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In the world of Oscars, achievements are like golden tickets — they’re rare, and the competition is as fierce as a lion’s roar. But every once in a while, an actor breaks through, marking history with a combination of talent, hard work, and, well, destiny. Timothée Chalamet, at just 29 years old, is now one of those rare gems, setting a new standard by becoming the first-ever actor to lead two ‘Best Picture’ nominations in the same year—A Complete Unknown and Dune: Part Two.

Timothée Chalamet in a still from Dune: Part Two | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

This is no ordinary feat. It’s the kind of achievement that stands out like a diamond in a sea of stones. It’s the kind of news that makes you stop scrolling, look twice, and say, “Now that’s something special”.

Timothée Chalamet joins an elite club before 30?

When Timothée Chalamet...

The 2025 Oscars haven’t even taken place yet, but Timothee Chalamet is already making history.

On Thursday (January 23), the Academy rolled out the nominations for the 2025 ceremony, which takes place on March 2. Timothee scored a Best Actor nod for his performance in A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic.

This marks Timothee‘s second nomination in the Best Actor category before the age of 30. He is now one of the youngest actors to receive two nods in the category. Only two other stars have achieved this feat, and the last did so in the ’50s.

Keep reading to find out more…

According to reporting by Variety, James Dean was the last actor to receive two Best Actor nominations before the age of 30. He was posthumously nominated for East of Eden and Giant after passing away at the age of 24 in 1955.

Mickey Rooney also received two nominations for Babes in Arms...

Actor Timothée Chalamet has joined an elite club of actors who have achieved two Oscar nominations before the age of 30. The 29-year-old Chalamet, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in 2024’s A Complete Unknown as well as 2017’s Luca Guadagino film, Call Me By Your Name, is the second actor since James Dean to be nominated twice before turning 30. Per Variety, Dean, who died at the age of 24, was nominated for two Oscars posthumously.

Film journalist and historian Mark Harris noted Chalamet’s achievement on the social media platform, Bluesky. James Dean, who died in a car crash in 1955, was nominated for Oscars in both 1956 and 1957 for his roles in East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956). Before Dean, the late Mickey Rooney was the only other man to earn two Oscar nods in the leading actor category before the age of 30. Rooney was nominated for Babes in Arms...

When 29-year-old Timothée Chalamet earned his second Oscar nomination for playing a young Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” he stepped into one of the most rarefied clubs in Academy Award history: Men who’ve received two leading actor nominations before they’ve turned 30.

As first noted by film journalist and historian Mark Harris on Bluesky, the last actor to achieve this feat was James Dean, who was posthumously nominated in back-to-back years for 1955’s period family drama “East of Eden” and 1956’s Western drama “Giant” after he died in a car accident at 24. Prior to Dean, the only other man to earn two nominations in the leading category in their 20s was Mickey Rooney, who was nominated for best actor at 19 for the 1939 Busby Berkeley musical “Babes in Arms,” and then again four years later at 23 for “The Human Comedy”.

When Chalamet earned his first best actor nomination for...

There is no actor that defines late '80s and '90s romantic comedies more than Meg Ryan. Her irrefutable movie star magnetism, combined with an incongruous sense of relatability, gave her an alluring aura that lent an undeniable "America's Sweetheart" charm to the films in which she starred. From 1989's "When Harry met Sally" to 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle" and 1998's "You Got Mail" — which remains dated in the most fun way possible — Meg Ryan was essentially the face of rom-coms for well over a decade, and deservedly so.

But Ryan wasn't only known for romancing Tom Hanks. Though the actor became synonymous with romantic comedies following "When Harry met Sally" (still one of the best Meg Ryan movies), she also starred in a wide variety of Hollywood fare, from her small role in 1986's "Top Gun" to playing Jim Morrison's girlfriend, Pamela Courson, in Oliver Stone's...

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s career is getting Organized. The actor will recur in Law & Order: Organized Crime’s upcoming fifth season. Mastrantonio will play Isabella Spezzano, a figure from Elliot Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) past, according to Deadline, which announced the casting. After getting her start in theater, Mastrantonio scored her breakout screen role as Al Pacino’s character’s sister in the 1983 film Scarface. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carmen in 1986’s The Color of Money. She also starred in the films The Abyss (1989), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and The Perfect Storm (2000). On stage, the Illinois native appeared in Broadway productions of West Side Story, Amadeus, Copperfield, The Human Comedy, and Man of La Mancha, the last of which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 2003. Mastrantonio’s TV roles include supporting roles...

Exclusive: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is set to recur in the Peacock series Law & Order: Organized Crime for Season 5 as Isabella Spezzano, a figure from Stabler’s (Meloni) past.

Law & Order: Organized Crime follows the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau as they take on New York City’s most vicious and violent criminal syndicates. In addition to Meloni, Danielle Moné Truitt and Ainsley Seiger also star.

The show was renewed for a fifth season in April following the announcement the procedural would move from NBC to its streamer Peacock. The move gives Peacock an original Dick Wolf drama series to go with the Wolf Entertainment library and next-day runs of the company’s remaining NBC series Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Law & Order and Law & Order: Svu, which are among the platform’s most viewed titles.

When Bernard Hill died recently, I wrote about the unique feeling accompanying the real-life death of an actor when that actor has been especially associated with a dramatic death scene onscreen. That feeling is only magnified when it’s been a very long time since the actor performed the demise in question. Juanita Moore, with her character’s funeral in 1959’s “Imitation of Life” being the grandest of any in the movies, only dying in real life in 2013 is an example.

