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Dame Joan Plowright’s career spanned several decades, and she became one of the most celebrated actresses in Britain. She’s equally brilliant on stage and screen and has immensely contributed to the arts. Similarly, Cher, a pop culture icon and acclaimed actress has impressed everyone with her charisma and versatility throughout her career.

Joan Plowright in Enchanted April | Miramax

When these two legendary women came together for a film, their chemistry was unmatched. Their collaboration shows how a talented cast can bring a movie to life, and the fact that two amazing actresses can co-exist in a project, without trying to overshadow the other.

Joan Plowright and Cher’s beautiful chemistry in Tea with Mussolini Cher | Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube

Joan Plowright and Cher came together for a semi-autobiographical film, titled, Tea with Mussolini, and it was helmed by Franco Zeffirelli, who brought out the best in both actresses.

Dame Joan Plowright, one of the great English actors of both stage and screen died Thursday, Jan. 16, The Guardian reports. She was 95.

Plowright’s family confirmed her death, saying she died at a care home in Northwood, England for people who’d worked in theater. A cause of death was not given.

“She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire,” Plowright’s family said. “She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family,...

Joan Plowright, a British acting legend of stage and screen and the widow of Laurence Olivier, has died at the age of 95, Variety reports. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

She was the recipient of a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (for 1961’s A Taste of Honey) and two Golden Globes — one for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (for Enchanted April) and the other for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film (for HBO’s Stalin) — both of which she was awarded in 1993. She is one of only four actresses...

Joan Plowright, UK star of stage and screen and widow of Laurence Olivier, has died aged 95.

Her 60-year spanning career included a Bafta-nominated role in 1960 film The Entertainer, an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for 1991 comedy drama Enchanted April and a Bafta nomination for a 1977 film version of Equus.

Stage roles included George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan in 1963 and 1977’s Filumena.

Plowright had been retired for 10 years, having lost her eyesight, but in 2018, appeared in Roger Michell’s film Nothing Like a Dame, looking back on her career alongside Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, her co-stars in 1999 comedy drama Tea With Mussolini.

Joan Plowright, UK star of stage and screen and widow of Laurence Olivier, has died aged 95.

Her 60-year spanning career included a Bafta-nominated role in 1960 film The Entertainer, an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for 1991 comedy drama Enchanted April and a Bafta nomination for a 1977 film version of Equus.

Stage roles included George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan in 1963 and 1977’s Filumena.

Plowright had been retired for 10 years, having lost her eyesight, but in 2018, appeared in Roger Michell’s film Nothing Like a Dame, looking back on her career alongside Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, her co-stars in 1999 comedy drama Tea With Mussolini.

Joan Plowright, perhaps the greatest Anglophone actor of the 20th century and the widow of Laurence Oliver, died on Thursday. She was 95.

Plowright was a prominent actress of stage and screen in her own right, especially in her native England, and was a Tony winner for “A Taste of Honey.” The actress had retired in 2014 after going blind due to macular degeneration.

Her family confirmed the news of her death to The Guardian on Friday, writing: “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on January 16 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall aged 95. She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire. She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories. The...

Joan Plowright, the acclaimed UK star of stage and screen who was married to Laurence Olivier for 28 years, died Thursday, January 16, her family has said. She was 95.

A statement from Plowright’s family to press read: “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on 16 January 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall at the glorious age of 95.

“Her brilliant career will be remembered by many, her wonderful being always cherished by her children Richard, Tamsin and Julie-Kate, their families and Joan’s many friends. We are deeply grateful for all those who helped care for her in her last years.”

Plowright was an icon of stage and screen, appearing in the likes of Enchanted April, The Scarlett Letter and the Broadway version of A Taste of Honey, for which she won a Tony Award.

Born in 1929 in Lincolnshire,...

Here’s what Cher’s net worth is in 2024

(Photo Credit – Instagram)

Known as the Goddess of Pop, Cher has built a career far beyond music and movies. Although she saw a lot of career downfalls as well, the success of her six-decade career is reflected in her Oscar-winning performances. Not only this, Cher is among the household names in the industry, and she earned her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as part of the Sonny & Cher duo. She recently set the stage with her iconic songs at 2024’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

What Is Cher’s 2024 Net Worth?

