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Floyd Levine, the longtime television and film actor with memorable spots in “The Melrose Place” and “Baywatch,” died Sunday. He was 93 years old.

He is the father of producer and former Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins. Levine’s daughter-in-law Tracy Robbins announced the news of his death on Tuesday.

“My beloved father in law, Floyd Levine, passed away peacefully yesterday on Aug. 24, surrounded by his beautiful family (and probably wishing someone would bring him a martini),” she wrote in an Instagram post, which was coupled with several photos of Levine over the years. “The best father-in-law, grandpa and all around jokester, Floyd loved Frank Sinatra, classic films and making everyone laugh.

Floyd Levine, a character actor who appeared in such films as Dog Day Afternoon, Night Shift and, for his son, producer, director and studio exec Brian Robbins, Coach Carter and Norbit, has died. He was 93.

Levine died Sunday, his daughter-in-law Tracy Robbins announced in an Instagram post.

“He was surrounded by his beautiful family (and probably wishing someone would bring him a martini),” she wrote. “The best father-in-law, grandpa and all-around jokester, Floyd loved Frank Sinatra, classic films and making everyone laugh.”

Levine also showed up as Desk Sgt. Lubin on CBS’ Cagney & Lacey, as Dr. Howard Stein on Fox’s Melrose Place and as Ned the Doorman on Nickelodeon’s Cousin Skeeter, a show co-created by his son.

Born in New York on Feb. 23, 1932, Levine and his wife, Rochelle, raised their three kids in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn. He drove a cab to support an acting...

Hip-hop is no longer solely youth culture; it’s just culture, with cross-generational scenes full of artists intent on capturing their era’s zeitgeist. But Raekwon The Chef’s latest solo album, The Emperor’s New Clothes, was unquestionably tailored for the 35-and-up hip-hop heads who descended upon Madison Square Garden to see the Wu-Tang Clan’s possible final hometown show last week. There are no stunt features or out-of-touch Gen Z reaches here, just a 17-track dose of raw, New York City hip-hop.

As I noted in my show review,...

Early on in “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield,” H.E.R., the 27-year-old R&b pop star who directed the film and appears in it as its interviewer and tour guide, offers a telling observation about her subject. “Curtis Mayfield,” she declares, “is one of the greatest of all time. And people don’t even know.”

I agree with H.E.R. on both counts. We’ll get to the greatest-of-all-time thing in a moment — though if you don’t know much about Curtis Mayfield and want to cut to the chase of why he was one of the greatest, I’d recommend that you simply go to YouTube and call up the nine-minute-long album version of “Move On Up,” which might be his most extraordinary song (though there’s a lot of competition). It’s built around one of those grooves that’s truly epic and truly transporting: the syncopated horns,...

For cinephiles, Curtis Mayfield created a legacy in marble and stone. The sheer power of Super Fly as a score cannot be ignored. It’s a seminal soundtrack, regardless of culture, and helps center The Makings of Curtis Mayfield as the documentary brings in dozens of musicians to speak on Mayfield’s prodigious talent. Directed by musical phenom and Oscar-winner H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson), we explore the musical brilliance of an icon. However, while watching musicians jam and talk shop about Mayfield’s influence is incredible, the number of talking head interviews causes the picture to lose focus.

The Makings of Curtis Mayfield – The Plot

As he rose to prominence in the 1960s as a member of The Impressionists, Mayfield soon showed his ambition and talent far exceeded his place in the industry. Over the next decade, he would break out as one of music’s most exciting voices, and his...

When H.E.R. won an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Judas and the Black Messiah” in 2021, she used her acceptance to thank some of her biggest influences, including Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, and Curtis Mayfield. But when articles about her speech began popping up online, she noticed that Mayfield was the name that websites always cut from the headlines.

That experience convinced H.E.R. that Mayfield, a soul legend whose legacy spanned ’60s hits with The Impressions to a solo career that included the influential “Super Fly” soundtrack, hadn’t received the appropriate recognition from modern audiences. She attempts to rectify the problem with her directorial debut, “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield,” a documentary that sees her join an A-list roster of her musical idols to discuss Mayfield’s ongoing legacy.

As the film tells it, Mayfield was ahead of the curve on just about everything.

