film director

Stories 141 - 160 | << Prev   Next >>

Can Mel Make a Comeback?
 Can Mel Make a 
 Comeback? 
OPINION
Mar 2, 2009 1:21 PM CST

Can Mel Make a Comeback?

Gibson aims for rehabilitation, but Mad Max is 'gone'

(Newser) - Mel Gibson appears to be making an effort to revive a career stalled after his 2006 arrest and accompanying anti-Semitic tirade, but “it seems unlikely he can ever really come back,” writes Roger Friedman for Fox News. “Like Tom Cruise, Gibson has sent himself into a weird...

Coen Brothers' Ad Knocks 'Clean Coal'

Filmmaking duo mock coal industry in ad for Al Gore green group

(Newser) - The Coen brothers chuck the notion of "clean coal" into the woodchipper in a new ad commissioned by Al Gore’s Reality Coalition, the Guardian reports. The ad, which the filmmaking duo directed for the anti-coal environmental group, features a salesman spraying black smog from a can marked "...

Polanski Judge Wise to Resist Whitewashing

Director's bias skews media narrative

(Newser) - The judge who refused to throw out Roman Polanski's rape conviction Tuesday—unless he agreed to come back to the country to challenge it in person—was right to resist the whitewashing of Polanski's crime, writes Bill Wyman in Salon. The movement to rehabilitate the acclaimed director was based on...

Judge Rejects Polanski's Bid to Ax Sex Charge

Fugitive director must appear to close case on sex with 13-year-old

(Newser) - A judge has cited Roman Polanski’s fugitive status as reason for rejecting the film director’s request to toss a 31-year-old child sex charge, E! Online reports. The judge conceded that a recent documentary on Polanski seems to demonstrate misconduct by prosecutors in the 1978 proceedings, but said the...

Polanski Sex Victim Seeks to Dismiss Case

Victim slams DA for putting 31-year-old case back in spotlight

(Newser) - The woman film director Roman Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with when she was 13 has filed court papers to have the charges dismissed, CNN reports. Samantha Geimer, now 45, made a declaration in connection with Polanski's efforts to have the case dismissed and end his 31-year exile in...

Attenborough Falls, Slips Into Short Coma

Gandhi director, 85, in hospital after 'banging his head'

(Newser) - Acclaimed director and actor Sir Richard Attenborough fell at his London home and briefly slipped into a coma, reports the Times of London. The Oscar-winning director of Gandhi, 85, is recovering in the hospital, but his family is unsure whether he'll be home for Christmas. Attenborough received a pacemaker after...

Stone Shooting Chavez Flick
 Stone Shooting Chavez Flick 
Dec 11, 2008 5:32 AM CST

Stone Shooting Chavez Flick

Director sticking with politics for follow-up to W

(Newser) - Controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone is following up his Bush biopic with a documentary on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the new wave of Latin American leftism, Variety reports. Stone, who joined Chavez earlier this year in an effort to broker a deal to free hostages held by Colombian rebels, has...

Twilight Director Booted From Sequel

Studio can't agree on helmer's timeline

(Newser) - Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, who smashed the record of biggest opening weekend for a female director, will not return for the sequel, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports. Sources inside and outside Summit Entertainment said the director was “difficult and irrational” and that Summit “didn’t like her.” The...

Director Smith: Friendship, not Sex, Is the Heart of Porno

Zack and Miri is a look at friendship, not sex, director says

(Newser) - Zack and Miri do indeed make a porno in Zack and Miri Make a Porno but the movie is about a lot more than just sex, director Kevin Smith tells Reuters. The story about a pair of cash-strapped pals entering the adult film biz is about love and friendship, Smith...

Spike Refights WWII (and Other Directors)

(Newser) - Spike Lee hopes to set the record straight about the African American presence in WWII—but he also hopes to tell a good story. His new film, Miracle at St. Anna, tells the fictional tale of Buffalo Soldiers trapped in a Tuscan town, in his own inimitable style. "I...

