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Francis Ford Coppola never meant to make “The Cotton Club” — yet he was dragged back, like Al Pacino in “The Godfather 3,” into making another big-budget movie. Now, 33 years later, he’s spent another $500,000 (of his own money) to restore the film and create “The Cotton Club Encore,” a longer cut that premieres today at the Telluride Film Festival.

Producer Robert Evans had hoped to direct “The Cotton Club,” a valentine to the legendary Harlem nightclub where Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson made their names. He raised $8 million in foreign pre-sales at Cannes, but he couldn’t solve the script. According to the gory details in his autobiography “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” the whole production was a chaotic, coked-up nightmare. He turned to Coppola for help, paying him to write several drafts and finally direct, which became a battle in its own right.

At the end,...

Francis Ford Coppola never meant to make “The Cotton Club” — yet he was dragged back, like Al Pacino in “The Godfather 3,” into making another big-budget movie. Now, 33 years later, he’s spent another $500,000 (of his own money) to restore the film and create “The Cotton Club Encore,” a longer cut that premieres today at the Telluride Film Festival.

Producer Robert Evans had hoped to direct “The Cotton Club,” a valentine to the legendary Harlem nightclub where Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson made their names. He raised $8 million in foreign pre-sales at Cannes, but he couldn’t solve the script. According to the gory details in his autobiography “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” the whole production was a chaotic, coked-up nightmare. He turned to Coppola for help, paying him to write several drafts and finally direct, which became a battle in its own right.

At the end,...

The director that epitomized the 1970’s, Joseph Sargent, has sadly passed away. (1925-2014)

With a career lasting 50 years, Sargent brought to the big screen such thrilling cinema as The Taking Of The Pelham One Two Three, MacArthur, White Lightning and Colossus: The Forbin Project.

Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay made the following statement upon learning of the passing of director Joseph Sargent:

“When it comes to directing Movies for Television, Joe’s dominance and craftsmanship was legendary – for the past 50 years. With eight DGA Awards nominations in Movies for Television, more than any other director in this category, Joe embodied directorial excellence on the small screen. He was unafraid of taking risks, believing in his heart that television audiences demanded the highest quality stories – whether chronicling uncomfortable historic events like the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study in Miss Evers’ Boys, or compelling personal stories about inspiring individuals like...

Top 10 Aliya Whiteley 28 May 2013 - 06:55

The 1930s to the end of the 20th century saw the release of some classic tap dancing movies. Here's Aliya's pick of the 10 best...

Either you love movies in which people suddenly break into tap dance routines to express their innermost desires, or you hate them. If you hate them, you’re in luck – they pretty much don’t exist in modern film any more.

Having said that, there have been some great dancing moments in the last few years, such as Amy Adams having a me party in The Muppets, or Meryl Streep bouncing up and down on the bed in Mamma Mia! But these aren’t tap dances, and they’re much more about enthusiasm than skill. Or High School Musical, Take The Lead and others give us great modern or ballroom dancing, but within the context of people putting on a show,...

Actress Kimberly Elise welcomes 44. Born in Minneapolis, her boasting rights include appearances in Set It Off, In The House, Beloved, Bojangles, Bait, John Q, Girlfriends, Woman Thou Art Loosed, Diary Of A Mad Black Woman, The Great Debaters, Grey’s Anatomy and For Colored Girls.

Actress Lela Rochon turns 47 today. A native of California, she’s appeared in numerous films and tv shows including Breakin’, The Facts of Life, The Cosby Show, Amen, Harlem Nights, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Boomerang, The Wayans Bros., Any Given Sunday, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Brooklyn’s Finest and Waiting To Exhale. Her most recent project was Blood Done Sign My Name.

Tony-award winning actor and dancer Gregory Hines, who wowed audiences onstage as well as in film and television, died Saturday in Los Angeles of cancer, according to his publicist, Allen Eichorn; Hines was 57. A boisterous performer with seemingly unending energy, who made tap dancing look both elegant and effortless, Hines first gained fame as a child star alongside his brother, fellow dancer Maurice Hines, and their father as part of the tap-dancing act "Hines, Hines and Dad." In the `70s, Hines went on to worldwide acclaim and Broadway stardom, most notably in Eubie! , Comin' Uptown and Sophisticated Ladies, all of which earned him Tony nominations. Hines first film role came almost by accident in Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I, where he was a last-minute replacement for Richard Pryor and stole scenes from old pros Brooks and Madeline Kahn. He went on later that year to co-star in the thriller Wolfen, and then in 1984 danced for the first time onscreen with brother Maurice in The Cotton Club, where the two played characters based on Broadway stars The Nicholas Brothers. Film hits White Nights (opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov) and Running Scared (with Billy Crystal) followed in the `80s, and the actor went on to travel effortlessly between stage, screen and television in the `90s. Hines won a Tony in 1993 for Jelly's Last Jam, appeared in 1995's Waiting to Exhale, starred in sitcom The Gregory Hines Show in 1997, and portrayed Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the acclaimed 2001 TV movie Bojangles. Most recently he hosted the 2002 Tony Awards broadcast with Bernadette Peters and had a recurring role on TV hit Will and Grace. --Prepared by IMDb staff...

Tony-award winning actor and dancer Gregory Hines, who wowed audiences onstage as well as in film and television, died Saturday in Los Angeles of cancer, according to his publicist, Allen Eichorn; Hines was 57. A boisterous performer with seemingly unending energy, who made tap dancing look both elegant and effortless, Hines first gained fame as a child star alongside his brother, fellow dancer Maurice Hines, and their father as part of the tap-dancing act "Hines, Hines and Dad." In the `70s, Hines went on to worldwide acclaim and Broadway stardom, most notably in Eubie!, Comin' Uptown and Sophisticated Ladies, all of which earned him Tony nominations. Hines first film role came almost by accident in Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I, where he was a last-minute replacement for Richard Pryor and stole scenes from old pros Brooks and Madeline Kahn. He went on later that year to co-star in the thriller Wolfen, and then in 1984 danced for the first time onscreen with brother Maurice in The Cotton Club, where the two played characters based on Broadway stars The Nicholas Brothers. Film hits White Nights (opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov) and Running Scared (with Billy Crystal) followed in the `80s, and the actor went on to travel effortlessly between stage, screen and television in the `90s. Hines won a Tony in 1993 for Jelly's Last Jam, appeared in 1995's Waiting to Exhale, starred in sitcom The Gregory Hines Show in 1997, and portrayed Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the acclaimed 2001 TV movie Bojangles. Most recently he hosted the 2002 Tony Awards broadcast with Bernadette Peters and had a recurring role on TV hit Will and Grace. --Prepared by IMDb staff...