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Composers Joe Henson and Alexis Smith, known collectively as The Flight, are responsible for the epic, breathtaking score you can hear in the recently released Ubisoft video game Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Having previously worked on Assassin's Creed Odyssey, they return to the long-running video game series to deliver a score that blends modern soundscapes with traditional Japanese instruments. In the process, they enrich the 16th-century Japan setting, fusing past and present to enhance the emotional depth of the game's narrative.

No strangers to video games, Joe and Alexis' credits include critically acclaimed titles Alien: Isolation and Horizon: Zero Dawn. They've also ventured into television with projects like Lockwood & Co. and Drugsland.

We recently got to speak to The Flight about their approach to Assassin's Creed Shadows. During our conversation, we learned how they created a unique sound for 16th-century Japan, the work that went into the themes for the game's two leads,...

Assassin's Creed Shadows is nearly here, and the excitement is reaching new heights for Ubisoft's stealth-focused RPG, which just might be the game fans have been waiting for. A big part of that buzz comes from the game's composers, Joe Henson and Alexis Smith, collectively known as The Flight. This talented duo are no strangers to the Assassin's Creed franchise, having previously composed the music for the multiplayer in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

However, they're calling the upcoming installment "the one that everyone's been wanting," fueling even more anticipation for what's to come. Speaking to Screen Rant, the composers discuss how they feel about Shadows and what they think players will like. Specifically, we asked them what they would say to someone who has skipped a few of the recent titles in the franchise but is thinking about coming back for Shadows. Henson had this to say,...

Composers Joe Henson and Alexis Smith return for Assassin's Creed Shadows and reveal a chilling detail about the protagonist, Naoe. The upcoming installment of the Assassin's Creed franchise takes players back to the core elements of the game, focusing on stealth and parkour over other mechanics. Unlike most stealth games, where players hide out of fear of being caught, Naoe's approach is entirely different.

Speaking to Screen Rant, Henson and Smith, known as The Flight, discussed how the protagonist of Assassin's Creed Shadows differs from other stealthy characters in the franchise. As Henson explains, "[she] is in a place of strength when she is hiding... This is what she does, this is her job."

Because of this, Naoe's inner dialogue while in stealth is unlike that of other characters. "When you're playing in stealth, there's whisper dialogue, and that's what [Naoe] is thinking while she's hiding."Henson and Smith shared a translation of this dialogue,...

At the height of his Hollywood career, Humphrey Bogart played the ruthless main villain of Conflict, an underappreciated gem. Known primarily for his work in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, the actor made a name for himself as the male lead in a long list of popular films. For that reason, a large number of Humphrey Bogart's best movies see him take on heroic roles, even if some can be somewhat morally dubious. However, Bogart was no stranger to villainous roles, especially since he spent several years of his life portraying criminals in forgettable 1930s gangster movies.

But in the 1940s though, this was a phase in the actor's career that he had largely moved on from. At this point, he was one of the industry's top stars and a favorite of Warner Bros. This decade is when Bogart made To Have and Have Not, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,...

The View co-host Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, wants viewers who watched the Chris Brown: A History of Violence documentary Sunday night to know that intimate partner violence has no boundaries.

“Domestic violence is an epidemic hiding in plain sight. It doesn’t discriminate. In that respect, wealth has little to do with many instances,” Hostin told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, ahead of hosting the aftershow discussion on domestic violence that aired after the Investigation Discovery doc on Chris Brown.

The doc explored Brown’s years of alleged offstage aggression, including intimate-partner violence, assault charges and sexual assault allegations that first came to light in 2009 when the star rapper pled guilty to a felony charge of physically assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna.

“That was not an isolated incident. It only got attention because there’s a big name attached to it. And our goal is to say: This is...

After Creative Assembly’s big reveal yesterday regarding the announcement of a sequel to Alien: Isolation, Hollywood Records has added to the fun with the announcement that the soundtrack to Alien: Isolation is available now digitally on streaming platforms, with a special vinyl and cassette version coming soon, courtesy of iam8bit.

Available for pre-order now, the blood green vinyl and motion-tracker green cassette will include 20 tracks composed by Joe Henson and Alexis Smith (better known as The Flight) and Christian Henson, with original packaging art by Nimit Malavia.

“It’s not often that people are still talking about a ten-year-old video game, but interest in Alien: Isolation, rather like the Xenomorph itself, never quite seems to go away,” says The Flight. “We constantly get asked about making the soundtrack to this iconic title, and we’re excited that it is finally getting a proper release, so that the fans can...

