Latest Movie News From Moviefone |
- Patrick Macnee, Star of 'The Avengers' TV Series, Dies at 93
- Rose McGowan Loses Agent After Sharing Sexist Adam Sandler Casting Note
- Emma Watson Joining Tom Hanks in Tech Thriller 'The Circle'
- Michael Cudlitz Says 'The Walking Dead' Season 6 Will 'Blow Your Mind'
- Ben Affleck Had 'Improper Influence' on 'Finding Your Roots,' PBS Says
- Amy Heckerling Confirms 'Clueless' Musical, Reveals New Details
- 'Sleeping With Other People' Trailer: Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie Are Just Sex-Addicted Friends
- 11 Times the Ladies of 'Freaks and Geeks' Were the Absolute Coolest
- Jason Statham Is Returning in 'Fast and Furious 8'
- Who Is Your 'Supernatural' Soulmate?
- 'Cooley High' Is the Most Influential Movie You've Never Seen
- Best of Late Night TV: Channing Tatum's Frozen Poop and Amy Poehler's Reunion With Seth Meyers
| Patrick Macnee, Star of 'The Avengers' TV Series, Dies at 93 Posted:
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| Rose McGowan Loses Agent After Sharing Sexist Adam Sandler Casting Note Posted: The saga started last week when McGowan tweeted out a note that she says was attached to a script she received. The instructions called for actresses to wear a "form fitting tank that shows off cleavage," with the kicker that "push up bras [are] encouraged." "Form fitting leggings or jeans" were also required. McGowan -- who not-so-subtly hinted that the note was from a movie starring Sandler -- laughed it off, but apparently annoyed the powers that be at her agency, Innovative Artists. Late Wednesday, McGowan revealed on Twitter that she was dropped by her agent over her remarks. (Reports suggesting that Sheila Wenzel, McGowan's former agent who left Innovative earlier this week, was the one who dumped the actress, were quickly debunked by McGowan). "I just got fired by my wussy acting agent because I spoke up about the bulls--t in Hollywood," McGowan tweeted, using the hashtag #BRINGIT, among other colorful language. "The awesome thing about being an artist? You can't be fired from your own mind," the actress added in another tweet. We're glad McGowan is being such a good sport over the issue -- which, again, to recap, came about because of a super-sexist casting note that was ridiculous in every way, and worth calling out. Good for her for standing up for herself, and for all women in Hollywood, regardless of the consequences. "I'm not trying to vilify Adam Sander," McGowan said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that was conducted before her firing. "I was offended by the stupidity more than anything. I was offended by the fact that went through so many people's hands and nobody red flagged it. This is normal to so many people. It was probably even a girl that had to type it up. It's institutionally okay." A source close to Sandler's Happy Madison production company told Variety that "[Sandler and his team] were not aware the casting director sent this note out," adding, "They felt it was completely inappropriate and have made sure that it has not been sent out again." [via: Rose McGowan, Rose McGowan] Photo credit: Getty Images This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Emma Watson Joining Tom Hanks in Tech Thriller 'The Circle' Posted:
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| Michael Cudlitz Says 'The Walking Dead' Season 6 Will 'Blow Your Mind' Posted:  Fans of "The Walking Dead" aren't the only ones dying to find out what will happen during the show's upcoming sixth season: The actors are just as curious.A new behind-the-scenes featurette, led by actor Michael Cudlitz (a.k.a. Abraham), visits the show's set during filming of the season six premiere. As Cudlitz tells it, the episode will be "huge" and "amazing," and he's not the only one who thinks so. "We ended on a really compelling note, so I'm excited to get going," says Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha). The actress is also curious to learn more about the Wolves (you and me both!), though the cast "[has] no idea" what's in store for the rest of the season, she said. Cudlitz also speaks to fellow cast members Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Lennie James (Morgan), Christian Serratos (Rosita), and Danai Gurira (Michonne), who all discuss what it's like being back on set and get viewers pumped for the new season. Serratos gave a shout-out to the show's fans, while Gurira and Norman Reedus perhaps fanned a few Michonne/Daryl shippers' flames with some surprising PDA. "Season six is going to be phenomenal," Cudlitz promised. "The first episode is going to blow your mind." We can't wait. Check out the featurette below. Season six of "The Walking Dead" is slated to premiere sometime this October on AMC. Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ben Affleck Had 'Improper Influence' on 'Finding Your Roots,' PBS Says Posted:  PBS is postponing the third season premiere of its genealogical series, "Finding Your Roots," after an investigation determined that actor Ben Affleck had "improper influence" over the content of an episode in which he participated.Affleck made headlines back in April when leaked emails brought to light by last year's Sony hack revealed that the actor discovered he had slave-owning ancestors while participating in the program, and attempted to persuade producers from omitting that information from broadcast. Affleck's episode of the series aired in October, and did not feature that bit of his background. In a statement released this week, PBS said its investigation into the matter "determined that the series co-producers violated PBS standards by