Tag Archives: charlie-chaplin

Debbie Reynolds Dies; Actress, Mother of Carrie Fisher Was 84

Debbie Reynolds, the iconic actress who starred in some of Hollywood’s best-loved films, has passed away at the age of 84. Reynolds’ daughter, Carrie Fisher, passed away  just yesterday after suffering a massive heart attack aboard a commercial flight. According to TMZ, Reynolds was at her son’s home, making arrangements for Fisher’s funeral, when she suffered the stroke that claimed her life just hours earlier. Over the course of her nearly 70-year career, Reynolds racked up more than 80 film and television credits, including such enduring classics as Singin’ In the Rain and How the West Was Won . She scored a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for her work in The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1965, and an Emmy nod for her recurring role on Will & Grace in 2000. In 2015, she received the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Reynolds’ personal life was often the subject of intense media scrutiny, such as when her first husband, Eddie Fisher, left her Elizabeth Taylor. Reynolds’ often turbulent relationship with her daughter was also a frequent source of interest to fans and the tabloid press. Both parties spoke candidly about their difficulties, with Fisher using the relationship as the basis for her autobiographical novel, Postcards From the Edge , later adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep. Reynolds was also a highly-regarded singer and stage performer, and one of the world’s foremost collectors of film memorabilia. At one point, she owned Marilyn Monroe’s “subway dress” from The Seven Year Itch , a Charlie Chaplin bowler hat and a copy of the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz , all of which she fought to have displayed in prominent museums. But for all of her many accomplishments, in later years, Reynolds was best known as the mother of one of Hollywood’s most beloved scren icons. “There have been a few times when I thought I was going to lose Carrie,” Reynolds told Oprah Winfrey during a 2011 interview. “I’ve had to walk through a lot of my tears. But she’s worth it.” Reynolds’ passing marks a fitting, but almost unbelievably tragic end to one of Hollywood’s most compelling mother-daughter relationships. View Slideshow: Celebrities Who Passed Away in 2016: Gone, But Not Forgotten

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Debbie Reynolds Dies; Actress, Mother of Carrie Fisher Was 84

TV Nudity Report: Game of Thrones, Nurse Jackie [PICS]

After a disappointing showing from Game of Thrones two weeks ago, the fantasy show has tripled our pleasure this week with a trio of naked Westerosi woman. First up, Charlie Chaplin ’s granddaughter Oona Chaplin was showing moona in a long gab session with the King of the North. Then brunette Charlotte Hope got completely naked while blonde Stephanie Blacker showed T&A to fool around with the captive Theon Greyjoy. It’s soon revealed that this is all part of his torture, but his pain is our gain! Over on Showtime, Nurse Jackie is working its way through a revelatory fifth season with its first nude scenes to date! It was four skin free years before Betty Gilpin finally bared her butt during the season five premiere, and last night’s episode had her presenting her perfect pair before bending down to give a BJ. That horny health care worker will make you shake your thermometer! See pics after the jump!

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TV Nudity Report: Game of Thrones, Nurse Jackie [PICS]

A Tale of Two Directors: Alfred Hitchcock, J. Edgar Hoover, And The FBI’s Eye On The Master Of Suspense

