Box Office Report from Cinematical
02/03/2012
Ben Gazzara Dead: Actor Dies At 81
Ben Gazzara, star of "Anatomy of a Murder" and "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" has died at age 81. The actor, who was a favorite of director John Cassavetes, died of pancreatic cancer at Bellevue Hospital Center, his lawyer, Jay Julien, told the New York Times.
He was a contemporary of higher-profile stars Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger and also studied at the famed Actors Studio in Manhattan. He conquered Broadway, originating the role of Brick in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," but didn't capitalize on his rising star when Hollywood came calling.
"When I became hot, so to speak, in the theater, I got a lot of offers,” he told Charlie Rose in a 1998 interview. “I won't tell you the pictures I turned down because you would say, ‘You are a fool.' And I was a fool.”
Gazzara still managed to make an indelible mark on the movies, especially in the films of Cassavetes, including "Husbands," "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” and "Opening Night." He also became a favorite of Peter Bogdanovich, who cast him in a rare leading role in "Saint Jack" and as a private detective in "They All Laughed."
He's probably best known for his role for the 1959 courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Murder," in which his character is on trial for having murdered the rapist of wife Lee Remick, defended by James Stewart and prosecuted by George C. Scott. Among his memorable supporting parts: a shady schemer in David Mamet's “The Spanish Prisoner,” a porn producer in the Coen Bros. “Big Lebowski” and a mobster in Spike Lee's “Summer of Sam." Vincent Gallo cast him as his father in 1998 film "Buffalo '66." He also had played the villain in Patrick Swayze cable mainstay "Road House," which was probably, as he often joked, his most seen role.
Gazzara won a supporting actor Emmy for his work in the 2002 HBO film “Hysterical Blindness,” opposite Cassavetes' favorite leading lady (and widow) Gena Rowlands. The two had previously co-starred in the groundbreaking 1985 TV movie, "An Early Frost," which earned Gazzara an Emmy nomination, adding to the two he received in the '60s for his role as a terminally ill man on the series "Run for Your Life."
His most recent films include "Dogville" for Lars von Trier and "Paris je t'aime."
[via NYT]
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02/03/2012
'The Woman in Black' & the Best Horror Movies For Date Night
You and your significant other may be a sickeningly sweet pair that loves going out every Saturday for dinner and a movie. But just because this weekend's big release happens to be "The Woman in Black" -- a dark and ominous gothic horror film -- it doesn't mean you still can't enjoy date night. Sure, most horror movies send gender relationships back a few centuries, and the characters who attempt to enjoy some earthly pleasures end up in a bodybag, but there are plenty of horror movies that can actually serve as the perfect compliment to a night of romance. They're filled with sexy men, women and monsters, who will scare the pants right off of you -- and lead you into the safe and secure arms of your paramour.
So, take your chances on one of these 13 tales of dread, and you might end up getting lucky.
PHOTOS:
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02/03/2012
Drew Barrymore Crying Clip: A Mashup Of The Actress' Most Tearful Moments
Who knew Drew Barrymore got so emotional in her films? The "Big Miracle" star likes to play characters with a quirky/lovable sense of humor, but something you may not have noticed about them is that they like to cry. A lot.
Thanks to the folks at Vulture, fans now have a handy mashup guide (appropriately titled, "Drew Barrymore Can Get Very, Very Sad") to some of Drew's most tearful scenes.
Not only will you see each character try (some much harder than others) to produce tears, you'll also start to notice a pattern developing behind each cry-worthy moment.
Therefore, you can call the following the Drew Barrymore Crying In Movies Checklist:
- Scrunching face
- Biting upper lip
- Light hyperventilating
- Hands over face
- Lots and lots of sniffling
Drew's latest film, "Big Miracle," opens this weekend. Spoiler alert: she cries in this one, too.
[via Vulture]
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02/03/2012
'Pink Ribbons, Inc.': New Movie Explores the Controversy Behind Breast Cancer Charity
Many people were shocked and surprised this week by Susan G. Komen for the Cure's controversial decision to yank a grant to Planned Parenthood, a move that seemed to place priorities other than women's health ahead of the Komen foundation's mission of fighting breast cancer. But perhaps there would have been less shock if people had seen "Pink Ribbons, Inc.," a new Canadian documentary that explores the apparent corporate capture of breast cancer activism, observing that such philanthropic organizations -- and Komen in particular -- seem to place a higher priority on giving positive publicity to their corporate partners than on actually finding a cause and a cure for breast cancer. The movie opens in theaters across Canada on February 3 and is currently making the rounds on the festival circuit in the United States.
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Lea Pool's documentary draws upon Samantha King's 2006 book "Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy" in its study of the phenomenon known as "pinkwashing" -- using a kitschy, smiley-faced, rose-colored ribbon logo to mask the evidence that all the philanthropy has accomplished little other than giving PR cover to corporations that donate to the cause -- corporations that might otherwise be targets of complaints for the allegedly carcinogenic ingredients in their products. (Coming in for criticism, for example, are Yoplait, whose pink-ribbon-labeled yogurt contained milk laced with bovine growth hormone; and Estee Lauder, which was selling cosmetics that may also have contained carcinogens.)
Breast cancer pledge runs sponsored by Komen and others have become familiar spectacles, but Pool's film argues that they've also deflected feminist activism away from more controversial issues, and that the money they've raised has done little "for the Cure." According to the film, breast cancer rates have risen since 1940 from one in 22 women to one in eight, yet very little research has been done to find what environmental or dietary factors may have led to increased cancer rates. The money raised seems to go toward treatment more than toward prevention or discovering a cause and a cure.
Komen founder Nancy G. Brinker (who named the foundation after her late sister) is interviewed in the film. She speaks of her passion for the cause but also of her willingness to cooperate with any corporation that wants to participate in Komen's campaigns.
Such corporate-friendliness and de-emphasis on finding a cure lead "Pink Ribbons, Inc." to suggest that breast cancer charities like Komen have misplaced priorities. That was certainly the charge this week when Komen rescinded a grant to Planned Parenthood targeted toward helping poor women get mammograms. Komen's shfting explanations for the decision helped confirm the sense of many former Komen supporters that the group's actions were motivated more by politics (specifically, objections to Planned Parenthood's involvement in abortion services) than by concern for women's health.
On Friday, Komen issued an apology (well, sort of) and suggested it would take politics out of future funding decisions, but its actions this week have forced many who think they're fighting breast cancer by buying pink-ribbon merchandise and running in Komen's pledge races to question the organization's motives. Whether or not you find the arguments made in "Pink Ribbons, Inc." to be valid, its release on Canadian screens couldn't be timelier.
In the United States, First Run Features owns the theatrical and DVD rights to "Pink Ribbons, Inc." and is currently showing the documentary at film festivals around the country. (This week, it played at the Spokane Film Festival; later this month, it'll screen at the Boulder Film Festival.) A representative for the distributor told Moviefone that it plans to release the movie theatrically in America later this spring and on DVD in late 2012.
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