Maleah Joi Moon has become the 101st performer to win a Tony Award for their first outing on a Broadway stage for her performance in the musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”

She won Best Actress in a Musical at the 77th Tony Awards for portraying Ali, a 17-year-old girl searching for her place in the world while living in the titular New York City neighborhood and also being restrained by her overbearing mother. She is the 10th person to win the category for her Broadway debut. She joins:

Elizabeth Seal, “Irma La Douce” (1961)

Anna Maria Alberghetti, “Carnival” (1962)

Liza Minnelli, “Flora the Red Menace” (1965)

Leslie Uggams, “Hallelujah, Baby” (1968)

Alexis Smith, “Follies” (1972)

Natalia Makarova, “On Your Toes” (1983)

Lea Salonga, “Miss Saigon” (1991)

Catherine Zeta-Jones, “A Little Night Music” (2010)

Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple” (2016)

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Other performers who pulled off this accomplishment in recent years include...

Jodie Comer has become the 100th performer to win a Tony Award for their Broadway debut for her performance in the play, “Prima Facie.”

She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:

SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories

Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)

Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)

Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)

Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)

Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)

Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)

Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)

Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)

Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)

Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...

Ted Donaldson, who starred as Bud Anderson on the original radio version of Father Knows Best and as Neely Nolan in the beloved family drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the first feature directed by Elia Kazan, has died. He was 89.

Donaldson died Wednesday of complications from a fall in his Echo Park apartment in January, his friend Thomas Bruno told The Hollywood Reporter.

In his big-screen debut, Donaldson portrayed a boy who gets his pet caterpillar Curly to dance when he plays “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” on the harmonica in the comedy fantasy Once Upon a Time (1944), starring Cary Grant and Janet Blair.

He also starred as Danny Mitchell in eight B-movies from Columbia Pictures that revolved around a German shepherd named Rusty. The first one, Adventures of Rusty (1945), featured Ace the Wonder Dog.

An only child, Donaldson was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 20, 1933. His father was...

The composer George Gershwin died in 1937 and eight years later Hollywood paid tribute with this biography directed by Irving Rapper. The preponderance of musicians appearing as themselves, including Paul Whiteman and Oscar Levant, confirms the storyline will concentrate on Gershwin’s music while playing fast and loose with the details of his private life. Robert Alda plays the composer, and Joan Leslie and Alexis Smith are on hand as two of his factionalized romantic entanglements.

The post Rhapsody in Blue appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

The third ‘Essential’ noir collection is easily [Imprint]’s best, with two genuine classics of the style plus two excellent and equally entertaining thrillers. The directors are first-rank: Lewis Milestone, Mitchell Leisen, William Dieterle and William Wyler. Top stars are present too: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lisabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March. The high-quality suspense and jeopardy are uniquely noir: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, No Man Of Her Own, The Turning Point and The Desperate Hours. [Imprint] taps bona fide experts for the xtras.

Essential Film Noir Collection 3

Blu-ray (Region-Free)

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, No Man Of Her Own, The Turning Point, The Desperate Hours

Viavision [Imprint] 148, 149, 150, 151

1946 – 1955 / B&w / 1:37 Academy (3), 1:78 widescreen (1) / 411 min. / Street Date August 31, 2022 / Available from Viavision [Imprint] / au 139.95 , Amazon / 136.64

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lisabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas; Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Lyle Bettger; William Holden, Alexis Smith,...

Myles Frost became the latest addition to the list of people who have taken home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. His win makes him the 98th member of this particular winners’ club.

Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:

Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)

Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)

Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)

Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)

Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)

Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)

John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)

Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)

David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)

Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)

See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...

Sam Adams, who repped literary and entertainment figures including Margaret Atwood, Peter Bogdanovich, John Badham and Stephen J. Cannell, died Saturday in Santa Fe, N.M., his daughter Olivia Adams confirmed. He was 94.

One of final deals was for Atwood’s 1985 novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which became a 1990 feature before the TV series, and he also negotiated deals for films such as “Saturday Night Fever,” “Caddyshack” and “Klute.”

Adams started out at the Jaffee Agency, then launched his own firm with Rick Ray, joining with Lee Rosenberg to become the Adams, Ray & Rosenberg agency.

The firm became part of Triad Artists in 1984, and was acquired by William Morris in 1992, after Adams had retired.

Born in Chicago, Adams moved to Los Angeles with his mother at age 7, where she worked for her brother Joseph Schnitzer, an Rko executive. He attended Beverly Hills High, where he wrote for the school newspaper alongside Dick Sherman,...

Six years before his death in 1996, “Rent” composer Jonathan Larson began performing a solo semi-autobiographical musical “Tick, Tick…Boom!” about a young struggling composer named Jon who fears that he has made the wrong career choice. After his death, Larson’s show was expanded into a three-person piece by David Auburn that ran in London, off-Broadway, and as a national tour. Now it is an acclaimed new Netflix movie directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (who appeared in a Encores production of the musical in 2014) and starring Andrew Garfield.

The composer bio movie genre has long been a favorite of Hollywood, especially during its Golden Age. But these bio-pics played fast and loose with the facts. The Production Code prevented these films from exploring the fact that Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart were gay. And some of these composers and/or their families were still alive and wanted a certain image presented on the big screen.

