News

Bobby Banas, who played Jets member Joyboy in 1961’s West Side Story, appeared in other film musicals and had a long career as a choreographer, died Monday. He was 90.

His official Instagram account posted the news but did not provide other details. “Fly on, Joyboy,” it read in part. “I know the dance party up above is going to be amazing.”

Born on September 22, 1933, in New York City, Banas performed as Kangaroo in the original 1954 Broadway production of Peter Pan before landing dancer roles in such film musicals as The King and I and Carousel and the early rock ‘n’ roll pic Rock Around the Clock, all in 1956. He went on to work in The Girl Most Likely, Damn Yankees, Li’l Abner and a TV production of Annie Get Your Gun later that decade.

His most famous role would come in the Best Picture Oscar-winning musical West Side Story, playing the Jets’ Joyboy.

There wasn't a more capable director of massive, widescreen Westerns working in Hollywood during the 1950s and '60s than John Sturges. Whether classical ("Gunfight at the O.K. Corral") or somewhat unconventional ("Bad Day at Black Rock"), Sturges could frame a mountainous expanse or stage a gunfight with the best of them. He thrived when working with big casts and specialized in discovering stirring nuances in characters that would've been walking cliches in more typical genre flicks.

Sturges was also efficient, which came in handy when managing expensive studio productions populated with big egos. His biggest challenge in this department might've been "The Magnificent Seven," the 1960 remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "Seven Samurai." Yul Brynner, then a hugely popular movie star (largely on the strength of his Academy Award-winning performance in "The King and I" and his portrayal of Ramses in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments"), controlled...

A long-gestating reboot of The Pink Panther is getting back on track at MGM with Eddie Murphy up for the lead role. Back in 2020, it was reported that Sonic the Hedgehog helmer Jeff Fowler was rebooting the Pink Panther franchise in a way that would include the animated pink animal in a live-action world. Now, a new update from THR has arrived, revealing that talks with Murphy are happening. Should the casting work out, the Beverly Hills Cop star would be playing Inspector Clouseau. No other cast members have yet been named for the project.

Like Sonic the Hedgehog, the film was described as a CGI/live-action hybrid with the literal Pink Panther featured as a main character alongside a new incarnation of Inspector Jacque Clouseau, the French detective originally played by Peter Sellers. The animated Pink Panther would be featured as an imaginary vision only seen by the inspector,...

“The Magnificent Seven” and its tale of gunslingers and bandits may not be over. Sources are saying that a TV series based on the classic Western is currently in the works with “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto attached to the project.

Pizzolatto co-wrote the original action film alongside Richard Wenk. This new project will be a series adaptation of the MGM title, which originally premiered in 1960 and was remade in 2016. At the moment, it is in development and has a series commitment penalty attached; it will be produced as an Amazon Studios original, TheWrap has confirmed.

Last month, TheWrap reported that Pizzolatto was partnering with Amazon to release an as-yet title series.

Also Read:

‘Dead Ringers': How a Feminist Twist in the Amazon Series Transformed the Classic 1988 Film (Video)

The news comes at the heels of reports that Amazon has been searching for its own “Yellowstone,” Paramount’s wildly successful Western drama.

Nic Pizzolatto is set to ride west again for The Magnificent Seven.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the True Detective creator is refashioning his idea for an original Western drama into a series adaptation of the former MGM title that he rebooted in 2016. The project remains in development and has a series commitment penalty attached.

As THR exclusively reported in March, Pizzolatto’s show is being fast-tracked by Nick Pepper, Amazon’s head of U.S. wholly owned series and development, who is considering the Western the streamer’s version of Paramount Network megahit Yellowstone.

Pizzolatto’s new Seven is described as being in the tradition of the great epics from the golden age of Westerns and revolves around an outlaw and his cohorts who unite a disparate band of fighters to defend a settlement of immigrant homesteaders in an open range war against cattle barons in central Texas.

Thanks to the auteur theory, as advanced by upstart French theorists at the influential film journal Cahiers du Cinéma in the '50s and '60s, we've fallen into the habit of viewing movies as the work of a singular artist. Of course, this theory is sound when we're discussing the work of Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, and Ingmar Bergman -- they had an identifiable visual style and revisited the same themes from film to film. The same applies to Boomer directors like Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese, or modern masters like Quentin Tarantino, Kelly Reichardt, and Spike Lee.

On the set of a film, the director is head honcho, and the Directors Guild of America has fought hard to make sure the moviegoing public understands this. The director is the final name in the opening credits and gets a prominent placement on the poster. Sometimes, if they so choose,...

John Travolta introduced the Oscars In Memoriam segment, tearing up while remembering his “Grease” co-star Olivia Newton-John.

“They’ve made us smile, and became dear friends who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to,” a visibly emotional Travolta said before the video montage began.

