News

Chris Meledandri, founder of Illumination Entertainment, received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards on Saturday night, becoming only the second animation producer to earn this distinguished honor.

During his acceptance speech at the Fairmont Century Ballroom, Meledandri addressed the current challenges facing the entertainment industry. “We find ourselves in a far more fragile moment,” he told the audience, highlighting the unprecedented disruption in the country, city, and industry.

Actor Steve Carell, known for voicing Gru in Illumination’s “Despicable Me” franchise, introduced Meledandri with humor. “Chris Meledandri is getting honored tonight because he’s better than you,” Carell joked, praising the producer’s ability to create compelling content.

Reflecting on his career, Meledandri shared insights from his early Hollywood days. He recalled a crucial lesson learned while working as a runner for producer Dan Melnick: “everybody matters.” The producer, whose films...

“Storytelling has never been more important,” Illumination founder and boss Chris Meledandri said Saturday night in receiving the David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the PGA Awards.

“We find ourselves now in a far more fragile moment. Our country, our city, our industry, are experiencing unprecedented disruption and uncertainty. We should not forget. That the health of a society is directly tied to its reigning narratives,” said the producer whose animated comedies have delighted global masses to the tune of $11 billion.

Meledandri reflected on his early days in Hollywood as a runner working for producer Dan Melnick. The first day when Meledandri drove on the 20th Century Fox lot, he had an assigned parking space with his name on it. It was an early producing lesson for the young Meledandri that he would carry with him: “Everybody matters.”

Well before he arrived in Hollywood, Meledandri had already been reared in...

Amid the shocking news of a sequel, one of Bad Boys star Martin Lawrences most beloved action outings is all set to stream for free. Released back in 1999, the action-comedy Blue Streak sees Lawrence leading as a master thief who finds himself double-crossed, stashing the diamond hes just stolen on a construction site, and sent to prison. When hes released, he discovers that what was once a construction site is now a police station...and the diamond is buried somewhere inside.

You may not know this, but Blue Streak was, in fact, inspired by a British comedy from 1965 titled The Big Job. Taking its cues from that 60s caper, the action-comedy is directed by Les Mayfield and stars Martin Lawrence alongside Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene, Nicole Ari Parker, and William Forsythe. While Blue Streak was met with severely mixed reviews at the time, it saw success at the box office,...

Haley Pullos is stepping out with a friend.

The 26-year-old actress, who played Molly Lansing on General Hospital, was all smiles as she enjoyed a day out with a friend on Thursday (August 8) in Los Angeles.

Haley was seen going comfy in a black tank shirt with black sweatpants and platform sneakers.

Thursday’s outing marks one of the first times Haley has been photographed out in public since she was released from jail last month after serving three months following her DUI arrest last year.

Haley then appeared in court for her sentencing and was subsequently released from jail as she already served the time.

“Haley was sentenced to probation with 90 days county jail with time served, a nine-month DUI program, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Madd) program and continuing private counseling,” Haley‘s lawyer Dan Melnick told People after her court appearance.

Haley‘s General Hospital mom Nancy Lee Grahn...

Haley Pullos, known for her role in the long-running daytime drama General Hospital, was released from jail Monday after serving a 90-day sentence for a drunk driving incident that occurred last year.

Pullos, 26, appeared before a judge wearing standard-issue prison attire for her sentencing hearing. The court mandated five years of probation following her release, according to her attorney, Dan Melnick.

In addition to the jail time and probation, Pullos must complete a nine-month program focused on drunk driving prevention and attend sessions organized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Madd). Melnick stated that his client will also continue with private counseling.

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The actress was arrested in April 2023 following a severe collision on a Los Angeles freeway. Authorities report that Pullos was driving in the wrong direction when she crashed into another vehicle, causing...

General Hospital actress Haley Pullos has received her sentence for her 2023 DUI and subsequent wrong-way crash. She appeared in court on Monday, July 29 where a judge decided her punishment for the hit-and-run that occurred over a year ago. Here are the details of Haley Pullos’ sentence and what’s next for the young star.

Haley Pullos Receives Sentence In Wrong-Way Crash & DUI

The 26-year-old Gh star has already served 90 days in jail after she surrendered herself in April 2024. In photos from inside the courtroom, Haley was wearing an orange jumpsuit eagerly waiting to hear from the judge.