In this episode, Ben and Daniel discuss the 1982 concert 'Showstoppers The Best of Broadway.' The evening is hosted by Tom Bosley and features Broadway favorites such as Ethel Merman, Barry Bostwick, Susan Browning, Len Cariou, Nell Carter, Diahann Carroll, Carole Demas, David Haskell, Glynis Johns, Donna McKechnie, Robert Morse, Pamela Myers, Stephen Nathan, Jerry Orbach, Anthony Perkins, Debbie Reynolds, Alexis Smith, and Ray Walston.

In this episode, Ben and Daniel discuss the 1982 concert 'Showstoppers The Best of Broadway.' The evening is hosted by Tom Bosley and features Broadway favorites such as Ethel Merman, Barry Bostwick, Susan Browning, Len Cariou, Nell Carter, Diahann Carroll, Carole Demas, David Haskell, Glynis Johns, Donna McKechnie, Robert Morse, Pamela Myers, Stephen Nathan, Jerry Orbach, Anthony Perkins, Debbie Reynolds, Alexis Smith, and Ray Walston.

By Todd Garbarini

According to actor and film historian Douglas Dunning, his friend, legendary actress Barbara Rush, will be appearing in-person for a Q & A following a 60th anniversary screening of Vincent Sherman’s The Young Philadelphians. The 1959 film, which stars Paul Newman, Alexis Smith, Brian Keith, and Robert Vaughn among many others, will be screened at Laemmle’s Royal Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019 at 7:00 pm. The film runs 136 minutes.

From the press release:

The Young Philadelphians

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

60th Anniversary Screening

Q & A with Actress Barbara Rush

Wednesday, August 7, at 7 Pm at the Royal Theatre

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a rediscovery of a juicy melodrama from 1959: The Young Philadelphians, which boasted a vibrant cast headed by Paul Newman and our special guest, Barbara Rush. As Leonard Maltin wrote in his review,...

For only the third time this decade, none of the acting winners at this year’s Tony Awards did so for their Broadway debut. This is the 21st time that this has happened over the 73-year history of these top theater honors. Most of the winners were actually on the opposite end of the spectrum, winning for the first time after years of Broadway experience and several nominations to their name including André De Shields, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Stephanie J. Block. Check out the complete list of winners here.

The previous instances of Broadway debuts being shut out at the Tonys were in: 1948, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001-2003, 2012 and 2017.

Below, you can see the names of all 96 people who have won Tonys for their debut on the Great White Way.

SEE2019 Tony Awards: Best Musical ‘Hadestown’ sweeps with 8 wins, ‘The Ferryman’ takes Best Play

Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners

Paul Scofield, “A Man for All Seasons” (1962)

Cliff Gorman,...

The new musical “The Prom” won over industry folks with its big heart and bevy of Broadway insider jokes. But many wondered where each member of the ensemble cast would compete at this year’s Tony Awards. While the Tony Administration Committee decided Brooks Ashmanskas would be the sole Lead Actor contender, they went the opposite route with the women. Beth Leavel and Caitlin Kinnunen will each compete for Lead Actress in a Musical. So can they both land bids?

Leavel, a Tony winner for “The Drowsy Chaperone,” plays vain Broadway diva Dee Dee Allen. She and her fellow thespians head to a small town in Indiana to help Emma (Kinnunen) bring her girlfriend to the high school prom…and scoop up some much needed press in the process. It’s the type of over the top, scene-chewing role in which Leavel always excels. Two of her big numbers bring...

“Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s” official unveiling occurred in the lead-up to E3, and we heard more about the stunning open-world game set in Ancient Greece during the big show. Now, Variety can offer a chance to check out the main theme music for the game.

The track is called “Legend of the Eagle Bearer,” and was composed by the composer and producer duo of Joe Henson and Alexis Smith, known as The Flight (“Horizon Zero Dawn,” Lana Del Rey).

“This is the hero’s theme; conveying their journey,” The Flight said in a statement to Variety. “Brought up as a proud Spartan, they are then left to find their own path. Using instruments that shared their DNA with those of Ancient Greece, we wanted to compose a dynamic, modern score infused with the essence of the time period.”

Lydia Andrew, the audio director at Ubisoft Quebec, said the team...

1955: Search for Tomorrow's Joanne married Arthur.

1981: Another World's Sandy told Mac that he was his son.

2003: As the World Turns' Jack tracked Carly down in Montana.

2004: General Hospital's Carly interrupted Jason and Sam's wedding."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1944: NBC Radio aired the final episode of its soap opera Kitty Foyle, which starred Julie Stevens as Kitty.

1955: On Search for Tomorrow, Joanne Barron...

Ari’el Stachel became the latest person to take home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. This victory puts him in a freshman club that now has 96 members. Watch him discuss his victory in the Tonys press room in the video above.

Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:

Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)

Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)

Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)

Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)

Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)

Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)

John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)

Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)

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Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.

Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners

Paul Scofield,...

Martin Scorsese commands the screen without a single profane word or gunshot to the head. His adaptation of Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel is a marvel for its year, a highly entertaining, dramatically involving epic that takes us to a world lost to time, the high-toned society of New York in the 1870s. For adult viewers, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder form a stunning romantic triangle.

The Age of Innocence

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 913

1993 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 13, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant, Alec McCowen, Geraldine Chaplin, Mary Beth Hurt, Stuart Wilson, Miriam Margolyes, Siàn Phillips, Carolyn Farina, Michael Gough, Alexis Smith, Norman Lloyd, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Sean Leonard, Joanne Woodward.

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus

Film Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker

Original Music: Elmer Bernstein

Written by Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese

from the book by: Edith Wharton

Produced by...

Jan Maxwell, a beloved mainstay of New York City theater, died on Feb. 11 at the age of 61. Over the course of her illustrious career, in which she appeared in 13 Broadway and numerous Off-Broadway productions, Maxwell earned five Tony Award nominations for her work in both musicals and plays, comedies and dramas, displaying a near-unparalleled mastery of both genres.

Maxwell first appeared on the Great White Way in the original production of “City of Angels” as an understudy, swing, and replacement. Her first bid at the Tony Awards came over a decade later for her featured role in the musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in 2005, for which she won her first Drama Desk Award. She went on to earn Tony nominations for her performances in the play “Coram Boy” (2007) and in revivals of “Lend Me a Tenor” (2010) and “The Royal Family” (2010), taking home her second Drama Desk for the latter.

Her...

It’s 007 in the saddle! Sean Connery didn’t become a career cowboy but his one stint as a Louis L’Amour hero is a diverting change of pace. And we couldn’t resist the pairing of two of moviedom’s most attractive actors — Connery and Brigitte Bardot.

Shalako

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 113 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Peter van Eyck, Honor Blackman, Woody Strode, Eric Sykes, Alexander Knox, Valerie French, Julián Mateos, Don ‘Red’ Barry.

Cinematography: Ted Moore

Film Editor: Bill Blunden

Original Music: Robert Farnon

Written by J.J. Griffith, Hal Hopper, Scot Finch, Clarke Reynolds from the novel by Louis L’Amour

Produced by Euan Lloyd

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

It’s true, after five consecutive James Bond movies, we weren’t exactly ready to see Sean Connery as an American cowboy hero.

Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.

Canadian-born actress Alexis Smith (born 1921) would have turned 96 years old today, June 8. Turner Classic Movies is celebrating her birthday by presenting nine of her movies, mostly during her time as a Warner Bros. contract player. In addition to Michael Curtiz's box office hit Night and Day, a highly fictionalized Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a heterosexual version of the famed gay composer. Night and Day is being shown as part of TCM's Gay Pride Month celebration. Alexis Smith died on June 9, 1993, the day after she turned 72. After her film career petered out in the 1950s, she went on to receive acclaim on the Broadway stage, making sporadic film appearances all the way to the year of her death. Smith's last film appearance was in a minor supporting role in Martin Scorsese's overly genteel period drama The Age of Innocence (1993), starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder.

"I'm not about death, I didn't want to die, but I wanted to come close." Magnolia has debuted an official trailer for a documentary titled Burden, telling the story of artist Chris Burden, who made his place in art history in 1971 with dangerous performances. The film features Burden himself, as well as Jonathan Gold, Marina Abramovic, Frank Gehry, Alexis Smith, and Brian Sewell. The description says the doc examines "the artist’s works and private life with an innovative mix of still-potent videos of his 70s performances, personal videos and audio recordings, friends fellow students and colleagues, critics’ comments and latter day footage at his Topanga Canyon studio, all peppered with his thoughts and musings through the years." This definitely looks fascinating, and I'm intrigued to learn more about Burden and his motivations for this. Here's the trailer (+ poster) for Richard Dewey & Tomothy Marrinan's doc Burden, from YouTube: Chris Burdern...

Her natural acting style made her the world’s pre-eminent silent cinema actor, but Pickford, born Gladys Smith, also became a producer and an early film mogul

The first thing to know about America’s sweetheart is that she was Canadian. It’s not so remarkable for a young actor to move to the States to seek work on Broadway, and eventually an undreamt-of place called Hollywood, nor for that person to change their name as soon as they find success. But the career of Mary Pickford, born Gladys Smith in Toronto in 1892, has been so often misrepresented that it is best to begin with the facts of the case, and not secondhand impressions.

Mary Pickford was an actor of great, unrivalled skill, a producer and a businesswoman. She emerged from poverty and a broken family to become a star who was loved by millions but also powerful behind the scenes.