The Oscars recognized the actors and filmmakers we lost over the past year in the annual In Memoriam segment, which this year unfurled to the sound of Lenny Kravitz playing “Calling All Angels.” The emotional segment is a viewer favorite, but omissions of high-profile Hollywood figures spark annual debate.

This year, Twitter lit up with people they thought should have been included during the show, including Anne Heche, “Triangle of Sadness” star Charlbi Dean and Paul Sorvino. However, all three were memorialized on the Oscars website.

Among the other stars not mentioned on-screen were Leslie Jordan, Gilbert Gottfried, Tom Sizemore and Cindy Williams.

The show is...

Four-time Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz will perform for Sunday’s emotional “In Memoriam” segment on the Oscars 2023 ceremony. While only 40-50 people are generally remembered for the television ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, over 200 people will be recognized on the Academy’s webpage starting that evening.

SEEWho is Performing at the Oscars 2023?: Full List of Presenters and Performers

Here is a lengthy list of many contributors to film who died since last year’s Academy Awards ceremony:

Mary Alice (actor)

Gil Alkabetz (animator)

Kirstie Alley (actor)

Burt Bacharach (composer)

Angelo Badalamenti (composer)

Simone Bär (casting director)

Joanna Barnes (actor)

Carl A. Bell (animator)

Jeff Berlin (sound)

David Birney (actor)

Bruce Bisenz (sound)

Robert Blake (actor)

Eliot Bliss (sound)

Nick Bosustow (shorts)

Albert Brenner (production designer)

Tom Bronson (costume designer)

James Caan (actor)

Michael Callan (actor)

Donn Cambern (editor)

Irene Cara (songwriter)

Gary W. Carlson (sound)

Marvin Chomsky...

The 70th Academy Award ceremony on March 23, 1998, is the most-watched Oscar ceremony to date — most likely due to a “Titanic” film nominated for several awards. However, Gil Gates, who produced 14 Oscar ceremonies between 1990 and 2008, also wanted a special segment to recognize Oscar’s platinum anniversary, and arranged for 70 past acting winners to sit together on the stage, with Norman Rose announcing the films for which each performer won. It was a spectacular gathering of actors and actresses from Classic Hollywood, New Hollywood and the contemporary period.

Let’s flashback to the first Oscars family album featured in the ceremony 25 years ago.

SEEOscar flashback 25 years to 1998: Winners are Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Robin Williams and ‘Titanic’ ratings for ABC

Among those present was the first performer to win back-to-back acting Oscars, Best Actress champ Luise Rainer. At the age of 88, she was the oldest one on the stage; when she...

Tom Sizemore, the veteran character actor known for nervy and visceral tough-guy roles in films like “Heat” and Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” died Friday, his manager confirmed. He was 61.

Sizemore’s family was advised this week to make a decision regarding “end of life matters” after he suffered a brain aneurysm on Feb. 18.

“It is with great sadness and sorrow I have to announce that actor Thomas Edward Sizemore aged 61 passed away peacefully in his sleep today at St Joseph’s Hospital Burbank,” his manager, Charles Lago, said in a statement. “His Brother Paul and twin boys Jayden and Jagger (17) were at his side.”

Sizemore was found unconscious in his home around 2 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, Lago told TheWrap earlier this week. He was hospitalized and immediately admitted into the intensive care unit.

Also Read:

Walter Mirisch, ‘In the Heat of the Night’ Producer and Former Academy President,...

Ricou Browning, the actor, stuntman and diver whose work in the 1954 sci-fi classic “Creature From the Black Lagoon” launched his career as an expert water-based filmmaker, died less than two weeks after his 93rd birthday, his son Ricou Browning Jr. confirmed to TheWrap on Tuesday.

The diver, who legend has it could hold his breath for up to four minutes at a time, landed the iconic role in 1953 after being asked by a film crew to help scout locations at Wakulla Springs Florida for the Universal monster film. He was already performing underwater newsreels shot at the tourist spot.

“Their cameraman asked if I could swim in front of the cameras so they could get the perspective of the size of a human being against the fish and the grass. So I did,” he told the Hartford Courant in 2016. Ben Chapman portrayed the Creature – also known as Gill Man – on land,...

Producer whose trust in his film-makers led to a string of popular, Oscar-nominated movies

Walter Mirisch, who has died aged 101, was one of the few film producers of the post-Hollywood studio era who had the intuition and the know-how of the old moguls of the 1930s and 40s, combined with the daring and confidence to entrust the movies to the artists themselves.

This resulted in a string of films that gained the approbation of mass audiences and critics alike in the decade following the foundation of the Mirisch Corporation (also known variously as Mirisch Production Company and Mirisch Films), the company set up in 1957 by Walter, his brother Marvin and his half-brother Harold.

Colin Jost and Michel Ché returned to Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” and took on the Oscars hiring a crisis team to try to avoid slap-gate this year.