Brown Sugar celebrates Black storytelling with classic films and modern TV shows

Historic black cinema isn’t just important – it’s bold, stylish, and hugely entertaining. Brown Sugar, a streaming service launched in 2017 by Bounce TV, brings that legacy to modern audiences with more than 300 films and shows celebrating the golden age of retro Black cinema. Proudly calling itself the “biggest collection of the baddest movies,” Brown Sugar is home to action-packed, socially charged films that broke barriers and redefined storytelling. Born from the grindhouse era of the 1970s, these movies tackled racial and social issues head-on while delivering high-energy entertainment. Whether you’re revisiting old favorites or exploring this influential era for the first time, Brown Sugar makes it easy to experience the culture, power, and attitude that made these films unforgettable. Here’s everything you need to know about Brown Sugar - the ultimate destination for classic Black cinema.

Denzel Washington went a little bit into his dark childhood life when he was asked about his favorite Stanley Kubrick film. It turned out that the actor wasn’t a huge movie buff in his formative years and ran with the wrong group at the time. Washington didn’t start seriously watching films until he was in his twenties when a talent show proved his acting capabilities.

Denzel Washington in a still from Gladiator II | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Washington is currently nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in Gladiator II and is likely to earn an Oscar nomination as well. The actor earlier shocked his fans when he shared that he would be retiring after a few more projects. He revealed a list of his last few projects and they look very promising.

Denzel Washington reveals one detail about his childhood life in response to an interview question...

Tubi audiences love a good action movie, and the 2018 crime thriller Superfly has recently surged in popularity, sitting at and around the top of the free streaming platform’s chart for the last couple of weeks. While it has currently slipped back into second place, behind another action movie, Michael Keaton’s Protégé, the continued presence of the movie around the top of the chart is just another example of how streaming channels are able to greatly help bring older movies to new audiences.

Superfly is a modern take on the 1972 blaxploitation movie Super Fly, and follows Youngblood Priest, a cocaine dealer in Atlanta who wants out of the business after almost being killed by a rival’s attack. Priest has to set up one final deal to do before he leaves his past behind, but it isn’t going to be easy with corrupt police officers and rival gangs in his path.

We here at IndieWire love watching films on actual film — and cities like New York and Los Angeles, where repertory cinema is thriving, provide no shortage of opportunities to do just that. Scoping out selections in both major metropolises, we’ve compiled a list of the best screening options for the upcoming month, which include retrospectives on beloved auteurs featuring multiple 35mm prints, as well as 4K restorations of classic films that shouldn’t be missed.

In keeping with our appreciation for the theatrical experience throughout the country and world, IndieWire also gives a special shoutout to The Brattle Theatre of Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as some of its stellar curation over the next month. Keep reading for our picks.

New York Film Forum ‘Blacula,’ William Marshall Courtesy Everett Collection

In anticipation of the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s WWII French resistance drama “Army of Shadows,” which will...

Stars: Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone, Tom Wilson, Bill Duke, Robert Davi, Jack Thibeau, Mary Ellen Trainor, Ed O’Ross | Written by Robert Reneau | Directed by Craig R. Baxley

Action Jackson (1988), directed by Craig R. Baxley, stands as a remarkable fusion of the blaxploitation genre’s legacy and the dynamic, explosive nature of 1980s action cinema. While it may not reach the iconic status of blaxploitation classics like Shaft or Super Fly, Action Jackson offers a distinctive experience that both honours its roots and embraces contemporary action movie tropes.

The film centres on Jericho “Action” Jackson (Carl Weathers), a Detroit police sergeant demoted due to his overzealous tactics. Jackson finds himself embroiled in a plot masterminded by industrial magnate Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson), who aims to seize control of a powerful union. Weathers delivers a charismatic and physically commanding performance, embodying the tough, no-nonsense hero archetype essential...

Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, John Boyega in They Cloned Tyrone Photo: Netflix At first glance, They Cloned Tyrone is a silly satire of early ’70s blaxploitation flicks like Super Fly or Willie Dynamite that adds what writer-director Juel Taylor and writer Tony Rettenmaier call a “... dash of Scooby Doo.” Fortunately,...

Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, John Boyega in They Cloned TyronePhoto: Netflix

At first glance, They Cloned Tyrone is a silly satire of early ’70s blaxploitation flicks like Super Fly or Willie Dynamite that adds what writer-director Juel Taylor and writer Tony Rettenmaier call a “... dash of Scooby Doo.” Fortunately, the...

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a long-running manga and anime series that has incorporated different international cultural influences into the fabric of its fictional world. One of the most heavy-handed influences on Hirohiko Araki has been music, and as such, many songs, albums, and artists have been featured.

