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You may be surprised to learn that the first Hollywood film that dealt with the Holocaust was released during the height of World War II. The 1944 Andre De Toth film, “None Shall Escape” shows a group of Polish-Jews gunned down by the Nazis while they are being forced into boxcars for deportation. Over the subsequent decades, the horrors of the Holocaust have been depicted on the big screen in such classics as 1959’s “The Diary of Anne Frank”; 1982’s “Sophie’s Choice,” for which Meryl Streep won her first Best Actress Oscar; and Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning 1993 masterpiece “Schindler’s List.”

The Holocaust, in which six million Jews died during World War II, has also been the subject of numerous lauded TV movies and miniseries. The latest is Barry Levinson’s acclaimed “The Survivor,” which premiered last September at the Toronto Film Festival and on HBO and HBO Max. The film, Levinson...

Waterman Entertainment has acquired rights to The Billionaire’s Curse, an Australian children’s book series by Richard Newsome. Plans are in the works to make a live-action feature film out of the books, which have sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. The company is also considering a streaming series.

The Billionaires Curse, originally published in 2010, is the first book in a series of six; Newsome is currently working on the next installment. The plot revolves around protagonist Gerald Green, a 13-year-old who inherits $20 billion from a great aunt he never knew, and with his new fortune comes a letter asking him to find her killer.

Former Ubisoft Film Group boss Matthew Phelps has come aboard to help develop the property. He oversaw Assassin’s Creed at Ubisoft and previously had stints at Gulfstream Pictures and Paramount.

Los Angeles-based Waterman Entertainment’s recent films include the animated Son of Bigfoot...

Drake was talkin' trash about the Houston Rockets Friday night during a game in Toronto, but after the Raptors snapped Houston's 17-game winning streak he became super gracious and invited his foes to chow down at his restaurant. Before sharing a meal, the rapper was front at center for 'Drake Night' at the game, where there was a big giveaway for fans -- special shirts and what not. “I’m working on this new album for the city…...

[[tmz:video id="0_rmdgjjxj"]] Despite tempers flaring and a locker room standoff, Houston Rockets player Eric Gordon says the incident with the Clippers is simply, "No biggie." Yeah, right.  Gordon hit up Catch in West Hollywood after the heated battle with the Clippers in which several Rockets players -- including Chris Paul -- reportedly tried to fight Clips players in the tunnel and locker room area after the game.  Gordon told TMZ Sports he doesn't expect any suspensions and...

Boston Celtics player Gerald Green was so stoked about kicking off the NBA season Wednesday night -- he braided a Clover into his hair ... and it was awesome. By the way, it worked -- the Celtics beat the Nets and Green dropped 9 points! Guys, Gerald Green's hair. pic.twitter.com/eUERFWURRR — Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) October 26, 2016 Read more...

Stars descended upon the desert for a special milestone over the weekend: Carol Channing's 95th birthday! The stage, film and TV icon has been wowing audiences since she was a little girl, but the celebration in Palm Desert, California, Saturday found Channing treated to a show inspired by her storied life and career. As Channing looked on, pals delivered touching tributes under the spotlight and in video at the McCallum Theatre. Lily Tomlin, Alan Cumming, Florence Henderson and Lucie Arnaz are among the stars who fêted Channing at the show and afterparty, while a handful of famous fans - including former President Bill Clinton,...

Stars descended upon the desert for a special milestone over the weekend: Carol Channing's 95th birthday! The stage, film and TV icon has been wowing audiences since she was a little girl, but the celebration in Palm Desert, California, Saturday found Channing treated to a show inspired by her storied life and career. As Channing looked on, pals delivered touching tributes under the spotlight and in video at the McCallum Theatre. Lily Tomlin, Alan Cumming, Florence Henderson and Lucie Arnaz are among the stars who fêted Channing at the show and afterparty, while a handful of famous fans - including former President Bill Clinton,...