“Guys, it’s not going to happen again,” Jost said. “I’m sure you wish it would for ratings.”

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Jost then gave the Oscars ideas for promos starting off with, “Who’s gonna get slapped this year?”

“Can Ana de Armas beat the Tár out of Cate Blanchett?” was another one of his ideas.

Related: Woody Harrelson Parodies ‘The Whale’ On ‘SNL’

He continued with,...

Walter Mirisch, former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Oscar-winning producer for In the Heat of the Night, died Friday in Los Angeles of natural causes. was 101. He had been the longest-living Oscar winner.

Mirisch — whose producing credits stretch to the 1940s and also include West Side Story, The Apartment and the 1960 and 2016 versions of The Magnificent Seven — also won a pair of Honorary Oscars: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1978 and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1983. He also received the Producer Guild of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures in 1996.

Related Story Happy Birthday, Walter Mirisch: Oldest Living Oscar Winner Turns 100; His Films Include ‘West Side Story’, ‘The Apartment’ & ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ Related Story Oscars: Sofia Carson & Diane Warren To Perform 'Applause' During Ceremony Related Story Tom Whitlock Dies: Oscar-Winning Co-Writer Of 'Top Gun' Hits 'Take...

Walter Mirisch, a former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and an Oscar-winning producer for “In the Heat of the Night,” died Feb. 24 in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 101.

Mirisch’s death was confirmed by a statement released by the Motion Picture Academy on Saturday.

“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is deeply saddened to hear of Walter’s passing,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in the statement. “Walter was a true visionary, both as a producer and as an industry leader. He had a powerful impact on the film community and the Academy, serving as our President and as an Academy governor for many years. His passion for filmmaking and the Academy never wavered, and he remained a dear friend and advisor. We send our love and support to his family during this difficult time.”

In the mid-20th century,...

Walter Mirisch, producer of the 1967 Best Picture Oscar winner “In the Heat of the Night” and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, died on Friday evening at the age of 101.

“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is deeply saddened to hear of Walter’s passing,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a statement.

“Walter was a true visionary, both as a producer and as an industry leader. He had a powerful impact on the film community and the Academy, serving as our President and as an Academy governor for many years,” the statement continued. “His passion for filmmaking and the Academy never wavered, and he remained a dear friend and advisor. We send our love and support to his family during this difficult time.”

Also Read:

Tom Whitlock, Co-Writer of ‘Top Gun’ Hits ‘Danger Zone’ and ‘Take My Breath Away,...

Walter Mirisch, the legendary independent-minded producer who is the only person to receive the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Award and an Oscar for best picture, has died. He was 101.

The affable Mirisch, who served four terms as president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences from 1973-77, died Friday in Los Angeles of natural causes, AMPAS announced.

“Walter was a true visionary, both as a producer and as an industry leader,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “He had a powerful impact on the film community and the Academy, serving as our president and as an Academy governor for many years. His passion for filmmaking and the Academy never wavered, and he remained a dear friend and adviser.”

Survivors include his son Larry Mirisch, the owner of The Mirisch Agency,...

It’s a hot soap from ’65, when movies promised raging passion but delivered cheap teases and hypocritical judgments. It’s Suzanne Pleshette’s only starring role, but it doesn’t exploit her bright personality, her sense of humor. John O’Hara’s tale hasn’t much pity for a promiscuous young wife who breaks the rules. Does nymphomania make her a social menace, or is she victimized by a script determined to put the blame on Mame? Costarring Ben Gazzara, Bradford Dillman and Peter Graves.

A Rage to Live

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 197

1965 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date December 28, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / aud 34.98

Starring: Suzanne Pleshette, Bradford Dillman, Ben Gazzara, Peter Graves, Bethel Leslie, Carmen Mathews, Linden Chiles, James Gregory, Ruth White, Mark Goddard, Sarah Marshall, George Furth, Virginia Christine, Aneta Corsaut, Frank Maxwell, Almira Sessions.

Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr.

Costume Designer: Howard Shoup

Art Director: James Sullivan

Film Editor: Stuart Gilmore...

John Sturges’ Road Show comedy western has more in common with 1941 than The Magnificent Seven, but Kino has MGM’s new remaster and the visual result is spectacular. The Ultra Panavision 70 epic is still a favorite of fans of out-of-control Hollywood filmmaking. Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin and a huge cast lead the charge for a convoy of frontier whisky. It’s all in a fine spirit of madcap fun. . . so where are the big laughs?

The Hallelujah Trail

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 156 165 min. / Street Date December 13, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Donald Pleasence, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, John Anderson, Tom Stern, Robert J. Wilke, Dub Taylor, Whit Bissell, Helen Kleeb, Val Avery, Hope Summers, John Dehner (narrator).