failing to shield the creative and editorial process from improper influence, and by failing to inform PBS or WNET of Mr. Affleck's efforts to affect program content." Henry Louis Gates Jr., a Harvard professor and producer of "Finding Your Roots," had emailed Sony chief Michael Lynton last year to ask for advice about Affleck's request. In a statement released in April, Gates explained that the slavery detail was omitted from the episode because he and producers "focused on what we felt were the most interesting aspects of [Affleck's] ancestry," including Affleck's mother's participation in the 1960s civil rights movement. This week, Gates apologized for "not discussing my editing rationale" with PBS, and putting the network "in the position of having to defend the integrity of their programming." "I have always operated with rigorous ethical standards," Gates's statement continued. "Even so, we have been working with PBS and WETA to create new guidelines to increase transparency going forward." Those new guidelines include the hiring of another factchecker, as well as an independent genealogist, before airing the upcoming third season of the series. PBS would not commit to renewing "Finding Your Roots" for a fourth season "until we are satisfied that the editorial standards of the series have been successfully raised to a level in which we can have confidence," the network said in a statement. Affleck acknowledged his mistake in a Facebook post back in April, writing, "I didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. I was embarrassed." The Oscar winner's episode will be scrubbed from all future "Finding Your Roots" airings, including DVD release and online streaming. [via: Variety] Photo credit: Frazer Harrison via Getty Images This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Amy Heckerling Confirms 'Clueless' Musical, Reveals New Details Posted:  The news that the iconic teen film "Clueless" was being turned into a Broadway show truly confirmed that the 90s are alive and well. The movie's director, Amy Heckerling, sat down to share a bunch of details about the upcoming musical. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Sleeping With Other People' Trailer: Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie Are Just Sex-Addicted Friends Posted:  It's the age-old question: Can men and women just be friends? In "Sleeping With Other People," the question gets a twist: Can a man and a woman, both addicted to sex, just be friends?The trailer for the romantic comedy, which debuted at Sundance, shows that the answer is: It's very, very difficult. "Sleeping With Other People" seems to be an updated version of "When Harry Met Sally." As Lainey (Alison Brie) observes of her relationship with Jake (Jason Sudeikis), "We're not a couple, but we act like one." Lainey and Jake are old friends who hooked up years ago, and run into each other at a sex addicts meeting. They decide to keep things platonic, even though sparks are flying. Judging by the trailer, the movie looks to be a sweet and funny good time, and Brie and Sudeikis have great chemistry. And the rest of the cast is awesome: Adam Scott, Natasha Lyonne, Amanda Peet, and Adam Brody. "Sleeping With Other People" opens in theaters September 11. Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 11 Times the Ladies of 'Freaks and Geeks' Were the Absolute Coolest Posted: Beloved coming-of-age comedy "Freaks and Geeks" may have only lasted one season, but it still left us with tons of memorable moments and sarcastic gems that we'll be quoting for eternity. The guys of the show were some of the best teen characters ever (we're still crushing on Nick Andopolis today), but don't count out the badass ladies of the show. Freaks or not, Lindsay Weir and Kim Kelly have been our imaginary best friends since the show premiered. Cue the Joan Jett and travel back to the 1980s Michigan suburbs to revisit 11 times the ladies of "Freaks and Geeks" were cooler than we'll ever be.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jason Statham Is Returning in 'Fast and Furious 8' Posted: There's not much to know about "Fast and Furious 8, but at least one cast member aside from Vin Diesel has confirmed he'll be back. Jason Statham told Access Hollywood that he's set to reprise his role as Deckard Shaw. "We're already talking about doing another one, Part 8," he said. "I'm a newcomer, I just got invited to the party in this last one, so it's nice to know I'm going to be doing another." Deckard Shaw was the main villain of "Furious 7." He was the vengeance-seeking brother of Luke Evans' villain character from "Fast and Furious 6." At the end of "Furious 7" - SPOILER ALERT - Deckard was imprisoned in a high-security facility. So, maybe it turns out not to be that secure? Aside from Statham, we're assuming most of the cast will also return for "Furious 8." Diesel has teased that the movie might be set in New York, and there's been talk of Eva Mendes coming back. Hell, at this point, who hasn't been in a "Fast and Furious" movie? Bring 'em all back! Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Who Is Your 'Supernatural' Soulmate? Posted: You've been watching "Supernatural" for years (ok, you've seen every ep at least three times) -- and, throughout that time, your romantic obsession has gone from Dean (Jensen Ackles) to Sam (Jared Padalecki), back to Dean, then to Sam again, then, finally, back to Dean. And when Castiel (Misha Collins) came along, you just couldn't handle it. Now you can finally take all of your confused, otherworldly love feelings, enter them into the quiz below, and find out which guy from "Supernatural" you should really spend eternity with. Godspeed.