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The character of James Bond might've made Sean Connery a global movie star, but the actor didn't really enjoy the initial nine years he spent playing the MI6 agent. As Michael Caine once observed, "If you were his friend in these early days, you didn't raise the subject of Bond." A big part of the issue, according to Caine, was that Connery knew he had more to offer as an actor than 007, and thus, he bristled every time someone would identify him as Bond when he was out in public. Connery himself made no bones about his annoyance with the character. "I have always hated that damned James Bond," he once remarked (via The Guardian). "I'd like to kill him."

Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who were sitting on top of a box office goldmine, had no such desire. They were keen to keep knocking out Bond flicks at a once-every-other-year clip,...

Miami Dade College’s (Mdc) Miami Film Festival has announced its lineup for its upcoming festival taking place from April 3 – 13 in Miami. This year’s festival includes a number of highly-anticipated premieres, plus special honoree events, anniversary celebrations, and a raft of awards-focused entrants.

Mostly, it will be quite the event for fans of Julie Delpy (count us in), whose latest directorial effort, “Meet the Barbarians,” will open the festival on April 3. The multihyphenate will also be on hand to receive the festival’s Impact Award, and on April 4, she will offer an extended introduction to a 30th-anniversary screening of Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise.” The festival will close with “On Swift Horses,” directed by Daniel Minahan, on April 12.

Other highlights include honors for Mark Duplass, Paul Feig, Melanie Lynskey, Roger Ross Williams, and Billy Zane. Other anniversary specials include “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “Center Stage,” and “Pride & Prejudice.

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Nuestro Studios, a division of Nuestro Stories, announced today the worldwide debut of the historical fiction podcast series Bistec, a universal, cautionary story of faith, patriotic fanaticism, and surveillance in Dystopian Cuba.

The eight-part limited series is launching with two episodes per week on Mondays in English and Spanish and is now available on all major podcast platforms, including YouTube in Spanish, and English, iTunes, Spotify, Audible and more. A visual trailer for the audio series, which represents the next stage of what producers believe will become a feature film, can be viewed here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTFJliq6CIA

‘Bistec’ is the riveting story of a longtime Cuban Revolutionary and what happens when one of the nation’s prominent dissidents moves into his neighborhood, exposing secrets, upending lives, and testing loyalties. Set during the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution in 2009, ‘Bistec’ unveils the contemporary world...

Quinn Donoghue, whose long career as a Hollywood publicist included beating the drum for Superman, Pink Panther and Three Musketeers films, Steven Soderbergh’s The Limey and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s 21 Grams, has died. He was 86.

Donoghue died Dec. 28 in Los Angeles, his son Alex Donoghue announced.

Donoghue also served as a unit publicist on Norman Jewison’s Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Quest for Fire (1981), Roman Polanski’s Frantic (1988) and Bitter Moon (1992), Michael Caton-Jones’ Rob Roy (1995), Robert Altman’s Kansas City (1996) and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

He did publicity for Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther (1963), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) and Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers: Milady’s Revenge (1974) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989), Superman II (1980) and Superman III (1983) and Cuba (1979).

Plus, he produced several films,...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

The 88 submissions for the best international feature award at the 2023 Oscars have been announced, and Screen has profiled all the entries below.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is set to be announced on December 21 with the final five nominees announced on January 24, 2024 The 95th Academy Awards will take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The 88 submissions are down from last year when 92 films were in contentions. Four countries submitted this year but have not appeared on the final list - Cuba with Fernando Perez...

Burt Young, the actor best known for playing Paulie in Rocky, died October 8th in Los Angeles, his daughter confirmed to The New York Times. He was 83 years old.

From Roman Polanski’s Chinatown to The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, Young — born on April 30th, 1940 in Queens — was known for imbuing fierce characters with a sense of humanity and realism. He entered the Marines as a teenager, and started boxing while in the service. He went on to pursue the sport professionally before, by happenstance, meeting the celebrated acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who he later studied with.

Young broke out as an actor thanks to Rocky, where he played the best friend of Sylvester Stallone’s titular boxer. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including a nod to Young for Best Supporting Actor.

Beyond the boxing film, Young made notable appearances in television shows like M*A...

Exclusive: James Franco is starring in a Middle Eastern TV crime drama penned by Shades of Blue creator Adi Hasak. Check out a teaser below.

Alongside a cast of actors who hail from the Mena region, the Oscar-nominated 127 Hours star recently wrapped on Karantina, which is being shopped for the first time at Mipcom Cannes this week. Hasak told Deadline he hopes the “gamechanger” crime drama will “do for Mena what Fauda did for Israel and Squid Game did for Korea.”

Based on the German series Tempel, Franco plays an American laying low from the FBI in Beirut who has opened a club called the Miami Rainbow Club, a “taste of Americana,” according to Hasak.

The show’s lead is Yaqoub Al Farhan as Dahab, who is released from jail and promises his paraplegic wife and teenage daughter that he will never return to a world of crime, instead...

Cuba Gooding Jr. settled on a lawsuit that accused him of rape on Tuesday.

The jury was supposed to convene on Tuesday at 10 a.m. and at 10:24 am a note was passed onto jurors that the matter had been resolved. The details of the settlement agreement have not been released yet.

Gooding was accused of raping a woman twice on August 24, 2013, in New York City at the Mercer Hotel. The two met at a restaurant in the city, Le Souk Lounge, and then Gooding allegedly convinced her to come up to his room so that he could change his clothes. Once there, the two took shots together and then he allegedly groped her and raped her twice.

The woman was seeking $6 million in damages.

Gooding had insisted that he was innocent and that the encounters were consensual, but he still decided to settle.

There were supposed to be seven other witnesses,...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

The World Baseball Classic is nearing its end, and Team USA has a shot at winning the tournament once again. In their way is Cuba, who they’ll face off with today in the World Baseball Classic semifinal.

Team USA is coming off a thrilling Saturday quarterfinal game against Venezuela, where Trea Turner hit a Grand Slam in the eighth inning to win the game 9-7. Cuba, on the other hand,...