Cinematography: Robert Surtees

Art Direction: Carey Odell

Costumes: Edith Head

Film Editor: Ferris Webster

Original Music: Elmer Bernstein...

If one were to remove Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film "Seven Samurai" from cinema history, the entire medium would look different. "Seven Samurai" is one of the linchpins in action cinema, codifying the language of an entire genre. Additionally, its premise -- a helpless village is beset by bandits, requiring the starving citizens to hire a small, affordable, and ill-equipped gang of scrappy defenders -- is universally applicable to any genre. A keen observer might see the "Seven Samurai" story repeated frequently across film history; "Galaxy Quest," "A Bug's Life," "Battle Beyond the Stars," "The Invincible Six," and the fourth episode of "The Mandalorian" all repeat Kurosawa's film openly.

The most famous "Seven Samurai" retelling, however, is probably John Sturges' 1960 Western remake "The Magnificent Seven." The story between the "Sevens" is identical, with the samurai replaced by horse-riding cowboy archetypes, played by a cadre of internationally recognized movie stars. Charles Bronson,...

Walter Mirisch earned his Oscar for this Sidney Poitier hit directed by Norman Jewison. The tense mystery thriller was also a significant cultural step for Civil Rights, Hollywood-style: Poitier’s Virgil Tibbs claims the right to not turn the other cheek. Stars Rod Steiger, Lee Grant, Warren Oates and Larry Gates are in top form. Kino’s new 4K release maximizes the impact of Haskell Wexler’s steamy cinematography and Quincy Jones’ rich music, and includes bonus Blu-ray encodings of the two sequels made a few years later.

In the Heat of the Night 4K

4K Ultra HD

Kl Studio Classics

1967 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date April 19, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95

Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, James Patterson, William Schallert, Beah Richards, Peter Whitney, Matt Clark, Scott Wilson, Timothy Scott, Quentin Dean, Anthony James, Alan Oppenheimer.

Cinematography: Haskell Wexler

Art Director: Paul Groesse...

MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund) continued its yearlong centennial celebration with “100 Years of Hollywood: A Celebration of Service,” an unforgettable evening of musical performances, tributes, and inspirational storytelling at The Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood, CA.

During the show, Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg received the Silver Medallion Award while Adam Scott, Jodie Foster, Yvette Nicole Brown, Harry Northup, Casey Wasserman, Jim Gianopulos, and Peter Goldwyn took to the stage. The evening featured musical performances by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Ledisi, Tori Kelly, and Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies. Amanda Kloots, Cameron Monaghan, Carla Renata, Chuck Lorre, Heather Dowling, J. Lee, Kimberly Pierce, Mallory Weggemann, Natasha Bassett, Nicky Whelan, Omar Sharif Jr., Patrick Fabian, Pierson Fodé, Saxon Sharbino, and Tia Carrere also appeared at the benefit. The event was presented by City National Bank, Delta Air Lines, and UCLA Health, with support from Diamond sponsors Directors Guild of America,...

MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund) will continue its yearlong centennial celebration with “100 Years of Hollywood: A Celebration of Service,” an unforgettable evening of musical performances, tributes, and inspirational storytelling on Saturday, June 18th at The Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood, CA.

The special event will commemorate the organization’s 100th year of helping working and retired members of the entertainment community with a safety net of health and social services. Jodie Foster, Harry Northup, Yvette Nicole Brown and more are set to appear, while musical guests including the Grammy Award Winning duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Tori Kelly, and Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies will take the stage to perform.

A highlight of the evening will be MPTF’s presentation of its honorary service award, the Silver Medallion, to Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg, longtime friends and supporters of MPTF. The Katzenbergs have played a vital and irreplaceable...

The Motion Picture & Television Fund on Friday said it will continue its yearlong centennial celebration with “100 Years of Hollywood: A Celebration of Service,” an event June 18 in West Hollywood that will feature musical performances and tributes. Jodie Foster, Harry Northup, Yvette Nicole Brown and more are set to appear at the event at The Lot at Formosa, along with musical guests set to include Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Tori Kelly, and Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies.

The MPTF said it will also use the occasion to present its honorary service award, the Silver Medallion, to Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg, longtime supporters of the organization, which helps working and retired members of the entertainment community with a safety net of health and social services. Previous honorees include Lew and Edie Wasserman, Mary Pickford, Gregory Peck, Jules Stein, Jack Warner, Samuel Goldwyn, Howard Koch and Roddy McDowall.

“This 100th event...

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The Motion Picture & Television Fund is prepping to toast its 100th anniversary with a starry celebration set for June 18th at The Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood.

The event, part of the organization’s yearlong centennial celebration, will roll out as “100 Years of Hollywood: A Celebration of Service” and feature a night of performances, tributes and storytelling, an MPTF signature. Confirmed to join the program are Jodie Foster, Harry Northup and Yvette Nicole Brown along with musical guests Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Tori Kelly and Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies.