Her natural acting style made her the world’s pre-eminent silent cinema actor, but Pickford, born Gladys Smith, also became a producer and an early film mogul

The first thing to know about America’s sweetheart is that she was Canadian. It’s not so remarkable for a young actor to move to the States to seek work on Broadway, and eventually an undreamt-of place called Hollywood, nor for that person to change their name as soon as they find success. But the career of Mary Pickford, born Gladys Smith in Toronto in 1892, has been so often misrepresented that it is best to begin with the facts of the case, and not secondhand impressions.

Mary Pickford was an actor of great, unrivalled skill, a producer and a businesswoman. She emerged from poverty and a broken family to become a star who was loved by millions but also powerful behind the scenes.

Alfred Hitchcock assembles all the right elements for this respected mystery thriller. Joan Fontaine is concerned that her new hubby Cary Grant plans to murder her. But Hitch wasn't able to use the twist ending that attracted him to the story in the first place! Suspicion Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 99 min. / Street Date , 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Joan Fontaine, Cary Grant, Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Auriol Lee, Leo G. Carroll Cinematography Harry Stradling Art Direction Van Nest Polglase Film Editor William Hamilton Original Music Franz Waxman Written by Samson Raphaelson, Joan Harrison, Alma Reville from the novel Before the Fact by Francis Iles (Anthony Berkeley) Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Some movies don't get better as time goes on. Alfred Hitchcock got himself painted into a corner on this one, perhaps not realizing that in America,...

Merle Oberon films: From empress to duchess in 'Hotel.' Merle Oberon films: From starring to supporting roles Turner Classic Movies' Merle Oberon month comes to an end tonight, March 25, '16, with six movies: Désirée, Hotel, Deep in My Heart, Affectionately Yours, Berlin Express, and Night Song. Oberon's presence alone would have sufficed to make them all worth a look, but they have other qualities to recommend them as well. 'Désirée': First supporting role in two decades Directed by Henry Koster, best remembered for his Deanna Durbin musicals and the 1947 fantasy comedy The Bishop's Wife, Désirée (1954) is a sumptuous production that, thanks to its big-name cast, became a major box office hit upon its release. Marlon Brando is laughably miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte, while Jean Simmons plays the title role, the Corsican Conqueror's one-time fiancée Désirée Clary (later Queen of Sweden and Norway). In a supporting role – her...

'Broadcast News' with Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter: Glib TV news watch. '31 Days of Oscar': 'Broadcast News' slick but superficial critics pleaser (See previous post: “Phony 'A Beautiful Mind,' Unfairly Neglected 'Swing Shift': '31 Days of Oscar'.”) Heralded for its wit and incisiveness, James L. Brooks' multiple Oscar-nominated Broadcast News is everything the largely forgotten Swing Shift isn't: belabored, artificial, superficial. That's very disappointing considering Brooks' highly addictive Mary Tyler Moore television series (and its enjoyable spin-offs, Phyllis and Rhoda), but totally expected considering that three of screenwriter-director Brooks' five other feature films were Terms of Endearment, As Good as It Gets, and Spanglish. (I've yet to check out I'll Do Anything and the box office cataclysm How Do You Know starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson.) Having said that, Albert Brooks (no relation to James L.; or to Mel Brooks...

The Turning Point

Written by Warren Duff and Horace McCoy (story)

Directed by William Dieterle

U.S.A., 1952

It is with much hoopla and media coverage that district attorney John Conroy (Edmond O’Brien) is tasked with bringing a decisive end to the alarming crime wave and corruption that has swept Los Angeles in recent years. One crime syndicate has been singled out, an organization so foul that a palpable fear has stricken law enforcement and the public, a fear for their very lives as well as a fear towards knowing the truth as to how its nefarious influence has seeped into the city’s fine institutions. Old friend and current hard-nosed newspaper reporter Jerry McKibbon (William Holden) has a knack for sniffing out trouble and good news stories, the two of which often go hand in hand. His presence irks John’s assistant and current main squeeze Amanda Waycross...

‘Whiplash’: Sundance Film Festival Awards’ rare double winner (photo: Miles Teller in ‘Whiplash’) Directed by Damien Chazelle — and acquired for domestic distribution by Sony Pictures Classics — Whiplash won the 2014 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. The story of a young, ambitious 19-year-old drummer (played by 26-year-old Miles Teller) under the tutelage of a ruthless teacher (J.K. Simmons), Whiplash also features Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, Chris Mulkey, and Damon Gupton. Whiplash‘s double Sundance Film Festival win is quite rare. Previous such instances in Sundance’s three-decade history include Tony Bui’s Three Seasons in 1999, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s Quinceañera in 2006, Lee Daniels’ Precious in 2009, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station last year. Of these, Precious is — somewhat surprisingly — the only Sundance double winner to have succeeded both at the domestic box office and during awards season,...