Beauty queen, rebellious daughter of the head of Portugal’s secret service, housewife fascinated by Che Guevara, fighter – “Annie” Silva Pais was many, many things. Now, she is also the subject of Portuguese period drama “Cuba Libre.”

“I have been thinking about this story for 20 years,” admits creator Henrique Oliveira ahead of its bow at Berlinale’s Series Market Selects.

“That’s when I first read an article about her in [a local newspaper] Expresso. I fell in love right away. This woman was ahead of her time.”

While Oliveira, who also directs, had to wait decades to realize his dream, it actually worked out for the best, he claims.

“In the past few years, so many things have changed, especially when it comes to streaming. The TV market is completely different now. I had all this time to mature, to [figure out how to] pay tribute to this woman in the best possible way,” he says.

After expressing his outrage over James Franco being cast as Fidel Castro in the independent feature drama Alina of Cuba, Primetime Emmy winner John Leguizamo has expounded on his stance regarding Hollywood casting non-Latinos in Latino roles. Specifically, in an Instagram post earlier today, he says “Alright, look, I got no problems with James Franco, yo, Ok?” while explaining, “I grew up in a era where Latin people couldn’t play Latin people on film.”

Also earlier today, Alina of Cuba producer John Martinez O’Felan released a statement defending the casting of Franco who is of Latin-Portuguese heritage and responding to Leguizamo’s initial protest, saying “I want to point out that his odd comments, if you base them on genealogy, are a blind attack and lack any factual substance.”

Deadline first told you about Franco playing El Comandante in the Miguel Bardem directed Alina of Cuba from Oscar-nominated scribe...

Exclusive: Cuban American actress Ana Villafañe has landed the lead role in the indie feature Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde from Mankind Entertainment and Maven Pictures. She will portray Fidel Castro’s daughter and anti-communism activist, Alina Fernandez.

Alina of Cuba is based on the true-life story of Fernandez, a Cuban American immigrant and human rights advocate whose birth was the result of a passionate love affair between Castro and Natalia “Naty” Revuelta. Revuelta, a Cuban-born socialite, sacrificed her and her physician husband’s personal belongings and finances to help fund the revolution.

Fernandez learned of her connection to Castro at the age of 10: when after years of secret visits to her home, she was finally told by her mother that “El Comandante” was her biological father. Fernandez and her mother stayed in Cuba after the former’s stepfather and her sister fled to the U.S. after...

Home viewing competition this week was stiff. It included the HBO Max same-day premiere of “The Suicide Squad” and ongoing availability of Disney’s “Black Widow” and “Jungle Cruise” for an extra $29.99 for Disney+ subscribers. The two titles that could break through were “Pig” (Neon/$6.99) and “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” (Focus/$19.99), both of which added VOD play after three weeks in theaters.

Many Nicolas Cage movies are genre-exercise VOD exclusives, but “Pig” stands out with excellent reviews (82 Metacritic) and his performance as a truffle hunter in search of his beloved pig received some the best reviews of his career. It placed on all three charts and as high as #2 on iTunes.

“Roadrunner,” released Friday, is #7 on iTunes. Vudu reports that though the title is just below its top 10, it was their third-highest ranked new release.

Samba TV, an app that tracks home viewing, estimates 2.8 million U.S. households saw “Squad” this weekend.

Earl Cameron, one of the first major Black actors in British cinema, died on Friday at his home in England, his representative confirmed to Variety. He was 102.

Cameron was born in Pembroke, Bermuda, on Aug. 8, 1917, and joined the British Merchant Navy before pursuing a career in theater and film.

“Pool of London,” directed by Basil Dearden in 1951, was Cameron’s first film role. He played a sailor named Johnny Lambert who has a relationship with a white woman, played by Susan Shaw. The noir crime film is best known for portraying the first interracial romance in a British film.

Dearden and Cameron teamed up again in 1959 on the crime drama “Sapphire,” which examined racism in London toward immigrants from the West Indies. The film was progressive for its time and won the BAFTA Award for best film.

“Unless it was specified that this was a part for a Black actor,...

From the people that brought you Pandemic Parade chapters 1-8, comes yet another thrilling episode featuring Jesse V. Johnson, Casper Kelly, Fred Dekker, Don Coscarelli, Daniel Noah, Elijah Wood and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Wondrous Story of Birth a.k.a. The Birth of Triplets (1950)

Contagion (2011)

The Omega Man (1971)

Panic In The Streets (1950)

The Last Man On Earth (1964)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Innerspace (1987)

The Howling (1981)

The Invisible Man (2020)

The Sand Pebbles (1966)

Where Eagles Dare (1969)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Goldfinger (1964)

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)

Murder On The Orient Express (1974)

Dr. No (1962)

From Russia With Love (1963)

Bellman and True (1987)

Brimstone and Treacle (1982)

Richard III (1995)

Titanic (1997)

Catch 22 (1970)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)

The Graduate (1967)

1941 (1979)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Jaws (1975)

The Fortune (1975)

Carnal Knowledge (1970)

Manhattan...

Founded in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, Big Ears Festival is a renowned event bringing together, music, film, literature, art installations, and more. Year after year, their cinema-related section continues to showcase an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary voices, striving to explore boundary-pushing works in the field. Ahead of next month’s festival, we’re pleased to unveil the 2020 edition of the film lineup.

As part of their Standard Definition program, which explores the transition from celluloid to digital, the festival will present films from Agnès Varda, Chantal Akerman, Abbas Kiarostami, and Hal Hartley, along with U.S. theatrical premieres of Dominik Graf’s Friends of Friends and Franco Piavoli Affettuosa presenza and Paesaggi e figure. Also in the lineup is rarely screened works by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Kevin Jerome Everson, along with Michael Snow’s 2002 film Corpus Callosum and his most recent project, Cityscape.

Argentine-British artist Jessica Sarah Rinland will also get the spotlight,...

British screenwriter and playwright Charles Wood, known for such productions as “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Tumbledown” and “Iris,” has died at the age of 87.

His death, on Saturday, was confirmed to Variety by his agent Sue Rodgers at Independent Talent.