Billed as “a highlight” of the evening will be a special presentation of the honorary service award, a Silver Medallion, to Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The Katzenbergs have been longtime champions of MPTF as the mogul spent more than three decades serving various boards (including board of directors and governors...

The Film Noir Foundation puts across more impressive rescues in concert with the UCLA Film and Television Archive: a pair of independently-produced noirs released by Monogram in 1947, modest of budget but firmly rooted in the noir style. The Guilty is a Cornell Woolrich ‘ironic twist’ mini mystery involving troublemaking twins and a soldier suffering from Ptsd. High Tide is a hardboiled corruption tale starring the king of smart-talking newsmen, Lee Tracy. Especially rewarding disc extras give us long-form visual essays on Cornell Woolrich, actor Tracy, producer Jack Wrather and the ‘international’ director John Reinhardt.

The Guilty + High Tide

Blu-ray + DVD

Flicker Alley

1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 71 + 72 min. / Street Date June 10, 2022 / Available from Flicker Alley / 39.95

Starring: Bonita Granville, Don Castle, Regis Toomey, Wally Cassell; Lee Tracy, Don Castle, Julie Bishop, Anabel Shaw.

Shared Credits:

Cinematography: Henry Sharp

Original Music: Rudy Schrager

Screenplays by Robert Presnell Sr.

Produced by Jack Wrather

Directed...

Despite its so-so critical reputation John Ford’s cavalry picture is still a superior Civil War drama, making excellent use of a real historical incident. The conflicts between John Wayne’s commander, William Holden’s doctor and Constance Ford’s unexpected prisoner play well — plus Ford manages scores of great images and a handful of classic scenes. Seeing it with the help of Joseph McBride’s commentary helps too — the story behind the movie is interesting in itself. And we’re told that Wayne never personally fires a shot in the film!

The Horse Soldiers

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 / Color / 1:85 / 120 min. / Street Date June 14, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Ken Curtis, Willis Bouchey, O.Z. Whitehead, Althea Gibson, Anna Lee, Jack Pennick, Hoot Gibson, Hank Worden, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin, Carleton Young, Russell Simpson, William Wellman, Jr..

Cinematography: William H. Clothier

Art Director: Frank Hotaling...

Walter Mirisch is best remembered today as the producer of studio prestige releases like In the Heat of the Night, The Apartment, and the original West Side Story, but before he became one of Hollywood’s most reliable sources of “A” pictures he toiled away in the “B” trenches of Poverty Row company Monogram. He kept the studio in the black with his Bomba the Jungle Boy series, but before establishing that franchise he produced a pair of noir movies based on material by Cornell Woolrich, the suspense writer who would hit paydirt with Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Mirisch’s first solo Monogram […]

The post I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes!, The Gift and 1408: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Walter Mirisch is best remembered today as the producer of studio prestige releases like In the Heat of the Night, The Apartment, and the original West Side Story, but before he became one of Hollywood’s most reliable sources of “A” pictures he toiled away in the “B” trenches of Poverty Row company Monogram. He kept the studio in the black with his Bomba the Jungle Boy series, but before establishing that franchise he produced a pair of noir movies based on material by Cornell Woolrich, the suspense writer who would hit paydirt with Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Mirisch’s first solo Monogram […]

The post I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes!, The Gift and 1408: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Recommendations first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Director Ron Underwood discusses a few of his favorite westerns with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Mighty Joe Young (1998)

Speechless (1994)

Heart and Souls (1993)

Stealing Sinatra (2003)

City Slickers (1991)

Tremors (1990) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Tourist Trap (1979) – David DeCoteau’s trailer commentary

The Seduction (1982)

Puppet Master (1989)

The Boondock Saints (1999)

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)

Capricorn One (1977) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Back When We Were Grownups (2004)

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)

The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Red River (1948) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Johnny Guitar (1954) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Searchers (1956)

Seven Samurai (1954) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary

The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Westworld...

Walter Mirisch’s slam-bang, eardrum-pounding Sensurround stock footage orgy for the Centennial Year gathers an impressive lineup of big stars to celebrate the U.S. Navy’s biggest aircraft carrier battle: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune. Director Jack Smight manages the talky, exposition-laden account of a sprawling, complicated battle rather well, at least in terms of clarity. What is unwatchable pan-scanned on TV isn’t half bad for fans of big-scale war movies. Pi gives us an approximation of Sensurround (I think), and also John Ford’s short subject The Battle of Midway from 1942.

Midway

Region B Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1976 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 132 min. / Street Date October 25, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99

Starring: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda.

Guest Stars (in alphabetical order): James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner. Also starring: Edward Albert, Robert Webber, Ed Nelson,...