[[tmz:video id="0_izpdvsis"]] Miami Heat guard Gerald Green was unconscious and bleeding when someone at his condo complex called 911 ... TMZ Sports has learned. We obtained the call ... made Wednesday morning ... in which the caller tells 911, "I have a resident that just passed out. He’s bleeding. He just passed out right now." The operator informs the caller that help is on the way -- and gives instructions on how to treat Green until emergency personnel arrives. The nature...

11:53 Am Pt -- Multiple witnesses at the condo tell us Green was acting strange in the lobby of the condo ... screaming at the top of his lungs.   We're told from several people that there was a huge commotion and it took several people -- including emergency personnel -- to restrain Green and get him on a stretcher and into an ambulance.   One source tells us ... one of Green's teammates was at the scene and...

G-Ride: A particularly stylish vehicle with expensive and flashy modifications.  NBA star Gerald Green knows the definition 'cause he just dropped over $26K to turn his 1967 Chevelle into one of the pimpest G-Rides ever ... and TMZ Sports has pics of the finished product. We spoke to Ash from 713 Motoring in Houston and he tells us they pulled a Michael Jackson on Green's whip -- that is, making it totally unrecognizable from the original product. We're...

With the NBA season just under a month away, fans around the world are preparing for what should be another great year. The late summer months are oftentimes the worst couple of months for basketball fans as nothing notable happens. Long gone are the big name free agents, and the few left unsigned are generally either veteran role-players, or end of the bench fodder looking at cracking an NBA roster.

Luckily for fans, the NBA has been releasing videos recapping last season’s action, one of which include some of the best plays from last year. Included are some of the jaw-dropping dunks by the likes of LeBron James and Blake Griffin as well as a plethora of late-game heroics displayed by Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and others.

The NBA labelled it the ‘top 10’ plays of the 2011-2012 season, but as good as some of these plays are, I don...

"American Idol" auditioner Larry Platt's "Pants on the Ground" may not be so original after all.

The Green Brothers, a Michigan hip-hop duo, is claiming that the famous "Pants on the Ground" song is a "take off" of their "Back Pockets on the Floor" that they recorded in 1996, reports MyFoxDetroit.

Both songs are performed by older black men and lament how the youth of today wear ill-fitting pants and their baseball caps askew.

A few sample lyrics from "Back Pockets on the Floor":

"Back pockets on the floor (repeated) ...

Walk around here with your cap turned backwards and your pockets on the floor

It's time to say no to the gangster, the drugs, and the dress code (repeat x3)

It's time to put your cap on right and get your pockets off the floor."

Luckily, Gerald Green doesn't have a litigious nature, and just wants to make sure that their song isn't overlooked.

Even after Katy Perry's impressive smackdown of Kara DioGuardi on Tuesday night's episode of "American Idol," the best moment of this season's run of audition episodes remains "Pants on the Ground," the hilarious and oft-remixed song delivered last week by General Larry Platt during the stop in Atlanta last week. Since Platt unleashed his original tune, he has received interest from record labels, inspired Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings and got a performance spot on "The View."

But is Platt's "original" song all that original? A pair of brothers from Detroit got in touch with a local news station and revealed to them that they cut a track called "Back Pockets on the Ground" that has a similar theme and beat. The twist? They recorded "Back Pockets on the Ground" way back in 1996. Gerald Green, one half of the pair, says they don't harbor any ill will towards Platt,...

Writer: Gerald Green Director: Marvin Chomsky Cast: James Woods, Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Tovah Feldshuh, Rosemary Harris, Deborah Norton, Sam Wanamaker, Fritz Weaver Rating: Not Rated Studio: Paramount Release Date: May 27, 2008 I don’t remember when I watched my first movie on the Holocaust. I am going to wager a guess that it was one or two movies. [...]Sharethis.addEntry({ title: "DVD Review: Holocaust: The Anniversary Edition", url: "http://www.literaryillusions.com/LIreviews/2008/06/20/dvd-review-holocaust-the-anniversary-edition/" });...