Born as Cherilyn Sarkisian, Cher has an estimated net worth of $360 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth. Her career in the music industry started when she met producer Phil Spector through Sonny Bono and began working as a backup singer. As Sonny and Cher developed a close relationship,...

A week after Maggie Smith‘s death, best friend Dame Judi Dench is at a loss for words.

When asked about Smith’s death at age 89, as well as the death of friend and collaborator Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Dench broke down into tears during a conversation on Saturday at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

“I suppose the energy that’s created by grief…” started Dench before choking up, according to The Times, after interviewer Brendan O’Hea asked what she meant by comparing her grief around late husband Michael Williams’ 2001 death to petrol.

Smith “passed away peacefully” on Friday, Sept. 27, her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin announced in a joint statement.

She and Dench appeared together in such films as A Room with a View (1985), Tea with Mussolini (1999) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), as well as numerous stage productions.

Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in A Room with a View (1985). (Cinecom/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Robert Fox,...

In the movie Hook, Steven Spielberg’s 1991 Peter Pan sequel starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman, Williams’ Peter visits the London home of his wife’s family, where he reconnects with her grandmother, a very grown up Wendy Darling played by Dame Maggie Smith. She first appears as a ghostly silhouette at the top of a staircase before descending and creeping into the light. Smith was only in her 50s when she shot the movie but had been aged up to look impossibly frail and elderly — her hair a bushy nest,...

Dame Maggie Smith, a celebrated two-time Oscar winner and one of the most revered actresses globally, has passed away at age 89.

Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, shared the news on Friday, September 27, through their publicist, Clair Dobbs, “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dame Maggie Smith.”

Dame Maggie Passed Away Peacefully

The announcement states she peacefully departed this world in the hospital early this morning, Friday, September 27th.

Described as an intensely private individual, she was surrounded by her friends and family in her final moments; Smith is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their compassionate care and unwavering kindness during her last days.

We appreciate all the kind messages and support we have received and kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time.

Dame Maggie...

Maggie Smith, the Oscar-winning British actress who starred in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter series, has died at the age of 89.

Smith’s sons announced her death Friday morning in a statement. No cause of death was revealed, but the actress was at a British hospital at the time of her death.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in the statement to Rolling Stone. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,...

Leonard Engelman, who lobbied the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to install a makeup branch and served as its first governor when they did so, died Thursday at 88 in Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

His death was confirmed by the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles, but no cause has been given.

Engelman worked on such films as Rocky IV, The Princess Diaries, Batman & Robin and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and did Cher’s makeup for more than 30 years.

He also served as an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences VP and board member for many years.

Born in Burbank, he was the son of a Hollywood makeup artist. Engelman graduated from Burbank High School, and received his first film credit on Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz (1969).

Engelman received Emmy nominations in 1972 for an episode of Night Gallery and in 2001 for the miniseries Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. He...

Leonard Engelman, the esteemed makeup artist who worked on films including Rocky IV, The Princess Diaries, Batman & Robin and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and did Cher’s makeup for more than 30 years, has died. He was 83.

Engelman died Thursday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, his wife of 42 years, artist Esther Engelman, told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of death is unclear, she said.

The son of a Hollywood makeup artist, Engelman labored for a long time to convince the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to install a makeup branch, as those artisans had always been “at-large” members. And when it did so in 2006, he was elected its first governor. Later, he worked to have hairstylists added.

He also served as an Academy vice president and board member for many years.

Engelman received Emmy nominations in 1972 for an episode of Night Gallery and in 2001 for the miniseries Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis,...

There’s a definite feel to near enough every film that’s set in continental Europe. Every so often you get one that stands out from the pack – think 1999’s Tea With Mussolini. Unlike the Franco Zeffirelli classic, Frankie is some way off that standard but it does have its moments.