After the 2020 death of Olivia DeHavilland at age 104, Walter Mirisch became the oldest living winner of an Academy Award. Today this legendary producer turns 100 years old and is still going strong.

If for some crazy reason you don’t know the name, let me tell you the Mirisch Corporation, which he founded with brothers Harold and Marvin, was sort of the Marvel of its time except it was about much more than comic book superheroes, a true independent in the studio system, that turned out hit after hit, many winning Oscars, that provided a safe haven for some of the great filmmakers of the time including Billy Wilder, John Sturges, Robert Wise, Norman Jewison, Blake Edwards, Hal Ashby, George Roy Hill, not to mention films directed by greats of Hollywood’s golden era including John Ford, William Wyler, Michael Curtiz and on and on.

So again, if you don’t know the name Walter Mirisch,...

Military ensemble pictures work well when the excitement is all about the job and working under pressure: Charlton Heston, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty and even David Carradine are excellent in this credible story about a near-impossible rescue of submariners trapped 1400 feet below. It’s a solid Navy disaster scenario, unusually authentic and realistic — until the dramatists require actor Ronny Cox to act like an emotional idiot. Those U.K. disc producers do it justice with some excellent extras, including a piece with a Navy specialist who worked with the rescue craft seen in the movie… and who later became a well-known film historian, author and film series organizer.

Gray Lady Down

Region B Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1978 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / / Street Date October 25, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK /

Starring: Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty, Stephen McHattie, Ronny Cox, Dorian Harewood, Rosemary Forsyth, Hilly Hicks, Charles Cioffi, William Jordan,...

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Lesley Selander’s Flight to Mars (1951) was one of the earliest offerings of cinematic science-fiction’s Silver Age. The film is not one of the best of that era’s productions, and not even the best of 1951 – that honor would arguably go to Rudolph Maté’s When World’s Collide due to that film’s ground-breaking animation of George Pal. But the stage was already set for science-fiction to replace door-creaking Gothic horror as more dependable, bankable product. Moviegoers of 1945 through 1950 had already been primed for space-travel and alien-enemy films through such entertaining Republic serials as The Purple Monster Strikes, King of the Rocket Men and Flying Disc Man from Mars. The 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico, also made a lot of folk’s look up to the skies to ponder – and fear – what might be floating above them in the cosmos.

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“Don’T Throw Your Shoes Out The Window”

By Raymond Benson

The prolific Hollywood producer Walter Mirisch was responsible for spearheading such famed titles as Two for the Seesaw, Hawaii, In the Heat of the Night, and Dracula (’79), and served as uncredited executive producer for a number of high-profile pictures such as The Pink Panther, The Great Escape, Fiddler on the Roof, and more. Mirisch got his start, though, at the “Poverty Row” studio Monogram in the 1940s, where he churned out a few low-budget crime dramas and film noir.

Mirisch’s second feature for Monogram was a movie that has apparently been out of circulation for decades. Considering its title, one might understand why… I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes! is based on a novel of the same name by the great mystery writer Cornell Woolrich, and the screenplay is by pulp writer (e.

The Wade Williams Collection yields another ’50s sci-fi notable, Monogram Pictures’ ambitious space travel movie filmed in glorious green-challenged Cinecolor. Cameron Mitchell and Arthur Franz sign up for a semi-suicidal space expedition, but instead of murderous Bat-Rat-Spider-Crabs, waiting for them on Mars is the glamorous, mini-skirted Marguerite Chapman. It’s core sci-fi fun from early in the Golden Era. The Film Detective adds a commentary, two new featurettes and an insert booklet; the film itself is lovingly restored to its original Cinecolor brilliance.

Flight to Mars

Blu-ray

The Film Detective

1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 72 min. / Street Date July 20, 2021 / Available from The Film Detective / 24.95

Starring: Marguerite Chapman, Cameron Mitchell, Arthur Franz, Virginia Huston, John Litel, Morris Ankrum, Richard Gaines, Lucille Barkley, Robert Barrat, Russ Conway, Edward Earle, Everett Glass.

Cinematography: Harry Neumann

Production Designer: Ted Haworth

Film Editor, Associate Producer: Richard Heermance

Special Effects: Jack Cosgrove, Irving Block, Jack Rabin

Original Music:...

Gotta love that title! Producer Walter Mirisch’s small-scale Monogram noir was once assumed lost, but now it’s making its home video debut on Blu-ray. A luckless young entertainer finds himself neck deep in murder trouble, when an unbreakable string of circumstantial evidence points directly at him. As the date of his execution nears, the only way his desperate wife can help him is to encourage the detective on the case to think he has a chance with her. Taken from a Cornell Woolrich story, the show tries hard despite its low budget — we can almost feel Mirisch behind the scenes, making sure the picture has heart and sincerity.