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Cooley High' Is the Most Influential Movie You've Never Seen Posted:  "Cooley High" ought to be remembered as a cinema milestone, and its writer and director remembered as pioneers.Released 40 years ago this week (on June 25, 1975), it ought to be celebrated for its vast influence on movies, TV, and music. As a young-men-coming-of-age movie, it deserves to be mentioned alongside Fellini's "I Vitelloni," George Lucas's "American Graffiti," Barry Levinson's "Diner," and John Singleton's "Boyz N the Hood." And yet, the film and its creators have been largely forgotten, lost to history. The story behind "Cooley High" is even more dramatic than the comedy-drama that unspooled on the screen. It's the story of Kenneth Williams, who, like protagonist Preach, left Chicago's Cabrini-Green projects with dreams of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter. Having dropped out of high school, he hitchhiked from the Windy City to Hollywood with $5 in his pocket and no connections, and for a while he supported himself selling drugs. But the aspiring writer, who renamed himself Eric Monte, also befriended actor Mike Evans, who'd been cast as neighbor Lionel Jefferson on the groundbreaking sitcom "All in the Family." Through Evans, Monte pitched the show's producer, Norman Lear, a script introducing the characters of Lionel's parents, George and Louise Jefferson. Lear bought the script and eventually spun off George, Weezy, and Lionel into their own hit sitcom, "The Jeffersons," but Monte was neither hired as a staff writer nor given credit or residuals for "The Jeffersons," which ran from 1975 to 1985.  Evans and Monte co-created another sitcom for Lear, the hit "Good Times," about a family struggling in a Chicago project much like the one where Monte grew up. But Monte again clashed with the show's producers (as did John Amos, who played patriarch James Evans) over what he felt was the show's increasing drift away from social issues in favor of clowning by the show's breakout character, Jimmie Walker's catchphrase-spouting J.J. ("Dy-no-mite!") Monte was frozen out of the show, and Amos was fired and written out of the series.Monte still hungered to tell a story of black life in the Chicago projects that resembled his own experience, which he characterized as fun and not just gritty. The result was the screenplay for "Cooley High," which he sold to American International Pictures, an independent studio then known for drive-in fare and exploitation pictures. But "Cooley High" was no exploitation film. Unlike the other black stories being told on screen in the early '70s, this one wasn't about crime, racism, drugs, vengeance, or black-power heroes and heroines who stuck it to the Man. It was just about teens doing what teens do -- hanging out, going to school, going to parties, hooking up, cruising the streets, and dreaming of the future. Yes, there was petty crime and some tragic violence, but they weren't the main focus of the story. It was just a slice of life, both specific and universal. As a result, "Cooley High" marked the beginning of the shift in African-American cinema away from blaxploitation toward more diverse stories of black life, although it would take another 20 years for that transition to be fully realized.  Hired to direct the film was Michael Schultz, who was in a unique position to make that shift. An admirer of European masters like Fellini and Bergman, he came to the cinema via Broadway. He'd directed a play there called "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?", which won a Tony for its young star, an unknown actor named Al Pacino. It also landed Schultz his first feature, the TV movie "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black." By the time he landed the "Cooley High" assignment, the African-American Schultz had directed three films, none of them blaxploitation dramas.Much of the cast of "Cooley High" consisted of non-professional actors from the Chicago projects where the film was to be shot. But the leads were pros who would all soon go on to greater successes. Glynn Turman, who played writer/dreamer Preach, went on to a long career as a character actor, one that has continued to this day with recurring roles on shows from "A Different World" to "The Wire" to the current "House of Lies," where he plays Don Cheadle's father. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, who played high school basketball star Cochise, would soon go on to stardom as another high schooler, Freddy Washington, on TV's "Welcome Back, Kotter." (Years later, he'd deliver a fearsome performance as Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson in the mini-series "The Jacksons: An American Dream.") Garrett Morris, a real-life former schoolteacher who played history instructor Mr. Mason, would become famous a few months later as an original cast member of "Saturday Night Live." (Today, you can see him as Earl on "2 Broke Girls.") There was also a local kid playing a young basketball player, an actor who followed in Monte's footsteps and became a pioneering African-American filmmaker. That was Robert Townsend, future creator of "Hollywood Shuffle" and "The Five Heartbeats."  