And rather than war-time Italy, we find ourselves in present-day Portugal – Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera, to be exact. Imagine the Algarve, but a little more sophisticated, which is one word you could use to describe this movie, but the superlatives aren’t always easy to find.

Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) is a middle-aged French actress on her last holiday, due to terminal illness. Her family and friends, which are played by a cast including Marisa Tomei, Brendan Gleeson and Greg Kinnear, also happen to be holidaying there, too, but uncertainty in their own lives coupled with trying to tell Frankie how to live hers,...

Throughout her extraordinary career, Lily Tomlin has received numerous awards, including six Emmys and a recent nomination for her narration on “An Apology to Elephants”; a Tony for each of her one-woman Broadway shows, Appearing Nitely and Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; a Grammy for her comedy album, This is a Recording; and two Peabody Awards. In 2003, she was the recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan, and rose to national prominence in December 1969 in the cast of the top-rated Laugh-In. Tomlin went on to co-write, with Jane Wagner, and star in six comedy television specials, and has guest starred on numerous television shows, such as Homicide, X-Files, Will and Grace, Murphy Brown, The West Wing, NCIS, and the acclaimed FX series, Damages. She is also heard as the voice of the science teacher Ms.

Devout Catholic was senator in Silvio Berlusconi’s right wing Forza Italia party.

Franco Zeffirelli, the director of extravagant film, theatre, television and opera whose feature credits included Romeo And Juliet, has died in Rome following a long illness. He was 96.

Zeffirelli was born in Florence in 1923. He trained as an architect, and became a set designer and opera director after the Second World War when he established himself as a creator of lavish visuals who would go on to direct renowned adaptations of operas such as La Boheme and Aida.

Critics took note of his film work when he...

Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian director best known for his bold cinematic adaptations of Shakespeare’s work, has died at the age of 96.

The filmmaker died Saturday at his home in Rome, Italy, his son Luciano told the Associated Press. “He had suffered for a while, but he left in a peaceful way,” Luciano said of his father.

An acclaimed set designer and stage director who shifted to cinema after working under legendary Italian filmmakers like Luchino Visconti and Vittorio de Sica, Zeffirelli made his big screen debut in 1967’s The Taming of the Shrew,...

Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, a two-time Oscar nominee best known for his 1968 big-screen version of “Romeo and Juliet,” died on Saturday at age 96.

Zeffirelli’s son Luciano told the Associated Press that his father died at home in Rome.

He earned two Oscar nominations, the first for directing the lush adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” starring a then-unknown Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, which grossed more than $52 million in the U.S. on a $1.5 million budget, according to the AP. He earned a second nomination for art and set decoration on his filmed version of the opera “La Traviata” starring Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas.

Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2019 (Photos)

Zeffirelli was also widely acclaimed as a director of theater and opera in his native Italy and won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on PBS’ “Great Performances” productions of the operas “Pagliacci” in 1985 and “Cavalleria Rusticana...

In the name of the father, son and holy Jude Law — HBO has released the first official image of The New Pope featuring two-time Academy Award nominees Law and John Malkovich serving some fierce papacy realness. The premium cabler also announced returning and new cast members for the limited series.

Joining Law and Malkovich are many of the returning cast from The Young Pope including Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, and Maurizio Lombardi. In addition to the recently announced Mark Ivanir, the new cast joining the limited series are Henry Goodman, Ulrich Thomsen, and Massimo Ghini.

Written by Sorrentino with his frequent Italian co-writer Umberto Contarello, who also served as co-writer on Young Pope, and Stefano Bises, The New Pope limited series also is set in the world of modern papacy. The New Pope, an original production of HBO-Sky-Canal+, is produced by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani for Wildside and co-produced by Mediapro. All eight episodes are being directed by Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino.

The Young Pope, created and directed by Sorrentino, debuted on Sky in October 2016 and on HBO in January 2017. The series aired in 150 territories.

“Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” was one of the most popular and topical television shows of its era. In the middle of the third season, just as the show was about to lose Goldie Hawn, one of its most popular stars, a savior appeared in the guise of Lily Tomlin. She joined the NBC show and became an almost instant sensation with her variety of characters that she had long spent developing in various comedy venues. With six Emmy wins under her belt, she now has another nomination for her ongoing role on “Grace and Frankie” with “9 to 5” co-star Jane Fonda.

With that newest recognition in mind for television, let’s take a look back at her accomplished film career which began in the 1970s. Take a tour of her 15 greatest movie performances, ranked worst to best, in the photo gallery above. It includes her Oscar-nominated work in “Nashville” plus “All of Me,...

Rock stars wanting to be actors and vice versa are a common phenomenon in Hollywood. No one quite managed to pull off the transition with the success of Cher, who remains the only rock icon to manage to not only make a successful transition to acting but also to win an Oscar for acting and not composing.

It wasn’t an easy transition though. Cher paired with husband Sonny Bono in her teens to become the duo simply known as Sonny and Cher. After a string of hit records, the duo launched a successful television variety show where Cher was able to hone her acting and comedic skills as she appeared in various sketches. Her marriage to Sonny would end in divorce, and Cher struggled to transition in to acting. Upon receipt of a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for “Silkwood,” Cher thanked all the Hollywood moguls who would never give her a job.

By Anjelica Oswald

Managing Editor

Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Guardians of the Galaxy all received awards from the Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild during its awards ceremony Feb. 14. Both Guardians and Grand Budapest are nominated for the Oscar for best makeup and hairstyling (along with Foxcatcher).

Guardians’ Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou was awarded for contemporary makeup and David White won for special makeup effects. Grand Budapest’s Frances Hannon and Julie Dartnell won for best period and/or character makeup, as well as best period and/or character hairstyling. Birdman’s Jerry Popolis and Kat Drazen won for contemporary hairstyling.

Aside from feature films, the Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards also recognizes make-up artists and hair stylists for television and new media, as well as television miniseries and made-for-tv movies. The guild first gave out awards in 2000 and continued through 2004 until they stopped for 10 years. The awards were again given out last year.

Tags: Morning BrewDefianceGayliensThe Good WifeJuliet RylanceBlue is the Warmest ColorIMDbEileen MylesClea DuvallLizzie BordenChristine QuinnKate MoennigRay DonovanThe Real Housewives of New Jerseybisexuality

Good morning! Pride may be over, but we can still be proud year-round.

SyFy loves our use of #Gayliens so much, they used it in this Best Defiance moments countdown.

Juliet Rylance has been cast as a "possible love interest" for Kalinda on The Good Wife. She'll be playing "Holly, a whip-smart Assistant State’s Attorney who shares a past with Kalinda." Yay! I love Kalinda's GFs from the past.

I hope you have better friends than the girl who wrote this: How Not to be a Dick to Your Lesbian Friends.

Indiewire reports that Blue is the Warmest Color is "not likely" to enter the Oscar race this year because of when it will be released. By the next year when its eligible, it will have lost momentum for much-needed Oscar buzz.

Tags: Morning BrewBrittney GrinerSherri SaumThe FostersJane LynchTila TequilaThe FallGillian AndersonArchie PanjabiIMDbAmber HeardThree Days to KillBloomersbisexuality

Good morning!

Amber Heard's film Three Days to Kill will come out on Valentine's Day next year.

Gillian Anderson talked with Collider about her new show The Fall, which also co-stars Archie Panjabi. If they don't make out in it, it's a missed opportunity on so many levels.

Tila Tequila is in a movie. Just Fyi.

Over at The Frisky today: Bisexuality, Straight Privilege, And A Place At The Table.

A Huffington Post blogger wrote about what Ellen's coming out meant to her.

Jessie J has a new video for her song "Wild" and I bet Bridget McManus loves it!

Queer comic artist Erika Moen is reviewing sex toys in comic form. What a great idea!

The Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio talked with Dayton native The Fosters star Sherri Saum about playing...

The force of nature known as Cher turns 66 today, and is about to celebrate her 50th year in show business. As tribute, lets take a look at a few of the reasons why she's remained an icon for decades.