Iraq Films Get Army's Attention

Film liaisons offer help; some directors see spin

(Newser) - War films can help shape public perception, and the Army is trying to guide moviemakers away from negative portrayals of the Iraq conflict like the ones that dominated films about Vietnam. Army liaisons to Hollywood offer equipment, expertise—and script alterations that some filmmakers see as spin. The LA Times...

Eastwood to Spike Lee: Shut Up

Clint rejects criticism from black filmmaker

(Newser) - At 78, Clint Eastwood doesn’t have much patience for his current critic Spike Lee. The most influential African-American filmmaker has taken issue with the lack of black people in Flags of Our Fathers and, previously, with having a white man direct Bird, the 1998 Charlie Park biopic. "A...

Oscar Winner Sydney Pollack Dead at 73

Director mixed art, commerce in classic American films

(Newser) - Oscar-winning filmmaker Sidney Pollack died of cancer today at age 73 in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. His career, defined by classics like Tootsie and Out of Africa, spanned an era when directors wrangled stars and battled studios to make artful yet commercial films. He later grieved that...

Woody Allen Refuses to Quit: Blame Europe
Woody Allen Refuses to Quit: Blame Europe
OPINION
May 20, 2008 8:17 AM CDT

Woody Allen Refuses to Quit: Blame Europe

US snubs relentless mediocrity, but director is still welcome abroad

(Newser) - America may have spawned Woody Allen, but “the perpetuation of Allen's zombie-like career is one atrocity for which we refuse to be held accountable,” Joe Queenan argues in the Guardian. The diminutive director’s recent films have bombed stateside; when eight people showed up for a New York...

Being Hated Is All But an Art for Uwe Boll

Blood, guts, and bad taste can't keep this director down

(Newser) - Uwe Boll is either the world’s worst filmmaker or its most-targeted whipping boy. Either way, the 42-year-old German, who bases his over-the-top gore films on video games, is unlikely to stop anytime soon. “The art form is, almost, in being hated,” one actor told the New York ...

Moore Preps 'Searing' Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel

Will be out after presidential election

(Newser) - Rabble-rousing filmmaker Michael Moore is working on a sequel to his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. The follow-up to his 2004 savaging of President Bush—the biggest-selling political documentary ever—will be "searing and provocative," he vowed, but gave few other details. The new film won't be released until after...

Robocop Director Pens Shocking Jesus Bio

Claims Jesus' dad was a Roman rapist

(Newser) - Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, best known for directing films like Robocop, Basic Instinct, and Total Recall, is releasing a biography of Jesus which is bound to spark an angry response, reports AP. The book, which Verhoeven has been working on for 20 years, suggests that Jesus' father was a Roman...

First Film Was Minghella's Finest Work
First Film Was Minghella's Finest Work
OPINION
Mar 21, 2008 12:45 PM CDT

First Film Was Minghella's Finest Work

Truly, Madly, Deeply can help fans grieve director's early passing

(Newser) - He might be known for his sweep of the 1996 Academy Awards with The English Patient, but director Anthony Minghella should be remembered for his first film, Dana Stevens writes in Slate. Truly, Madly, Deeply, a 1990 made-for-TV movie that's now something of a cult classic, is a "psychologically...

Director Minghella Dead at 54
Director Minghella
Dead at 54
Mar 18, 2008 11:02 AM CDT

Director Minghella Dead at 54

Filmmaker won Oscar in 1997 for The English Patient

(Newser) - Academy Award-winning director Anthony Minghella died today at 54, the Guardian reports. Minghella won the 1997 best director Oscar for The English Patient and was nominated as a screenwriter for The Talented Mr. Ripley in 2000. "This is a shattering blow from someone who was a major figure in...

Putin's Newest Gig: Savage Theater Critic

Russian prez mocks cast, upbraids director after play

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila caused a stir in Moscow last weekend when they paid an unannounced visit to the theater. After the audience gave him a standing ovation, Putin made a foray into theater criticism that stunned the cast. "Why did you show him crying?" asked the...

Stories 141 - 160 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser