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Jack Nicholson was the epitome of the New Hollywood movie star. He broke through via the cultural earthquake that was "Easy Rider," and quickly established himself as a guarantor of quality filmmaking thanks to his star turns in "Five Easy Pieces," "Carnal Knowledge" and "The Last Detail." As the revolutionary spirit of the New Hollywood movement faded, Nicholson found himself becoming more of a traditional leading man in more traditional films like "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Terms of Endearment" and "Prizzi's Honor." He worked in spurts, taking breaks here and there, but he was never gone for long — which is why his 14-year absence from our screens (save for the occasional Los Angeles Lakers game appearance) feels so notable. And sad.

While we let Nicholson enjoy his retirement, we've no shortage of classics, near-classics, and assorted oddities to remind us how great he could be when he was at...

Jack Nicholson has had a long career playing brooding rebels, crazed villains and sneering charmers on screen. Soon he’ll star opposite Kristen Wiig in a remake of “Toni Erdmann.” He’s a fixture of American cinema and the Lakers courtside seating. For his 80th birthday, we aimed to rank all of Jack’s major, already iconic roles, from worst to best.

“Man Trouble” (1992)

“Man Trouble” is a ridiculous screwball crime comedy in which Nicholson and Ellen Barkin get upstaged by horny dogs. It seems impossible the same guy who did “Five Easy Pieces” made this.

“A Safe Place” (1971)

This bizarre, formless ’70s relic based on a play stars Tuesday Weld and Orson Welles opposite Nicholson about a girl living a fantasy in which she never grows up.

“The Terror” (1963)

Nicholson gives a stiff performance in this Roger Corman picture opposite Boris Karloff, but he gets to kiss a woman who transforms into a corpse.

For her role in Hillbilly Elegy, Glenn Close was simultaneously nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and the Worst Supporting Actress Razzie. The movie, directed by Ron Howard and based on the J.D. Vance memoir of the same name, stars Close as Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance. With just a 25% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie was heavily panned by critics when it was released on Netflix last year.

Clearly, the Academy is not as hard on Hillbilly Elegy as the critics have been. The full nominations list reveals that Glenn Close was nominated for Best Supporting Actress alongside Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Movefilm, Olivia Colman in The Father, Amanda Seyfried in Mank, and Yuh-Jung Youn in Minari.

Along with Close's nomination, Hillbilly Elegy is also nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This honor also marks Close's eighth Oscar nomination, though she has yet to take home the win. Her...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today we tackle legend Jack Nicholson, a movie star who has got enough B-Sides to warrant a handful of episodes. We bring back one of our favorite guests to do the job: Katherine Clark Gray, playwright & screenwriter for Uncompromised Creative as well as podcast writer for “Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman”.

The films we cover today include: The Two Jakes, Man Trouble, The Evening Star, The Pledge and How Do You Know. We discuss Jack Nicholson and Robert Towne’s failed hopes for a third Chinatown movie, the insane amount of money Jack was paid for How Do You Know and why his performance in The Pledge is one of the best he’s ever given.

Tony Sokol Sep 18, 2017

Harry Dean Stanton has died at the age of 91, it was confirmed over the weekend.

Actor Harry Dean Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Friday September 15th, his agent John Kelly announced. He was 91.

Stanton, who made his breakthrough in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas, submerged himself in over 250 movies since he began acting in the 1950s. That didn’t make him any less unforgettable, putting his subtle stamp on such films as Cool Hand Luke (1967), Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Godfather II (1974), Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and John Carpenter’s Escape From New York (1981). Plus he taught Emilio Estevez how to boost cars in the cult classic Repo Man.

Stanton hit the mainstream in John Hughes’ Pretty In Pink (1986), he played Molly Ringwald’s unemployed father.

He played against Jack Nicholson, a lifelong friend, in The Missouri Breaks and Bob Rafelson’s Man Trouble. He also appeared in The Mighty,...

