Tribute: Martin Landau

Posted on July 18, 2017 at 3:57 pm

We mourn the loss of Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau, who died on July 16, 2017 at age 89. His career goes back to the legendary years of the Actors Studio, where his classmates included Steve McQueen. He rode motorcycles with James Dean and appeared with Cary Grant and James Mason in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest.

In the 1960’s, he and then-wife Barbara Bain starred in the hugely popular television series Mission Impossible.

He won an Oscar for a wonderfully witty portrayal of real-life horror movie star Bela Lugosi, making his final film with worst-director-ever Ed Wood, played by Johnny Depp.

May his memory be a blessing.

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Interview: Zoe Lister-Jones, Writer/Director/Lyricist/Star of “Band Aid”

Posted on July 6, 2017 at 7:07 pm

For rogerebert.com, I spoke to writer/director/lyricist/star Zoe Lister-Jones about her film,

“Band Aid,” made with an all-female crew.

Why did you insist on an all-female crew?

First and foremost, I just wanted to see what it would feel like to make art with other women and exclusively so. It’s so rare that there are even a handful of women on a crew, let alone an entire crew made up of women. So I just thought that it’d be really interesting to see how that lent itself to the creative process. And then I also was very aware of the under-representation of women on film and TV crews and I wanted to create opportunities for women in departments where they are very rarely afforded them.

How did that affect the production?

It was amazing. It exceeded my expectations and expectations were already pretty high. It was just a really distinct energy and everyone who came on set immediately acknowledged it. All the extras who came on set for the first time would be like, “Whoa. This is really different and cool.” It was just a very calm and patient and gracious community of people making work together. It really did give a communal energy to the work. And it was on top of that just super efficient and productive which is maybe the biggest takeaway.

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Angelica Jade Bastien on Michelle Pfeiffer

Posted on July 6, 2017 at 8:00 am

Angelica Jade Bastién is one of my favorite writers on film. Anything she writes reflects a deep understanding of film and culture. I especially love this tribute to Michelle Pfeiffer, an actress who does not get enough credit for her extraordinary range and technique.

Yes, she may lack the classic Hollywood pedigree of Anjelica Huston or the supreme training of Meryl Streep, but of her generation, she’s the actress with the most fascinating thematic through line. Pfeiffer won early acclaim when her career first hit its stride in the ’80s, followed by a string of hits in the ’90s and early ’00s. Though she hasn’t been much of a presence in recent years, that’s thankfully set to change with a trio of releases: Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!, a new adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, and the HBO film Wizard of Lies, in which she plays Ruth Madoff opposite Robert De Niro.

I’m especially glad that she mentions Pfeiffer’s role in “Stardust.”

And I love her in “Frankie and Johnny,” in part because it is so much fun to see her with her “Scarface” co-star Al Pacino in completely different roles.

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Interview: Sam Elliott on “The Hero”

Posted on July 5, 2017 at 2:48 pm

Be sure to read my interview with the wonderful Sam Elliott on his role in “The Hero,” published on rogerebert.com.

In the film, your wife Katharine Ross plays Lee’s ex-wife. Did the two of you discuss what the history of your characters was?

No, that’s way too deep for Katharine or me. ‘Cause none of that stuff shows. I know actors go down that road. I know a lot of actors that I really respect that would go down that road. But I don’t think that’s really important for me. I think what’s important is having the correct words, and being able to commit to those words. And being honest. That to me is what’s most important, being honest.

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This month on TCM: Ronald Colman

Posted on July 1, 2017 at 7:01 pm

There has never been an actor more elegant than Ronald Colman, one of my all-time favorites. I’m delighted that some of his best films will be featured on Turner Classic Movies every Thursday this month. Be on the lookout for “Lost Horizon,” “Prisoner of Zenda,” and “Random Harvest.”

The director of “Lost Horizon,” Frank Capra, described him as “Beautiful of face and soul, sensitive to the fragile and gentle, responsive both to poetic visions and hard intellect.” He always had a touch of melancholy that made him seem aware of life’s imponderables.