One of the most extreme of these has just occurred, a death that also represents the severing of another critical link to Old Hollywood. Darryl Hickman died this past Wednesday, May 22, at the age of 92. He was a child actor in “The Prisoner of Zenda” and John Ford’s “The Grapes of Wrath” who, upon exiting his teenage years, decided he wanted to become a monk. He entered a...

Darryl Hickman, a child actor in Leave Her to Heaven and The Grapes of Wrath, died at 92 on Wednesday, May 22, his family said. No cause was given.

Hickman appeared in more than 40 films, having been a contract player at Paramount and MGM.

He portrayed the youngest member of the Joad family, Winfield, in John Ford’s 1940 adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, as well as a role as the younger version of Van Heflin’s character in the 1946 noir, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

In 1945’s Leave Her to Heaven, Hickman played Danny, younger brother to Cornel Wilde’s Richard. Danny was disabled by polio and when he comes to live with Richard and his wife, Ellen (Gene Tierney). He drowns by Ellen’s hand in the middle of a lake due to jealousy of Richard’s affection for the boy.

In 1951, he briefly retired from acting to enter a monastery,...

Darryl Hickman, who appeared in such films as The Grapes of Wrath and Leave Her to Heaven as a youngster before becoming a CBS executive in charge of daytime drama and an actor once more, has died. He was 92.

Hickman, who lived in Montecito, died Wednesday, his family announced.

He was the older brother (by three years) of the late Dwayne Hickman, who starred on the 1959-63 CBS comedy The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Darryl appeared with his brother in Captain Eddie (1945) — he played famed fighter pilot Eddie Rickenbacker as a boy — and on three first-season episodes of Dobie as older brother Davey, who came home from college.

In 1951, after appearances in more than 40 movies, Hickman — who had been a contract player at Paramount and MGM — became disillusioned with the business and entered a monastery, though he was back in show business before long.

Hickman had made his first...

The question of who will continue the legacy of the 4Ks and particularly their successes on the international movie scene is one of the most dominant in the discussions among critics and scholars of Japanese cinema. Following the 2016 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize for “Harmonium”, one of the names that provides an answer to the aforementioned question is that of Koji Fukada. In the following text, we will take a closer and more thorough look at all the elements that make the 1980 born filmmaker a worthy successor of the aforementioned masters, starting from the very beginning of his life.

Born in Tokyo in Tokyo on January 5, 1980, Koji Fukada had a father who was a film buff, which resulted in him growing up in an environment surrounded with hundreds of VHS tapes, and subsequently, to become a cineaste, just like his old man. He watched the movies that inspired him to...

Debra Byrd, a vocal coach for such shows as American Idol, Canadian Idol, Military Idol, The Voice, Majors and Minors, and others, died in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 5. She was 72 and no cause or location was given.

Byrd’s students included Grammy winners, recording artists, actors, musicians, and Broadway stars. She worked closely with Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Bob Dylan, Barry Manilow and many others.

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Byrd attended Kent State University and studied at the Karamu and Dobama Theaters. She went on to perform with Barry Manilow for many years, touring around the world as part of Ladyflash, the featured backup group for Manilow.

They released one hit of their own in 1976, Street Singin.’ The tune, which was written and arranged by Manilow, reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart.

“This is one of the saddest days of my life. I just can’t wrap...

As the Academy Awards near — yes, it’s September but we all know that means we are officially in awards season — countries all over the world have begun to name their official submissions for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. Now, we would like to showcase the trailer for Armenia’s selection last year, the animated documentary Aurora’s Sunrise.

As per the official press release, Aurora’s Sunrise has the following synopsis: “In 1915, as WWI raged on, the Ottoman Empire singled out its entire Armenian population for destruction. Only 14 years old at the time, Aurora Mardiganian’s story was tragically relatable. Forced onto a death march towards the Syrian desert, she lost her entire family before being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. Four years later, through luck and extraordinary courage, she escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation.”

Armenia has yet to have a movie nominated...

At 5’2, Mickey Rooney may have been small in stature, but he had a huge personality and was one of the biggest stars in the heyday of the Golden Era of Hollywood. He had one of the longest careers of any entertainer, with a body of work that spans nine decades in the industry, including vaudeville, films, television, radio and the stage.

Rooney was born Joe Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York. At 17 months old, he made his stage debut in his parent’s vaudeville act, and made his motion picture debut in 1926. In 1927, he starred in the first of several short films in the “Mickey Maguire” series, and adopted the stage name “Mickey Rooney.” He made 78 of these comedies, and also received great notices in films such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1935). Then in 1937, he made the film that would establish his star status. “A Family Affair” was...

There's one thing you can say about every single Academy Award nominee: whether they're good films or bad films, beloved or obscure, they are officially in the history books. Future movie lovers will read about them and, often, watch them out of either passionate interest or mild curiosity, decades later.

And that's a very good thing because a lot of the films that are nominated for the Oscars fall into obscurity pretty quickly. We may remember most of the Best Picture winners, for example, but what about the other films in contention? "Casablanca" won Best Picture at the 16th Academy Awards and it's a film most people can quote directly, even if they've never watched it before. But there's a good chance that many of its fellow nominees that same year — films like "The Human Comedy," "The More the Merrier," and "Watch On the Rhine" — aren't nearly as well known today.

Click here to read the full article.