When he wasn’t rooting out Communists, cracking down on the mob and spying on civil rights leaders, FBI head J. Edgar Hoover  toiled as a one-man culture warrior battling Hollywood decadence. He prevented Charlie Chaplin from reentering the U.S. because of his leftist political views, and he condemned Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life for its “rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers.” So what did he have to say about  Alfred Hitchcock , who gave American moviegoers new and strange things to fear?  Not a bad word. The only questions anyone’s asking about Hitchcock these days are just how much and what kind of a creeper was he? The famed director’s wandering eye, his sexual obsessions, and less-than-decorous urges roil at the center of Hitchcock , the just-released biopic starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren , as well as last month’s The Girl , the HBO film with Toby Jones and Naomi Watts . As The Birds actress Tippi Hedren  claimed  earlier this fall , the Master of Suspense could be masterfully cruel and unforgiving. But as far as his popular image as an artiste-provocateur goes, there’s probably more than a little self-mythologizing — or branding, if you’d prefer — in that ironic Englishman persona, the casually sadistic remarks about actors, the pretensions to finding truth in nightmares. It’s that last detail that fuels Hitchcock , a tempting portrait of “Hitch” as a crowd-pleasing, truth-telling anti-hero — not unlike Howard Stern and Larry Flynt in their respective biopics — who shows moviegoers the dark things they didn’t know they wanted to see. But was his threat to the American psyche all smoke and mirrors? That’s certainly what Hitchcock’s FBI file, obtained via MuckRock.com , suggests. Hitchcock’s file doesn’t begin until October of 1960, four months after the successful release of Psycho , which casts serious doubt on Hitch’s claim that the FBI followed him for three months in 1945 after he discussed uranium with a Caltech professor as research for his next film, Notorious . (Donald Spoto, a four-time biographer of Hitchcock, also concluded in The Dark Side of Genius that the FBI investigation was likely apocryphal, declaring that the “extremely sensitive” director would have been “emotionally incapable” of making a film under government surveillance.) In fact, the contents of the FBI file have much more to do with Hoover’s obsessions than with Hitchcock’s. Whatever paranoia and “extreme sensitivities” Hitchcock suffered, Hoover suffered doubly so. The bulk of the file has to do with a seven-month surveillance on a single episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that illustrates the acute obsessiveness of the FBI’s fearsome but fearful director. Through unrelenting pressure and undeserved authority, the Bureau convinced Revue Studios, which produced A.H. Presents, to eliminate a minor character, an FBI agent who instructs a would-be kidnapper that abduction is illegal, from the episode “Coming, Mama.”

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A Tale of Two Directors: Alfred Hitchcock, J. Edgar Hoover, And The FBI’s Eye On The Master Of Suspense

‘Do You Know How To Shoot?….Then Drive!’ Liam Neeson Gives Daughter Tough Love In New Taken 2 Trailer

If you don’t have a whiny, teenaged kid, then watch this latest trailer for Taken 2 . Although Maggie Grace , as Kim, is ostensibly playing a woman in her 20s, she’s behaving just like a 15-year-old!  Even under life or death circumstances, adolescents can behave as if they are stuck in their own little personal pool of molasses, and it’s up to Dad — or Mom — to gnash some teeth, raise the voice and light a fire under the kid’s reluctant ass. Enter Liam Neeson , as as retired no-nonsense CIA operative Bryan Mills. The man knows how to wield the tough love while brandishing a gun, and after a fog-burning “C’mon! Kim! Move!” his little girl is maneuvering that Mercedes Benz taxi around Istanbul, or wherever the hell they are,  like she’s Ryan Gosling in Drive . Now that’s good parenting! Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

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‘Do You Know How To Shoot?….Then Drive!’ Liam Neeson Gives Daughter Tough Love In New Taken 2 Trailer

Tom Hanks As Walt Disney Project Heads To Production; Daniel Craig & Quentin Tarantino To Receive BAFTA/LA Honors: Biz Break

Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, recent Toronto International Film Festival Gala Inescapable is headed to U.S. theaters. Tech and media moguls are among Forbes ‘ list of America’s richest individuals. And, an actress of the video at the center of rage among some Muslims worldwide, Innocence of Muslims is suing the film’s producer and YouTube. Tom Hanks’ Saving Mr. Banks Heads into Production in L.A. The story is an account of Walt Disney’s twenty-year pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers’ popular novel, Mary Poppins , and the testy partnership he develops with the uptight author during the project’s pre-production in 1961. Two-time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks will portray Disney (the first time he has ever been depicted in a dramatic film) alongside fellow double Oscar®-winner Emma Thompson in the role of the prickly novelist.  Daniel Craig, Quentin Tarantino Among BAFTA Los Angeles Honorees Craig, Tarantino along with Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Will Wright will be among the recipients of the 2012 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards on November 7th. Craig will receive the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year, while BAFTA Award-winning director Quentin Tarantino will receive the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, will receive the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. Video game designer Will Wright will receive the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment. Inescapable Heads to U.S. Theaters The thriller starring Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson and Marisa Tomei screened as a Gala at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Canadian-based filmmaker Ruba Nadda ( Cairo Time ), Inescapable revolves around a Syrian expatriate (Siddig) whose journalist daughter goes missing in Damascus. He returns to his homeland to find her, despite the risks, and calls on a former love (Tomei) to help him, as well as an embassy official (Jackson) who is helpful at first, but may have an agenda of his own. IFC Films acquired the title from Myriad Pictures. Alliance Films is distributing in Canada. Around the ‘net… Forbes’ List of Richest Americans Filled with Tech and Media Moguls America’s richest man is still Bill Gates (at $66 billion) followed by Warren Buffet ($46 billion). Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg fell to 36th on the list, tying with News Corp’s Rupert Mrudoch at $9.4 billion. Others on the list, David Geffen (57th at $5.6 billion), Viacom and CBS chairman Sumner Redstone (91st at $4.1 billion), George Lucas (120th at $3.3 billion) and Steven Spielberg (125th at $3.2 billion), Deadline reports . Innocence of Muslims Actress Sues Producer and YouTube Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress at the firestorm of controversy throughout the Muslim world igniting violent demonstrations has filed a complaint in L.A. Superior Court agains the film’s producer, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (aka Sam Bacile) saying she was duped into appearing in the film. She is also going after YouTube and its owner Google for refusing to take the video down, THR reports .

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Tom Hanks As Walt Disney Project Heads To Production; Daniel Craig & Quentin Tarantino To Receive BAFTA/LA Honors: Biz Break

5 Things We’ve Learned from New Years Celebrations in Movies

I’m going to assume none of us learned anything from Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve other than, ” I was right to avoid New Year’s Eve .” Fortunately, there are real lessons to be gleaned from the best in New Year’s cinema, and we’ve lined up five movies with tips for your bash this weekend. Whether you’re ringing it in alone or spending it with the grimmest Vietnam vet on Earth, you’ll learn something valuable here. The Gold Rush : If you’re alone, you can envision a party that’s better than a real one. Charlie Chaplin’s iconic fork-and-roll dance from The Gold Rush is a fantasy sequence where the Little Tramp entertains guests who never show up to his place. Though the flatware choreography is cute, it’s hard not to look in Chaplin’s striking eyes during the entire sequence. But what a fabulous (and fictional) fete! The Apartment : Don’t pop a wine cork when your lady friend can mistake it for a gunshot. The Apartment is a treasure, but it’s also dour enough to put a damper on your New Year’s. Let’s revisit its best moment of pure levity and watch when Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) ditches her party, realizes that C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) risked his job for her, and arrives at his apartment to deliver a few classic lines of dialogue — namely, before a rummy game, “Shut up and deal.” C.C.’s cork-popping could be better timed, though — as Fran rushes to his door, she receives a ghastly fright. The Godfather, Part II : Don’t reveal that you’re a traitor during festivities. Fredo Corleone (the late, great John Cazale) receives a grim kiss from his brother Michael (Al Pacino) upon revealing that he’s the traitor that Michael suspects he is. This leads to a classic line, “I know it was you, Fredo — you broke my heart,” which also served as the inspiration for the John Cazale documentary I Knew It Was You . Oh, New Years. What a perfectly inopportune time to expose your true character. Forrest Gump : Do not party with your bitter commanding officer from Vietnam. If we were focusing on Jenny’s New Year’s festivities in Forrest Gump , this tip might be titled, “Don’t kill yourself!” But we’re looking at Forrest (Tom Hanks) now, just as he exchanges glances with the resentful, abrasive Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise). It seems obvious, but please try not to ring in a new year with a disrespectful, not to mention emotionally battered comrade. Sex and the City : Find your most sensible, downtrodden friend and hole up with her in a glamorous apartment. I’m always a little baffled by the vitriol spewed at the first Sex and the City movie, which was truly no different — or better or worse — than the TV show. Here, in the movie’s most poignant scene, we watch as Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) sneak over to Miranda’s (Cynthia Nixon) place for a warm New Year’s. That sweeping, Celtic rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” helps too. Got other favorite New Year’s movie lessons? Drop ’em in the comments below! Follow Louis Virtel on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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5 Things We’ve Learned from New Years Celebrations in Movies

Bambi, Forrest Gump, El Mariachi — What’s the Most Surprising New Addition to the National Film Registry?

The Library of Congress today announced an eclectic batch of new inductees into the National Film Registry for 2011, ranging from no-brainers (Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid ) to fantastic finds (the 1930s-era Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies ). And also: Silence of the Lambs ! Forrest Gump ! … El Mariachi ? Which of these 25 newly anointed selections, to be preserved on account of their cultural, historical or aesthetic significance, is the most surprising addition? The 2011 National Film Registry Additions : Allures (1961) Bambi (1942) The Big Heat (1953) A Computer Animated Hand (1972) Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963) The Cry of the Children (1912) A Cure for Pokeritis (1912) El Mariachi (1992) Faces (1968) Fake Fruit Factory (1986) Forrest Gump (1994) Growing Up Female (1971) Hester Stree t (1975) I, an Actress (1977) The Iron Horse (1924) The Kid (1921) The Lost Weekend (1945) The Negro Soldier (1944) Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930s-1940s) Norma Rae (1979) Porgy and Bess (1959) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Stand and Deliver (1988) Twentieth Century (1934) War of the Worlds (1953) I could be convinced of El Mariachi ‘s worthiness given Robert Rodriguez’s famed hardscrabble production legend and the fact that he’s created a manageable cottage industry for himself working on the periphery of Hollywood. And yeah, El Mariachi ‘s pretty good, but for my money it’s the weakest new addition of the bunch. Which is not to say it’s the most surprising; Forrest Gump was well-loved and somewhat groundbreaking in its time even if it feels cringe-inducingly dated now, but many of these selections are of a distinct era or creatively, socially, or technically significant. (Ed Catmull’s 3-D grad project A Computer Animated Hand is another inspired choice.) Besides, Groundhog Day made the list back in 2006. Groundhog Day . So here’s what I want to know: How the heck has it taken this long for Bambi to make the list? Read more on each selection from the Library of Congress’s press release over at the Library of Congress website . [ Library of Congress ]

Descendants, Dangerous Method Lead 38th Telluride Line-Up

Hey, look at that: Mere hours after allowing a brief peek behind the curtain at fest HQ, the team at the Telluride Film Festival have announced the line-up for its 38th installment, which gets underway tomorrow. In addition to unveiling the North American premieres of awards hopefuls The Descendants , A Dangerous Method , We Need to Talk About Kevin , Albert Nobbs and numerous others, the famously top-secret Colorado portal to the fall festival season will honor George Clooney, Pierre Étaix and Tilda Swinton with its coveted Silver Medallions. Read on for the full program.

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Descendants, Dangerous Method Lead 38th Telluride Line-Up

Worst Movie EVER! Box Office Jumps 500% In One Night — to $71

So amid all the festival hoopla and luminaries dropping by , I know what you’re really thinking today: How did The Worst Movie EVER ! fare last night in Winchester, Va.? Indeed, the infamous mockbuster had its second theatrical engagement in a late showing at the town’s Alamo Drafthouse, and the numbers are in. Stand back!

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Worst Movie EVER! Box Office Jumps 500% In One Night — to $71

Legend, Resurrected: How Do 7 Current Stars Look as Hollywood Icons?

Even if the upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic My Week with Marilyn doesn’t live up to its intriguing promo stills , the casting and styling choices that make Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh such convincing impersonators of Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier are already stunners. Branagh’s Shakespearean gravitas! Williams’ sighing loveliness! This inspires us to revisit other famous actors who played Hollywood legends and see how their appearances measured up. Come on, Judy Davis, get happy!

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Legend, Resurrected: How Do 7 Current Stars Look as Hollywood Icons?