May the 4th Be With You! Happy Star Wars Day!
Posted on May 4, 2017 at 3:20 pm
Happy Star Wars Day and may the 4th and the force be with all of you. Here’s what’s coming next!
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Just Jesse the Jack is Back! An Exclusive Trailer — “A Doggone Hollywood”
Posted on May 4, 2017 at 11:45 am
“A Doggone Hollywood,” starring Just Jesse the Jack, will be available on VOD and DVD June 6, 2017.
He’s got the number one show on television (starring Cynthia Rothrock, An Eye For An Eye; and Paul Logan (Sniper: Special Ops) and millions of adoring fans think he doesn’t have a care in the world. But the truth is, poor Murphy (YouTube’s “Just Jesse the Jack”) doesn’t have a friend in the world! True, he gets top billing on his weekly TV series ‘Doggie 911,’ but the old Hollywood adage – ‘It’s lonely at the top’ – certainly applies to this canine super-star. Then one day, fate steps in and some young fans (Sydney Thackray, Walker Mintz) accidentally let the little guy loose. The grateful pooch follows the kids home and they agree to hide him.
Meanwhile, the studio boss (Shadoe Stevens, The Late Late Show) has offered a big reward for his safe return, so the local sheriff (Michael Paré, (The Infiltrator) and some unscrupulous ‘agency men’ (Jaret Sacrey, Freddy James) are determined to track the dog down at all costs. So now, with dark forces closing in from all sides, can the kids save the dog, and can a lesson be taught the studio to be good to the hand that feeds them? Wagging his little tail with confidence, Murphy firmly believes he’s up to the task.
Godfather Cast and Director Reunion
Posted on May 4, 2017 at 8:00 am
The cast and director of “The Godfather” got together to talk about the making of the film in honor of its 45th anniversary on the last night of the Tribeca Film Festival, founded by “Godfather 2” star Robert de Niro.
According to Coppola, he ran into roadblocks at every turn, as studio Paramount looked simply to cash in with a quickie movie based on Mario Puzo’s runaway bestselling novel.
“Without Francis, where would I be?” said Pacino, remembering how Paramount fought to cast someone else as the infamous Michael Corleone, a career-defining role for which Pacino would eventually collect two Oscar nominations.
“Once I called after he had tested six times,” Coppola remembered. “His girlfriend came on the phone and I said, ‘I just need Al to come in one more time’ and she said, ‘What are you doing to him? You’re torturing him!’ She yelled at me and berated me.”
When Pacino got the part, he considered it at length. “I used to live 90th and Broadway and used to walk to the Village and back everyday and I did it thinking about this role,” he said. “I was trying to figure out where I could go with it.”
Even casting Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, the Godfather himself, was a headache. Executives were adamant that casting Brando wouldn’t be “commercially beneficial”, at one point even forbidding Coppola from even bringing up Brando’s name….Despite the incredible success of the two films – academy awards, status as one of the highest grossing movies in Hollywood history, a lasting cultural impact – Coppola issued a warning.
“Today it wouldn’t get a go-ahead,” he said. “The first Godfather cost $6.5m and the second cost about $11m or $12m. If you convert that, it would take a major studio (to make it), but it would never get through the process of getting an OK.
“Nothing can get a green light unless it’s a movie that they can have a whole series of, or a Marvel comic.”
Eater at the Movies — A Critic With….Taste
Posted on May 3, 2017 at 3:32 pm
I love people who write about movies from a specialized perspective and was delighted to discover Eater at the Movies, a column by Joshua David Stein about food in movies and movies about food — television, too.
There’s commentary about Pop’s Diner in “Riverdale,” based on the Archie comics:
In its Riverdale iteration, Pop’s once-comforting neon sign has been mined for all its creepy echoes of small town America. The neon flickers and what was once a beacon is now a luminous cicatrix in the dusk. The sign is a sign. The entire series operates on the premise that that which seems benign must be malign.
And he writes about “The Founder,” based on the story of McDonald’s. He reviews the film as a whole, not just the depiction of food preparation and consumption. He doesn’t like “Mr. Church,” but he correctly identifies “Tampopo” as one of the all-time great food movies. Bon Apetit!
Exclusive Clip: Lacrosse Movie “Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation”
Posted on May 3, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Lacrosse originated with the Iroquois, which they call their “medicine game,” and is the lifeblood of their Nation. The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team is not only among the world’s best, but ambassadors for their Nation’s sovereignty and recognition. In 2015, the Iroquois hosted the World Championships on Native soil for the first time ever, in which history, politics and culture all collided on the playing field before the eyes of the world. We are delighted to share an exclusive clip from “Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation,” a new documentary about the remarkable story of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team on their historic journey to the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. For the first time ever, the World Championship Games were hosted by a native nation, on native soil in Onondaga, the Capitol of the Iroquois Confederacy, in upstate New York. It will be in theaters May 26, 2017 and will be available on iTunes and VOD June 20, 2017.