Born into a theater family, he began working in his local theater when he was a teen. After studying theatrical design at art college, he spent several years in the British army. After an assortment of jobs, he began to write professionally from 1959, with the completion of his play “Prisoner and Escort,” drawing on his army experience.

His first screenplay was 1965 comedy “The Knack … and How to Get It,” based on Anne Jellicoe’s play. Directed by Richard Lester, and starring Rita Tushingham and Michael Crawford, it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Wood was nominated for the BAFTA for British screenplay.

Among many films with Lester,...

Exclusive: The Black List and Women In Film Los Angeles (Wif La) has unveiled the participants for their episodic lab, which is in its fourth year.

The program is an effort between The Black List and Wif La that provides mentorship and career opportunities to six rising women television writers. Beginning October 1, the Lab will run twice weekly for four weeks for an entire year and will consist of script development, peer workshopping sessions, and Master Classes with established writers and industry executives.

The writers’ final pilots will be read by agencies and networks. This year’s advisors and Master Class teachers include Monica Beletsky (Parenthood), Carly Wray (Westworld), Sono Patel (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Glen Mazzara (The Dark Tower) and others.

Read the participants’ bios and their projects for this year’s Lab.

Kim Garland

“The Resurrected” – When a dead body comes back to life and then escapes from a Manhattan funeral home,...

Rebecca Clough Jan 20, 2017

As America gets its new President, we look at some excellent political drama films that may have slipped under your radar...

Political dramas can be entertaining, informative and even educational, opening up debates and offering new points of view. (When experiencing a year of tumultuous change like the one we’ve just had, they can also be a comforting reminder that, no matter what your situation, it could always be worse...) With the full whack of corruption, war, and conspiracy, here are 25 political dramas which deserve to be better known.

See related 25 underrated political thrillers 17 new TV shows to watch in 2017 Taboo episode 3 review The Girl On The Train review 25. The Marchers/La Marche (2013)

When teenager Mohamed (Tewfik Jallab) is shot by police, his friends want revenge, but he has a better idea: peaceful protest. Marching from Marseille to Paris, they band together with quite an assortment of characters along the way.

British horror was still going through a transitional phase by the early ‘70s. Trying to turn people’s perception away from cobweb strewn castles and fog laden swamps, they played in the modern day with such classics as Tales from the Crypt, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, The Vault of Horror, Theatre of Blood, and Asylum. (Okay, those are either anthologies or Vincent Price films, but there are many other goodies as well.) So strong was the vibe that an American made the leap across the pond for his directorial debut, Raw Meat Aka Death Line (1972), a grimy, funny, and surprisingly poignant first effort from Gary Sherman (Dead and Buried).

Released in England in ’72 under the original Death Line title, it would take until September of ’73 to be unleashed on American soil by Aip under its better known moniker. Critics were decidedly mixed on Raw Meat; Roger Ebert considered it a “good debut” for Sherman,...

Andy Garcia Finds Love At Middleton

By

Alex Simon

Since making a splash as crack shot George Stone in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, Andy Garcia has become one of the cinema’s most prolific and diverse actors. The Cuban-born Garcia boasts over 100 credits on his resume, with roles ranging from actor, director, producer and musical performer. At Middleton, which arrived on DVD and Blu-ray April 1 from Anchor Bay Entertainment, features Garcia as a slightly befuddled doctor who finds an unexpected love connection with another parent (Vera Farmiga) while accompanying their kids on a tour of a tony East Coast college. Andy Garcia spoke with us recently about this and other career highlights. Here’s what transpired:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you play a guy who’s not cool, so it was a pleasant surprise to see you in At Middleton, which marks a change of pace.

The fictionalised story of presidential butler Eugene Allen is an earnest but novel take on 20th-century African American history

• More from the Reel history archive

The Butler (2013)

Director: Lee Daniels

Entertainment grade: C–

History grade: D

Eugene Allen served as a butler in the White House through eight presidencies, from Harry S Truman to Ronald Reagan.

Dialogue

The Butler fictionalises Eugene Allen as Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), and relocates his 1920s plantation childhood from Virginia to Georgia. When the white plantation owner rapes his mother (Mariah Carey), his father doesn't react. "It's his world," his father says, indicating the white man. "We're just living in it." The line "It's X's world, we just live in it" seems to have originated around the 1940s and was popularised by Dean Martin (who said it about Frank Sinatra). Perhaps the plantation owner doesn't like anachronistic cliches: he shoots Cecil's dad dead. He should...

International Sales Agents are the core of the current international film market system – i.e., the buying and selling of films worldwide. Half of the approximately 450 worldwide ISAs are based in La, the rest spread around the globe, but it matters little in a business sense where they are based. They gather together during the upcoming American Film Market November 6 in Santa Monica, California, in Berlin at the European Film Market February 6, 2014, and at the Cannes Marche in May as well as other events around the world to license rights to their films to distributors coming from every corner of the world. Their films also originate from every corner of the world.

Shoreline has been selling to the international film market since 1992. Morris Ruskin sat down last week for a chat with me here in La. I sum up our discussion as follows, after I add that Morris’ friendship and professionalism (and good taste!), is in general one of the principal reasons we like this film business. When we travel, which is frequent, it is people like Morris who light up the distant locations for us and, while both of us are L.A. based, we often only see each other throughout the year at various film business related events in remote places such as Cannes, Berlin, Bahamas., etc.

Morris Ruskin was born in South Africa to anti-Apartheid parents. He left there, along with parents and three older sisters, at age 9, to move to Boston where his Dad went to Harvard Business School. Then they moved to Bermuda for 3 years. When Morris was 15 his mother attended graduate school at UCLA School of Theater. There he met Athol Fugard, the South African playwright about whom his mother did her dissertation.

Many years later, Morris Executive Produced Master Harold & the Boys and dedicated the movie to his mother. He fell in love with L.A. and the movies in high school in L.A. His best friend lured him into filmmaking through Super 8 films which they recreated --movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Blues Brothers. Attending UCLA he wrote screenplays, some of which were optioned and he became an intern at MTV, an experience he considered at that time to be “the new frontier” of entertainment.