Take a look at these 66 moments in time ... and then add your own. What's your favorite Cher memory?

1. - She knows how to dress like a serious actress.

2. - She's earned soft lighting.

3. - She gives great interview.

4. - "You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, you're morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humor and you smell."

5. - Suspect. She's the only public defender in screen history who could rock a leather jacket and Windmere hair crimper.

6. - Mask

7. - Mask 2

8. - She's immortalized in Comic form.

9. - And some of us couldn't get enough.

10. - She starred in one of the greatest films of the 80's.

The legendary Lily Tomlin has refused to be typecast throughout her career, which spans more than four decades. Her recent Emmy-nomination for Damages was for a very serious role, something much different than some of her most celebrated characters in films like 9 to 5 or The Incredible Shrinking Woman. But the shift back to television has given her an opportunity to explore, which is why Lily is having the time of her life guest starring on NCIS one week while working on the Showtime series Web Therapy the next. This kind of range is one reason her Web Therapy co-stars mention her name in the same breath as another guest star, Meryl Streep, while at the Showtime TCA Day.

"You know what's so great to see with someone like Meryl Streep or Lily Tomlin," creator/star Lisa Kudrow told reporters, "that you understand why they're so great, because they don't do anything halfway — no matter what.

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.

This Week’s New Instant Releases…

Promised Lands (1974)

Streaming Available: 04/19/2011

Cast: Documentary

Director: Susan Sontag

Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.

Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)

Streaming Available: 04/19/2011

Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles

Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...

DVD Playhouse December 2010

By

Allen Gardner

America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...

Longevity seems to be the operative word when it comes to Cher. In her 46 year show business career, she’s had many ups and downs but she always manages to somehow remain relevant. She began as one half of the singing act Caesar and Cleo (who later changed the name of the act to Sonny and Cher) in 1964. Today, she is an Oscar-winning film star and has a new movie with Christina Aguilera in theaters.

Born Cherilyn Lapiere, she became an icon of the 1960s, along with her then-husband Sonny Bono, when their music and outlandish garb caught the spirit of the “flower power” generation. The duo starred in the Emmy-winning The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in the 1970s and the light-hearted film Good Times (1967). Cher used her increasing popularity to record a pair of number one solo hit songs, “Half Breed” and “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves”.

The act and the...

Filed under: Cinematical

Aside from marking the film debut of Christina Aguilera, 'Burlesque' heralds the onscreen return of Cher, whose last major movie role was in 1999's 'Tea with Mussolini' (though she spoofed herself delightfully in 2003's 'Stuck on You'). A completely unique performer and bonafide superstar, Cher has had amazing success as a pop diva, television star and movie actress since she started out 45 years ago as half of a "hippie" singing duo (and showbiz marriage).

Though she has proved her mettle as a straight-up actress in several memorable roles, big-screen stardom didn't seem to be in the cards early on. Her first big film was 1967's 'Good Times,' a silly movie-parody musical in which she and Sonny Bono appeared as themselves. (It was also the movie debut of director William Friedkin, who'd go on to helm 'The French Connection' and 'The Exorcist.

Filed under: Cinematical

Aside from marking the film debut of Christina Aguilera, 'Burlesque' heralds the onscreen return of Cher, whose last major movie role was in 1999's 'Tea with Mussolini' (though she spoofed herself delightfully in 2003's 'Stuck on You'). A completely unique performer and bonafide superstar, Cher has had amazing success as a pop diva, television star and movie actress since she started out 45 years ago as half of a "hippie" singing duo (and showbiz marriage).

Though she has proved her mettle as a straight-up actress in several memorable roles, big-screen stardom didn't seem to be in the cards early on. Her first big film was 1967's 'Good Times,' a silly movie-parody musical in which she and Sonny Bono appeared as themselves. (It was also the movie debut of director William Friedkin, who'd go on to helm 'The French Connection' and 'The Exorcist.

Getting Cher to commit to Burlesque took some doing.