Marsha Hunt, the bright-eyed starlet who stood out in such films as These Glamour Girls, Pride and Prejudice and Raw Deal before her career came unraveled by the communist witch hunt that hit Hollywood, has died. She was 104.

She died Wednesday of natural causes at her Sherman Oaks home, where she had lived since 1946, Roger C. Memos — writer-director of the documentary Marsha Hunt’s Sweet Adversity — told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hunt also appeared opposite Mickey Rooney in the best picture Oscar nominee The Human Comedy (1943) during a period in which she was known as “Hollywood’s Youngest Character Actress.”

A former model who signed with Paramount Pictures at age 17, the Chicago native made her first big splash as a suicidal co-ed opposite Lana Turner in MGM’s These Glamour Girls (1939).

Playing Walter Brennan’s sweetheart in Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the...

At 5’2, Mickey Rooney may have been small in stature, but he had a huge personality and was one of the biggest stars in the heyday of the Golden Era of Hollywood. He had one of the longest careers of any entertainer, with a body of work that spans nine decades in the industry, including vaudeville, films, television, radio and the stage.

Rooney was born Joe Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, so his fans around the world are celebrating his 100th birthday! At 17 months old, he made his stage debut in his parent’s vaudeville act, and made his motion picture debut in 1926. In 1927, he starred in the first of several short films in the “Mickey Maguire” series, and adopted the stage name “Mickey Rooney.” He made 78 of these comedies, and also received great notices in films such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1935). Then in 1937, he made the...

by Cláudio Alves

While Mickey Rooney's career is famed for its longevity, the actor's professional life wasn't without its hurdles, declines, and subsequent comebacks. Transitioning from childhood stardom to adult celebrity isn't easy for anyone, much less for someone as famous as Rooney. Blessed with a boyish face and short stature, he was perfect for playing young people like the famed Andy Hardy, still acting as a teenager well into his 20s. Boundless energy typified his screen persona, often verging on manic cheer that befitted youthful roles but was out of place in grown-up parts.

In this context, World War II marked a turning point. Before it, Rooney was a performing wunderkind who gave a face and a voice to American teenagers everywhere while earning MGM big bucks at the box office. After it, the young boy shtick lost its appeal, the star quickly fading into a character actor.

We thought it was time to update this list after a recent sad passing as well as more celebratory news: this weekend Bernie Koeppel from The Love Boat turned 87, Marisa Pavan turned 88, Olympia Dukakis turned 89, and Gena Rowlands turned 90. Happy birthday to all of them. Anyway here's the list. Lots of great rental ideas herein...

200 Oldest Living Screen Stars

105 years young

Norman Lloyd (11/08/14) 

Most recently seen in the supporting cast of Trainwreck. He started as a Hitchcock player and later became a Hitchcock producer ("Alfred Hitchcock Presents") which led to a long producing career on TV (two Emmy nods). Other acting roles: Dead Poet's Society, The Flame and the Arrow, Wise Guy and St Elsewhere.

103 years young

Olivia de Havilland (7/1/1916) 

This centenarian is the oldest bonafide Movie Star alive and had already won Best Actress twice by the time she was 33 for To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949). Olivia's...

Tony Sokol Nov 22, 2019

Michael J. Pollard was in the classic film Bonnie and Clyde, the classic series Star Trek and named a classic album.

Michael J. Pollard, a legendary character actor who was featured in Bonnie and Clyde, the original Star Trek, and House of 1000 Corpses, died in Los Angeles from cardiac arrest on Nov. 21, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 80.

Pollard's breakout role was as C.W. Moss, the gas station attendant who drove getaway cars in the 1967 gangster classic Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The role got Pollard nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. In a career spanning seven decades, Pollard created many memorable characters. He led the gang of orphan children in the 1966 Star Trek episode "Miri," which also featured Kim Darby. That same year he played character inspired by Peter Pan in in the Lost in Space episode "The Magic Mirror.

China’s Wanda Pictures will attend Cannes’ Marche du Film this year with four new projects, including “Detective Chinatown 3,” the latest installment in the lucrative franchise.

Last year’s “Detective Chinatown 2” debuted in the competitive Chinese New Year period and brought in $496 million (RMB3.39 billion) to become the country’s fifth-highest-grossing title of all time. The third installment is scheduled to hit theaters on the first day of next year’s lunar near year holiday, on Jan. 25, 2020. It is being directed by Chen Sicheng, who did the first two films, and once again stars Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran, who are this time joined by Satoshi Tsumabuki.

Also on Wanda’s slate is a remake of the Indian thriller “Drishyam,” which was made in 2013 in the Malayalam language, the official tongue of Kerala state, and then remade in Hindi in 2015. The Hindi-language version earned $16 million worldwide. It tells the...

Ticket sales dropped 35 percent week-on-week.

The last week of March (March 25-31) suffered a heavy drop in ticket sales of 35% week-on-week making it the second-quietest week in 2019 so far, behind the traditionally slow pre-Chinese New Year week only.

Although February was the biggest single month in a single market, overall the first quarter of 2019 turned out to be a sluggish one at the China box office. Gross box office receipts fell by 8% to $2.8bn compared to the same period in 2018. The months of January and March were each down 20% year-on-year.

In such a slow week, Song Of Youth emerged as...

Despite a lack of blockbuster competition, Disney’s live-action “Dumbo” didn’t fly all that far in its China opening, failing to soar past a nostalgic Chinese drama already in its second week as sentimental human-interest dramas filled many of the top spots.

