmmaker can create.  Without spoiling the film, I can say that this finale, which alters history and which is largely driven by graphic violence, had me cheering and screaming like a madman as I was watching it shortly after one o'clock in the morning.  This last half-hour was the catharsis that I did not realize that I had needed for decades.

Now, that I have praised Tarantino and his artistic and technical collaborators, I need to praise the acting.  Most all of the small performances are quite good.  The three performances that drive Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood are given by Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, and, in a somewhat smaller part, Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate.

DiCaprio fashions a fading TV star in Dalton that is so convincing that I had to convince myself that Dalton is a fictional character and not a real-world actor.  Pitt finally received the acting Oscar he has been long overdue for creating in Booth, a rich character filled charm, pathos, and soul.  Robbie plays Sharon Tate as a happy spirit, embracing her craft and profession with innocence that is not naive and with a joy that dispels at least some of the darkness that was closing in on the last days of the 1960s and on “old Hollywood.”  Robbie gives Tate a love of people that provides this fairy tale of a film with the smattering a fairy dust that it needs.

And that is what Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood really is.  It is a fairy tale, complete with a lurking darkness and edginess, that is an ode to the world in and around a Los Angeles and a Hollywood that existed more in perception than in reality.  And once again, I can say that in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Tarantino has made a movie that no one else could ever make.

A+
9 out of 10

Friday, May 1, 2020


NOTES:
Academy Awards, USA 2020:  2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Brad Pitt) and “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh); 8 nominations:  “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, and Quentin Tarantino), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Original Screenplay” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Arianne Phillips), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler, and Mark Ulano), and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Wylie Stateman)

Golden Globes, USA 2020:  3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Brad Pitt) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino); 2 nominations:  “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Leonardo DiCaprio) and “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino)

BAFTA Awards 2020:  1 win: “Best Supporting Actor” (Brad Pitt); 9 nominations:  “Best Film” (David Heyman and Shannon McIntosh), “Best Screenplay-Original” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Leading Actor” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Supporting Actress” (Margot Robbie), “Best Director” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Editing” (Fred Raskin), “Best Production Design” (Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh), “Best Costume Design” (Arianne Phillips), and “Best Casting” (Victoria Thomas)


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees


----------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 15th to 21st, 2019 - Update #30

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

MOVIES - From YahooHuffPost:  Eddie Murphy still regrets turning down the lead role in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

----------
POLITICS - From WashPost:  Rep. Matt Shea, a Washington state GOP state legislator, has been found to have participated in a act of domestic terrorism.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From THR:  At the Chinese box office, "The Rise of Skywalker" is being beaten by local blockbusters.

----------
STREAMING - From Variety:  Hulu's planned TV series based on novelist Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" book series (which begins with "Interview with a Vampire") is not happening.  The rights are being shopped around... at a high price.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Epix is producing a TV series based on Stephen King's short story, "Jerusalem's Lot."  Adrien Brody is set to star.

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  A jury has award 8.6 million dollars to the parents of John Bernecker, the stuntman who died in July 2017 during the filming of a stunt for "The Walking Dead."

----------
TRAILER - From SlashFilm:  Here is the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's next mind-bending film, "Tenet," with a breakdown of the contents of the trailer by the article's writer.  "Tenet" opens July 17, 2020.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Focus Features will distribute Paul Thomas Anderson's next film, an untitled high school film set in the 1970s.  Anderson's previous film was the Oscar-nominated, "The Phantom Thread."

---------
MOVIES - From Esquire:  Adam Sandler, getting rave reviews and Oscar buzz for his film, "Uncut Gems," says he got a phone call from Oscar-winning actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, who praised Sandler for his performance in the film.

----------
TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  Comedian/talk show host Wayne Brady is the winner of Fox's competition reality show, "The Masked Singer" Season Two.

----------
ANIMATION - From Variety:  Dave Green will direct the animation/live-action hybrid, "Wile E. Coyote" movie, "Coyote vs Acme."

----------
MOVIES- From EW:  The site has an exclusive first look at Christopher Nolan's secret film project, "Tenet," starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson.

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The CW is looking to reboot its former TV series, "The Game," which it debuted in 2006 and cancelled in 2009.  BET revived the series, where it ran from from 2011 to 2015.

----------
STREAMING - From Deadline:  Morfydd Clark has been cast as a young "Galadriel" in Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings."  Galadriel is the character played by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy.

-----------
MOVIES - From EW:  Here, is a first look, some images from the third "Bill & Ted" film, "Bill & Ted Face the Music."  The film, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, is due August 21, 2020.

----------
POLITICS - From TheWhiteHouse:  Well... President Trump to Speaker Pelosi.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have tapped Keith Thomas to direct their "Firestarter" remake.  Both the 1984 original film (which starred a 9-year-old Drew Barrymore) and the reboot are based on Stephen King's 1980 novel of the same name.

----------
MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  David Ayer ("Suicide Squad") will direct Warner Bros' remake of "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), the classic World War II action film.

----------
DISNEY+ - From Variety:  Disney+ is in early development of a TV series based on the 1989 Tom Hanks' man-dog buddy comedy, "Turner & Hooch."

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Viola Davis are among the actors added to Sandra Bullock's Netflix drama about life after incarceration.

----------
STAR TREK - From Variety:  The streaming service, CBS All Access, has renewed "Star Trek: Picard" for a second season, although the first season has not yet debuted.

----------
MOVIES - From IndieWire:  Quentin Tarantino is apparently leaving his R-rated "Star Trek" behind, and if he makes one more film, it will be "smaller."

----------
SCANDAL - From THR:  Disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, says that he is a "forgotten man," meaning people have forgotten the great things that he has done in the American movie business.  Harvey is scheduled to go to trial in January 2020 for charges of rape, predatory sexual assault and criminal sexual act against two women.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 12/13 to 12/15/2019 weekend box office is "Jumanji: The Next Level" with an estimated take of 60.1 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Frozen II" becomes the sixth Disney movie to reach one billion dollars in global box office in 2019.

From Variety: The Emilia Clarke-Henry Golding holiday film, "Last Christmas," has now grossed the 100 million dollar mark in global box office.

From Forbes:  New box office release, "Richard Jewell" and "Black Christmas," fail in their box office debuts.

From Patreon:  My "Queen & Slim" review.

----------
CELEBRITY - From BleedingCool:  Did you know actor Samuel L. Jackson's voice can be your Amazon "Alexa" voice.

----------
SPORTS - From CBSSports:  The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner as the best player in college football is Joe Burrows, quarterback for the #1 ranked LSU Tigers.  Burrows, the second Louisiana State University football player to win the Heisman, won the award by the largest margin in the history of Heisman voting.  His 2608 points were 1846 points higher than the second place finisher, Jalen Hurts, QB of the Oklahoma Sooners.

----------
MOVIES - From Vulture:  Yes, what is the best Adam Sandler movie?