Jack Nicholson has had a long career playing brooding rebels, crazed villains and sneering charmers on screen. Soon he’ll star opposite Kristen Wiig in a remake of “Toni Erdmann.” He’s a fixture of American cinema and the Lakers courtside seating. For his 80th birthday, we aimed to rank all of Jack’s major, already iconic roles, from worst to best. “Man Trouble” (1992) “Man Trouble” is a ridiculous screwball crime comedy in which Nicholson and Ellen Barkin get upstaged by horny dogs. It seems impossible the same guy who did “Five Easy Pieces” made this. “A Safe Place” (1971) This bizarre,...

Man Trouble: Rad Enters Race for Worst Film Ever Made

A unique oddity even amongst contemporary counterparts competing for notoriety as one of the worst films ever made, John S. Rad’s Dangerous Men is, without a doubt, a terribly made film. What is perhaps most fascinating is the laborious production of the film. Rad, an Iranian immigrant, began making his labor of love in the 1980s, and would continue to film sequences over the next two decades. In that time, cast members and characters seem to have disappeared, explaining a jumbled narrative and a myriad of unexplainable events. The film does perhaps usurp Tommy Wisseau’s strange perseverance to complete his 2003 opus The Room, another director seemingly clueless about all aspects of the filmmaking process yet still determined to complete his compromised vision.

But as far as film criticism goes, it’s difficult to correctly ascertain the value...

You can’t stop Machete. I mean, his name is Machete. That means he just slices his way through anything, including trouble. Man trouble. Girl trouble. Any kind of trouble, generally speaking. Here’s a new TV spot that reveals Machete’s secret weapon — his ability to kill. Thus the title — Machete kills. Cause that’s what he do. Anyways. That’s all I got, sorry. (And oh yeah, a couple of new images from the movie, too.) In Machete Kills, Danny Trejo returns as ex-Federale agent Machete, who is recruited by the President of the United States for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man – he must take down a madman revolutionary and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war and anarchy across the planet. Starring Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas,...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

12-gauge Comics

Country Ass-Whuppin A Tornado Relief Anthology (One Shot)(resolicited), $5.99

47North

Buffy The Making Of A Slayer Deluxe Hc (not verified by Diamond), $50.00

Aam Markosia

Christmas Carol Gn (not verified by Diamond), $12.99

Abstract Studios

Rachel Rising #13, $3.99

AC Comics

Golden Age Greats Spotlight Volume 11 Superheroes And Others From Charlie Brio And Friends Sc, $29.95

Action Lab Entertainment

Private Eye (One Shot), $3.99

Princeless Short Stories For Warrior Women #2 (Of 2), $3.99

Alternative Comics

Magic Whistle #12, $3.99

Amaze Ink (Slave Labor Graphics)

Malleus Maleficarum A Guide To Catching Witches Gn (not verified by Diamond), $12.95

Antarctic Press

Airboy Deadeye #5 (of 5), $3.50

Ape Entertainment

Strawberry Shortcake Digest Field Day And Other Stories Gn (not verified by Diamond), $6.99

Arcana Studio

Inventor Gn, $18.95

Archaia Entertainment

Cursed Pirate Girl Volume 1 Hc,...

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

007 Magazine And Archive Ltd

007 Magazine Archive James Bond Promo Posters And Artwork #1 (not verified by Diamond), $18.00

Aazurn Publishing

Indie Comics Magazine #5, $6.49

Amryl Entertainment

Cavewoman Bunny Ranch (Budd Root Special Edition), $6.95

Andrews McMeel

Team Cul De Sac Hc, $29.99

Ape Entertainment

Kung Fu Panda #6 (Of 6), $3.99

Ramiel Wrath Of God #3, $3.99

Richie Rich #6, $3.99

Arcana Studio

Kade Mourning Sun Gn, $14.95

Truman Virus Gn, $14.95

Archaia Entertainment

Wonderland Alphabet Hc, $11.95

Archie Comics

Sonic The Hedgehog Archives Volume 18 Tp, $7.99

Ardden Entertainment

Atlas Unified #2 (resolicited), $2.99

Aspen Mlt

Soulfire Primer #1 (Cover A Michael Turner), $1.00

Soulfire Primer #1 (Cover B Michael Turner Sketch), $3.00

Avatar Press

Crossed Badlands #8 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #8 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), $3.80

Crossed Badlands #8 (Gianluca Pagliarani Torture Cover), $3.99

Crossed Badlands #8 (Raulo Caceres Wraparound...