Er Dong Pictures’ “Song of Youth” was the weekend’s top performer, taking in $11.7 million over the three-day period, according to figures from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The Maoyan online ticketing platform predicts that the film will earn $46.2 million (RMB310 million) over the course of its monthlong run in China – nearly double Maoyan’s prediction for “Dumbo.” Directed by newcomer Zhang Luan, “Song of Youth” tells the story of a teacher who changes the lives of his 1985 class of middle school students.

The Tim Burton-helmed “Dumbo” made only $10.8 million, in spite of a star-studded Hollywood cast including Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito and Thandie Newton’s daughter Nico Parker.

“Dumbo” took flight this weekend, landing atop both domestic and international box office charts.

Overseas, the high-flying elephant generated $71 million when it debuted in 53 foreign territories. “Dumbo” launched below expectations in North America with $45 million for a global start of $116 million. The film saw the best start in China ($10.7 million), followed by the United Kingdom ($7.4 million), and Mexico ($7.1 million).

“Dumbo” cost $170 million to produce, so the studio is banking on Tim Burton’s remake of the 1941 animated cartoon to resonate with audiences across the globe to turn a profit. This movie is the first of three high-profile remakes from Disney hitting theaters this year, with “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” set to release this summer.

Fellow Disney title “Captain Marvel” had another strong weekend in theaters. Starring Brie Larson, the superhero tentpole generated $47 million worldwide, including $26.4 million from 54 international markets. That brings its global haul to a massive $991 million, making...

Galt MacDermot, who composed the hit Broadway musicals Hair and Two Gentlemen of Verona, died Monday, a day before his 90th birthday. His death was confirmed to Playbill by his granddaughter, though a cause of death was not revealed.

After cutting records in the early part of the Sixties, including the Grammy-winning “African Waltz” for saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, the Montreal-born composer moved to New York. Upon meeting lyricists Gerome Ragni and James Rado, he began setting their writings to music and the trio eventually created Hair, which opened off-Broadway in...

With Venom still coursing through China, December is now heating up as a busy time at the Middle Kingdom box office — but, contrary to tradition, not necessarily for local films. Sony has just confirmed that sleeper hit Searching has secured a December 14 release, while anticipated animated family action adventure Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse will go on December 21.

Part of what’s seen as a push to keep turnstiles spinning in the face of a lackluster crop of homegrown titles, the above movies notably join Warner Bros’ Aquaman which releases December 7 — two weeks ahead of domestic and one week before the start of overseas rollout — and Universal/Illumination’s The Grinch (December 14). They will follow the upcoming releases of Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet (November 23) and WB’s Crazy Rich Asians (November 30).

It’s not unusual for China to pack Hollywood movies into the late fall ahead of a traditional December blackout,...

If 22-year-old actor Timothee Chalamet earns an Oscar nomination on Tuesday, January 23 for “Call Me By Your Name,” he will make history as only the third youngest Best Actor nominee in Academy Awards history. The two youngest nominees are Jackie Cooper, who was nine when he earned a bid for “Skippy” (1931), and Mickey Rooney, who at 19 received a nom for “Babes in Arms” (1939). Who are some of the other youngest Best Actor nominees? Click through our Oscars photo gallery below to find out.

According to Gold Derby’s combined predictions, Chalamet is currently in second place with 7/2 odds to earn a Best Actor nomination, behind only frontrunner Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”) with leading 17/10 odds. Chalamet has already popped up at precursors such as SAG, Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and BAFTA, so an Oscar nomination seems like a no-brainer. The other predicted Oscar nominees are Daniel Day-Lewis (“Phantom Thread”), Daniel Kaluuya...

Ajyal 2016 to celebrate film icon’s inspirational career with Ajyal Honorary Award

The fourth Ajyal Youth Film Festival presented by the Doha Film Institute, is brining Qatar audiences a special screening of Meg Ryan’s directorial debut “Ithaca” (USA / 2015).

During her time at the Festival, the acclaimed actor will discuss her film with the young jurors and will also be presented with the Ajyal Honorary Award, to celebrate her inspirational career.

Actor Meg Ryan steps into the director’s chair with “Ithaca”, a beautifully staged adaptation of William Saroyan’s novel “The Human Comedy”, in which a teenage boy takes on a part-time job as a telegram delivery boy in a fictional Us town during World War II, with deeply moving results. Ryan takes a pivotal role in the film and recruits her regular co-star Tom Hanks in a cameo, while Sam Shepard stars as a crotchety telegraph operator nearing retirement.

Miles Teller (Courtesy: Francois G. Durand/WireImage)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

At this point in the Oscars 2017 race not all of the films that are likely to garner awards attention have even been screened yet for the press, let alone made their way to the big screen for general audiences. This leaves many of the categories still up in the air, with one of the biggest being the contest for the best actor trophy.

One of the standouts from what movies have been viewed already is that of Miles Teller in the Bleed for This, which tells the inspirational story of boxing champ Vinny Pazienza (aka Vinny Paz). At just 29, the young thespian could be poised to join the very small pool of those who were nominated for best actor category.

It’s rare that the Academy acknowledge youth when it comes to the crop of those in the best actor category which is,...

Meg Ryan makes her directorial debut in the new coming-of-age movie Ithaca while also costarring alongside two of her favorite leading men: son Jack Quaid and longtime friend and costar Tom Hanks. The heartfelt film tells the story of a World War II messenger boy who experiences pain, love and hope through the telegraphs he receives, and is based off of Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan's 1943 novel The Human Comedy. Quaid, 20, plays her son in the movie, and Ryan, 54, tells People Now it was "fantastic to have him around" the set, especially as he loyally helped to calm any jitters.