"I drove all of them crazy," Cher recalled. The big-screen musical, about a veteran nightclub performer and the newcomer she takes under her wing, was already well on its way. Co-star Christina Aguilera was in place. And, for a while, so was Cher, marking her first major feature-film role since 1999's Tea with Mussolini.

Then she changed her mind, explaining that her character "wasn't exactly who she turned out to be on screen, and I needed her to be that character."

That's when the director and the head of the studio resorted to stalking Cher.

DVD Review

With the upcoming release of Burlesque, Cher’s first starring role in 11 years, MGM is releasing a box set featuring six of Cher’s films on DVD.

Good Times

Directed by: William Friedkin

Cast: Sonny Bono, Cher, George Sanders

Running Time: 1 hr 30 min

Rating: Nr

Due Out: November 2, 2010

Plot: Sonny and Cher are asked to make a movie! The rest of the film loosely follows the couple as they imagine various scenarios for their movie.

Who’S It For? Do you like Sonny and Cher? Especially Sonny? Because he’s the real star of this venture.

Movie:

The film follows the variety show format used on Sonny and Cher’s show, though it doesn’t really work for a movie. They want to recreate the fun of Help! but as people, they’re just not that engaging. Or more accurately, Sonny isn’t. But that isn’t the only problem,...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

While my favorite remains The Great Dictator, there’s no denying that Modern Times (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 Srp) is one of the great Charlie Chaplin films, and the new Criterion edition manages to significantly improve both the look and sound of the already stellar DVD special edition that was released on DVD quite a few years back. Add to that an audio commentary, visual essays,...

As arbitrary here's-a-bunch-of-movies-this-studio-owns-on-dvd box sets go, The Cher Collection (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment) at least provides something of a career retrospective of the star's film presence from kitschy hippie (Good Times, Chastity) to Serious Actress (Silkwood, Moonstruck) to marquee diva (Mermaids, Tea with Mussolini). But one box set can barely cover the extraordinary breadth of Cher's contributions to pop culture - hell, not even the medium of cinema can begin to do justice to the many corners of the zeitgeist where she's had an impact. So in honor of this new DVD set, here's a list of some our favorite, other Great Moments in Cher:...

The ideal arthouse film is set in a part of the world few of us know and even fewer intend to visit. The steppes of Central Asia or a forlorn village in Central America are fine, but rural Slovakia will do in an emergency. The arthouse film should make us feel that we understand the world better than we do, even though we don't. It should give us a sense of moral and intellectual superiority over people who go to see Tom Cruise movies. It should star Tilda Swinton, or seem like a film in which she would be likely to appear. It should be a bit grainy. Gypsies, often in distress, may be in the mix, but generally not the Amish. Ideally, a proper arthouse film should have mangled subtitles. Children should be abandoned, or on a long trip over the mountains, or trying to recover lost shoes, or...

Cher!

Did you feel it?

Cher!

Did you feel the tingling?

It's a little known fact that the word causes a biological reaction in the gay brain, resulting in a tingling sensation, followed by an involuntary "Squee!," culminating in what's scientifically referred to as a Chergasm.

Well get ready for an all-out Cherplosion (I promise that's my last Cher pun) with the November 2nd release of "Cher: The Film Collection."

The box set contains six Cher films: Good Times, Chastity, Silkwood, Moonstruck, Mermaids and Tea With Mussolini.

Wait a minute. What?

I agree that Silkwood, Moonstruck, Mermaids, and the underrated Tea are must-haves, but those first two movies should have stayed in the time capsule, especially when there are so many other classic Cher films to pick from. I realize that they may not have had the "rights" or whatever to include them, but that's not going to stop my hackles from raising.

I almost don't have the stamina for this after drooling all over Showgirls (1995) for three or so hours yesterday. But the first trailer for the new musical Burlesque (2010) has arrived and we'll all be comparing the films from now on. Until we're actually watching it at least. Then... who knows? Movie|Line has already memorably mocked the trailer sayingWhat would happen if Glitter, Showgirls and Nine had a baby — and that baby was raised by Cher and Stanley Tucci’s character from The Devil Wears Prada?And we can't compete with that. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat.