Related: 8 JoBros Who Started Off As Enemies In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

From character names to chapter titles to the nomenclature of the Stands, the overt use of music adds to the ambiance that makes JoJo's Bizarre Adventure so unique. Despite modern themes and anachronistic designs, the musical references are rooted strongly in the popular genres of the '70s and '80s, anchoring the series in an era of cool, suave, and loud.

Updated by Ajay Aravind on June 23, 2023: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has been running since the 1980s, although the anime adaptations are more recent. This wonderfully eccentric narrative may not be for all viewers,...

Movie soundtracks can elevate ordinary stories, adding depth and resonance to beloved films. The lasting impact of these soundtracks is evident in the instantly recognizable songs that continue to endure. Sometimes, the music becomes a movie’s highlight, compensating for weaker storylines or characters.

Classic movie musicals like West Side Story have stood the test of time, while films like The Bodyguard provided a platform for legendary artists to showcase their talents. The longevity of these soundtracks is often measured by their chart performance, reflecting their profound influence on generations.

The intertwining of music and cinema is a magical combination. The closing notes of The Breakfast Club, the era-defining mix of Dazed and Confused, and the genius of Prince in Purple Rain are just a few examples of the powerful synergy between sound and vision.

It is impossible to imagine certain movies without their iconic musical moments. Radio Raheem‘s...

“Cinnamon” — the inaugural project filmed under Village Roadshow Pictures’ Black Noir Cinema banner, co-founded by NBA all-star Kevin Garnett — has debuted its first trailer.

Written, directed and executive produced by Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr., the Tubi original film was selected to make its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and stars Hailey Kilgore, Damon Wayans, Pam Grier, David Iacono and Jeremie Harris.

The noir thriller follows a struggling small-town gas station attendant and aspiring singer, named Jodi Jackson, whose life is sent into a tailspin after a fatal crime.

As the film’s synopsis explains, “Cinnamon” centers on Jodi, “frustrated and stuck in a dead-end job with her dreams slipping away,” as she meets a young hustler who quickly becomes her fiercely devoted boyfriend (Iacono).

The clip shows the young couple, desperate to start a new life and jumpstart Jodi’s singing career, as they make the fateful decision to commit a crime together.

Exclusive: Trevor Jackson, known for his role as Aaron Jackson, the male lead opposite Yara Shahidi on Freefom’s Grown-ish, has signed with APA for representation.

Jackson’s Aaron Jackson character was introduced as a recurring guest star in mothership ABC series Black-ish. He has been with the spinoff Grown-ish since its launch. The series is now airing its fifth season and has been renewed for Season 6.

The rising actor previously starred as the lead in Sony Pictures’ remake of 1972 blaxploitation cult classic, Superfly alongside the late Michael K. Williams.

Jackson is also an accomplished musical artist and is set for a 26-state tour with fellow APA client Eric Bellinger on his headlining “Obsession Tour“ which kicks off February 2 in Seattle and wraps up in Las Vegas April 1st. Jackson will be supporting his latest EP, “Show Me Diamonds.”

Jackson’s career began with a three-year stint as Young Simba...

There have been many classic movie comedies over the years featuring Black stars, ranging from Eddie Murphy's Coming to America to Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act. Those films are among the many that resonated with Black audiences even though they were directed by white filmmakers. Despite that, Hollywood has also had a long tradition of Black directors creating movies aimed specifically at Black audiences; trailblazer Oscar Micheaux, in fact, is regarded as the first major Black filmmaker, directing and producing more than 40 so-called "race films" between 1919 and 1948.

These days, as Hollywood executives increasingly come to realize the importance of Black directors telling Black stories, there's been an ever-growing number of Black directors engaging in big-screen filmmaking, a trend that has been evident not just in dramas but in comedies as well. In fact, some of the most beloved comedies with predominantly Black casts featured Black directors at the helm. For the full picture,...

Image Source: Getty / Jamie McCarthy

50 Cent's evolution from hip-hop icon to TV mastermind might still be a shock to some people, but the transformation has been amazing to witness. His executive-produced "Power" series debuted on Starz in 2014 with a predicted run of only six to seven seasons. But three spinoffs later (along with true-life series "Bmf"), the flagship show has helped certify 50 Cent's reputation as a TV mogul.

"I didn't start to look at the Power universe until after it worked."

