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2008 | 2005 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999
12 articles from 2008
Marc Forster to Direct 'World War Z'
15 November 2008 6:59 PM, PST | From Comicmix.com | See recent Comicmix news
Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster has signed to direct World War Z for Paramount Pictures. The movie will adapt Max Brooks’ novel about “a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission [who] interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the [zombie] crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map”, according to Variety. The adaptation has been written by J. Michael Straczynski with Brad Pitt's Plan B is producing.
"The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the 70s like All the President's Men," Forster told Variety.
The studio optioned the book in 2006 for Pitt. Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks and the late Anne Bancroft. He first came to attention as author of 2003’s The Zombie Survival Guide. He’s also acted on shows like
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Robert Greenberger
'Quantum of Solace' Director Going After Zombies in 'World War Z'
14 November 2008 10:46 AM, PST | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news
Marc Foster may have officially adopted the mantra, "Less talk, more rock."
The man who made his fame with human dramas like Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland, and went from that to the sorely underappreciated Stranger Than Fiction, debuts his new film in America today. It's a little something called Quantum of Solace. And suddenly, it seems, Forster is a changed man. I dunno; maybe he's using Axe body spray or something.
Forster will be behind the camera for World War Z, based on the bestselling novel about a global outbreak of zombies. It was written by Max Brooks, and thanks to Variety, I now know that he's the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. I can see the adaptation incorporating a documentary style, since it's about a researched conducting interviews with survivors from the infestation some 10 years after the zombie attacks.
Let's just hope there are some zombie attacks.
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Colin Boyd
Bond Director Turns to 'World War Z'
14 November 2008 7:45 AM, PST | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news
If you're a fan of horror and/or books, and you haven't checked out Max Brooks' World War Z yet, then here's another good excuse to go out and get a copy: The movie version seems to be moving full-steam ahead, and Variety informs us that Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster has been signed to head up Wwz. (The unpredictable director also helmed Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stay, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Kite Runner.)
The ever-busy J. Michael Straczynski is on adaptation duty, and the project will arrive by way of Plan B and Paramount Pictures. Forster says "the genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like 'All the President's Men." Sounds goo to me. Ah yes, the plot: It's a historical document about the zombie apocalypse, ten years after the fact.
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Scott Weinberg
Bond Director Marc Forster Helming World War Z!
14 November 2008 6:52 AM, PST | From iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news
Variety reports that Paramount has set "Quantum of Solace" director Marc Forster to helm "World War Z," based on the Max Brooks bestselling novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies. "Changeling" scribe J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) is writing the screenplay, and Brad Pitt's Plan B is producing.
Brooks -- the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft -- wrote a detailed tale in which a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map. Forster is unlikely to return for another James Bond installment. As for "Wwz," "The genre always fascinated me, and when they pitched it to me, it reminded me of the paranoid conspiracy films of the '70s like 'All the President's Men,' " Forster told Daily Variety.
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Solace Director Boards Zombie Flick
14 November 2008 3:04 AM, PST | From TheMovingPicture.net | See recent TheMovingPicture news
Paramount has signed Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster to helm World War Z, an adaptation of Max Brooks’ bestselling novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies. Changeling scribe J. Michael Straczynski is writing the screenplay, and Brad Pitt's Plan B is producing. Brooks -- the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft -- wrote a detailed tale in which a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map. Paramount bought the book for Plan B in 2006, and it is one of several high-profile projects for the company headed by Pitt, who next stars for the studio in the David Fincher-directed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The announcement means that Forster is unlikely to return for another James Bond installment,
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James Cook
Quantum of Solace Director Takes on 'World War Z'!
13 November 2008 9:33 PM, PST | From bloody-disgusting.com | See recent Bloody-Disgusting.com news
Head on out to the theaters this weekend and check out Quantum Of Solice if you want to get an idea of the directing styles of Marc Forster. Why would you care? Because Forster has been tapped to direct the highly anticipated World War Z adaptation for Paramount Pictures. Based on the Max Brooks bestselling novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies. "Changeling" scribe J. Michael Straczynski is writing the screenplay, and Brad Pitt's Plan B is producing. Brooks -- the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft -- wrote a detailed tale in which a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map.
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Delgo Set For Holiday Release Date
2 September 2008 7:46 AM, PDT | From cinemablend.com | See recent Cinema Blend news
It's perfectly common for a movie come out after one of its principal actors has died, and it can even go on to be one of the biggest movies of all time. But when a movie comes out three years after the death of one of its talents? That's more than a little bizarre. Delgo, a CG-animated fantasy film, has been set for a release of December 12, and includes among its huge voice cast Anne Bancroft, who died in June 2005. The Hollywood Reporter doesn't say much about the film in its article announcing the release date, except for listing the usual motley crew of a voice cast, including Val Kilmer, Kelly Ripa, Burt Reynolds, Malcolm McDowell and Eric Idle. Set for distribution by Freestyle Releasing, Delgo is presumably an independent animated film, not subject to the same release date pressure and massive marketing campaign as Disney-Pixar or Dreamworks Animation releases.
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Watching 'The Graduate' Makes Brad Wonder...
1 August 2008 1:39 AM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news
Photo: MGM Home Entertainment I recently received a galley copy of David Thomson's "Have You Seen...?" (preorder here) a book taking a look at a selection of 1,000 films Thomson deems important to the world of film. They aren't necessarily the films he considers to be the 1,000 greatest films as some are considered masterpieces while others are considered downright disasters. For those that aren't familiar with Thomson he wrote the bestselling "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film" in 2004 as well as its original in 1994. "Have You Seen...?" hits shelves in October and I will talk more about it down the line, but right now I have been going through some of its titles to get a better understanding of where he is coming from and right now I want to talk The Graduate, and I want to talk about it Very briefly because that is all it deserves. To Thomson's credit
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Brad Brevet
Sydney Pollack Dies at 73
27 May 2008 4:12 AM, PDT | From IMDb News
Acclaimed director, producer, and actor Sydney Pollack has died of cancer. He was 73.
According to the AP, quoting Pollack's agent Leslee Dart, Pollack died Monday afternoon (5/26/08) at his home in Pacific Palisades, surrounded by family and friends.
Though Sydney Pollack started out as an actor and acting coach and later ended his career doubling producer duties with cameo and supporting roles, it was as a director that Pollack will probably best be remembered. His films had the sheen of the Golden Era of Hollywood, even though most were made in the `70s and `80s. They also spanned genres and included The Way We Were (`73), Three Days of the Condor (`75), The Electric Horseman (`79), Tootsie (`82), culminating in what was arguably his greatest success, Out of Africa (`85).
Sydney Irwin Pollack was born on July 1, 1934, in Lafayette and raised in South Bend, Indiana. He developed a love of acting at South Bend High School and went straight to New York and the Neighborhood Playhouse School for Theater. There, Sanford Meisner took him under his wing, first as a student and then as his assistant. Pollack received favorable marks from his students, which included Robert Duvall and Rip Torn, and Claire Griswold, a former pupil whom Pollack married and remained married to for 50 years.
His time at the Neighborhood Playhouse was destined not to last as long and, under the encouragement of director John Frankenheimer and nudging from Burt Lancaster, Pollack began directing. He started out small, in television shows such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Ben Casey.
He soon branched out into feature filmmaking. His first was The Slender Thread, starring Anne Bancroft and Sydney Poitier in a story about a desperate woman and the suicide hotline volunteer who attempts to keep her on the line while waiting for the police to find her.
The film fared poorly, both critically and financially, as, to a lesser extent, did Pollack's second feature, 1966's This Property Is Condemned, based upon a Tennessee Williams play (with a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola). It featured Natalie Wood as a girl desperate to break out of her small town who sets her sights and hopes on a traveling railroad official and company hatchet man, played by Robert Redford. Property was the start of a lifelong association and friendship with Redford; Pollack would direct Redford in seven films in total, including some of his most famous.
His first success came with the depression-era They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, which followed the characters involved in a grueling dance marathon. It starred Jane Fonda and shattered her American image as a comely ingénue or a sex kitten and established her as a serious actress once and for all. She received her first Oscar nomination for the part.
Most actors benefited from appearing in a Pollack film. Twelve actors received Oscar nominations after being in one of his movies, including Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, and Dustin Hoffman. He was no stranger to the Academy himself. He was nominated three times for Best Director (Horses and Tootsie, winning for Out of Africa). Oddly enough, Redford never received a nomination for any of the multiply-lauded films in which he starred for Pollack.
Industry recognition was just part of his success. His films were also profitable at the box office. Hits included Horses, The Way We Were, Three Days of the Condor, The Electric Horseman and The Firm.
Out of Africa was where everything gelled. It had an enormous canvas, an epic scope, a glorious score, luscious cinematography and two superstars (Redford and Streep) in the leads. The film was nominated for 11 awards, picking up seven including Best Picture and Director.
He had misses too. Havana, Random Hearts and Sabrina were the rare examples of critical and commercial failures.
Producing became a passion for him after this string of misfires. Along with the late Anthony Minghella, who died earlier this year during a throat operation, Pollack created Mirage Enterprises. The shop produced The Fabulous Baker Boys, Sense and Sensibility, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain. But Mirage represented just a smattering of Pollack's producing duties, which also included Searching for Bobby Fischer, The Quiet American, Michael Clayton and the HBO film, Recount.
In recent years Pollack also specialized in the role of the powerful corporate or societal patriarch, one willing to lay down the law or to teach the hard truths of life to the protagonist. He played variations of it in Eyes Wide Shut, Changing Lanes and Michael Clayton and created what can only be described as avuncular malevolence, inspiring fear and awe while exuding a tinge of mercy. It was the stature of Pollack in the industry itself and his commanding presence on and off the screen that lent the roles their gravitas. They sprang from the man himself.
Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Steven, who died in 1993 in a plane crash in Santa Monica.
