Here's what I want from movies now on my birthday weekend: Endings. No more leaving half the film until the next film. No more setting things up for sequels and franchises. You want to figure that out later, fine. But tell a story. Give me an ending. This is my rule now.
Happy Birthday to ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, released one year ago today. Feeling more and more like this was the last great film, hell the last great anything, before the world ended. Gonna watch it again tonight, it means even more now.
ISHTAR is now on Tubi but the crazy thing about this is that it appears to be the never-on-disc theatrical cut. The running time is listed as 1:47:35 while the running time on the director's cut Blu-ray is 1:44:57. In case any Elaine May or ISHTAR completists would want to know.
RIP Dorothy Malone, Oscar winner for WRITTEN ON THE WIND, also in SCARED STIFF, PUSHOVER, ARTISTS AND MODELS, THE TARNISHED ANGELS, BEACH PARTY, WINTER KILLS and her final film BASIC INSTINCT but most importantly part of the greatest scene of all time in THE BIG SLEEP.
RIP Wilford Brimley of THE CHINA SYNDROME, ABSENCE OF MALICE, TENDER MERCIES, THE NATURAL, COCOON, THE FIRM, HARD TARGET, IN & OUT and John Carpenter's THE THING.
Still thinking about the disclaimer in the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE DEAD RECKONING PART ONE end credits that basically says “The scene at the Spanish Steps wasn’t actually filmed at the Spanish Steps and the real Spanish Steps are fine so you shouldn’t be worried.”
PASSENGER 57, TRUE ROMANCE, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, STRANGE DAYS, HEAT, THE RELIC, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD….but one of my very favorite Tom Sizemore roles is when he shows up for a scene in POINT BREAK to yell at Keanu and he’s not even credited.
RIP Joss Ackland, legendary for the way he said "Diplomatic immunity!" in LETHAL WEAPON 2 as well as being half of one of the great split diopter shots of all time in that film.
If you start THE APARTMENT at 9:58:11 on New Year's Eve you get the Auld Lang Syne scene at exactly midnight so you can start the year off with that unforgettable Shirley MacLaine close-up.
RIP screenwriter Alvin Sargent, won the Oscar for JULIA and ORDINARY PEOPLE, other credits include GAMBIT, I WALK THE LINE, PAPER MOON, BOBBY DEERFIELD, STRAIGHT TIME, WHITE PALACE, UNFAITHFUL, SPIDER-MAN 2 & 3 via
@thr
There once was a time where if you didn’t feel like seeing DUNE you could go next door and see BEVERLY HILLS COP or THE COTTON CLUB or a BREAKIN’ sequel.
RIP Brian Dennehy of FOUL PLAY, FIRST BLOOD, GORKY PARK, NEVER CRY WOLF, FINDERS KEEPERS, COCOON, SILVERADO, BEST SELLER, PRESUMED INNOCENT, TOMMY BOY, ROMEO + JULIET, F/X 1 & 2, Terence Malick's KNIGHT OF CUPS and Blake Edwards' "10".
RIP John Hillerman of Bogdanovich's THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, WHAT'S UP DOC?, PAPER MOON, AT LONG LAST LOVE, also in THE CAREY TREATMENT, THE OUTSIDE MAN, HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, BLAZING SADDLES, CHINATOWN, UP THE CREEK, A VERY BRADY SEQUEL.
Zaslav doesn’t care about TCM. He doesn’t care about films or history or Martin Scorsese. He doesn’t care about actually making anything good. He care about the stock price. He cares about the dollar. That is his god. “The world is a business, Mr. Beale.”
#SaveTCM
RIP the legendary James Karen aka the Pathmark Man, was in THE CHINA SYNDROME, POLTERGEIST, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, WALL STREET, NIXON, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE finale, network exec on LARRY SANDERS and much much more.
RIP editor Richard Marks, credits include GODFATHER PART II, APOCALYPSE NOW, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, PRETTY IN PINK, BROADCAST NEWS, SAY ANYTHING, DICK TRACY, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, YOU'VE GOT MAIL, JULIE & JULIA and many others. via
@thr