Top box office movies of 2013: If you make original, quality films… (photo: Sandra Bullock has two movies among the top 15 box office hits of 2013; Bullock is seen here in ‘The Heat,’ with Melissa McCarthy) (See previous post: “2013 Box Office Record? History is Remade If a Few ‘Minor Details’ Ignored.”) As further evidence that moviegoers want original, quality entertainment, below you’ll find a list of the top 15 movies at the domestic box office in 2013 — nine of which are sequels or reboots (ten if you include Oz the Great and Powerful), and more than half of which are 3D releases. Disney and Warner Bros. were the two top studios in 2013. Disney has five movies among the top 15; Warners has three. With the exception of the sleeper blockbuster Gravity, which, however dumbed down, targeted a more mature audience, every single one of the titles below were aimed either at teenagers/very,...

Femme fatale Audrey Totter: Film noir actress and MGM leading lady dead at 95 (photo: Audrey Totter ca. 1947) Audrey Totter, film noir femme fatale and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player best remembered for the mystery crime drama Lady in the Lake and, at Rko, the hard-hitting boxing drama The Set-Up, died after suffering a stroke and congestive heart failure on Thursday, December 12, 2013, at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles County. Reportedly a resident at the Motion Picture and Television Home in Woodland Hills, Audrey Totter would have turned 96 on Dec. 20. Born in Joliet, Illinois, Audrey Totter began her show business career on radio. She landed an MGM contract in the mid-’40s, playing bit roles in several of the studio’s productions, e.g., the Clark Gable-Greer Garson pairing Adventure (1945), the Hedy Lamarr-Robert Walker-June Allyson threesome Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945), and, as an adventurous hitchhiker riding with John Garfield,...

Eleanor Parker dead at 91: ‘The Sound of Music’ actress, three-time Best Actress Oscar nominee (photo: Eleanor Parker ca. 1945) Eleanor Parker, one of the best and most beautiful actresses of the studio era, a three-time Best Actress Academy Award nominee, and one of the stars of the 1965 blockbuster and Best Picture Oscar winner The Sound of Music, died today, December 9, 2013, of complications from pneumonia at a medical facility near her home in the Southern Californian desert town of Palm Springs. Eleanor Parker was 91. “I’m primarily a character actress,” Parker told the Toronto Star in 1988. “I’ve portrayed so many diverse individuals on the screen that my own personality never emerged.” At one point, wildly imaginative publicists called her The Woman of a Thousand Faces — an absurd label, when you think of Man of a Thousand Faces Lon Chaney. Eleanor Parker never altered her appearance the way Chaney did — her...

Dirk Bogarde: ‘Victim’ star took no prisoners in his letters to Dilys Powell Letters exchanged between film critic Dilys Powell and actor Dirk Bogarde — one of the most popular and respected British performers of the twentieth century, and the star of seminal movies such as Victim, The Servant, Darling, and Death in Venice — reveals that Bogarde was considerably more caustic and opinionated in his letters than in his (quite bland) autobiographies. (Photo: Dirk Bogarde ca. 1970.) As found in Dirk Bogarde’s letters acquired a few years ago by the British Library, among the victims of the Victim star (sorry) were Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave (Julia), a "ninny" who was “so utterly beastly to [Steaming director Joseph Losey] that he finally threw his script at her face”; and veteran stage and screen actor — and Academy Award winner — John Gielgud (Arthur), who couldn’t "understand half of Shakespeare" despite being renowned for his stage roles in Macbeth,...

Stars: Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman, Scott Jacoby | Written by Laird Koenig | Directed by Nicolas Gessner

Based on a novel by Laird Koenig and directed by Nicolas Gessner, The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane is a strange film, and one that I’ve been meaning to watch for quite some time. Released in 1976 and starring a 14 year old Jodie Foster, the film is macabre, dark, unsettling and even more importantly, underrated. I rarely hear people talk about this film. Now maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places for discussions about it, but I haven’t heard anyone really mention their feelings about it in the past.

The film follows the character of Rynn (Foster), a 13 year old girl who lives in a large secluded house in a small American seaside town. She keeps to herself, doesn’t venture to town for groceries and doesn’t go to school.

Hattie McDaniel as Mammy in ‘Gone with the Wind’: TCM schedule on August 20, 2013 (photo: Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel in ‘Gone with the Wind’) See previous post: “Hattie McDaniel: Oscar Winner Makes History.” 3:00 Am Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943). Director: David Butler. Cast: Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, Eddie Cantor, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan, Dinah Shore, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Edward Everett Horton, S.Z. Sakall, Hattie McDaniel, Ruth Donnelly, Don Wilson, Spike Jones, Henry Armetta, Leah Baird, Willie Best, Monte Blue, James Burke, David Butler, Stanley Clements, William Desmond, Ralph Dunn, Frank Faylen, James Flavin, Creighton Hale, Sam Harris, Paul Harvey, Mark Hellinger, Brandon Hurst, Charles Irwin, Noble Johnson, Mike Mazurki, Fred Kelsey, Frank Mayo, Joyce Reynolds, Mary Treen, Doodles Weaver. Bw-127 mins. 5:15 Am Janie (1944). Director: Michael Curtiz. Cast: Joyce Reynolds, Robert Hutton,...

