समाचार

Courtesy of James B. HarrisIt’s a Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles and 89-year-old writer/director/producer James B. Harris (Some Call It Loving, 1973; Fast-Walking, 1982) has agreed to meet me for brunch at Coogie’s Cafe. Coogie’s is exactly the sort of unassuming American diner where girls in pink velvet jackets and shimmery silver skirts go to blend in with the Pepto-Bismol-colored booths. There are a pair of flat screen TVs on the wall, which are mercifully muted. A radio in some far-off corner of the kitchen can be heard playing inoffensive pop tunes of yesteryear. It is also the sort of quiet place where someone like Harris is well-known, well-liked, and referred to as “Mr. James” by the entire waitstaff. The impression is one of polite reverence and earned familiarity, built up over time and solidified through an appreciation of his impressive filmography, as well as his continued business.

Author: Stefan Pape

In bringing Beauty and the Beast to a more contemporary world, one of the most notable changes made within this universe is through the character of La Fou, played by Josh Gad. Considered by many to be Disney’s first openly gay character, when we spoke to Luke Evans, who plays the aforementioned character’s love interest Gaston (the film’s principle villain) we asked about the Welsh actor about this particular dynamic.

Evans also spoke with us about the joys, and challenges, in portraying a Disney villain on screen, and why he feels that Emma Watson is the perfect choice to take on the eponymous role of Belle. He also speaks about the impact Disney can have through the medium of cinema, and the balancing act in portraying a role who at times is at humorous as he is nefarious.

It’s one thing to play...

CopAt the ripe age of twenty-six—the two were born within days of each other in 1928—James B. Harris and Stanley Kubrick formed Harris-Kubrick Productions. With Kubrick leading the charge behind the camera and Harris acting as the right-hand-man producer, the duo completed three major critical successes: The Killing (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), and Lolita (1962). But where Kubrick’s subsequent work has achieved a supreme, hall-of-fame stature, Harris’s own directorial career—consisting of five excellent movies made across a four-decade span—remains, despite the valiant effort of a few notable English-language critics (Michael Atkinson, Jonathan Rosenbaum), on the relative sidelines. The latest attempt to boost Harris’s reputation: BAMcinématek’s week-long retrospective of Harris’s producing and directing output, selected by “Overdue” co-programmers Nick Pinkerton and Nicolas Rapold.Harris and Kubrick stopped working together amidst a pre-production disagreement during the making of what would become Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb...

Actor-director-producer-screenwriter Zalman King, among whose credits are "scandalous" sex dramas such as Nine 1/2 Weeks, Two Moon Junction, and Wild Orchid, died of cancer earlier today. King reportedly was 69 years old. Born Zalman Lefkovitz in Trenton, New Jersey, King began his show business career as an actor, appearing in small roles and bit parts in about 20 television shows during the 1960s, including Gunsmoke, The Man from the U.N.C.L.E., Bonanza, and The Munsters. In the '70s and early '80s, he had supporting roles and a handful of leads in about a dozen movies, among them James B. Harris' provocative variation on the Sleeping Beauty theme, Some Call It Loving (1973), with Carol White; Jeff Lieberman's horror thriller Blue Sunshine (1975), as an innocent man accused of murdering several women; and Lee Grant's family drama Tell Me a Riddle (1980), starring Melvyn Douglas and Lila Kedrova. In the early '80s,...

John Musker and Ron Clements Discuss

Walt Disney's The Princess and the Frog marks the Studio's return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman. An animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans, this modern twist on a classic tale features a beautiful girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. A new classic in the realm of Disney's famed animation, the film is being released this Tuesday, March 16th in three different formats. It will be available on DVD, Blu-ray, and in a three-disc set that contains the DVD, Blu-ray, and a Digital Download Disc for use on your personal entertainment device.

We recently caught up with John Musker...