When it came out, "Cooley High" earned a lot of comparisons to "American Graffiti," released two years earlier. Both films were set in the early '60s, both were about high school boys on the cusp of adulthood who were still fixated on cars and girls and music, both featured characters who got mixed up in petty crime, and both had nostalgic soundtracks of wall-to-wall golden oldies. The "Cooley High" soundtrack was almost entirely made up of vintage Motown hits, which were available cheaply then (it would be another eight years or so before the big Motown nostalgia boom suddenly put a premium on such tunes). One new song, however, was G.C. Cameron's ballad "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday." Sixteen years later, Motown's own Boyz II Men would cover that song on their debut album -- entitled "Cooleyhighharmony" in homage to the film -- and make it into an anthem for a new generation."Cooley High" cost just $750,000 to make, but it earned back $13 million. Its success drew the attention of ABC, which tried to convert it into a sitcom. The network felt that Monte's pilot didn't really work, so the show was retooled and softened. The result was the hit high school sitcom "What's Happening!!", for which Monte got a producer credit, and which ran for three years. It made stars out of Ernest Thomas and Fred "Rerun" Berry and even spawned an '80s follow-up series, "What's Happening Now!!", following the high-school pals as young adults. Schultz became one of the first black directors to find regular work with mainstream Hollywood studios. After "Cooley High," he directed three of Richard Pryor's best films: "Car Wash" (another musical slice-of-life comedy/drama), "Which Way Is Up?", and the racing biopic "Greased Lightning." He also directed 1978's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," a musical with a predominantly white cast (including the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton) and an all-Beatles soundtrack. The movie was a huge flop, though it did give Steve Martin his first major film role, and the soundtrack did generate hits for Aerosmith and Earth Wind & Fire. The film's failure nearly derailed Schultz's career, though he bounced back in the 1980s with Motown-produced adventure "The Last Dragon" and seminal hip-hop film "Krush Groove." He's continued to work in film and television, with his most recent big-screen credit 2004's "Woman Thou Art Loosed." He currently directs episodic TV on such hit shows as "Arrow" and "Black-ish."  After "What's Happening!!" became a hit, Monte sued ABC, CBS, and Lear's production company for money he felt he was owed for his TV creations. He received a $1 million settlement but said he was blackballed from the industry thereafter. It would be decades before he sold another script (he wrote episodes of '90s comedies "The Wayans Bros." and "Moesha"). He spent most of his settlement mounting an original play that flopped, and the rest on crack. In the mid-2000s, he was off drugs and living in a Los Angeles-area homeless shelter. Illinois state representative Ken Dunkin, another former Cabrini-Green resident, raised the funds for Monte to return to subsidized housing in his hometown, where he hoped to continue to write scripts, always claiming to be one great idea away from his next smash. He resurfaced in Hollywood in February for a reunion with Turman, Hilton-Jacobs, and Townsend at a 40th anniversary screening of the film, which finally came out on Blu-ray earlier this year. If the long-gestating "Good Times" movie ever gets made, Monte may indeed find himself back in the spotlight.Did Monte and Schultz deserve better from Hollywood? At the very least, they deserve to be celebrated for their pioneering work in telling stories about African-American life that were more than just cautionary tales of gangstas and ghettoes. Spike Lee, who has done more than anyone else to expand the range of black stories that can be told on screen, has cited "Cooley High" as an influence and an essential movie for all aspiring filmmakers to watch. The transition towards greater inclusiveness that "Cooley High" started is far from complete. Still, when producers like Will Packer make films like "Think Like a Man" into crossover hits, when black directors are hired to make superhero blockbusters, when a star-free black high school comedy like "Dope" opens in the top five with a healthy $6.1 million (as it did this past weekend), and when the top writer/producer on TV is Shonda Rhimes, it sometimes feels like everyone is a graduate of "Cooley High." This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best of Late Night TV: Channing Tatum's Frozen Poop and Amy Poehler's Reunion With Seth Meyers Posted:  If you're like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don't worry; we've got you covered. Here's the best of what happened last night on late night.Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't exactly known for being a comedy genius, but he brought his A game during "Brainstorm" with Jimmy Fallon. Our favorite reverse question and answer? Arnold: "I'll be back." Jimmy: "What does Chris Christie say after leaving a buffet table." Channing Tatum and his six pack swung by "Late Night," and Seth Meyers asked him all about his answers during a recent Reddit AMA -- including why he'd go to Sandra Bullock's house during a zombie attack, and the time he pooped in the snow in Iceland. Note to self: never go to Iceland. Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler are back together! This SNL comedy team reunited on "Late Night" for a round of "Really?!" This week's topic? Tearing apart "Sports Illustrated" for being sexist on Twitter. Fair enough, to be honest. Over on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Wanda Sykes talked about her feelings on the Confederate Flag and her experience visiting the American South. Note: said experience wasn't all that great....  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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