Her attorney, Dan Melnick, confirmed that she is set to be released from jail immediately. “Haley was sentenced to probation with 90 days county jail with time served, a nine-month DUI program, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Madd) program and continuing private counseling,” he told People.

The General Hospital actress was first arrested in April...

It’s the end of an era. On March 20, the Walt Disney Co. will complete its $71.2 billion acquisition of key assets in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. That marks the final drumbeat for the historic 20th Century Fox as one of Hollywood’s six major studios, as brands such as FX, Fox Searchlight and NatGeo are folded into the Magic Kingdom. To memorialize the passing of a giant in the media space, Variety spoke with the filmmakers and executives responsible for some of Fox’s most memorable movies and shows.

Guillermo del Toro

Director, “The Shape of Water”

“Over more than 25 years since my first film, ‘Cronos,’ began attracting attention, I cannot remember a time that I was not involved with some division of 20th Century Fox.

My good friend Jim Cameron, who has had his own share of successes at Fox, was the first person to recommend me to the studio.

Straw Dogs

Blu-ray

Criterion

1971 / 1:85 / Street Date June 27, 2017

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George

Cinematography: John Coquillon

Film Editors: Paul Davies, Tony Lawson, Roger Spottiswoode

Written by David Zelag Goodman and Sam Peckinpah

Produced by Daniel Melnick

Music: Jerry Fielding

Directed by Sam Peckinpah

Adrift from civilization, an attractive young couple find themselves threatened, assaulted, and eventually compelled to defend themselves in a bloody showdown. That is the basic premise of Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, released in 1971 and inspired by some of the same movies then crowding the legendary dives of 42nd street. On its surface Straw Dogs is pure exploitation but its lasting power resides in Peckinpah’s transformation of those visceral grindhouse cliches into an appalling examination of human nature.

Straw Dogs begins with the seemingly benign introduction of David Sumner, a young man with an even younger wife, arriving in a tiny hamlet in the north of England,...

Here's another installment featuring Joe Dante's reviews from his stint as a critic for Film Bulletin circa 1969-1974. Our thanks to Video Watchdog and Tim Lucas for his editorial embellishments!

Dustin Hoffman defends his home against murderous thugs in strong, violent melodrama with appeal to both discriminating trades and the blood- and-guts fans. Rating: R.

Director Sam Peckinpah’s fascination with violence as man’s most basic instinct finds new and disturbing expression in Straw Dogs, a difficult, harrowing film which is in essence a long, slow-burning fuse leading to an explosion of bloodshed. On the whole, the ABC Pictures Corp. production possesses a nightmare intensity few horror films could match, and this should be a factor in drawing both serious filmgoers and the mayhem-minded masses. As an action entry, the Cinerama release has the requisite sex and brutality to pull them in, while Dustin Hoffman’s presence an...

Not everything about the Alexandria Safe Zone is exactly "safe", but under the leadership of former U.S. congresswoman Deanna Monroe, residents like the charming Jessie have been able to live out a reasonably normal existence in the zombie apocalypse on AMC's The Walking Dead. Two intriguing additions to the show, the characters of Deanna and Jessie have roots in the comic books and should affect events of future episodes in major ways. In recent interviews, Tovah Feldshuh and Alexandra Breckenridge discussed their respective characters' backstories, current states, and what could be in store for their walled-off community in the near future. *Spoiler warning for those who haven't yet seen the latest episode of The Walking Dead.*

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Tovah Feldshuh discussed getting the role of Deanna, a character who is a man (Douglas) in Robert Kirkman's comic book series:

"I did a role like this...

Vanessa Redgrave Academy Salute: From Pariah to Honoree [Photo: Vanessa Redgrave, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Natasha Richardson, as ballerina Isadora Duncan in Isadora.] Later on, at the behest of producer Daniel Melnick (Straw Dogs, Making Love) screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky (The Goddess, Network) prefaced his announcement of the Best Screenwriting Oscar with the following (also via Inside Oscar): Before I get on to the writing awards, there's a little matter I'd like to tidy up … at least if I expect to live with myself tomorrow morning. I would like to say, personal opinion, of course, that I'm sick and tired of people exploiting the Academy Awards for the propagation of their own personal propaganda. I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple "Thank you" would have sufficed. Chayefsky's use of the Academy Awards to make that particular political statement — that no political statements should...