Even though "Power" became wildly popular with a passionate fanbase to match, 50 Cent didn't initially see a cinematic universe in its future. "I didn't start to look at the Power universe until after it worked," he tells Popsugar exclusively. "Like season six [of 'Power'], I started talking to Starz about potentially doing the spinoffs and universe out of it. And it worked out with 'Raising Kanan' [taking] us back into the '90s,...

that might have gone as dark as something like “The Wicker Man” or “Wake in Fright.” Diego Fernandez Pujol’s second feature (following “Darwin’s Corner” eight years ago) has been a home-turf theatrical hit, though as an export item its pleasing but modest impact is more likely to attract home-format sales. Remake rights might also prove a viable commodity.

Martin Slipak, whose harried, clean-cut Everyman recalls the likes of Paul Rudd or Ben Stiller here, plays ambitious young white-collar worker Claudio Tapia. Having just “solved” a big claim case for his employer, Santa Marta Insurance Co., the appraiser is rewarded with a remote border town as his own dedicated claims territory. But the retiring agent he’ll replace smirks that this particular assignment is no promotion, and that Claudio “wouldn’t be the first stranger to get his ass kicked there.”

After a long bus ride from Montevideo, he alights in the sleepy burg,...

When Village Roadshow CEO Steve Mosko first met with Kevin Garnett to discuss the basketball star’s pivot to the world of entertainment, the longtime film executive says it was immediately clear that the NBA champion’s Content Cartel production company wasn’t merely a vanity label.

“He just laid out how passionate he was about the business and building his company, and was beyond impressive,” Mosko tells Variety in a phone interview, recounting the lunch meeting. “I knew he just wasn’t another athlete who wanted a production shingle so he could tell his friends he has a production shingle.”

Beyond passion, Garnett came to the table with ideas. As the duo, who were introduced by Garnett’s “Uncut Gems” co-star Adam Sandler, discussed what they loved about cinema, the topic of Blaxploitation films came up.

“[Kevin] looked at me and — it was very heartfelt — he said, ‘Growing up as a kid,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

China Lost and Found: Eight Films by Jia Zhangke

One of the greatest directors to emerge in this young century, Jia Zhangke has captured his native country like few others. The Criterion Channel is now spotlighting his stellar body of work, including the new restoration of his debut Xiao Wu (1997), along with Platform (2000), Unknown Pleasures (2002), The World (2004), Still Life (2006), 24 City (2008), A Touch of Sin (2013), and Mountains May Depart (2015). Also playing is the documentary Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang from 2014.

Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel

Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas)

In the quarter-century since its debut, Olivier Assayas’ hilarious, mischievous, altogether unclassifiable Irma Vep stands merrily uninterested in many things contemporary movies are meant to be interested in—not ultra-sophisticated narrative gimmickry...

Next month’s Criterion Channel selection is here, and as 2021 winds down further cements their status as our single greatest streaming service. Off the top I took note of their eight-film Jia Zhangke retro as well as the streaming premieres of Center Stage and Malni. And, yes, Margaret has been on HBO Max for a while, but we can hope Criterion Channel’s addition—as part of the 63(!)-film “New York Stories”—opens doors to a more deserving home-video treatment.

Aki Kaurismäki’s Finland Trilogy, Bruno Dumont’s Joan of Arc duology, and Criterion’s editions of Irma Vep and Flowers of Shanghai also mark major inclusions—just a few years ago the thought of Hou’s masterpiece streaming in HD was absurd.

I could implore you not to sleep on The Hottest August and Point Blank and Variety and In the Cut or, look, so many Ernst Lubitsch movies,...

A stray thought for Hollywood: Just because Donald Trump is campaigning for free speech—last week, he announced a class-action anti-censorship lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook and Google—doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.

Free speech, that is. I don’t know about the lawsuit, which will have to reconcile the tech giants’ First Amendment rights and legal protections with a claim that they have abused their immunity by acting as politically one-sided censors.

More heat than light will be shed as the suit works its way through the courts and media mill. But never mind Trump. Freedom of expression is something the movie business should start worrying about, sooner rather than later.

It’s no secret that the movies—like the rest of pop culture—have been operating in an ever-narrower field when it comes to what can be portrayed on-screen, and by whom. Even to identify the...

As Gordon Parks’ blaxploitation classic “Shaft,” released nationwide on July 2, 1971, celebrates its 50th anniversary, a proper revision of its ethos is overdue. An anachronistic “Shaft” that promotes an outmoded 007 brand of masculine toxicity — an obsession with shiny possessions including cars, clothing, guns, and of course, women, while relishing violence as the most innate means to an end — may not quite cut it anymore.