Meg Ryan makes her directorial debut in the new coming-of-age movie Ithaca while also costarring alongside two of her favorite leading men: son Jack Quaid and longtime friend and costar Tom Hanks. The heartfelt film tells the story of a World War II messenger boy who experiences pain, love and hope through the telegraphs he receives, and is based off of Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan's 1943 novel The Human Comedy. Quaid, 20, plays her son in the movie, and Ryan, 54, tells People Now it was "fantastic to have him around" the set, especially as he loyally helped to calm any jitters.

For her directorial debut, Meg Ryan says she wanted "a simple story about complicated things." The result is Ithaca, a coming-of-age story set during the early days of World War II and based on William Saroyan's 1943 novel The Human Comedy. "I knew I could tell the story simply with pictures - the whole movie is like a poem on a postcard," she tells People. "I felt like I could manage something this size." Starring Sam Shepard, Alex Neustaedter and Ryan, the film tells the story of 14-year-old Homer Macauley, who assumes the role of man of the house to...

For her directorial debut, Meg Ryan says she wanted "a simple story about complicated things." The result is Ithaca, a coming-of-age story set during the early days of World War II and based on William Saroyan's 1943 novel The Human Comedy. "I knew I could tell the story simply with pictures - the whole movie is like a poem on a postcard," she tells People. "I felt like I could manage something this size." Starring Sam Shepard, Alex Neustaedter and Ryan, the film tells the story of 14-year-old Homer Macauley, who assumes the role of man of the house to...

Meg Ryan is making her directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama Ithaca, based on William Saroyan’s 1943 novel The Human Comedy. Meg Ryan On ‘Ithaca’ Ithaca is set during World War II in upstate New York, where 14-year-old Homer Macauley (Alex Neustaedter) works as a telegraph messenger while his older brother is off at war. […]

The post Meg Ryan On ‘Ithaca,’ Her Directorial Debut [Exclusive Video] appeared first on uInterview.

Though it’s based on William Saroyan’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Human Comedy,” very little about the turgid drama “Ithaca” feels believably, genuinely human. Meg Ryan‘s choice of literary adaptation for her directorial debut may have been too ambitious: The overall effect, while earnest, is disjointed, dreary and oddly structured. Seemingly pointless scenes drag. The characters feel like cardboard cutouts, and the story is so deliberately paced as to feel tedious. One of the few positive things that can be said about this clunky World War II coming-of-age drama is that the folky score, by John Mellencamp, has a low-key appeal.

Making the transition into the next natural stage in life can be a daunting experience for many people, no matter how well prepared they are to further expand their knowledge, skills and emotions. But the new war drama, ‘Ithaca,’ offers captivating insight into not only the protagonist’s coming-of-age story, but also an acclaimed actress’ natural transition into working behind the camera. The movie marks the feature film directorial debut of Meg Ryan, who powerfully brought to the screen the story of a teenage boy who’s learning what it truly means to care for his family. The second movie adaptation of William Saroyan’s 1943 novel, ‘The Human Comedy,’ was penned by [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Meg Ryan Talks Ithaca (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

Once upon a time, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were known as America's sweethearts. The duo first paired up on the big screen for 1990's Joe Versus the Volcano. They would also go onto appear together in 1993's Sleepless in Seattle followed by 1998's You've Got Mail. They haven't been seen together since that time. But that all changes with the upcoming WWII drama Ithaca, which brings a stirring reunion between the two lost and wandering soles.

Ithaca marks Meg Ryan's directorial debut after the actress took some time away from appearing in blockbuster romantic comedies. The movie is a coming-of-age tale for one teenage boy, and doesn't revolve around another loving relationship between the two former co-stars. In fact, the pair weren't seen together in the trailer that dropped last month. And they only share a fleeting few moments together on screen. Entertainment Weekly has a first look at this reunion.

This isn’t the “Sleepless In Seattle” reunion audiences may have been hoping for, but Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are teaming up again for “Ithaca,” an adaptation of William Saroyan‘s classic “The Human Comedy.” Read More: Tom Hanks Saves The Day In First Trailer For Clint Eastwood’s ‘Sully’ “Ithaca” marks the directorial debut of Ryan, […]

The post Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan Reunite In Trailer For ‘Ithaca’ appeared first on The Playlist.

Clip It: Each day, Jon Davis looks at the world of trailers, featurettes and clips and puts it all in perspective. It's not usually surprising when a well known actor tries their hand at directing. They're already creative people, they spend all day on set, they have a lot of experience with the performance aspect of filmmaking, so it makes a lot of sense.  Meg Ryan's directorial debut Ithaca is a little more unexpected because she's been around so long and hasn't done any high profile producing or much else on the other side of the camera until now. That doesn't mean she doesn't have the chops, it's really cool to see a well known creative person do something different. From my admittedly myopic standpoint, the only indication she had a yearning to break into new territory was her performance in Courage Under Fire. Cast way against type, Meg Ryan played a tough-as-nails,...

In Theaters and On Demand September 9, 2016 comes the film Ithaca – Meg Ryan’s directorial debut.

Starring Academy Award Nominee Sam Shepard (August: Osage County, The Right Stuff), Hamish Linklater (The Big Short, “The Crazy Ones”), Golden Globe Nominee Meg Ryan (You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally), Alex Neustaedter (Shovel Buddies), Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games, “Vinyl”) and Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies, Captain Phillips), here’s a first look at the trailer.

