Alex Rocco – the actor best known for his performance as Moe Greene in the 1972 classic The Godfather – has passed away at the age of 79. Rocco’s daughter broke the news to fans on her Facebook page last night. No cause of death has been given. In addition to his small but memorable performance as a sleazy tycoon in Francis Ford Coppola’s beloved mob epic, Greene will be remembered for his long career as a revered character actor, during which he racked up more than 160 credits. Rocco won an Emmy for his role on the short-lived 1990 Jon Cryer sitcom, Famous Teddy Z. His famous, gravelly voice is recognizable to Simpsons fans as that of Itchy & Scratchy producer Roger Myer Jr. During his fifty years in the industry, Rocco also made appearances on such popular series as The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch, The Facts of Life, Private Practice and Episodes. Throughout his long career, Rocco never complained of being typecast as a tough-talking mobster. In fact, it’s a role he spent much of his early life preparing for. Prior to moving to Hollywood to pursue acting, Rocco had loose ties to the Boston mob and even spent some time in prison. He happily discussed his troubled youth in interviews and often said it was instrumental in helping to shape his onscreen persona. Several celebrities have already paid tribute to Rocco on social media, and he’ll be remembered by many as one of the most colorful character actors in film history. Rocco is survived by his, actress Shannon Wilcox, as well as, daughter, son and one grandson. Click through our gallery below for a full list of celebrities we’ve lost in 2015 . View Slideshow: Celebrities We Lost in 2015
Watching this trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s new film, Twixt, you might have a difficult time understanding why the film was given a rapturous reception not long ago at Comic Con. This teaser, complete with Tom Waits voiceover, introduces Val Kilmer as a failing writer and Bruce Dern as a weirdo small-town sheriff, as well as the dream-characters V (Elle Fanning) and Edgar Allan Poe (Ben Chaplin)…. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : /Film Discovery Date : 02/08/2011 20:45 Number of articles : 3
Here at Movieline HQ we clearly worship at the altar of Ellen Ripley . Who doesn’t? Partly because Sigourney Weaver ‘s sci-fi heroine rocked our socks in (most of) the Alien films — hey, Alien Resurrection wasn’t her fault — and also thanks to the fact that no woman has come close to achieving her level of badass in the movies since, another Ripley-centric Aliens sequel sounds like a plum idea. And Weaver herself agrees.
Stage and film vet Frank Langella has been in the business for nearly five decades, working with everyone from Arthur Miller to Laurence Olivier, and in his upcoming memoirs Dropped Names — just acquired by Harper Collins — the actor will regale readers with his experiences rubbing elbows with some of Hollywood’s most iconic personalities. Fingers crossed he gets to talking about his Whoopi Goldberg years somewhere between his Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor chapters. [ NYT ]
Somehow, Lady Gaga’s uber-hyped single “Born This Way” made an impact here at Movieline. I encouraged the medium convergence, as the self-love-touting single could work as an anthem for many cinematic characters. Now, YouTube parodists have taken up that lead, mashing up Gaga’s song with X-Men: First Class ‘s mutant beginnings. You’ll remember that the movie and the original song are pretty much about the same thing , anyway. The first line alone will slay you.
Apparently, it just wasn’t meant to be — for now. Per Deadline, Universal has decided not to go forward with the crazy-ambitious adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower that director Ron Howard , producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter/producer Akiva Goldsman had planned over three films and two companion television series. Howard is now free to shop the project to other studios, though whether one bites remains to be seen. This is the second major geek property that Universal has passed on this year, following Guillermo del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness . [ Deadline ]
Movieline will offer you complete Comic-Con coverage later this week of everything, including Francis Ford Coppola’s gothic indie Twixt , which he will be previewing at the geek-riffic convention. Until then, take a first look at the Oscar-winning director on set with his latest muse and Twixt star Elle Fanning .
Movieline will offer you complete Comic-Con coverage later this week of everything, including Francis Ford Coppola’s gothic indie Twixt , which he will be previewing at the geek-riffic convention. Until then, take a first look at the Oscar-winning director on set with his latest muse and Twixt star Elle Fanning .
Take note, nerds: Francis Ford Coppola is about to invade your favorite geek event of the year. The director will bring his latest film, Twixt , to showcase at the July convention, where he’ll integrate live music by Dan Deacon to demonstrate the project’s boundary-pushing interactive presentation. What treats are in store for lucky Con-goers?
‘Dark of the Moon,’ however, was the first ‘Transformers’ film to have ‘a fully sussed-out script,’ star tells MTV News. By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Shia LaBeouf Photo: MTV News Give Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf credit for stepping up and admitting their cinematic gaffes. Both guys have owned up to the fact that 2009’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” despite nabbing more than $830 million at the worldwide box office, did not measure up to their popcorn aspirations. “The second one, we had a tough go,” Bay told us in February about shooting the film in the wake of the writers’ strike. “It was a very, very tough thing to make a movie under those circumstances. It affected a lot of Hollywood at that time.” The key issue was the film was rushed into production without all the creative pieces fully in place; filmmakers had a huge budget but not exactly the clearest idea of the story they were trying to tell. In this sense, LaBeouf told MTV News recently in Moscow, the movie became Bay’s “Apocalypse Now,” the notoriously troubled, Francis Ford Coppola-directed Vietnam War film. “[On] the second movie where we had our hiccups, there were good things, but there were more bad things,” LaBeouf explained, going on to reference the documentary about the “Apocalypse” production. “Before I came out here, I watched ‘Hearts of Darkness.’ And in it, you have Francis Ford Coppola saying to camera, ‘I have too much money, I have no script, and I’m going to shoot myself in the head.’ ” LaBeouf went on to make clear he wasn’t comparing his summer tentpole to that classic war film, only “the conundrum,” as he put it, of undertaking a sprawling project under less-than-organized circumstances. “[It was] very similar in terms of Coppola and Mike on set,” he continued. “And the insanity of the second movie.” Production on “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” the third film in the franchise, which hits theaters Wednesday, couldn’t have been more different than the second. “This was the first time we’ve had a fully sussed-out script, with a strong through line and the best plot and arc [LaBeouf’s character] Sam has ever had,” the actor said. “And it’s also simple in the places you want it to be and not complicated. I think the second movie you got convoluted, complicated action where you can’t enjoy it. You don’t know whose elbow is what, or whose face is getting impaled. You don’t know who the enemy is, you don’t know who the hero is. You get lost. [Bay] simplified all his action, so that you can thoroughly enjoy it and his simplification of the movie, we benefited greatly from it.” The result, as LaBeouf told us at the MTV Movie Awards, is what he views as the finest installment in the franchise. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be returning for a fourth go-round. Reiterating a sentiment he conveyed to us at the MTV Movie Awards earlier this month, “Dark of the Moon” will be his final “Transformers” movie . “I’ve learned a great deal from Michael, as a person, as an actor. As a person on his sets, you learn a lot,” he said. “And it’s not that I don’t enjoy working with Michael. I love working with Michael. I would do any movie Michael wants to do. I just don’t think there’s anywhere to take it Sam.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Related Photos ‘Transfomers: Dark Of The Moon’ Premieres At The Moscow Int’l Film Festival ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’
