Actualités

In 1988, Studio Ghibli released Grave of the Fireflies -- a heartbreaking war film set during WWII in Japan. Recently, Studio Ghibli president and producer Toshio Suzuki recounted when his team showcased the movie to one of Japan's foremost critics, a moment he now looks back on as one of the "happiest" times of his life.

Per Oricon and PR Times, Studio Ghibli recently unveiled two special teaser visuals for an event titled "Takahata Isao Exhibition: The Man Who Planted Japanese Animation." Starting June 27, this exhibition will commemorate Isao Takahata's prolific animation career, which produced renowned works like Anne of Green Gables (1979), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) and many others. In addition to Heidi from Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), one of the teasers depicts a heartwarming visual of Setsuko and Seita, the young protagonists of Grave of the Fireflies. While addressing the upcoming exhibition,...

Getting an international TV show made these days is a tough business.

Rising production costs are meeting falling budgets and even the deep-pocketed streamers — who had turbo-charged the global business with big-budget commissions for the past several years — are shifting gears, making fewer shows and focusing more on lower-cost crime shows and less on big-budget drama.

But Sabine de Mardt continues to find a way. Since taking over as head of the German division of legendary French studio Gaumont in 2018, the veteran producer has delivered a wide range of high-end series, from historic epic Barbarians for Netflix (executive produced by Gaumont’s Andreas Bareiss), to the post-war drama The Interpreter of Silence (created by Annette Hess) for Disney+/Hulu, to In Her Car, a Ukrainian-set psychological drama, also exec produced by Bareiss, with some eight broadcasters across as many European countries, and shot amid the ongoing war.

Her upcoming slate...

During the 1930s, Shirley Temple was a bright light on the silver screen who entertained audiences in classic films such as Curly Top, The Little Princess, and Heidi. Born in Santa Monica, California, Temple learned to sing, dance, and act at a young age, and by 1932, she had signed a contract with Educational Pictures, appearing in various comedy shorts. In 1933, Temple finally earned her big break and landed a role in the musical film, Stand Up and Cheer! Temple soon became a national sensation and one of the biggest stars of the silver screen, serving as an unofficial symbol of hope, kindness, and generosity.

HBO Max is going beneath the sheets for a new drama based on the life and times of Heidi Fleiss, the infamous and former ‘Hollywood Madam’ who ran a prostitution ring with a high-profile clientele. Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) is writing and executive producing the Heidi Fleiss drama for HBO Max, with Fleiss consulting.

As you may recall, Fleiss was arrested in 1993 on a series of prostitution charges. The media transformed Fleiss’ trial into a circus, splashing the proceedings across television and tabloid rags. Fleiss never revealed her client list, though many celebrities are suspected or confirmed to have used her services. Charlie Sheen once testified to using Fleiss’ service on multiple occasions.

Fleiss was convicted in state court, but the terms didn’t stick on account of the case being overturned after an appeals court ruled jurors had swapped votes to avoid a deadlock verdict. Fleiss was later convicted...

Kate Plays ChristineThe lineup for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, taking place between January 21 -31, has been announced.U.S. Dramatic COMPETITIONAs You Are (Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, USA): As You Are is the telling and retelling of a relationship between three teenagers as it traces the course of their friendship through a construction of disparate memories prompted by a police investigation. Cast: Owen Campbell, Charlie Heaton, Amandla Stenberg, John Scurti, Scott Cohen, Mary Stuart Masterson. World Premiere The Birth of a Nation (Nate Parker, USA): Set against the antebellum South, this story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom. Cast: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union, Mark Boone Jr. World PremiereChristine (Antonio Campos,...

As season 10 winds down, I’m looking to the show’s future & planning a sure-to-be-epic season 11!

Now that Pamela Anderson is off Dancing with the Stars, I’ve officially lost interest in the rest of the season. No offense to the remaining contestants, but I’m just not that into them. So I’m shifting my focus to next fall when a new crop of celebs will hit the dance floor for our amusement. I’ve got a handful of suggestions for the producers over at ABC, including reality staple (plastic surgery pun intended) Heidi Montag and everyone’s favorite Golden Girl Betty White!

Tiffani Thiessen: Pretty much every season has had a former Beverly Hills, 90210 cast member (think Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, etc.) but there are still plenty of good ones left to use! Tiffani, 36, would be a double-whammy for the show, as she could also get the...

DVD Playhouse—April 2010

By

Allen Gardner

Ride With The Devil (Criterion) Ang Lee’s revisionist take on the Civil War is awash in moral ambiguity, along with some stunning cinematography, production design, and fine performances. Set during the Kansas-Missouri border war, Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich star as two friends who join up with the Confederate-sympathizing Bushwhackers, finding an odd ally in a former slave (Jeffrey Wright). While it’s fascinating to see America’s bloodiest conflict through the eyes of a foreigner, thereby allowing much of the previously mentioned ambiguity a certain latitude, the film never loses the bad taste it leaves for one simple reason: it asks us, the audience, to side with not just the Confederates, but some of the lowest trash that made up the dregs, and the fringes, of the movement. Big points for audacity, but snake eyes on the story itself. Singer Jewel is impressive in her film debut.