But we're here for the "Yes, No or Maybe So?" treatment anyway which isn't the same thing as making fun. Are you eager to see it, desperate to avoid or totally on the fence? It's often some mix for me and this is how it breaks down.

Cher in a...

Award-winning movie producer Clive Parsons has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 66.

Parsons, who produced and developed 20 feature films with partner Davina Belling, passed away on 12 August in his native England.

His work on 1974 film Inserts, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Bob Hoskins, began a string of production credits including Britannia Hospital, Scum, Breaking Glass, A Business Affair, True Blue, I Am David and director Franco Zeffirelli's films Tea With Mussolini and Callas Forever.

Parsons also served as president at Kings Road Productions in the U.S. and later moved to Warner Bros, Europe as head of business affairs.

In 1971, Parsons and Belling formed Film and General Productions, continuing to pursue movie projects while also producing childrens' British TV series The Queen's Nose and The Giblet Boys, which won a BAFTA award for Best Children's Drama for 2005/2006.

In what will be her first screen role in a decade, Cher is set to join Christina Aguilera in "Burlesque," a contemporary musical for Screen Gems. Cher last starred in "Tea With Mussolini" in 1999.According to Variety, Steven Antin will direct from a script he wrote that was revised by Susannah Grant.Aguilera will play an ambitious small-town Iowa girl with a big voice who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard that's run by Tess (Cher), a former dancer who struggles to keep the club open and gives the young girl a chance to shine.Cher will sing onscreen. While her voice has been heard in many films, "Burlesque" will mark the first time she'll be seen singing...

In what will be her first movie star role in a decade, Cher is set to join Christina Aguilera in "Burlesque," a contemporary musical for Screen Gems. Aguilera will play an ambitious small-town Iowa girl with a big voice who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard that's run by Tess (Cher), a former dancer who struggles to keep the club open and gives the young girl a chance to shine. Cher will sing onscreen. While her voice has been heard in many films, "Burlesque" will mark the first time she'll be seen singing in a film she stars in. Cher last starred in "Tea With Mussolini" in 1999. "She brings a soulfulness and gravitas to this character that will ground the story," said Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper. "The only person who was more excited than I am is Christina."...

In what will be her first movie role in a decade, Cher is set to join Christina Aguilera in Burlesque, a contemporary musical for Screen Gems, reports Variety.

Aguilera will play an ambitious small-town Iowa girl with a big voice who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard that's run by Tess (Cher), a former dancer who struggles to keep the club open and gives the young girl a chance to shine.

Cher will sing onscreen. While her voice has been heard in many films, Burlesque will mark the first time she'll be seen singing in a film in which she also stars. Cher last starred in Tea With Mussolini in 1999. The film will be directed by Steven Antin (Troy of Goonies fame) from a script co-written by Antin and Susannah Grant (The Soloist).

"She brings a soulfulness and gravitas to this character that will ground the story,...

Well it looks like Cher's film career isn't quite over, while Christina Aguilera's is just beginning. The Steven Antin-directed Burlesque will feature Cher in her first role since 1999's Tea With Mussolini and will also mark the first time that she sings in a film. As if that wasn't enough to get you guys to the theatres, our favorite pop vixen Christina Aguilera will make her film debut opposite Cher as an ambitious small-town girl who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club in Hollywood....

Angelina Jolie may get a competition for the Catwoman role in "Batman 3" as Cher is reported to be in negotiations for the part. Though the "Wanted (2008)" star has been linked to the feline villain for quite sometime now, latest report from British's Telegraph indicates that director Christopher Nolan prefers to give the part to the pop singer/actress instead.

According to the publication, the 62-year-old Cher has become Nolan's prime choice for the character whose alter ego is known as Selina Kyle. "Cher is Nolan's first choice to play Catwoman. He wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years," claimed a studio executive. "The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry's purring creations."

Though Cher started off her stardom through music business, she is also praised for her acting performances earning her an Academy Award for 1987 "Moonstruck". Her latest...