Joan Fontaine movies: ‘This Above All,’ ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman’ (photo: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine in ‘Suspicion’ publicity image) (See previous post: “Joan Fontaine Today.”) Also tonight on Turner Classic Movies, Joan Fontaine can be seen in today’s lone TCM premiere, the flag-waving 20th Century Fox release The Above All (1942), with Fontaine as an aristocratic (but socially conscious) English Rose named Prudence Cathaway (Fontaine was born to British parents in Japan) and Fox’s top male star, Tyrone Power, as her Awol romantic interest. This Above All was directed by Anatole Litvak, who would guide Olivia de Havilland in the major box-office hit The Snake Pit (1948), which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nod. In Max Ophüls’ darkly romantic Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Fontaine delivers not only what is probably the greatest performance of her career, but also one of the greatest movie performances ever. Letter from an Unknown Woman...

Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...

Eleanor Parker: Palm Springs resident turns 91 today Eleanor Parker turns 91 today. The three-time Oscar nominee (Caged, 1950; Detective Story, 1951; Interrupted Melody, 1955) and Palm Springs resident is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June 2013. Earlier this month, TCM showed a few dozen Eleanor Parker movies, from her days at Warner Bros. in the ’40s to her later career as a top Hollywood supporting player. (Photo: Publicity shot of Eleanor Parker in An American Dream.) Missing from TCM’s movie series, however, was not only Eleanor Parker’s biggest box-office it — The Sound of Music, in which she steals the show from both Julie Andrews and the Alps — but also what according to several sources is her very first movie role: a bit part in Raoul Walsh’s They Died with Their Boots On, a 1941 Western starring Errol Flynn as a dashingly handsome and all-around-good-guy-ish General George Armstrong Custer. Olivia de Havilland...

Eleanor Parker Now on TCM Palms Springs area resident Eleanor Parker, who turns 91 next June 26, is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of June. One of the best actresses of Hollywood’s studio era, Parker isn’t nearly as well-remembered today as she should be despite three Best Actress Academy Award nominations (Caged, 1950; Detective Story, 1951; Interrupted Melody, 1955), a number of box-office and/or critical hits, and a key role in one of the biggest blockbusters of all time (The Sound of Music). Hopefully, the 34 Eleanor Parker movies TCM will be showing each Monday this month — beginning tonight — will help to introduce the actress to a broader 21st-century audience. Eleanor Parker movies "When I am spotted somewhere it means that my characterizations haven’t covered up Eleanor Parker the person. I prefer it the other way around," Parker once said. In fact, the title of Doug McClelland’s 1989 Eleanor Parker bio,...

Dean Tavoularis was the production designer on the one and only film I worked on, Farewell My Lovely. Aside from Dean, the entire crew from The Godfather was on this film, produced by Elliott Kastner (stepfather of Cassian Elwes and his illustrious brothers), associate produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, with a cameo of the new upcoming heartthrob Sylvester Stallone, and starring truly stellar actors Charlotte Rampling and Robert Mitchum. It's hard to believe that 1975 was 37 years ago!

And now, the 40th Telluride Film Festival (August 29 – September 2, 2013), presented by National Film Preserve Ltd., proudly announces Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis as its 2013 poster artist. Tavoularis will attend the 40th Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend to present his poster design to the public and hold a poster signing for festival guests.

As a student, Dean Tavoularis studied painting and architecture at different art schools and went on to work at Disney Studios as an in-betweener in the animation department where he worked on the 1955 film Lady and the Tramp. He then transitioned to the live-action department where he worked on the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. His career as a production designer began in 1967 when filmmaker Arthur Penn asked him to lead the artistic direction for Bonny And Clyde. Three years later, he and Penn teamed up again on Little Big Man. He began working with Francis Ford Coppola in 1972 on The Godfather, which was the beginning of much collaboration including the latter two films in The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now.

Tavoularis has spent the last ten years focusing on his work as a painter. His return to film came in 2012 when he was the production designer on Roman Polanski’s Carnage. He has worked on over thirty films spanning four decades, landing five Academy-Award nominations and one win for The Godfather Part II. Tavoularis lives in Paris and Los Angeles with his wife, actress Aurore Clément.

“We are thrilled Dean agreed to do the poster art for the 40th anniversary,” said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “The 40th edition will be a remarkable celebration of Tff’s past and present, and Dean’s work with Telluride is a wonderful parallel. He was a part of Telluride in its very early years when he designed a poster for a Tff celebration called the ‘Spirit of Zoetrope.’ We are excited to have him back and to present his vision for this special year. ”

Tavoularis remarks, “When I was asked by Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger if I would design the poster for the 40th Telluride Film Festival, I was first flattered and then thoughtful of being part of the Telluride film history. In my own way I pondered Telluride’s past and in fact all film festivals. Like the word implies, a festival is a fair; people gathering to show their films. It just as well could be their tomatoes. It’s an exchange. I wanted a poster that was simple and joyful, that looked homemade with pure colors in shapes that symbolize a 1:85 screen and an audience. One cannot exist without the other. I am very happy to be a small part of Telluride’s history.”