Straw Dogs

Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, Del Henney, David Warner | Written by Sam Peckinpah, David Zelag Goodman | Directed by Sam Peckinpah

I have a confession to make. I had, until slotting the new Blu-ray from Studio Canal into my player, never seen Straw Dogs. I was always an Expose fan, and (unwisely it turns out) thought that Peckinpah’s film would pale in comparison. Plus I’m a stickler for seeing films uncut… And as you may know, the film hasn’t been available uncut in the UK until very recently.

For those that aren’t familiar with the film, it tells the story of quiet American mathematician David Sumner (Hoffman) and his British-born wife Amy (George) who relocate to Amy’s rural English hometown in an attempt to flee the violent social unrest brewing in the Us. However the social unrest of the Us is replaced...

The Film

As is now custom on the heels of a remake, it’s time for a remastered Blu-ray release of a classic movie – in this case Straw Dogs, which has been remade to a poor critical reception by director Rod Lurie. The 1971 thriller – which deals with challenging themes of violence and repression - remains a difficult film from controversial director Sam Peckinpah.

Dustin Hoffman stars as David Sumner, a nebbish and aloof American teacher, who moves to rural England to live with his British wife Amy (Susan George). Despite longing to leave behind the violence and chaos of life in the states, it soon becomes clear that conflict exists even in a quiet corner of jolly old England, as the pair become targeted by a local group of roguish roustabouts – whom leer over Amy and play tricks on David for being an outsider.

As things become progressively worse, the...

Mini-Review

When you think of Dustin Hoffman today, you do not think of an individual who is spineless and without the balls to defend his woman (Susan George), who made an ever-lasting impression in this film with her perky nipples and erotic display as the wife to Hoffman’s character, David Sumner.

Straw Dogsm directed in 1971 by Sam Peckinpah, starts with the basic concept of a couple moving to the village side to enjoy the quiet life. Building slowly from a seemingly calm opening act, Straw Dogs sees the aforementioned couple being put to the ultimate test to defend themselves against the violence that is set to destroy and violate them. Oozing sexual tension and male masculinity, this is a film worthy of Criterions Collection. Sadly, in less than a few months, we will get a remake to a film that never needed it.

Disc Review

At number 182 in the Criterion Collection,...

Conducted ~early 2003

One of the great joys about being an interviewer is actually going out and, when the wind is blowing right and the stars align, getting a chance to speak to your childhood idols.

Growing up on the heavy side, one of those idols was Dom DeLuise. Be it a Mel Brooks comedy, teamed with Burt Reynolds, or pointing Kermit the Frog in the direction of Hollywood while deep in a swamp, I couldn’t get enough of him. He was, and remains, one of my favorite screen comedians. Rare is the actor whose very screen presence lights up even the dullest of flicks, and many a piece of mediocre celluloid was redeemed by a little shot of Dom.

He’s played Caesar (”Wash this!”), a hypocritical public watchdog (”Texas has a whorehouse in it!”), an agent (”Alligator!”), a sidekick (”Captain Chaos!”), and even a crow named Jeremy… With over 50 years in the business,...

By Peter McAlevey

Wow! As if it wasn’t tough enough dealing with the passings of people like Dan Melnick or Dennis Hopper (each chronicled here), who were, of course, of another generation.

Now we’ve got to start dealing with our own. I can never forget Steve Reuther for several reasons, not the least of which was that we were supposed to be best friends. I don’t say that lightly -- when people like myself and Steve came of age in Hollywood in the ‘70s, there was one road to the top. And that was (following in the footsteps of Barry Diller and David Geffen before us) throug...

Horror fanatics are still buzzing like chainsaws over the Academy Awards’ genre montage. Anywhere there could be a conversation about it online, there was one. Many were upset over the Twilight ‘tweens’ participation, as if their mere presence sent a message about the state of scary in Hollyweird, USA.