He soon became employed at Zupnik Entertainment Enterprises, staying for 6 years. He began as a script reader, then moved up to become the Director of Development and finally became a Vice President. His high water mark there was as a Co-Producer for the high profile very successful film, Glengarry Glen Ross.

He began Shoreline in 1992 on his own with a financial partner. It started as a production company. He then had operating money to run the company but No income. Projects were set up at New Line, Warner Brothers and various sales companies but they all got stuck in development. He figured out that there were two viable ways to make money in the business – selling movies worldwide and managing talent. Because he worked very closely with the sales company, New Line, on Glengarry Glen Ross, he decided to start a sales company. In 1995 he hired sales people to sell films and within six months he had three films in play. Morris says this meant “we were off to the races”. He then began to pick up / or acquire other films to sell.

He continues to branch out. In 2012 he formed a management company for directors, writers and writer / directors.

When we spoke he was intensely proud of a new film he served as Executive Producer on, Pablo, which was opening the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival this past October. This is a Spanish language feature documentary about graphic artist, trailer and title maker, Pablo Ferro, narrated by Jeff Bridges. Pablo was Kubrick’s title designer. Born in Cuba, he migrated as a teen to New York and had, as Morris expresses it, “a rags to riches and back to rags life”. The documentary is a representation for how difficult it can be to make it as an artist in the business. Perhaps it resonates with Morris as he has been able to successfully balance the art of filmmaking with the business side of selling movies.

For Morris Shoreline is a “purposely eclectic” company. His team acquires and sells feature narrative films and documentaries. They pick up “foreign language” (meaning – non English language) films and art house indies. On the commercial side they sell “genre” pictures, thrillers, horror.

Now that sales are successful, Morris now focuses his daily work on management, production, financing. He has produced approximately fifty films. Two of those films were directed by his high school friend who introduced him to filmmaking through Super 8 movies! Shoreline tends to be very loyal to the filmmakers it works with. If it picks up someone’s finished film, often Morris works with that filmmaker to produce the next film and perhaps even to manage him or her. As a producer Morris has had many award winning films and multiple films in Sundance and at The Toronto International Film Festival.

He has started a film financing company called Watermark. His partners here are the Swiss / London based Blue Pencil Investments. They will raise equity money for films, will give MGs (aka minimum guarantees) and sales advances. They will take all rights to world markets and license them to distributors through Shoreline.

A film he used to outline his way of working was the 2005 Sundance hit Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, a romantic film about a couple meeting in a charm school, starring Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman and a cameo from Danny DeVito. These elements gave it heat for sales – Sundance, good cast, mini majors involved and CAA. Lots of CAA talent were cast in film. CAA was also brought in to sell U.S. rights post and during Sundance. Goldwyn acquired the film for U.S. distribution. For this deal CAA was proof (to the market) that the film had “the best elements”.

Another successful film out of Sundance in 2007 was The Signal which had a Usd $50,000 budget and made over $3 million Usd from the U.S. alone.

Shoreline acquires and sells lots of Spanish language films now. Some recent titles are Rabbit Woman, The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas and 7 Boxes which has been to as many as seventy five film festivals.

Morris’ main philosophy for Shoreline films is, “get the films out in the biggest way possible”. Often these days this means going firstly to festivals as there is often no theatrical release. Festivals can lead to or even replace theatrical. Festivals spread the word, help marketing, get films seen and reviewed, and can even mean income when a festival will pay a screening fee.

Some recent titles he is proud of include A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber which will be released theatrically in North America by IFC on November 1st, A Farewell To Fools with Harvey Keitel and Gerard Depardieu which will be released theatrically in North America by Monterey Media in the Spring. (About Liev Schreiber Morris says “a good name really helps” and he says that sometimes the films with known cast sell best). Also The Geography Club, which premiered at OutFest and will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass on November 15th, the aforementioned 7 Boxes which will also be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February, and Baal Shem Tov, a Jewish film in clay animation which Morris says is a very rare film medium and because it belongs in a niche which has attracted much attention.

+++++++++++++

Shoreline’s website says the following about Morris’ work and career.

During the course of producing more than fifty films, Morris has structured deals that incorporate deferments, soft money and international co-productions in order to create financially-viable motion pictures. These productions focus on bankable genre content and star-driven projects that can secure success in a sometimes-uneven marketplace.

Notable amongst such productions are the modern classic Glengarry Glen Ross (Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin) which led to an Academy Award Nomination for Al Pacino; The Man from Elysian Fields (Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Angelica Huston); The Visit (nominated for four Spirit Awards) and Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (John Goodman, Marisa Tomei, Octavia Spencer, Robert Carlyle, Danny DeVito).

Morris is no stranger to the festival circuit having films in the most distinguished festivals worldwide such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Sundance, where The Signal was sold in a multi million dollar bidding war hours after the world premiere.

Morris’s productions have spanned a variety of genres and locations, from a stereoscopic RealD 3D-animated film based on a comic book being released by Anchor Bay (The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse) to a wartime dark comedy starring Harvey Keitel and Gérard Depardieu (A Farewell to Fools). A documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges (Pablo), a co-production shot on location in China ( Wushu Warrior) a comedy that was the opening night gala film at Slamdance (Weirdsville), an action thriller shot in India starring Harvey Keitel (Beeper), a heist crime caper starring

Timothy Olyphant that premiered in The Berlin International Film Festival (High Life) and a South African feature dedicated to Morris’s mother (Master Harold And the Boys).

By consistently developing and acquiring projects that are attractive to domestic and foreign markets alike, Morris has ensured for over twenty years that Shoreline remains a stable yet versatile and ever-evolving organization.

+++++++++++

The website describes Shoreline like this:

Established by Morris Ruskin in 1992, Shoreline Entertainment's Worldwide Sales, Production, and Management divisions comprise one of the longest-running and most-respected film companies in the industry.

Shoreline presents itself via its quality participation at more than 15 major media markets and festivals a year and positions itself to nourish continuous relationships with broadcasters, distributors and festival programmers.

Shoreline has represented numerous award-winning films that have premiered at high profile Festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, Tribeca, Rotterdam and San Sebastian, as well as films nominated for Spirit Awards and Golden Globes.