I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1948 / B&w Color / 1:37 Academy / 71 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date July 20, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: Don Castle, Elyse Knox, Regis Toomey, Charles D. Brown, Rory Mallinson, Robert Lowell, Dorothy Vaughan, Steve Darrell,...

“I’m considered a scholar, but unfortunately that hasn’t made me rich.”

Cinedigm, the leading independent streaming entertainment company super-serving enthusiast fan bases, announced today that The Film Detective, the classic film restoration and distribution company, is releasing Flight to Mars (1951) on special-edition Blu-ray and DVD, July 20.

Flight to Mars blasted into theaters at the dawn of the 1950s science-fiction boom from legendary producer Walter Mirisch (Some Like It Hot, The Magnificent Seven, West Side Story, The Great Escape, The Pink Panther). Filmed in gorgeous Cinecolor with special effects ahead of its time, Flight to Mars stands as an eye-popping, must-have feature for any fan of the science-fiction genre.

Starring Marguerite Chapman (The Seven Year Itch, Coroner Creek, Destroyer, A Man’s World, Parachute Nurse) and Cameron Mitchell (The High Chaparral, Hollywood Cop, Monkey on My Back, How to Marry a Millionaire), the film follows five Earthlings who land...

On May 15, 1975, Dalton Trumbo was vindicated. One of Hollywood’s top screenwriters — a committed leftist whose career had cratered under the blacklist before his back-channel maneuvering helped defeat it — lay in ill health at his West Hollywood home when there was a knock on his door. It was the producer Walter Mirisch, then the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar in hand.

The two had worked together years earlier, and Mirisch was aware that Trumbo had written under assumed names. “I also knew that one of those scripts had gotten ...

On May 15, 1975, Dalton Trumbo was vindicated. One of Hollywood’s top screenwriters — a committed leftist whose career had cratered under the blacklist before his back-channel maneuvering helped defeat it — lay in ill health at his West Hollywood home when there was a knock on his door. It was the producer Walter Mirisch, then the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar in hand.

The two had worked together years earlier, and Mirisch was aware that Trumbo had written under assumed names. “I also knew that one of those scripts had gotten ...

The Pink Panther reboot is happening, with an all-new franchise concept in the works at MGM, marking the latest classic property to get rebooted as a CGI/live-action hybrid movie. Enlisting a filmmaker with experience on that front, MGM has tapped Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff Fowler to helm the project with Bad Boys for Life co-writer Chris Bremner penning the screenplay. The deal has reportedly been in the works since the start of the year, and it appears that the movie is now officially a go.

Julie Andrews, who was married to the original Pink Panther movie co-writer and director Blake Edwards, is on board to produce. Also producing are Lawrence Mirisch and Rideback's Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. Lawrence's father Walter Mirisch, who executive produced the 1963 original, will also return to executive produce alongside Rideback's Ryan Halpin.

"Popular the world over, the legacy of the iconic Pink...

Jeff Fowler (“Sonic the Hedgehog”) will direct a live-action CGI-hybrid feature film reimagining of “Pink Panther” for MGM, the studio announced on Thursday.

Chris Bremner will write the script.

Lawrence Mirisch, Julie Andrews Edwards of Geoffrey Productions, Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce. Walter Mirisch and Rideback’s Ryan Halprin will executive produce.

“The Pink Panther” is MGM’s longest and most successful comedy franchise, created by writer-director Blake Edwards, Julie Andrews Edwards’ late husband, in partnership with producer Walter Mirisch.

“Popular the world over, the legacy of the iconic Pink Panther has endured for more than 50 years and continues to be discovered by new generations,” says Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group Chairman and Pamela Abdy, MGM Film Group President, in a statement to TheWrap. “We are so happy to come together with Jeff, Chris, Larry, Julie, Dan, Jonathan, Walter and Ryan to bring one of...

MGM is looking to bring back the classic animated character Pink Panther in a big way as it has set Jeff Fowler direct a new live-action/CGI hybrid feature film centered on the iconic cat. Chris Bremner will write MGM’s modern reimagining, with Lawrence Mirisch, Julie Andrews Edwards of Geoffrey Productions, Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich producing. Walter Mirisch and Rideback’s Ryan Halprin will executive produce.

Fowler is no stranger to the genre, having helmed the live-action hybrid Sonic the Hedgehog adaptation for Paramount. The film was one of the biggest hits of 2020 and Paramount has already put a sequel in development.

“Popular the world over, the legacy of the iconic Pink Panther has endured for more than 50 years and continues to be discovered by new generations,” said Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group chairman, and Pamela Abdy, MGM Film Group president. “We are so happy to come together with Jeff,...

MGM’s Pink Panther is getting ready to purr once again.

Jeff Fowler, the director of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Chris Bremner, who co-wrote Bad Boys for Life, are teaming up for a brand new Pink Panther feature project.