A few seemed happy, though, to just get a glimpse of their beloved Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 if only for a few seconds. But many called the selections generic and thoughtless, demanding the likes of Demons and TerrorVision instead (well, maybe not TerrorVision; that was just me).

How about Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? Re-Animator? It’s Alive? Tombs of the Blind Dead? Coffin Joe? No list is perfect, but with a bit more care and a phone call to any one of us, the Oscars could have elevated that section into a real scream. Or maybe they...

By Peter McAlevey

I don’t know what’s scarier: That most of my recent blogs have either been about dead people (Dan Melnick); books largely about dead people (“Pictures at a Revolution”); or the living dead (my story about the Rolling Stones and the creation of “Exile on Main Street”).

Actually, now that I think about it, with Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards’ -- who many have assumed to be a walking cadaver for years -- announcement Monday that he was quitting drinking (he didn’t mention anything about heroin or cocaine but, hey, we take what sobr...

Producer and former MGM chief Daniel Melnick died Tuesday at age 77. His credits are as diversified as they are impressive. Among the films and TV series he oversaw, produced or developed: Get Smart, Network, Straw Dogs, All That Jazz, That's Entertainment, Midnight Express, The Goodbye Girl, The Sunshine Boys, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Footloose and Altered States. For more click here...

I woke up this morning enchanted by the first rain in Los Angeles in more than three months, and lay awake for a while to savor the sound of it. Then I went to the computer and found out my old friend, the truly larger-than-life producer Danny Melnick, had died suddenly. What a flood of memories swept down with the rain ... However you pictured Hollywood Cool, from the '60s through the '90s, Dan Melnick embodied the fantasy. Incredibly gifted -- CBS producer at 20, nurturer of Sam Peckinpah and Roman Polanski, head of MGM at 39, producer of All That Jazz, Straw Dogs, Altered States and the creative impetus behind Get Smart, the list goes on an on. He was also stylish, politically bold, dryly (and, on occasion, cruelly) hilarious, a patron of the arts and a provocateur...

Emmy Award-winning movie maverick Daniel Melnick has died after battling lung cancer. He was 77.

The former head of production at MGM and Columbia studios made his name by signing off on bold and often controversial films like Straw Dogs, Network and Making Love.

Paying tribute to the mogul, his protege Sherry Lansing tells the Los Angeles Times newspaper, "He was an extraordinary producer and an extraordinary executive. He always thought out of the box and was never afraid to take a risk."

Melnick was also the brains behind cult TV show Get Smart.

He won Emmys in the mid 1960s for John Gielgud's Shakespearean TV special Ages of Man and Death of a Salesman.

Sam Peckinpah’s violent and controversial Straw Dogs was the first film Melnick produced.

He also helped to develop classic movies like Midnight Express, Kramer Vs. Kramer, All That Jazz and The China Syndrome at Columbia.

Melnick also produced 1984’s Footloose and Steve Martin's revamp of the Cyrano De Bergerac tale, Roxanne.

By Brent Lang

Former MGM chief Daniel Melnick died Tuesday in Los Angeles at 77. He had been struggling with lung cancer.

 In a career that spanned decades, Melnick produced both Oscar-winning prestige pictures such as "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Network," as well as the action movies "Total Recall" and "The Quick and the Dead."

Melnick worked extensively at Columbia, ABC, and MGM. It was at the latte...

Al Pacino, who's demonstrated a flair for courtroom theatrics in movies like ... And Justice for All and The Devil's Advocate, could be stepping before the bar once again in an MGM remake of the classic Witness for the Prosecution. Although no formal offers have gone out, Pacino has shown interest in the project, based on the Agatha Christie play, which was filmed in 1957 with Billy Wilder at the helm and Charles Laughton as the lead attorney in a case in which a wife appears as a witness for the prosecution against her husband. David E. Kelley, a veteran of television's courtrooms, would handle the screen adaptation for a producing team composed of Daniel Melnick, Marion Rosenberg and Dan Risner. With Pacino's decision likely to depend on the choice of director, preliminary discussions have begun with Robert Benton, who most recently directed The Human Stain. Pacino, meanwhile, will be seen in another courtroom -- albeit a period one -- when he appears in Michael Radford's The Merchant of Venice, opening this month. Pacino and Benton are repped by CAA.