When his older brother leaves to fight in the Second World War, fourteen-year-old Homer Macauley takes on a job as a bicycle telegraph messenger to provide for his widowed mother, his older sister and his younger brother. Homer delivers messages of love, hope, pain and death to the good people of Ithaca, but soon must grapple with a message that will change him forever.

Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan’s 1943 novel The Human Comedy,...

William Saroyan’s novel The Human Comedy is a sort of retelling of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, with elements of Greek mythology carefully woven into the story of two brothers from Ithaca, California during World War II. It began its life as a screenplay written for MGM, but after a falling out between its author and the studio, it was reworked into a novel, which became an instant bestseller in 1943. Concurrently, the abandoned script was rewritten by Howard Estabrook and released as a film the same year, garnering numerous Academy Award nominations and a win for Best Story. Though the celluloid version was received well, The New York Times noted director Clarence Brown’s reliance on “gobs of cinematic goo.” Maybe it’s the fault of the source material, because those gobs seem to be back for an encore.

For her directorial debut, Meg Ryan decided to ...

If you've been missing Meg Ryan on the big screen, we've got good news: you'll soon be able to see her in the period piece drama Ithaca. But wait, there's more!  Not only is Meg Ryan in Ithaca, but so is her fellow '90s superstar Tom Hanks. But wait, there's even more! Not only is Meg Ryan in Ithaca with Tom Hanks, but it's also her directorial debut. Pretty good news for Meg Ryan fans, right? As for what the movie is actually about, Ithaca is an adaptation of the 1943 book The Human Comedy about an American boy who becomes a bike messenger in his small town at the height of World War II, meaning he ends up delivering life-altering letters to people on a regular basis. It looks like a rather touching, rather special coming-of-age story...

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Throwback Thursday came early this week. In a reunion from their “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail” days, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are reuniting once again — this time with Ryan both in front of and behind the camera. The actress makes her directorial debut with “Ithaca,” a World War II drama arriving later this year. Watch its first trailer below.

Read More: Actress-Turned-Director Meg Ryan Talks Feature Debut ‘Ithaca’ and her Reunion with Tom Hanks

Alex Neustaedter stars as a bicycle telegraph messenger in the adaptation of William Saroyan’s 1943 novel “The Human Comedy,” which appears to bear no direct relation to the liberal-arts college located in the New York town of the same name. The boy’s older brother has joined the war effort, leaving him to tend to his widowed mother (Ryan). Jack Quaid, Sam Shepard and Hamish Linklater all co-star, while John Mellencamp provided the original score.

The selling point for some when it comes to Meg Ryan‘s directorial debut Ithaca will be a reunion with her Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Joe Versus the Volcano co-star Tom Hanks. However, the first trailer has arrived today, and they certainly aren’t the central focus. Instead, the drama — also starring Sam Shepard, Hamish Linklater, and Jack Quaid — follows the story of a younger brother whose sibling heads to WWII and he’s the bike messenger in his town.

“There was a day I thought, ‘Oh, man. I can’t protect my kid from everything.’ It’s a difficult moment,” Ryan tells EW about the genesis of the project. “I think it speaks to the complicated things happening [in the world], in the sense of community and cultivation of an individual’s integrity – what Saroyan believes are important antidotes. Hopefully Ithaca is about how fierce and frail life really is.

"There will always be pain in this world, Homer, and a good man will seek to take the pain out of things." Momentum Pictures has debuted the first official trailer for the film Ithaca, the feature directorial debut of actress Meg Ryan, who also stars in this. Based on William Saroyan's novel titled The Human Comedy, the story is about a bike messenger, played by Alex Neustaedter, who delivers letters during World War II in the 1940s. One letter in particular, however, will change him forever. The full cast includes Sam Shepard, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Hamish Linklater, Jack Quaid, Molly Gordon and Gabriel Basso. This looks like a fairly nice, harmless indie drama to see this fall. There definitely is an indie feel to it, not in a good way, but I'm hopeful that the emotions in the story shine through in the end. Give this a watch below.

John Ford's best war movie does a flip-flop on the propaganda norm. It's about men that must hold the line in defeat and retreat, that are ordered to lay down a sacrifice play while someone else gets to hit the home runs. Robert Montgomery, John Wayne and Donna Reed are excellent, as is the recreation of the Navy's daring sideshow tactic in the Pacific Theater, the 'speeding coffin' Patrol Torpedo boats. They Were Expendable Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 135 min. / Street Date June 7, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt, Ward Bond, Marshall Thompson, Cameron Mitchell, Paul Langton, Leon Ames, Donald Curtis, Murray Alper, Harry Tenbrook, Jack Pennick, Charles Trowbridge, Louis Jean Heydt, Russell Simpson, Blake Edwards, Tom Tyler. Cinematography Joseph H. August Production Designer Film Editor Douglass Biggs, Frank E. Hull Original Music Earl K. Brent, Herbert Stothart, Eric Zeisl Writing credits Frank Wead, Comdr. U.S.N. (Ret.), Based on the book by William L. White Produced and Directed by John Ford, Captain U.S.N.R.