That doesn’t mean the character should be neutered; but a post-Trump, post-George Floyd “Shaft” should intrigue executives in an industry that loves to exploit known IP, especially as it contends with an uncertain, rapidly evolving environment. The world does not need a Black James Bond right now; it needs a “Shaft,” updated to clash head-on with a backdrop that isn’t all that different from the era that led to a proliferation of movies like it.

For years, Idris Elba has had to react to...

Black cinema is too often left out of the conversations that surround award shows and milestone achievements. Still, its impact on popular culture is undeniable — and music is a big part of why that is. From Black Caesar to Black Panther, black film soundtracks have consistently birthed some of the greatest songs of their time, and they’ve been a place for artists from Curtis Mayfield to Kendrick Lamar to deepen and expand their sounds. The songs on this playlist, drawn from films from the 1970s through today, speak to...

The blaxploitation genre broke many barriers. Sidney Poitier paved the way in the 1960s by becoming a bankable leading man and the first African American to win the Best Actor Oscar. In the 1970s, the genre gave birth to many Black actors and actresses who were given a chance to show their skills, and many would become icons of Black cinema and TV. Even today, film and television are becoming more and more diverse, though it still has a long way to go.

Related: Super Fly: 10 Blaxploitation Movies That Kick Some Serious Butt

Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song sounded the call and films such as Superfly and Shaft led the charge. While many feel that the genre only served to further enforce negative stereotypes of Black people, doing more harm than good, these films and the ones that followed ushered in a new wave of men and women who...

This weekend marks the 49th anniversary of the release of “Shaft.” Released in 1971, it grossed about $90 million in adjusted prices — a huge success, more than 25 times its cost. More importantly, it forced studios to acknowledge the Black audience segment that was long taken for granted.

Hollywood studio filmmaking is 105 years old. But it took more than half of those years for major studios to release a film from a Black director. There were Black directors, but they were too few and far between. And The first Black director was silent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, whose parents were former slaves. In the sound era, the first Black director was Spencer Williams, an actor best known as Andy of Amos n’ Andy. And while films in the 1960s began to tell Black stories such as “Lilies of the Field” and “A Raisin In the Sun,” they inevitably reflected white perspectives and denied Black...

After becoming the first African-American to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design with Black Panther, Ruth E. Carter embarked on her sixth collaboration with Eddie Murphy on Craig Brewer’s biographical comedy, Dolemite Is My Name.

Here, Carter channeled the essence of Rudy Ray Moore, a charismatic self-starter who gained a cult following in the ’70s as a comedian, guerilla film actor and producer, through his creation of the Dolemite character—an eccentric ‘urban dandy,’ who entertained the masses with his karate kicks and iconic, handmade looks, over the course of four films.

Going through 75 different story days over the course of the film, Moore (and his alter ego) subsequently had 75 different looks, so Carter spent a substantial amount of time with Murphy in prep, taking the actor through fittings until he was exhausted. “I could always tell when he was exhausted [because] he got real quiet. But in the onset,...

Missy Elliott performed a medley of famous hits at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday. Her dazzling set included “Throw It Back,” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Pass That Dutch,” and “Lose Control.”

Elliott opened her performance with her newest song, “Throw It Back” — a surprising choice given the numerous hits in her back-catalog. But in the context of her medley, Elliott’s latest track took on a new significance: The bass line merged smoothly with the low-end of “The Rain (Super Fly),” her debut single.

The son of the legendary Isaac Hayes is upset that there are no original Hayes tracks in the new “Shaft” movie, calling its soundtrack album “a cultural disaster.”

New Line Cinema, which made the movie — starring Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Roundtree and Jessie T. Usher as three generations of the Shaft family — insists that there is Hayes music all over the movie and soundtrack, even if no original tracks were licensed from the Hayes estate.

Isaac Hayes won a Best Song Oscar for his “Shaft” theme, written in 1971 for the original movie with Roundtree as a Harlem private eye. His score was also nominated, won two Grammys and launched an entire genre of blaxploitation movie soundtracks including Curtis Mayfield’s “Super Fly” and Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man.”

Hayes contributed a song to the 1972 sequel, “Shaft’s Big Score,” and re-recorded his original theme for director John Singleton’s 2000 reboot of the series with Jackson.

