Tag Archives: Movies

Biographies: “Shatner” By MICHAEL SETH STARR (2019)

Shatner by Michael Seth Starr December 2019Shatner takes a comprehensive look at this singular performer, using archival sources and information culled from interviews with friends and colleagues to transport readers through William Shatner’s remarkably bumpy career: his spectacular failures and triumphs; tragedies, including the shocking death of his third wife, Nerine; and, ultimately, the resilience Shatner has shown, time and again, in the face of overwhelming odds. Author Michael Seth Starr unravels the mystery of William Shatner, stripping away the many myths associated with his personal life and his relationships with fellow actors, presenting a no-holds-barred, unvarnished look at the unique career of an inimitable performer.

In the early months of 1966, a handsome, hardworking thirty-five-year-old Canadian-born actor named William Shatner was cast as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, a troubled, low-budget science-fiction television series set to premiere that fall on NBC. Star Trek struggled for viewers and lasted only three seasons, but it found a huge, rabidly dedicated audience when it premiered in syndication following its cancellation—turning Shatner into a pop-culture icon and launching him on a career path he never could have imagined after graduating from McGill University with an economics degree twenty years earlier. As he approaches his ninetieth year, he’s still working at a furious pace as a man of boundless contradictions: by turns one of the most dissected, disliked, revered, respected, mocked, imitated, and beloved stars in the show business firmament.

To read more or order book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493050659/Shatner

Movie Insider: “Every Starfighter In Star Wars Explained By Lucasfilm” (WIRED Video)

Wired Magzine logoLucasfilms’ Doug Chiang and Amy Beth Christenson explain each and every type of starfighter from the Star Wars movie franchise. These small, combat-focused spacecrafts have become a canvas for some of the most iconic designs in all of cinema.

Tie Fighter The Galactic Empire Star Wars A New Hope

Ever wondered why the “snout” of the X-Wing is so pronounced, or why the Y-Wing’s paneling is so bare? Amy Beth and Doug offer all these insights and much more!

1960’s Icons: Remembering French New Wave Actress Anna Karina (1940-2019)

From a Hollywood Reporter online article:

It was during a run-in with Coco Chanel in 1958 that Hanne-Karine changed her name to Anna Karina, which the fashion designer told her sounded better. She used the moniker for her movie career, which began in earnest in 1960 with A Woman Is a Woman— just Godard’s second feature to be released —and lasted until 2008 with Victoria, a road movie she directed as well as starred in.

Anna Karina, the French New Wave starlet who rose to international acclaim in films directed by her then-husband Jean-Luc Godard, has died. She was 79.

She and Godard were married from 1961-64, and she served as his muse in such memorable works as A Woman Is a Woman (1961) — for which she received a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival — Vivre sa vie (1962), Band of Outsiders (1964), Pierrot le Fou (1965) and Alphaville (1965).

The actress’ productive career was not limited to the movies of Godard, however. She accumulated more than 50 feature credits, working with other major auteurs like Jacques Rivette, Luchino Visconti, Chris Marker, Volker Schlöndorff and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

To read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/anna-karina-dead-radiant-actress-jean-luc-godard-muse-was-79-1203437?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%20Breaking%20News_now_2019-12-15%2003:47:13_ARahman&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews

Top New Films: “A Hidden Life” Written & Directed By Terrence Malick (Dec 2019)

NY Times Film Review LogoThe arresting visual beauty of “A Hidden Life,” which was shot by Joerg Widmer, is essential to its own argument, and to Franz’s ethical and spiritual rebuttal to the concerns of his persecutors and would-be allies. The topography of the valley is spectacular, but so are the churches and cathedrals. Even the cells and offices are infused with an aesthetic intensity at once sensual and picturesque.

The hallmarks of Malick’s later style are here: the upward tilt of the camera to capture new vistas of sky and landscape; the brisk gliding along rivers and roads; the elegant cutting between the human and natural worlds; the reverence for music and the mistrust of speech. (The score is by James Newton Howard.)