Actress Suzanne Pleshette Dies at 70
21 January 2008 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news
Actress Suzanne Pleshette, who started out in films such as The Birds but became a television star playing Bob Newhart's wife on The Bob Newhart Show, died Saturday night of respiratory failure at her home in Los Angeles; she was 70. Pleshette had been battling lung cancer since 2006, when she underwent chemotherapy and had part of one lung removed. A fresh-faced beauty with a distinctive, husky voice, Pleshette worked mostly onstage in the 50s, with one of her most notable roles as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, replacing original star Anne Bancroft. She made her film debut opposite Jerry Lewis in The Geisha Boy and worked steadily in television as she launched her film career. Her most notable screen role was in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, where she played a local schoolteacher who befriends out-of-town socialite Tippi Hedren and helps protect the children of the town during one of the film's terrifying bird attacks. In 1964, she married screen heartthrob Troy Donahue, her co-star in the romantic drama Rome Adventure, though the marriage lasted less than a year, and in 1968 married Texas oilman Tommy Gallagher.
Despite a prolific career in film and television, Pleshette gained her fame playing Emily Hartley, the down-to-earth wife of psychiatrist Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) on the 70's sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, which ran for six years and earned her two Emmy nominations. Pleshette was so well-known as the small-screen wife of Newhart that she reprised her role in an unexpected cameo in the series finale of Newhart's second major sitcom, Newhart. The episode, where Newhart awakens in the bedroom set of his old show with Pleshette by his side (as they often ended episodes of their old show, trading dry banter) is considered one of the most clever, and surprising, series finales in television history. Pleshette continued working in television through the rest of her career, earning another Emmy nomination for playing Leona Helmsley in Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, and made appearances in sitcoms Good Morning Miami, 8 Simple Rules... and Will & Grace (where she played the mother of Megan Mullally's character, Karen Walker). Pleshette also provided the voices of Yubaba and Zeniba in the English language version of Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning animated film Spirited Away. In 2001, after the death of her second husband, Pleshette married actor Tom Poston, whom she had met 40 years ago and who had co-starred in Newhart; they remained married until his death last year. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff
Suzanne Pleshette: A Brassy and Bawdy Beauty
21 January 2008 12:38 AM, PST | From TVSeriesFinale.com | See recent TVSeriesFinale news
Last Friday, I was doing some research for a podcast and ended up watching 1991's The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special. It essentially picked up where the famed Newhart finale left off and reunited the core group of The Bob Newhart Show (Bns) characters. I'm not ashamed to admit that I ended up watching it twice because it was just so good to watch the old clips and to see the characters together again. I wondered if there would ever be another reunion. On Saturday night, I learned that it wasn't to be.
Suzanne Pleshette began her career on stage and was cast for both her beauty and her throaty voice. In 1994, she recalled, "When I was four, I was answering the phone, and (the callers) thought I was my father. So I often got quirky roles because I was never the conventional ingenue."
She began her film career
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TVSeriesFinale.com
Actress Suzanne Pleshette Dies at 70
18 January 2008 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news
Actress Suzanne Pleshette, who started out in films such as The Birds but became a television star playing Bob Newhart's wife on The Bob Newhart Show, died Saturday night of respiratory failure at her home in Los Angeles; she was 70. Pleshette had been battling lung cancer since 2006, when she underwent chemotherapy and had part of one lung removed. A fresh-faced beauty with a distinctive, husky voice, Pleshette worked mostly onstage in the 50s, with one of her most notable roles as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, replacing original star Anne Bancroft. She made her film debut opposite Jerry Lewis in The Geisha Boy and worked steadily in television as she launched her film career. Her most notable screen role was in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, where she played a local schoolteacher who befriends out-of-town socialite Tippi Hedren and helps protect the children of the town during one of the film's terrifying bird attacks. In 1964, she married screen heartthrob Troy Donahue, her co-star in the romantic drama Rome Adventure, though the marriage lasted less than a year, and in 1968 married Texas oilman Tommy Gallagher.
Despite a prolific career in film and television, Pleshette gained her fame playing Emily Hartley, the down-to-earth wife of psychiatrist Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) on the 70's sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, which ran for six years and earned her two Emmy nominations. Pleshette was so well-known as the small-screen wife of Newhart that she reprised her role in an unexpected cameo in the series finale of Newhart's second major sitcom, Newhart. The episode, where Newhart awakens in the bedroom set of his old show with Pleshette by his side (as they often ended episodes of their old show, trading dry banter) is considered one of the most clever, and surprising, series finales in television history. Pleshette continued working in television through the rest of her career, earning another Emmy nomination for playing Leona Helmsley in Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, and made appearances in sitcoms Good Morning Miami, 8 Simple Rules... and Will & Grace (where she played the mother of Megan Mullally's character, Karen Walker). Pleshette also provided the voices of Yubaba and Zeniba in the English language version of Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning animated film Spirited Away. In 2001, after the death of her second husband, Pleshette married actor Tom Poston, whom she had met 40 years ago and who had co-starred in Newhart; they remained married until his death last year. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff
2008 | 2005 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999
12 articles from 2008
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