Such films include: The Man From Elysian Fields, 7 Boxes, Father’s Chair, Un Mundo Secreto, Freaky Deaky, Zona Sur, Undertow, Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, Weirdsville, High Life, The Signal, and The Maid.

Shoreline’s advertising presence includes a long-standing deal with the Hollywood Reporter for its back cover on the dailies during the Toronto International Film Festival, American Film Market, European Film Market (Berlinale), and Marche Du Film (Cannes).Moreover, Shoreline’s marketing efforts include sponsorship of the Buyers Lounge during the American Film Market. With more than 20 years of experience, Shoreline’s momentum is greater than ever.

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Lastly, some useful links to various that Shoreline supplied to us –

Here is a link to our website:

www.slefilms.com

Here is a link to an article Screen did on Watermark – which is the company we set up with Blue Pencil Investments to finance films -

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/Pdfs/screendaily-bluepencil.pdf

The number of festivals 7 Boxes has played in to date is 75. It will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February. It all started for 7 Boxes in San Sebastian. This year we had Rabbit Woman there, so we hope for the same success. Tom Davia is our director of festivals and alternative theatrical.

Here is a link to all the markets we attend:

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/markets.html

Here is a link to the YouTube Baby Panda Sneezing that went viral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAcdvmnZ_GM

From this they made a family adventure film which we picked up. Here is a link to the film on our website:

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SneezingBabyPanda.html

We’ve had success with family films and this is a title that is attracting a lot of interest from buyers.

Other hot Afm titles include:

A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber who has heat from his new show Donavan.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/PerfectMan.html

A Farewell to Fools which stars Gerard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Ipu.html

The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse which was bought by Anchor Bay for North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Corpse.html

Sir Billi which is a family animated film with the voice of Sean Connery.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SirBilli.html

Freaky Deaky which is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and stars Billy Burke, Christian Slater, Michael Jai White and Crispin Glover.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/FreakyDeaky.html

The Geography Club which won the Audience Award at Outfest and will be released theatrically by Breaking Glass in November.

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/GeographyClub.html

Hidden Moon which stars Wes Bentley

http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/HiddenMoon.html

was nominated for Eight prestigious Silver Goddess Awards, given by the

Mexican Film Press and Critics / Pecime on their 42nd. edition in 2013. The Silver Goddess Award is the most prestigious film award in Mexico.

1) Best Film of the year: Producers Antonio Ruiz, Ray Diaz Gonzalez, Rodrigo Lobo & Pepe

Bojórquez.

2) Best Director: Pepe Bojórquez

3) Best Screenplay: Pepe Bojórquez / David Howard

4) Best Actress: Ana Serradilla Winner

5) Best Supporting Actress: Alejandra Ambrosi

6) Best Actor "Best upcoming Lead Actor": Osvaldo de León

7) Best Female Actress in a feature role: Angélica María

8) Best Original Song: Hidden Moon. Performed by Il Volo. Music by Luis Bacalov. Spanish Lyrics by

Edgar Cortázar / Tony Renis / Humberto Gatica / Massimo Guantini. Produced by Humberto Gatica /

Tony Renis / David Franco. Winner...

The Tri-City Screenings are an unprecedented cultural and professional exchange between Cuban and U.S. Film Communities (Los Angeles: March 6–12 - New York: March 13–17 - Miami: March 18–25)

The Women In Film International Committee, the Cuban Women Filmmakers Mediatheque, the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematograficos (Icaic) and the American Cinematheque, in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, New York Women In Film & Television, Mnn El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center,Women Make Movies, Miami Beach Cinematheque, and Coral Gables Art Cinema, will showcase a selection of short, documentary and feature films directed by Cuban women. The Showcase includes presentations at USC School of Cinematic Arts, Brooks Institute and Miami International University of Art & Design.

The Cuban women participating in the U.S. Showcase represent the island’s preeminent female directors, writers and actors. They are award-winning filmmaker and head of the Cuban Women Filmmakers Mediatheque, Marina Ochoa; award-winning Afro-Cuban documentary filmmaker, Gloria Rolando; award-winning feature filmmaker Milena Almira and one of Cuba’s most internationally acclaimed film and theater actresses, Claudia Rojas.

Honorary hosts include: Annette Bening, Laura Bickford, Jackson Browne, Lisa Cholodenko, James Cromwell, Isabel Cueva, Benicio Del Toro, Hector Elizondo, Naomi Foner, Brad Horwitz, Penny Marshall, Mike and Irena Medavoy, Rick Nicita and Paula Wagner, Sean Penn, Shervin and Anahita Pishevar, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Sarandon, Hilda Solis, Andy Spahn, and Dionne Warwick.

Sponsors include Shangri-La Entertainment, Sean Penn, the Shervin & Ana Pishevar Foundation, Brad Horwitz, Cuba Travel Services, Sdi Media Group, Aris Anagnos, Hector Elizondo, Harvey Vechery,Councilmember Eric Garcetti, www.cubanow.net, and other generous individuals. Kpfk Radio is a media sponsor for Los Angeles.

Scheduled for Los Angeles (March 6-12), New York (March 13-17) and Miami (March 18-25), the showcases will be complemented by panels to offer educational and cultural opportunities for U.S. and Cuban women in the industry, to forge creative and cultural bonds, and to foster the expansion of a dialogue between nations, creating new spaces wherein to share social, historic and artistic female perspectives.

This will be the first time a group of Cuban women filmmakers travels to the United States to screen their work in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Screenings and panel discussions are being organized by a collaboration of the most prestigious and proactive institutions that provide a place and an infrastructure for women to grow and excel in the film industry, such as Women In Film. Ruby Lopez, Wif International Committee co-chair says, “The industry has become a dynamic global community. The Women In Film International Committee mission is to create programming that offers women the opportunity to express and share their voices. Creating this showcase allows for the exploration and expression of multicultural viewpoints that serve to broaden and deepen the art of telling stories through cinema.”