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

They Were Expendable has always been appreciated, but hasn't been given a high roost in John Ford's filmography. Yet it's one of his most personal movies, and for a story set in the military service, his most serious. We're given plenty of service humor and even more sentimentality -- with a sing-along scene like those that would figure in the director's later cavalry pictures, no less. Yet the tone is heavier, more resolutely downbeat. The war had not yet ended as this show went before the cameras, yet Ford's aim is to commemorate the sacrifices, not wave a victory flag. By 1945 Hollywood was already rushing its last 'We're at War!' morale boosters out the gate and gearing up for production in a postwar world. Practically a pet project of legendary director John Ford, They Were Expendable is his personal tribute to the Navy. Typical for Ford, he chose for his subject not some glorious victory or idealized combat, but instead a thankless and losing struggle against an invader whose strength seemed at the time to be almost un-opposable. They Were Expendable starts at Pearl Harbor and traces the true story of an experimental Patrol Torpedo Boat unit run by Lt. John Brickley (Robert Montgomery), his ambitious second in command Lt. Ryan (John Wayne) and their five boat crews. The ambience is pure Ford family casting: the ever-present Ward Bond and Jack Pennick are there, along with youthful MGM newcomers Marshall Thompson (It! The Terror from Beyond Space and Cameron Mitchell (Garden of Evil, Blood and Black Lace) being treated as new members of the Ford acting family. Along the way Ryan meets nurse Sandy Davyss (Donna Reed). Despite their battle successes, the Pt unit suffers casualties and loses boats as the Philippine campaign rapidly collapses around them. Indicative of the unusual level of realism is the Wayne/Reed romance, which falls victim to events in a very un-glamorous way. There's nothing second-rate about this Ford picture. It is by far his best war film and is as deeply felt as his strongest Westerns. His emotional attachment to American History is applied to events only four years past. The pace is fast but Expendable takes its time to linger on telling character details. The entertainer that responds to the war announcement by singing "My Country 'tis of Thee" is Asian, perhaps even Japanese; she's given an unusually sensitive close-up at a time when all Hollywood references to the Japanese were negative, or worse. MGM gives Ford's shoot excellent production values, with filming in Florida more than adequate to represent the Philippines. Even when filming in the studio, Ford's show is free of the MGM gloss that makes movies like its Bataan look so phony. We see six real Pt boats in action. The basic battle effect to show them speeding through exploding shells appears to be accomplished by pyrotechnic devices - fireworks -- launched from the boat deck. Excellent miniatures represent the large Japanese ships they attack. MGM's experts make the exploding models look spectacular. Ford's sentimentality for Navy tradition and the camaraderie of the service is as strong as ever. Although we see a couple of battles, the film is really a series of encounters and farewells, with boats not coming back and images of sailors that gaze out to sea while waxing nostalgic about the Arizona lost at Pearl Harbor. The image of civilian boat builder Russell Simpson awaiting invasion alone with only a rifle and a jug of moonshine purposely references Ford's earlier The Grapes of Wrath. Simpson played an Okie in that film and Ford stresses the association by playing "Red River Valley" on the soundtrack; it's as if the invading Japanese were bankers come to boot Simpson off his land. Equally moving is the face of Jack Holt's jut-jawed Army officer. He'd been playing basically the same crusty serviceman character for twenty years; because audiences had never seen Holt in a 'losing' role the actor makes the defeat seem all the more serious. The irony of this is that in real life, immediately after Pearl Harbor, Holt was so panicked by invasion fears that he sold his Malibu beach home at a fraction of its value. Who bought it? According to Joel Siegel in his book The Reality of Terror, it was Rko producer Val Lewton. John Wayne is particularly good in this film by virtue of not being its star. His character turn as an impatient but tough Lieutenant stuck in a career dead-end is one of his best. The real star of the film is Robert Montgomery, who before the war was known mostly for light comedies like the delightful Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Montgomery's Brickley is a man of dignity and dedication trying to do a decent job no matter how hopeless or frustrating his situation gets. Whereas Wayne was a Hollywood soldier, Montgomery actually fought in Pt boats in the Pacific. When he stands exhausted in tropic shorts, keeping up appearances when everything is going wrong, he looks like the genuine article. Third-billed Donna Reed turns what might have been 'the girl in the picture' into something special. An Army nurse who takes care of Wayne's Ryan in a deep-tunnel dispensary while bombs burst overhead, Reed's Lt. Davyss is one of Ford's adored women living in danger, like Anne Bancroft's China doctor in 7 Women. A little earlier in the war, the films So Proudly We Hail and Cry 'Havoc' saluted the 'Angels of Bataan' that stayed on the job, were captured and interned by the Japanese. Expendable has none of the sensational subtext of the earlier films, where the nurses worry about being raped, etc.. We instead see a perfect girl next door (George Bailey thought so) bravely soldiering on, saying a rushed goodbye to Wayne's Lt. Ryan over a field telephone. Exactly what happens to her is not known. Even more than Clarence Brown's The Human Comedy this film fully established Ms. Reed's acting credentials. The quality that separates They Were Expendable from all but a few war films made during the fighting, is its championing of a kind of glory that doesn't come from gaudy victories. Hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, the Navy, Army and Air Corps units in the Northern Philippines that weren't wiped out in the first attacks, had to be abandoned. The key scene sees Lt. Brickley asking his commanding officer for positive orders to attack the enemy. He's instead 'given the score' in baseball terms. In a ball club, some players don't get to hit home runs. The manager instead tells them to sacrifice, to lay down a bunt. Brickley's Pt squadron will be supporting the retreat as best it can and for long as it can, without relief or rescue. Half a year later, the U.S. was able to field an Army and a Navy that could take the offensive. Brickley's unit is a quiet study of honorable men at war, doing their best in the face of disaster. According to John Ford, Expendable could have been better, and I agree. He reportedly didn't hang around to help with the final cut and the audio mix, and the MGM departments finished the film without him. Although Ford's many thoughtful close-ups and beautifully drawn-out dramatic moments are allowed to play out, a couple of the battle scenes go on too long, making the constant peppering of flak bursts over the Pt boats look far too artificial. Real shell bursts aren't just a flash and smoke; if they were that close the wooden boats would be shattered by shrapnel. The overused effect reminds me of the 'Pigpen' character in older Peanuts cartoons, if he walked around accompanied by explosions instead of a cloud of dust. The music score is also unsubtle, reaching for upbeat glory too often and too loudly. The main march theme says 'Hooray Navy' even in scenes playing for other moods. Would Ford have asked for it to be dialed back a bit, or perhaps removed from some scenes altogether? That's hard to say. The director liked his movie scores to reflect obvious sentiments. But a few of his more powerful moments play without music. We're told that one of the un-credited writers on the film was Norman Corwin, and that Robert Montgomery directed some scenes after John Ford broke his leg on the set. They Were Expendable is one of the finest of war films and a solid introduction to classic John Ford. The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of They Were Expendable looks as good as the excellent 35mm copies we saw back at UCLA. This movie has always looked fine, but the previous DVDs were unsteady in the first reel, perhaps because of film shrinkage. The Blu-ray corrects the problem entirely. The B&W cinematography has some of the most stylized visuals in a war film. Emphasizing gloom and expressing the lack of security, many scenes are played in silhouette or with very low-key illumination, especially a pair of party scenes. Donna Reed appears to wear almost no makeup but only seems more naturally beautiful in the un-glamorous but ennobling lighting schemes. These the disc captures perfectly. Just as on the old MGM and Warners DVDs, the trailer is the only extra. We're told that MGM shoved the film out the door because victory-happy moviegoers were sick of war movies and wanted to see bright musicals instead. The trailer reflects the lack of enthusiasm -- it's basically two actor name runs and a few action shots. The feature has a choice of subtitles, in English, French and Spanish. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, They Were Expendable Blu-ray rates: Movie: Excellent Video: Excellent Sound: Excellent Supplements: DTS-hd Master Audio Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 6, 2016 (5135expe)

Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com

Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...

Bogie and Bacall are back, but with Edward G. Robinson's oily gangster breathing down their necks -- "Nyah!" Excellent direction (John Huston) and great performances (Claire Trevor) have made this one an eternal classic. We want subtitles for whatever Eddie whispered in Betty's ear... A most-requested, or demanded, HD release from Warners. Key Largo Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 100 min. / Street Date February 23, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, Thomas Gomez, Harry Lewis, John Rodney, Marc Lawrence, Dan Seymour, Monte Blue, William Haade, Jay Silverheels, Rodd Redwing. Cinematography Karl Freund Film Editor Rudi Fehr Original Music Max Steiner Written by Richard Brooks, John Huston from the play by Maxwell Anderson Produced by Jerry Wald Directed by John Huston

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I'd guess that Key Largo became a classic the moment it hit the screen,...

Stop! Don't touch that dial... if you like your atom-age propaganda straight up, MGM has the movie for you, an expensive 1946 docu-drama that became 'the official story' for the making of the bomb. The huge cast includes Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Tom Drake, Audrey Totter, Hume Cronyn, Hurd Hatfield, and Joseph Calleia. How trustworthy is the movie? It begins by showing footage of a time capsule being buried -- that supposedly contains the film we are watching. Think about that. Mom, Apple Pie, the Flag and God are enlisted to argume that we should stop worrying and love the fact that bombs are just peachy-keen dandy. The Beginning or the End DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 112 min. / Street Date September 22, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Tom Drake, Beverly Tyler, Audrey Totter, Hume Cronyn, Hurd Hatfield, Joseph Calleia, Godfrey Tearle, Victor Francen,...

By Todd Garbarini

Robert Z. Leonard’s 1940 film Pride and Predjudice, which stars Lawrence Olivier, Edmund Gwenn, Marsha Hunt, Greer Garson, and Maureen O’Sullivan, will be screened at the The Royale Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles. Based upon the novel by Jane Austen, the 118-minute film will be screened on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 at 7:00 pm.

Actress Marsha Hunt, who played Mary Bennet in the film, is scheduled to appear in-person to discuss the film and answer audience questions.

From the press release:

This lush, Oscar-winning film from the heyday of MGM is the most entertaining of the many screen adaptations of Jane Austen’s best-loved novel. Laurence Olivier plays Mr. Darcy, Greer Garson is Elizabeth Bennet, and they give definitive performances as the archetypal battling lovers who set the model for almost every rom-com of the future. The supporting cast includes Edmund Gwenn, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver,...

Fourteen-year-old Homer is the messenger of death in Ithaca, an adaptation of William Saroyan's novel The Human Comedy. Homer delivers telegrams in the early '40s that begin with “The Department of War regrets” — you know the rest. Filmed previously as The Human Comedy in 1943, this rebirth is almost a casebook study of how not to transpose “literature” to film. A heartfelt yet sodden directorial debut by Meg Ryan, Ithaca is wordy and static. Saroyan's novel was a sharp smear on the fragility of life in a world of wild extremes and shifting circumstances. Unfortunately, the film's drama is enervated by incessant voiceover, background

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