Here he comes to save the day! The massively muscled mini superhero Mighty Mouse is set to make an appearance on the big screen. We have just learned that writers Jon and Erich Hoeber, who wrote The Meg, have been chosen to write the screenplay for our mighty hero.

Mighty Mouse was conceived by Isadore "Izzy" Klein. The character was originally a Super Fly adopted by Paul Terry (of Terrytoons) later turned into a Super Mouse. The flying rodent, introduced in 1942, got his name by starting off as a parody of Superman. Just a year later in 1943, 20th Century Fox altered the cartoon again, this time changing from Super Mouse to the still used moniker Mighty Mouse.

Who could forget his iconic theme song/mantra "Here I come to save the day"? Andy Kaufman who gained his notoriety as a stand up comic, used to do a really great bit...

Exclusive: Fresh from co-scripting Meg, Jon & Erich Hoeber have been set to script Mighty Mouse for Paramount Animation. Karen Rosenfelt and Robert Cort are producing what will be a hybrid film about the massively muscled mouse.

The character with the catchy theme song made famous by Andy Kaufman was created by Isadore ‘Izzy’ Klein, originally the character was originally Super Fly but morphed to Super Mouse when Terrytoons boss Paul Terry got involved. Ultimately, the Superman parody became Mighty Mouse, with his yellow and orange too-tight outfit. The aerobicized rodent became a TV cartoon staple in the ’50s.

The Hoeber’s previously scripted the Red action films, and they are in post-production on Stx’s My Spy, starring Dave Bautista.

They are repped by Verve and Peikoff Mahan.

Top Chef always challenges its contestants to take some diner comfort food like mac 'n' cheese and create an elevated version that pays homage to the original. That’s what’s happening today with the blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Originally, these films — such as Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Shaft, Super Fly, Trouble Man and Cleopatra Jones — were cheaply made action genre movies featuring well-dressed black protagonists with a badass attitude and kickass fighting skills. Both attitude and fists were aimed at the villainous rich white "honkies" and smarmy black "jive turkeys" who made their fortunes off the backs of ...

Top Chef always challenges its contestants to take some diner comfort food like mac 'n' cheese and create an elevated version that pays homage to the original. That’s what’s happening today with the blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Originally, these films — such as Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Shaft, Super Fly, Trouble Man and Cleopatra Jones — were cheaply made action genre movies featuring well-dressed black protagonists with a badass attitude and kickass fighting skills. Both attitude and fists were aimed at the villainous rich white "honkies" and smarmy black "jive turkeys" who made their fortunes off the backs of ...

The 1974 Blaxploitation Classic Willie Dynamite will be available on Blu-ray January 8th from Arrow Video

”The hands-down winner of the all-out best blaxploitation movie of the seventies,” declares author and artist Darius James in That s Blaxploitation! Willie Dynamite may not be as well-known as John Shaft, Sweet Sweetback or Super Fly’s Youngblood Priest, but he certainly deserves to be.

Who is Willie Dynamite? He s the flashiest pimp in New York he drives a personalized purple-and-gold Cadillac and wears some of the most eye-catching outfits ever seen on a cinema screen. He wants to be number one, but with the police, the D.A., fellow pimps and a tough-talking social worker on his tail, can a man as arrogant and amoral as Willie D avoid a downfall?

Willie Dynamite competes with the best of blaxploitation on all levels. Roscoe Orman dominates with his central performance a star turn...

Producer Alan Elliott has been nothing if not dogged in his pursuit of finishing and releasing Sydney Pollack’s 1972 documentary “Amazing Grace.” But until now he has not told the whole story about some of the wrangling that went on behind the scenes in order to get the movie made.

Back in 1972, a year after their massive hit “Woodstock,” Warner Bros. exec Ted Ashley set out to produce another music documentary with the help of Pink Floyd producer Joe Boyd, director of music services at Warner Bros. So Boyd set out to find someone to shoot the Aretha Franklin concert movie in Watts, which required someone who understood how to shoot multiple cameras with sync sound.

Boyd wanted to hire James Signorelli as his director of photography, who shot “Super Fly” and went on to shoot the first 35 years of commercials for “Saturday Night Live,” until Ashley talked up the...

Producer Alan Elliott has been nothing if not dogged in his pursuit of finishing and releasing Sydney Pollack’s 1972 documentary “Amazing Grace.” But until now he has not told the whole story about some of the wrangling that went on behind the scenes in order to get the movie made.