Icaic, Cuba’s world-famous film institute has a long history of supporting the work of cutting edge filmmakers and producing an unparalleled body of work. Now, with the inception of the Cuban Women Filmmaker’s Mediatheque, Icaic is recognizing and supporting the work of Cuban women in the industry. “Cuban women filmmakers have created strong films with significant aesthetic values, that not only raise awareness and inspire action around issues that affect women, but also express a deep penetration into the Cuban culture and contemporary society,” says Luis Notario, Producer/Coordinator of the Cuban Women Filmmakers Showcase and Senior Advisor to the President of Icaic. “We see this showcase as a unique opportunity to accomplish the long deserved international recognition of their amazing work,” he concludes.

Ellen Harrington, Director of Exhibitions and Special Events for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, says "Over the last three years, the Academy and its International Outreach Committee have been actively working with our counterparts in Cuba, including the Icaic, to encourage the cultural dialogue between the filmmaking communities in our countries. It is a pleasure to help welcome these pioneering artists to Los Angeles, much as we have been warmly welcomed on our visits to Cuba. We are excited to build on the current momentum for more creative collaborations between us."

The event has already gained the attention and support of key industry figures including Academy Award® nominated producer, Laura Bickford (Traffic, Che, Arbitrage). “I am honored and excited to be a part of this historic professional and cultural exchange,” says Bickford. “Having traveled to Cuba for many years, I have gotten to know the Cuban film industry and look forward to hosting these multi-talented and visionary film professionals coming to the Us for the first time,” she added.

The U.S. Showcase tour initiates in Los Angeles. A highlight, on March 8, is an evening event, under the auspices of the American Cinematheque, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Events thus far include:

March 6-12 in Los Angeles:

Thursday, March 7, 2:00pm - Brooks Institute - Screening of short films followed by Q&A with visiting filmmakers Marina Ochoa, Gloria Rolando, Milena Almira and Claudia Rojas

(5301 N Ventura Ave., Ventura, CA 93001, 805-585-8000)

http://www.brooks.edu/

Friday, March 8, 7:30pm - Egyptian Theatre - Sponsored by the American Cinematheque, in celebration of “International Women’s Day” and the international, inaugural launch of the Cuban Women Filmmakers Mediatheque and the Tri-City tour of the Cuban Women U.S. Showcase, a Screening and Q&A with visiting Cuban filmmakers Marina Ochoa, Gloria Rolando, Milena Almira and Claudia Rojas, followed by “Havana Nights in Hollywood” After-party with music by Candi Sosa y Su Sexteto. Tickets $7.00/$11.00 on sale at www.fandango.com

(6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028)

www.egyptiantheatre.com

Saturday, March 9, 2:00pm & 4:00pm, - Sunset Gower Studio - Sponsored by NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, 2:00pm Screening, 4:00 -7:00pm Panel followed by a Reception: “The Independent Story Finds a Home in Global Cinema: Where Women Are Taking The Lead” Moderator by Laura Bickford, with the visiting Cuban filmmakers Marina Ochoa, Gloria Rolando, Milena Almira and Claudia Rojas. Tickets $10.00/$15.00

(6062 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028)

www.nfmla.org

Monday, March 11, 7:00pm - USC School of Cinematic Arts Broccoli Theater - Screening and Panel discussion with the visiting Cuban filmmakers Marina Ochoa, Gloria Rolando, Milena Almira and Claudia Rojas. Free and open to the public.

(Sca 112, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007)

http://cinema.usc.edu/events/event.cfm?id=11202

March 13-17 in New York City:

Thursday, March 14 - Tribeca Film Center - Sponsored by New York Women In Film & Television, Screening followed by Q&A with visiting Cuban filmmakers Marina Ochoa, Gloria Rolando, Milena Almira and Claudia Rojas. Free and open to the public.

(375 Greenwich Street, New York City, NY 10013)

www.tribecafilmcenter.com

Friday, March 15, 6:00pm - Hosted by the Mnn El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center, Iris Morales, Director. Free and open to the public.

(175 East 104th Street, New York, NY 10029, between Lexington and 3rd Ave.)

http://www.mnn.org/about-us/firehouse

March 18-25 in Miami:

Thursday, March 21, 6:45pm - Miami Beach Cinematheque – Screening, followed by Q&A and Reception. Tickets $20/$18 Seniors and Students (with i.d)/$16 MBCinema Members

(1130 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Fl 33139, 305-673-4567)

www.mbcinema.com

Friday, March 22, 3:00pm - Miami International University of Art & Design Screening followed by Panel discussion.

(1501 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Fl 33132-1418, 305-428-5700)

www.artinstitutes.edu

Saturday, March 23 – noon - Coral Gables Art Cinema - Short films, followed by Q&A and Reception. Tickets $9.50/$11.50

(260 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, Fl 33134, 786-385-9689)

www.gablescinema.com

About the Women In Film International Committee

The Women In Film International (Wifi) Committee fosters an interactive, cultural bond with other countries by discovering, promoting and supporting the ideas and efforts of entertainment professionals, especially women, throughout the world. Wifi programs include panels on international topics and legal affairs, hosted screening, a short-subject film series, social outings and participation in international film festivals. Networking does not stop at our borders so Wifi serves as a resource for foreign consulates, film boards and visiting filmmakers.

About Women In Film, Los Angeles

Women In Film, Los Angeles (Wif) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women achieve their highest potential within the global entertainment, communication and media industries and to preserving the legacy of women within those industries. Founded in 1973, Wif and its Women In Film Foundation provide for members an extensive network of contacts, educational programs, scholarships, film finishing funds and grants, access to employment opportunities, mentorships and numerous practical services in support of this mission. In the independent film world, the organization focuses on assisting female independent filmmakers who have exhibited advanced and innovative skills, specifically through its Film Finishing Fund and award-winning PSA program. www.wif.org

About Icaic and the Cuban Women Filmmaker’s Mediatheque

The Cuban Institute of Cinematic Arts and Industry has been, for more than 50 years, the major producer of films, documentaries and animation in Cuba. Icaic has been in charge of promotion, programming and national and international distribution of Cuban films, as well as archiving and preservation of Cuban films. Among the films produced by Icaic is the world acclaimed feature “Strawberry and Chocolate.”