What's Jack Nicholson's secret? Maybe it's the eyebrows, hovering like ironic quotation marks over every line reading. Maybe it's the hooded eyes, which hold the threat of danger or the promise of joviality -- you're never sure which. Same with that sharklike grin. Or maybe it's the voice, which has evolved over the years from a thin sneer to a deep rumble, but is always precisely calibrated to provoke a reaction. Put them all together, and they say: "I am a man to be reckoned with. Ignore me at your peril." Nicholson, who turns 75 on April 22, is often criticized for relying on his bag of tricks, for just showing up and doing Jack Nicholson (though indeed, he often seems to have been hired precisely for that purpose). But he's also capable of burrowing deep into a character, finding his wounded heart, and revealing the ugly truth without fear or vanity.

Anchor Bay Entertainment is re-releasing the 1992 romantic comedy thriller "Man Trouble", starring Jack Nicholson and Ellen Barkin, directed by Bob Rafelson ("Five Easy Pieces"), written from a screenplay by Carole Eastman ("Five Easy Pieces") :

"...'Harry' (Nicholson) is a wisecracking con-man who owns a guard dog agency. When 'Joan' (Barkin), an opera singer, seeks his aid after her house is broken into, Harry inadvertently makes them the target of mobsters, and puts them at the mercy of Harry’s out-of-control canines..."

Cast also includes Harry Dean Stanton ("Alien") and Beverly D’Angelo.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Man Trouble"...

On episode 2.48 of We Love Soaps TV, Damon L. Jacobs travels to Barnes & Noble in New York City to speak with Susan Lucci at the first signing of her new book, "All My Life," which was released on March 29, 2011.

Related Links:

- SusanLucci.com

- Purchase Susan Lucci's "All My Life"

- We Love Soaps TV 2.40 Broadway Cares with Lucci, Conn, Peck, Smith, Platt & Missal

- Susan Lucci Looks Back at Her Career and Ahead to More Man Trouble on All My Children

- Andy Cohen on Loving (and Meeting) Susan Lucci

- All My Children at ABC.com

Become a We Love Soaps TV Supporter!

Appearing on Good Morning America on Monday morning, Susan Lucci said that All My Children seemingly has some support from some of the higher-ups at ABC:

"We’ll see, as long as we have these loyal, passionate fans in our corner ... we just received a letter from the vice president in charge of finance congratulating us on what great shape we’re in."

Related:

- We Love Soaps TV 2.40 Broadway Cares with Lucci, Conn, Peck, Smith, Platt & Missal

- Susan Lucci Looks Back at Her Career and Ahead to More Man Trouble on All My Children

- Andy Cohen on Loving (and Meeting) Susan Lucci...

Jack Nicholson wasn’t particularly good looking, muscular or indeed an early screen success story when he won his colourful, breakthrough supporting role, at the age of 32, in Dennis Hopper’s 1969′s road-trip classic Easy Rider. But his remarkable presence in that film and future prominent roles in Five Easy Pieces, Carnal Knowledge, The Last Detail, and Chinatown along with his Oscar winning turn in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest subsequently cemented him as one of the finest leading actors of the era.

Some 40 years (and 40 odd films… including iconic turns in The Shining, Batman, A Few Good Men and The Departed) later, even in semi-retirement, the legendary 73 year old with the killer grin, is still considered an undisputed king of the screen. And here are 50 reasons why I think he could just be the greatest living actor today.

1. Charisma

Jack Nicholson is one of the most charismatic actors in the business.