Rideback, the banner run by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich and that was a behind Aladdin and The Two Popes, are producing. Also producing are Lawrence Mirisch and Julie Andrews, the screen icon who was married to Blake Edwards, the latter who co-wrote and directed the 1963 original as well as all of the Panther movie outings in the 20th century.

Walter Mirisch, who executive ...

MGM’s Pink Panther is getting ready to purr once again.

Jeff Fowler, the director of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Chris Bremner, who co-wrote Bad Boys for Life, are teaming up for a brand new Pink Panther feature project.

Rideback, the banner run by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich and that was a behind Aladdin and The Two Popes, are producing. Also producing are Lawrence Mirisch and Julie Andrews, the screen icon who was married to Blake Edwards, the latter who co-wrote and directed the 1963 original as well as all of the Panther movie outings in the 20th century.

Walter Mirisch, who executive ...

Jeff Fowler (Sonic The Hedgehog) to direct from screenplay by Chris Bremner.

Julie Andrews Edwards is among the roster of producers on a live action-cgi hybrid Pink Panther reboot in the works for MGM.

Jeff Fowler (Sonic The Hedgehog) will direct the feature from a screenplay by Chris Bremner based on the comedy caper franchise created by the late Blake Edwards in partnership with producer Walter Mirisch.

Lawrence Mirisch, Andrews Edwards of Geoffrey Productions, and Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce. Mirisch and Rideback’s Ryan Halprin will serve as executive producers.

The Mirisch Company produced The Pink Panther...

This great, unheralded western is divorced from the usual concerns of law and order and gunslinger protocol. As in most every film by Jacques Tourneur, we feel a strong empathy for characters that behave like real people working out real problems. The Oregon Territory is pioneered by imperfect people — opportunists, knaves and hopeful dreamers — all rich in personality. Dana Andrews and Susan Hayward lead a large cast in a tale with just as much conflict and violence as the next western, but with an integrity one can feel. The icing on the cake is the presence of ‘troubadour’ Hoagy Carmichael and his beautiful music.

Canyon Passage

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1946 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 92 min. / Street Date March 10, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Brian Donlevy, Patricia Roc, Ward Bond, Hoagy Carmichael, Fay Holden, Stanley Ridges, Lloyd Bridges, Andy Devine, Victor Cutler, Rose Hobart, Halliwell Hobbes, James Cardwell,...

Jacques Tourneur’s ‘big sky’ western gives us the beauty of Colorado mountains plus stunning color images (originally Technicolor) of his attractive cast: Robert Stack, Virginia Mayo, Ruth Roman. North-South antagonisms break out in Denver City, before the Civil War begins, and Robert Stack’s loner opportunist must choose a side. The Wac’s disc includes four Jacques Tourneur short subjects, with mystery themes.

Great Day in the Morning

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1956 / Color / 1:2 widescreen (Superscope) / 92 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth Roman, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr, Leo Gordon, Regis Toomey, Carleton Young, Donald MacDonald, William Phipps, Peter Whitney.

Cinematography: William Snyder

Film Editor: Harry Marker

Original Music: Leith Stevens

Written by Lesser Samuels, from the novel by Robert Hardy Andrews

Produced by Edmund Grainger

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

(Note: none of these images reflect the fine quality of the Blu-ray.)

The...

CinemaThe film stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Darren Criss and Woody Harrelson.Tnm StaffAmong the many films to be made on one of the most important events in American history, the attack on Pearl Harbor, Midway is the latest. A war drama directed by Roland Emmerich, the film is expected to release on November 8, 2019 in the Us, right in time for the Veterans Day weekend. The Godzilla director is known for his apocalyptical films like Independence Day (1996), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 10,000 BC (2008), 2012 (2009) and White House Down (2013). Written by Wes Tooke, the film boasts of an ensemble cast - Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Darren Criss and Woody Harrelson. Midway was announced in May 2017 and began production in September last year. According to reports, Ed Skrein plays Dick Best, the real-life dive...

In the Heat of the Night

Blu ray

Criterion

1967 / 1.85:1 / 110 Min. / Street Date – January 29, 2019

Starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates

Cinematography by Haskell Wexler

Directed by Norman Jewison

The racial animus that roiled recent elections in Mississippi was a reminder of segregation’s cockroach-like resiliency in that state – it wasn’t until 2013 that its Secretary of State officially ratified the 13th amendment.

It’s safe to assume that volatile climate was even more combustible in 1966 when Sidney Poitier refused to venture south of the Mason-Dixon Line for the Mississippi-set In the Heat of the Night – less precarious locations were found but the actor still kept a gun under his pillow during production.

A hardboiled policier with Ray Charles on the soundtrack and the headlong urgency of politically-charged Euro thrillers like Z and Queimada, Norman Jewison’s countrified crime story stars Poitier as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia detective waylaid at...