Cuban Women Filmmaker’s Mediatheque is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing Cuban women with opportunities to reach the highest visibility of their film works, and to preserving the work of Cuban women filmmakers. Cwfm aims to be a platform for the development of the Cuban women filmmakers’ creative potential .

About American Cinematheque

Established in 1981, the American Cinematheque is a 501 C 3 non-profit viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all of its forms. At the Egyptian Theatre, the Cinematheque presents daily film and video programming which ranges from the classics of American and international cinema to new independent films and digital work. Exhibition of rare works, special and rare prints, etc., combined with fascinating post-screening discussions with the filmmakers who created the work, are a Cinematheque tradition that keep audiences coming back for once-in-a-lifetime cinema experiences. The American Cinematheque renovated and reopened (on Dec. 4, 1998) the historic 1922 Hollywood Egyptian Theatre. This includes a state-of-the-art 616-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman's first grand movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The exotic courtyard is fully restored to its 1922 grandeur. The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922. In January 2005 the American Cinematheque expanded its programming to the 1940 Aero Theatre on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. For more information please visit www.americancinematheque.com.

About the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards–in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners-the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.www.oscars.org

About NewFilmmakers Los Angeles

Founded in 2007, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (Nfmla) has established itself as a strong gathering place for independent cinema with over 15,000 constituents in the Los Angeles community, screening 500+ films from over 43 countries. In addition to fostering the advancement of new filmmakers and its members in Los Angeles, Nfmla's objective is to promote the economic, educational, social, and cultural advancement of filmmaking, arts and culture. WWW.Nfmla.Org

About New York Women In Film & Television

The preeminent entertainment industry association for women in New York City, New York Women in Film & Television (Nywift) supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media. Nywift energizes the careers of women in entertainment by illuminating their achievements, providing training and professional development activities, and advocating for equity. Membership includes more than 2,000 women and men working both above and below the line. Nywift is part of a network of 40 women in film organizations worldwide, representing more than 10,000 members.www.nywift.org

Mnn El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center

Manhattan Neighborhood Network is dedicated to the exercise of first amendment rights through moving image media and creates opportunities for communication and non-commercial uses of its facilities. Founded in 1992, the public access network operates four channels reaching approximately 620,000 cable subscribers, streams programs on the internet reaching global audiences, and offers training in video production, editing, and broadcasting to Manhattan residents who wish to become certified producers for Mnn. The main facility is located at 537 west 59th street. In 2012, Mnn opened another site on East 104th street. The Mnn El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center offers educational programs, studio events, forums, film screenings, and trainings for young people, neighborhood residents, artists, producers, and the general public.www.mnn.org

About Women Make Movies

Established in 1972 to address the under representation and misrepresentation of women in the media industry, Women Make Movies is a multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization which facilitates the production, promotion, distribution and exhibition of independent films and videotapes by and about women. The organization provides services to both users and makers of film and video programs, with a special emphasis on supporting work by women of color. Women Make Movies facilitates the development of feminist media through an internationally recognized Distribution Service and a Production Assistance Program. http://www.wmm.com/...

From Universal Pictures (UK) comes14 iconic thrillers from The Master of Suspense together for the first time ever as Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection – Super Premium Edition comes to Blu-ray on November 12th, 2012 for a limited time only.

We have one copy of the Blu-ray box set to give away to our readers.

Digitally restored from high-quality film elements and presented in perfect high-definition picture and sound, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection brings the Master of Suspense’s best work to home audiences as it’s never been seen before. This Super Premium Edition features 13 films previously unavailable on Blu-ray,Tm a collectible 16 page exclusive hardback book and additional collectibles including storyboards, costume sketches, correspondence, photographs, beautiful art cards and much more. Plus a treasure trove of over 15 hours of documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, screen tests, trailers and more, including a new documentary “The Birds, Hitchcock’s Monster Movie,...

Universal released Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection this week, which includes fifteen of his films in one Blu-ray set. If you’d like to learn more about the release, we have a breakdown of all that is included in the collection, plus a set of clips:

Fifteen of the most acclaimed films by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock come together on Blu-rayTM for the first time ever when Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection is released on October 30, 2012 for a limited time only. Digitally restored from high-quality film elements and presented in perfect high-definition picture and sound, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection brings the Master of Suspense’s best work to home audiences as it’s never been seen before. This ultimate collector’s set features 13 films previously unavailable on Blu-ray,Tm a collectible 50-page book featuring storyboards, costume sketches, correspondence, photographs, and much more. Plus a treasure trove of over 15 hours of documentaries,...

Fifteen of the most acclaimed films by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock come together on Blu-ray. for the first time ever when Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection is released on September 25, 2012 for a limited time only. Digitally restored from high-quality film elements and presented in perfect high-definition picture and sound, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection brings the Master of Suspense’s best work to home audiences as it’s never been seen before. This ultimate collector’s set features 13 films previously unavailable on Blu-ray., a collectible 50-page book featuring storyboards, costume sketches, correspondence, photographs, and much more. Plus a treasure trove of over 15 hours of documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, screen tests, trailers and a new documentary “The Birds, Hitchcock’s Monster Movie,” enough to satisfy even the most ardent Hitchcock fan.

Spanning three-and-a-half decades of the director’s prolific career, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection includes the classic thrillers Psycho,...

Producer of films that expressed the late 60s and early 70s zeitgeist, including Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and Hearts and Minds

In the late 60s and early 70s, youth movies identified with the draft-dodging campus rebels disillusioned by their elders and the war in Vietnam. Among the leading lights that embodied the counterculture were the producer Bert Schneider, who has died aged 78, and the director Bob Rafelson. They came together to form Raybert Productions, and then Bbs Productions (with Steve Blauner), which produced several pictures that expressed the zeitgeist, such as Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Drive, He Said (1971) and the Oscar-winning anti-Vietnam war documentary Hearts and Minds (1974).

Schneider was no bandwagon jumper, but a committed leftist, who vigorously opposed the American presence in Vietnam. He was also close to the 1960s political activists Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther party, the African-American radical organisation, and Abbie Hoffman...