Back in 1972, a year after their massive hit “Woodstock,” Warner Bros. exec Ted Ashley set out to produce another music documentary with the help of Pink Floyd producer Joe Boyd, director of music services at Warner Bros. So Boyd set out to find someone to shoot the Aretha Franklin concert movie in Watts, which required someone who understood how to shoot multiple cameras with sync sound.

Boyd wanted to hire James Signorelli as his director of photography, who shot “Super Fly” and went on to shoot the first 35 years of commercials for “Saturday Night Live,” until Ashley talked up the...

Mahershala Ali and John David Washington sat down for a chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors. For more, click here.

Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”) and John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”) have catapulted into the awards season conversation with two searing films about race in America. Both movies are based on true stories. Ali, who won the supporting actor Oscar in 2017 for “Moonlight,” portrays Dr. Don Shirley, an acclaimed black pianist embarking on a tour of the Deep South at the height of Jim Crow. Washington, the son of Denzel, plays Ron Stallworth, a black detective tasked with infiltrating the Kkk. Their turns, alternately fiery and funny, have received rave reviews. The two men had an honest and raw conversation about what drew them to the projects.

Mahershala Ali: How did “BlacKkKlansman” come your way?

John David Washington: I got a text message from Spike Lee. Now, I don’t have his number.

Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16th at age 76, recorded more than 40 full-length albums in her six-decade career. It’s a deep catalog, crowded with indisputable classics and hidden gems. Rolling Stone’s music staff is paying its R.E.S.P.E.C.T.s to the Queen with tributes to our favorite Aretha LPs. Next up: Mosi Reeves on the creative sparks that flew when Aretha met Curtis Mayfield.

When Aretha Franklin’s revelatory Southern soul collaborations with producer Jerry Wexler cooled in the early ’70s, she spent...

Even if you weren't born when Super Fly was released in 1972, there's a good chance you've heard at least part of Curtis Mayfield's Grammy-nominated soundtrack. Because the original score is so iconic, you know whoever would be taking on the soundtrack for the 2018 remake, SuperFly, had his hands full. Great news: Future was in charge, and he knocked it out of the park.

The soundtrack is full of collaborations with artists like Khalid, Miguel, and Lil' Wayne. If you're looking for a new workout playlist, or just want something new to listen to, we've rounded up the entire 13-song soundtrack for you.

Related: Don't Argue With Us - These Are the Best Movie Soundtracks of 2018...

When Sony announced it was making a modern, Atlanta-set version of Super Fly (re-styling it as Superfly), it didn’t come as a surprise. We’re in the midst of a blaxploitation craze. Tons of film and television projects are in development based upon 1970s black action movies – films that were often criticized for their stereotypical […]

The post ‘Superfly’ Review: A Great Cast Deserves Better Than This Entertaining But Extremely Flawed Remake appeared first on /Film.

When Sony Pictures asked Director X to remake 1972 blaxploitation classic “Super Fly,” he had never seen the original. He had also never helmed a studio feature — just a 2015 indie, a Lifetime movie (“Center Stage: On Pointe”), and some of the most memorable music videos of the past 20 years, from Sisqó’s “Thong Song” to Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” viewed more than 1.4 billion times on YouTube.

However, while Director X created visuals for Jay-z, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, and Lil Wayne, “Lethal Weapon” and “Matrix” franchises producer Joel Silver struggled to get his “Super Fly” revamp made. “Joel had the rights, he had a studio that wanted to make it,” Director X told IndieWire. “The studio told him, ‘We don’t want to call it ‘Super Fly,’ and we don’t want it to be about anything that the original movie was about.'”

From that bizarre pronouncement,...

The opening weekend of “Incredibles 2” was, well, incredible.

The Disney-Pixar movie flew to a record-breaking launch of $180 million in 4,410 locations, easily landing the superhero sequel the best debut of all time for an animated film. That title was previously held by fellow Pixar sequel “Finding Dory,” which bowed with $135 million in 2016. “Incredibles 2” also landed the eighth-biggest domestic opening of all time, and surpassed 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast” ($174.6 million) for the best debut for a PG-rated film.

Pixar’s 20th film easily won the weekend over new titles “Tag” and “Superfly,” which premiered with $14.6 million and $8.4 million respectively. However, those releases weren’t enough to grab the No. 2 spot from “Ocean’s 8’s” $19.5 million second weekend.

Overseas, “Incredibles 2” collected $51.5 million, where it has opened in 26% of the international market, for a worldwide start of $231.5 million.