Al Pacino, who's demonstrated a flair for courtroom theatrics in movies like ... And Justice for All and The Devil's Advocate, could be stepping before the bar once again in an MGM remake of the classic Witness for the Prosecution. Although no formal offers have gone out, Pacino has shown interest in the project, based on the Agatha Christie play, which was filmed in 1957 with Billy Wilder at the helm and Charles Laughton as the lead attorney in a case in which a wife appears as a witness for the prosecution against her husband. David E. Kelley, a veteran of television's courtrooms, would handle the screen adaptation for a producing team composed of Daniel Melnick, Marion Rosenberg and Dan Risner. With Pacino's decision likely to depend on the choice of director, preliminary discussions have begun with Robert Benton, who most recently directed The Human Stain. Pacino, meanwhile, will be seen in another courtroom -- albeit a period one -- when he appears in Michael Radford's The Merchant of Venice, opening this month. Pacino and Benton are repped by CAA.

"Blue Streak" suffers from an identity crisis. The writing team of Michael Berry and John Blumenthal -- with rewrite help from Steve Carpenter -- shaped a clever and resourceful comedy vehicle for Martin Lawrence. But Lawrence and director Les Mayfield choose to dumb down the humor so severely as to shatter the script's credibility. As a point of reference, imagine "Tootsie" starring Jerry Lewis.

Riding the coattails of Lawrence's success when teamed with Eddie Murphy in "Life", "Blue Streak" is likely to open strongly. But its longevity may be hurt by the filmmakers' insistence that urban comedy precludes urbane humor.

Even Lawrence's character is schizophrenic. He is introduced as a savvy jewel thief, so adept in sophisticated technology as to nearly pull off a major heist of a glittering blue diamond.

What stops the robbery cold is a double-cross by a greedy member of the team (Peter Greene). Lawrence is captured in the ensuing police chase and shootout, but not before hiding the gem in an air duct of a downtown building under construction.

When Lawrence is released from prison two years later, he is horrified to discover that the building now houses the newest LAPD precinct. Determined to recover the diamond, he pulls off an elaborate con by impersonating a newly transferred burglary detective.

There is ingenious humor in the notion of a thief pretending to be a burglary detective: The expertise picked up in his previous occupation really comes in handy in his new "job." But Lawrence's clownish portrayal of the jewel thief-turned-cop undermines the basic joke. If he can handle sophisticated technology and skillfully impersonate a cop, why in the next moment does he act like a talent show dropout?

Much of Lawrence's schtick belongs in a TV skit, and some of it -- particularly when he disguises himself as a bucktoothed pizza delivery man -- is downright embarrassing.

In Mayfield ("Flubber", "Encino Man"), Lawrence has a director who reinforces his own worst instincts. Mayfield has little feel for comic rhythms or building tension within a comedy. Instead, he virtually brings the movie to a halt in order to observe Lawrence's antics, which often have only the vaguest connection to the story.

The supporting cast is exactly that -- a group of actors willing to fade into the background at a moment's notice. There is an exception in Dave Chappelle, whose own frantic comedy makes Lawrence look calm. And Luke Wilson as straight man in Lawrence's act manages to sneak in his own moments of comedy.

The script self-destructs in the third act with a thoroughly unconvincing wild climax at the Mexican border. If anything, "Blue Streak"'s identity crisis grows that much worse in these final minutes as stunts and a level of violence better suited to a Dirty Harry movie suddenly invade what had been an amiable comedy.

BLUE STREAK

Columbia Pictures

A Neil H. Moritz/IndieProd/Jaffe production

Producers: Toby Jaffe, Neal H. Moritz

Director: Les Mayfield

Writers: Michael Berry & John Blumenthal and Steve Carpenter

Executive producers: Daniel Melnick and Allen Shapiro

Director of photography: David Eggby

Production designer: Bill Brzeski

Music: Edward Shearmur

Costume designer: Denise Wingate

Editor: Michael Tronick

Color/stereo

Cast:

Miles Logan: Martin Lawrence

Carlson: Luke Wilson

Deacon: Peter Greene

Tully: Dave Chappelle

Melissa Green: Nicole Ari Parker

Rizzo: Graham Beckel

Running time -- 93 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...