DVD Playhouse—September 2011

By Allen Gardner

In A Better World (Sony) Winner of last year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, this Danish export looks at two fractured families and the effect that the adult world dysfunction has on their two sons, who form an immediate and potentially deadly bond. Director Susanne Bier delivers another powerful work that maintains its drive during the films’ first 2/3, then falters somewhat during the last act. Still, well-worth seeing, and beautifully made. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Commentary by Bier and editor Pernille Bech Christensen; Interview with Bier. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

X-men First Class (20th Century Fox) “Origins” film set in the early 1960s, traces the beginnings of Magento and Professor X (played ably here by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy), and how the once-close friends and colleagues became bitter enemies. First half is slam-bang entertainment at its stylish best,...

What is it with the space-invader films that are all the same? Are movies about our real-life woes too close to the bone, or is Hollywood out of ideas?

Last month I went to see X-Men: First Class. It was pretty good, though less because of the story itself than because of Michael Fassbender's magnetic presence as … Magneto. The action was set in the early 1960s, during the Cuban missile crisis, when John F Kennedy told the Soviet Union that if they tried to put nuclear weapons in Cuba, just 90 miles off America's coast, there would be hell to pay. Possibly a third world war.

As everyone has such itchy trigger fingers, it fell to the X-Men, a motley crew of insecure, untested kids, to keep the Russians and the Us from blowing up the planet. In the end, they achieved their objective, sparing mankind the unspeakable horrors of...

DVD Playhouse June 2011

By

Allen Gardner

Kiss Me Deadly (Criterion) Robert Aldrich’s 1955 reinvention of the film noir detective story is one of cinema’s great genre mash-ups: part hardboiled noir; part cold war paranoid thriller; and part science- fiction. Ralph Meeker plays Mickey Spillane’s fascist detective Mike Hammer as a narcissistic simian thug, a sadist who would rather smash a suspect’s fingers than make love to the bevvy of beautiful dames that cross his path. In fact, the only time you see a smile cross Meeker’s sneering mug is when he’s doling out pain, with a vengeance. When a terrified young woman (Cloris Leachman, film debut) literally crossed Hammer’s path one night, and later turns up dead, he vows to get to the bottom of her brutal demise. One of the most influential films ever made, and perhaps the most-cited film by the architects...

Given the success of Warner’s Archive program, we’re thrilled to see other studios scouring their vaults for content aimed at the discerning cinephile. Here’s a release showcasing the latest coming from MGM via Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Los Angeles (April 14, 2011) – Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is bringing even more classics to DVD in April through its unique “manufacturing on demand” (“Mod”). The newest group of films will be part of the MGM Limited Edition Collection and available through online retailers. The vast catalog ranges from 1980’s Defiance to 1965’s four-time Academy Award® nominated A Thousand Clowns.

Enjoy your favorite movies from across the decades including:

1950′s

● Davey Crockett, Scout (1950): A U.S. military scout is assigned to stop Indian attacks on a defenseless group of wagon trains making their way West. Stars George Montgomery, Ellen Drew, Noah Beery Jr. Directed by Lew Landers.

● Cloudburst...

[1] On Thursday, April 14th 2011, I had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable conversation with Michael Bay, to talk about his upcoming film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. You can read my report about the footage we screened in another article [2]. After the jump, I've included the complete massive 7,200 word transcript. Michael Bay: Today I’m going to show you our trailer. You’re the first to see it. I’m going to show you some 2D stuff and then 3D. You’ll probably ask why is it not all 3D? Because we don’t cut in 3D. The systems’ just not compatible and it’s just way too much information for the computers to hold. People don’t understand about 3D. You shoot it on 3D cameras and it’s like it just doesn’t come out beautiful 3D. There’s a lot of issues with it because there are two cameras,...

Flashback FridayCelebrating Black Films of 1991For Black films, 1991 was big year. There are a number of all Black films that left memorable impressions on us as well inspired a generation to act. Twenty years later, it's without a doubt these films left a cultural footprint bigger than anyone expected. If it wasn't tackling issues of racism or urban drug trade, the films released in 1991 made brave choices to examine interracial relationships or the detriments of revenge. None of these films would have been possible without the talents of our favorite Black actors and actresses. Today, we're taking a walk down memory lane to remember the films of 1991 and find out where everyone is now.New Jack CityReleased: March 8, 1991 'New Jack City,' was based on the original story and screenplay written by Thomas Lee Wright, and became the prototype for a Black crime drama. It showed crime lord, Nino Brown...

DVD Playhouse—June 2010

By

Allen Gardner

The White Ribbon (Sony) On the eve of Ww I, a small village in Germany is struck by a series of tragic, seemingly unconnected events until the townspeople, and the audience, start to connect the dots. Shot in stark, beautiful black & white, director Michael Haneke has fashioned a haunting metaphorical drama that is as coldly chilling as anything made by Ingmar Bergman, and darkly unsettling as anything from the canon of David Lynch. A rich, tough, brilliant cinematic experience you’re not likely to forget. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bd bonuses: Interviews with cast and crew; featurettes. Widescreen Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.

Alice In Wonderland (Disney) Tim Burton’s take on the Lewis Carroll classic finds young Alice (Mia Wasikowska), a 19th century girl who finds herself in an unhappy engagement to a boorish suitor, tumbling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, where she encounters magical cakes,...

We'll have lots of guests at Fantastic Fest this year, more than ever before. Here are just a few of the many interesting people who'll be joining us this year, in no particular order. We'll continually update our roster so keep an eye on this page.

Filmmakers and Actors

Norihiro Koizumi (Gachi Boy: Wrestling With A Memory)

A young, talented director who is quickly making his mark in the Japanese filmmaking scene. At the tender age of 25, he directed his first major feature-length film, “Midnight Sun.” “Midnight Sun” was not only critically-acclaimed, but became a commercial hit, grossing over 1 billion yen at the Japanese boxoffice. His latest film, “Gachi Boy Wrestling with a Memory,” won the grand prix at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

Nacho Vigalondo (Shorts Program)

Last year at Fantastic Fest noted Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo won the Next Wave competition, later securing domestic distribution for Timecrimes...