Dean Tavoularis joins a prestigious list of artists who have shared their talents with Telluride Film Festival. Past poster artists include Ed Ruscha, John Mansfield, Julian Schnabel, Dottie Attie, Doug and Mike Starn, David Lance Goines, Chuck Jones, David Salle, Alexis Smith, Jim Dine, Seymour Chwast, Frederic Amat, Francesco Clemente, Dave McKean, Gary Larson, Chip Kidd, John Canemaker, Mark Stock, Laurie Anderson, William Wegman, Ralph Eggleston, Maira Kalman and Dave Eggers.

To view and download the 40th Telluride Film Festival poster art, visit: here.

40th Telluride Film Festival posters will be available for purchase throughout the five-day Festival or by visiting the Tff website at www.telluridefilmfestival.org.

40th Telluride Film Festival passes are now available here.

40th Anniversary of the Telluride Film Festival

Telluride Film Festival is celebrating its 40th Anniversary August 29 – September 2, 2013. To commemorate this special occasion an additional day has been added to the usual four-day Festival, making room for a five-day bounty of special programming and festivities. Passes are now available for purchase here.

About Telluride Film Festival

The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. Tff is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Founded in 1974, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.

About Our Sponsors

Telluride Film Festival is supported by Land Rover North America, Turner Classic Movies, Ernst & Young, Film Finances, Audible.com, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Universal Studios, Meyer Sound, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bombardier Business Aircraft, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Américas Film Conservancy, Telluride Foundation, Pine Ridge Vineyards, The London Hotel Group, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Dolby, Telluride Alpine Lodging, Crumpler, ShopKeep Pos, The Hollywood Reporter, Boston Light and Sound, among others.

Warner Archive Collection 4th anniversary DVD / Blu-ray releases The Warner Archive Collection (aka Wac), which currently has a DVD / Blu-ray library consisting of approximately 1,500 titles, has just turned four. In celebration of its fourth anniversary, Wac is releasing with movies featuring the likes of Jane Powell, Eleanor Parker, and many more stars and filmmakers of yesteryear. (Pictured above: Greer Garson, Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban in the sentimental 1966 comedy / drama with music The Singing Nun.) For starters, Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds play siblings in Richard Thorpe's Athena (1954), whose supporting cast includes Edmund Purdom, Vic Damone, frequent Jerry Lewis foil Kathleen Freeman, Citizen Kane's Ray Collins, Tyrone Power's then-wife Linda Christian, former Mr. Universe and future Hercules Steve Reeves, veteran Louis Calhern, not to mention numerology, astrology, and vegetarianism. As per Wac's newsletter, the score by Hugh Martin and Martin Blane "gets a first ever Stereophonic Sound remix for this disc,...

Jessica Wright has modelled two new sets of lingerie by Alexis Smith. The model and Only Way Is Essex star's last photoshoot for the designer was in September. The White Love Me In Lace Bra is priced at £32.99, with the thong costing £12.99. The Leopard Print bra is available for £34.99, with briefs at £16.99. All Alexis Smith Lingerie is available now from the Alexis Smith website. "I am proud to be the 'face' of Alexis Smith, it's (more)...

Jodie Foster will be the newest recipient of the Golden Globes' Cecil B. De Mille Lifetime Achievement Award this winter, which makes her one of the youngest to take the title. (Judy Garland was 39, for the record -- Foster is 49.) As long as I've watched movies, I've found Foster a singular and interesting presence on film. I can't say that about many former child stars. Though if Tiffany Brissette wants to star in robo-version of Nell any time soon, I guarantee I'll be the first in line.

To honor Foster's achievement, I thought we'd highlight her lesser-known achievements. Here are my five favorite tidbits.

1. She beat Meryl, Glenn, Thelma, and Louise at the Oscars.

The two-time Oscar winner picked up Best Actress statuettes for 1988's The Accused (which, I have to say, is a dated, melodramatic joke of a movie) and The Silence of the Lambs (which is only the...

Jessica Wright has modelled a new range of Alexis Smith lingerie. The Only Way Is Essex star has sported a number of designs in the range for a new photo shoot. "I am proud to be the 'face' of Alexis Smith, it's fast becoming the must-have lingerie brand," said Wright. "The Alexis Smith collection is glamorous and sexy but also fits well and is so comfortable to wear! It's the best-selling brand in my lingerie boutique."

Prices range from £15.99 for briefs and £29.99 for bras, and all pieces are available via the Alexis Smith official website. Launched in 2010, Smith has designed (more)...