Charles Bramesco
Michael Keaton’s Batsuit and George Reeves’ Superman Suit Going to Auction
Good news: fans are finally getting their shot to lay claim to two highly sought-after pieces of comic book memorabilia, with George Reeves’ original Superman costume and the Batsuit worn by Michael Keaton during his stint as the Batman both up at auction until January 26. The bad news: you’re going to have to part with at least tens of thousands of dollars if you want to get your mitts on that spandex.
Superheroes Have Ridley Scott ‘Concerned’ About the Future of Cinema
It’s kind of strange, considering the genre’s popularity; interview anyone in the entertainment industry, and you’ll find that just about everyone not actively working on a superhero film considers them to be a pox on the cinema. Ridley Scott’s the latest talent to confess to super-fatigue, in a new interview with Digital Spy where he expresses a larger concern for the overall state of film art. 2016 was a humbling year for the Hollywood studio system, and one of its biggest names can’t help but take notice.
Crossing $11 Billion Mark, Hollywood Poised for Biggest Year to Date
Even if it feels like things are getting worse all the time, with Hollywood delivering an unholy crop of expensive flops amidst murmurs of cinema’s death in 2016, that may not be the case. At the very least, the American film industry isn’t in danger of collapsing any time soon — quite the opposite, in fact. If we’re to take the total sum of money generated by ticket sales in a given year as a barometer of the industry’s overall health, Tinseltown’s still as strong as an ox, Ben-hur remake or no.
Dick Van Dyke to Revive Magnificently Bad Cockney Accent in ‘Mary Poppins’ Sequel
Dick Van Dyke remains a beloved and esteemed entertainer at age 91, fondly remembered for his charismatic performances as a hapless songwriter in Bye Bye Birdie and a sooty-faced chimneysweep in Disney’s 1964 musical Mary Poppins. What he’s remembered decidedly less fondly for is the other role he played in the period-piece musical, elderly bank chairman Mr. Dawes, Senior. Clad in old-age makeup and credited as “Nackvid Keyd” (an anagram of Dick Van Dyke), the notorious D.V.D. busted out a frightfully bad Cockney accent in his scenes as the tight-fisted money man. Widely mocked at the time and voted the second-worst accent ever in a poll from Empire, it was not the high point of Van Dyke’s impressive career.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, Embodiment of Hollywood Glitz, Dies at 99
Before the era of reality television popularized the concept of “being famous for being famous,” Hungarian-born actress Zsa Zsa Gabor elevated celebrity to its own sort of art form. She brought her European sense of sophistication to a handful of big-name films as their star, including John Huston’s Moulin Rouge. (The famed director described Gabor as a “creditable” actress.) Mostly, however, she commanded gossip headlines with her flashy and impossibly ritzy personal life. The revolving door of husbands, the uniform of furs and jewels she was seldom seen without, the way she purred “dahhhhling” to everyone she addressed — even offscreen, she was a larger-than-life character.
Shirley MacLaine Takes Control of Her Own Obituary in ‘The Last Word’ Trailer
With the upcoming dramedy The Last Word, gem of screen and stage Shirley MacLaine takes on the sort of role that actresses over eighty (hell, actresses over fifty) don’t get nearly enough of. She portrays one Harriet Lauler, a retired businesswoman and an objectively insufferable bee-yotch. She’s rude and condescending when not outright abusive to those around her, insistent on controlling everything and commanding everyone. (The most clutch line from the trailer above: when her OB/GYN recalls being told, “If I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.”) She’s a difficult, contemptible character, and for mature actresses, those are always in short supply.
It’s Real, It’s Here, and It’s Magnificent: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ Finally Gets a Trailer
Paramount hasn't been historically known for their baller moves, but when it comes to their bold anti-promotional campaign for Martin Scorsese's Silence, game must recognize game. Keeping a major awards horse almost entirely on the down-low until one month before its December 23 release is one thing; when that movie also happens to be a passion project decades in the making from what very well might be our greatest living filmmaker — American or otherwise — well, that's just showing off. A Martin Scorsese movie sells itself, and Paramount has now reminded the moviegoing public of why that is.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘A Star Is Born’ Remake Gets a Release Date
In a brash assumption from The Hollywood Reporter that the planet Earth, the United States of America, and its film industry as we know it will still be intact two years from now, Warner Bros. has announced a release date of September 28, 2018 for their remake of musical romance A Star Is Born. Operating under the premise that motion pictures will still be made, distributed, and exhibited in some form by the time President Donald Trump — a three-word phrase we all now must get used to — has served half of his term, the Lady Gaga-fronted directorial debut from Bradley Cooper will see an awards-friendly early fall run.
The New Willy Wonka Prequel Movie Might Be an Origin Story
We were all so busy scrambling to avert one apocalypse today, we didn’t even see another one rearing its head in the distance. SlashFilm recently spoke to power-producer David Heyman at the junket for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and questioned the Hollywood player about the plans for Warner Bros.’ impending Willy Wonka film. Without making any concrete announcements about what to expect from the early-in-development project, Heyman did drop one rather ominous prophecy when asked whether the script would be a remake of the popular Gene Wilder-starring film or the Tim Burton-directed version.
Upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien Biopic ‘Middle Earth’ Finds the One Director to Rule Them All
He was forged in the fires of the deepest reaches of the BBC, honed and toughened in the crucible of TV and made-for-TV movies. The one director to rule them all — or at least, to take the helm for the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien biopic Middle Earth — has been found, and while he won’t need to be cast in Mount Doom, he is still very strong.