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/movies/a-hidden-life-review.html

Actor Video Profiles: Danny DeVito On His “Most Iconic Characters” (GQ)

GQ logoDanny DeVito breaks down his most iconic roles, including his characters in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ ‘Batman Returns,’ ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ ‘Taxi,’ ‘Throe Momma from the Train,’ ‘Twins,’ ‘Matilda,’ ‘Hercules,’ ‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘Curmudgeons’ and ‘Jumanji: The Next Level.’

New Movie Trailers: James Bond 007 “No Time To Die” Starring Daniel Craig

In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

New Architecture Books: “Lair – Radical Homes And Hideouts Of Movie Villains” (Tra Publishing)

From Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to Nathan Bateman’s ultra-modern abode in Ex Machina, big-screen villains tend to live in architectural splendor. The villain’s lair, as popularized in many of our favorite movies, is much more than where the megalomaniac goes to get some rest.

Lair Radical Home and Hideouts of Movie VillainsInstead, the homes of the villains are places where evil is plotted and where, often, the hero is tested and must prove him/herself. Like evil itself, the abodes of movie villains are frequently compelling and seductive. From a design standpoint, they tend to be stunning, sophisticated, envy-inducing expressions of the warped drives and desires of their occupants.

Lair, the first title in Tra Publishing’s Design + Film series, celebrates and considers several iconic villain’s lairs from recent film history. The book, strikingly designed in silver ink on black paper, explores the architectural design of these structures through architectural illustrations and renderings, photographs, essays, film analyses, interviews, and more.

To read more and purchase: https://trapublishing.com/products/lair

Best New Movies: “1917” Directed By Sam Mendes Is Oscar-Worthy (Dec 25)

From a NY Times online review:

The war spectacle “1917,” directed by Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”), was unveiled in preview screenings on both coasts this past weekend and immediately announced itself as a significant Oscar player. The movie follows two British soldiers during World War I (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) as they’re given a seemingly impossible mission: Rush through dangerous territory to deliver a message that could save another battalion on the verge of annihilation.

Though “1917” recalls other Oscar-winning war movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Dunkirk,” Mendes distinguishes his effort by presenting the story as though “1917” were filmed all in one single take. It isn’t — Mendes and the cinematographer Roger Deakins employ all manner of clever methods to stitch together a great many different shots — but the average moviegoer won’t be able to spot the tells, and the you-are-there verisimilitude is potent.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/movies/1917-oscar-odds.html

Media: “The Rise Of Netflix – An Empire Built On Debt” (The Guardian Podcasts)

Netflix has risen from obscurity to be one of the most powerful media companies in the world with more than 150 million global subscribers. It has launched critically acclaimed hits such as House of Cards, The Crown and Unbelievable, as well as showcasing the back catalogues of popular television series. But as part of its rapid growth, the company has racked up huge debts.

Netflix Logo

Joining Anushka Asthana to discuss the long-term sustainability of Netflix are the TV critic Mark Lawson and the Guardian’s deputy business editor Dan Milmo.

Movie Nostalgia: The Grooming Habits Of James Bond 007 In The Early Films

From a Gentleman’s Journal online article:

79b6e821de28787d8d2f7cff79febddc“He went into the bathroom and had an ice-cold shower and washed his hair with Pinaud Elixir, that prince among shampoos, to get the dust of the roads out of it…”

“There was everything in the bathroom — Floris Limes Bath Essence for men and Guerlain bathcubes for women.”

In Ian Fleming’s From Russia, With Love, there is a terrific exchange between James Bond and Tatiana Romanova — a Soviet corporal who takes up with the British agent. On a sleeper train out of Turkey, the two are readying themselves for the day ahead and Romanova, noticing that 007 doesn’t wear cologne, asks him why this is.

“We wash,” replies Bond, drier than a martini. And this clean-cut, neatly clipped and slightly stinging response sums up the superspy’s attitude to his grooming routine. It’s a thoroughly English approach; leaning on trusted, heritage brands — and not preoccupied with overly strong scents or convoluted bits of kit. So this got us thinking: if a pared-back, simple grooming routine was good enough for MI6’s finest, surely it should be good enough for us?

To read more: https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/we-followed-james-bonds-grooming-routine-for-a-week-this-is-what-happened/