Its predecessor, “The Incredibles,” opened in 2004 with $70.5 million, the second-largest...

Remaking “Super Fly” was never going to be without its perils. The 1972 film, directed by Gordon Parks Jr., was one of the essential building blocks of the decade’s Blaxploitation movement, and first-time feature helmer Director X surely had his hands full balancing nods to the original while also updating his film for 2018 Atlanta. But however much the film had to live up to, the music was a whole other matter. Featuring songs by Curtis Mayfield – the title track, “Freddie’s Dead” and “Pusherman” chief among them – the original soundtrack to “Super Fly” is among the most canonical works of film music ever released.

While the new “SuperFly” does feature a few key reprises of Mayfield’s tunes, a more modern touch was provided by the prolific rapper Future, who executive produced the remake’s soundtrack. Serving as a new Future release in everything but name, 10 of the album’s...

With a soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield that permeated pop culture, “Super Fly,” a crime drama directed by Gordon Parks Jr. about a black cocaine dealer, epitomizes the blaxploitation genre that lit up screens in the ’70s.

The remake, set for a June 13 release by Sony Pictures, aims to refresh the vibe. The new “SuperFly” once again follows a dealer who wants one final score before he gets out of the game. In the new version, helmed by Director X, the story takes place in Atlanta instead of Harlem.

Steeped in music videos, Director X was well-positioned to re-create a stylized and updated version of the original tale. To clothe the cast, he brought on costume designer Antoinette Messam.

When Messam and the helmer first spoke about the project late last year, the word “fantasy” was used a lot, says the designer, but she also felt she needed to stay grounded in reality.

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

The Best of Blaxploitation

Funk. Soul. Ultra-hip. This month, FilmStruck is highlighting Blaxploitation cinema, a group of films made specifically for African American audiences in the 1970s just as black filmmakers were finally allowed to make Hollywood features. This collection features pivotal Black icons from unforgettable films such as Shaft, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Cleopatra Jones and Super Fly, presented alongside a discussion of the history of the genre with Malcolm Mays,...

Miami — “Superfly” star Trevor Jackson wasn’t sure that he would land the starring role of the latest Hollywood remake.

“I really wanted to be a part of this film,” said Jackson. “I auditioned twice, but I was told I was too young and I didn’t have a big enough name. I was [later] invited to [producer] Joel SIlver’s house, and I was told I got the role.”

Based off of 1972 film “Super Fly” directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., the 2018 feature is about a young successful drug dealer, named Priest (Jackson), who is ready to get out of the game. He lines things up for one final score that could retire him, but things go terribly wrong and now his loved ones are in danger.

Jackson, whose acting credits include ABC’s “grown-ish” and “American Crime,” joined “Superfly” filmmaker Director X and the rest of the cast in Miami Beach,...

Sony’s “Superfly” remake buzzed to $1.2 million at 2,200 North American locations on its opening day on Wednesday.

The studio said the crime drama remains on track to take in $10 million to $12 million over the next five days.

“Superfly” got a two-day head start, debuting ahead of Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2,” which is expected to gross between $125 million and $140 million this weekend when it bows at over 4,400 locations. Warner Bros. and New Line’s R-rated comedy “Tag” is also launching, targeting a release between $12 million and $16 million in more than 3,000 theaters. Both “Incredibles 2” and “Tag” will hold preview screenings on Thursday night.

Music video helmer Director X took the reins on the remake of 1972 blaxploitation classic “Super Fly.”

The new film, which carries a $16 million budget, follows Trevor Jackson as Youngblood Priest — a career criminal who tries to escape the Atlanta drug scene, only to have one bad deal drag him back down.

Sony and Silver Pictures’ reboot of Superfly opened in 5th place yesterday in its Wednesday debut with an estimated $1.2M at 2,220 earning a B+ CinemaScore, which is the same grade as Screen Gems’ Proud Mary back in January and just below the A-s earned by All Eyez on Me last summer and Paramount’s reboot of Shaft 18 years ago.

Superfly drew 54% females to 46% males who both gave the pic a B+. Eighty-four percent of the audience was over 25 who also gave the move that grade. In regards to female-male ratio, that’s the same make-up of last summer’s All Eyez on Me, while that film pulled in 73% over 25.

Sony launched Superfly on Wednesday in an effort to create some counter-programming traction heading into the weekend which will be largely owned by Disney/Pixar’s all-audience Incredibles 2, which is poised to clear $135M-$150M, potentially setting another animated record opening at the B.